Locked Forever !!

      It’s so easy to lock a door by putting a key inside the keyhole and turning it around anti-clockwise. Similarly, while opening the lock all one needs to do is put the key again in the keyhole and turn it clockwise. Now for a moment imagine what would happen if the lock doesn’t open!! All you can do is to keep trying. You put the key again and again in the slot, trying to rotate it clockwise but it’s just not opening. Suddenly you start panicking and what next, one has to break the lock (hope it’s not a Godrej Lock). Now since it was a metallic device and you can afford a new one, you decided to break it.

     But in life, there are instances when few things get locked and locked forever. Unfortunately, these locks can’t even be broken. As per records, there are 3.73 lakh prisoners in India. 2.45 lakh have yet not been found guilty. They may be innocent. Nevertheless, they are behind the bars ‘24*7*?’. The ‘?’ here refers to the days which has no definite number. Yes there are men/women/children who are guilty and deserve to be punished but what about those who have yet not been found guilty!!

     When someone is accused of theft/rape/drugs, etc and is put behind the bars, most of them try for a bail, especially if they belong to a well-to-do family. Some can’t even afford a bail. Some get a bail, some don’t. The trial and hearing continue in courts for days/months/years....lawyers keep changing….judges keep changing….dates keep getting postponed and what not. Suddenly one fine day few of them (at times most of them) are proved innocent and are set free.

     Now the question arrives whether justice has been done in true sense?? It's easy to say that once you are out of jail you can start your life with a new frame of mind, a new beginning, a new dawn, etc. All this is easier said than done. People enter into the jail with some frame of mind and generally when they are out it’s a completely different mindset altogether. They are a different human being, to say the least. At times thoughts like vengeance/insult/self-hatred/dejection/vendetta get instilled in their heart and mind. In fact the mind and the soul go through infinite tortures/molestations/harassment inside the jail. One becomes hollow from within. Initially there are rays of hope that they might be free by the “NEXT” hearing but time passes on and by the time “NEXT” arrives, the hope had died.

     Someone was at the zenith of his life, someone was climbing the ladder of success, somebody had just started to see his dreams come true, somebody had just planned something new for his wife/kids but something happens that leads them to an arena behind bars. Now when that person is out of jail after a long trial, a life may start with a passage of time but all those ambitions/desires/dreams get locked somewhere in that jail forever.

There are lives behind bars, they have rights too….

Beyond Bars but not Beyond Justice!!

Note: - This article has been inspired from a Madhur Bhandarkar movie JAIL and is dedicated to all those prisoners who have yet not been found guilty. They may be innocent.

....@ Debashish

Welcome Death !!

Death is a term which, more often than not, scares most of us. We are always advised by elders not to use this term in public. At times we are even scolded by them when we use it in our day to day conversation. But have we ever given it a thought that why are we asked to do so!! Why don’t we ask our elders that every time this word “death” pops out of our mouth, suddenly a wave of disturbing frequency starts to ripple in the surroundings??

     Yes, one may say that death separates you from your loved ones and we all know that separation hurts and hurts deep. But that’s the emotional side of it. Here I am talking about the fear that has established somewhere at the back of our mind that stops us from taking few risks at times in life, from living life at the edge, from sky diving, deep sea diving, riding on giant wheels and at times from watching horror shows at night all alone (for few of us or many of us??). I totally accept that “Precaution is better that Cure” and it’s better to die instead being handicapped/paralyzed the entire life.

     But why do we start crying and creating panic when someone at the age of 85+ or 90+ leaves us or somebody down with serious disease dies someday. Don’t you think Death is just a part of this life? Just 1 moment. Just 1 chapter, probably the smallest one. Why not live this moment too??

     We haven’t seen Life after Death. Who knows Life after Death may be even more beautiful. One may just enter a fantasy world with beautiful falls, greenery all around, flowing rivers, hills, valleys, snowfalls, etc. May be a world where there is no more death, only life. A world where you may meet an old pal. A world without terrorism. A world without racism/casteism. A world where God doesn’t possess too many nomenclature. A world full of love, peace and unity. Now that’s also an imagination but thinking on those lines can at least instill some kind of positivity in our minds/hearts and help us in eradicating the “fear of death” too. Easier said than done but remember there is always “Life after Death”.

…..@ Debashish

Intezaar @ A Journey

We all know the only thing constant in this world is “Change” because it never changes. But if you are asked to name another thing that never changes what would it be?? Any guesses…Or would you just say NO???.....Sure !!!!

Well for me it would be “Intezaar”, i.e., “Wait”. All our life we keep waiting for something or the other. The desires/aspirations/dreams may differ from man to man but it’s the term “Wait” that ties us together.

          Okay let’s take the example of Rishi. Hold on guys! I am not talking of Rishi Kapoor or Rishi Tea Stall at Charbagh station, Rishi is the name of the protagonist of my article. Rishi Arora.

          Rishi was born on 9^th July. Everyone in the family was ecstatic, there were several rituals taking place, parties being thrown and what not. Celebrations were at the peak. Slowly Rishi’s parents started dreaming of Rishi walking, running, talking, playing and they wanted this to happen as soon as possible. Suddenly one day they saw Rishi walking by the bedside with one hand on the mattress. Then one day Rishi would say “maaauwma…..maaauma….mamma”. Thus Rishi’s parents long wait came to an end as Rishi could now walk, talk and has even started to put his thumb out of his mouth.

          Rishi was always a bright student. Physics was his favourite subject and he was very well guided by his parents/teachers. 15 years have passed and Rishi is now waiting for his class 10^th results to come. The 1.5 month wait was full of anxiety, tension, etc. Finally the results arrived and Rishi passed with 82.50%. The wait did not end up well as Rishi expected a lot more as he had given everything to his studies. But still the wait was over and it was time to move ahead.

Another 2 years of rigorous efforts and similar sort of “waiting” situation went through before the 12^th results were declared. This time the wait was even more anxious and troubling as Rishi not only waited for his class 12^th results but also for the result of IIT-JEE. He had appeared for competitive exams. But this time wait ended up well as Rishi achieved 92.50% and also AIR-240 in IIT-JEE.

Right from first year at IIT-Bombay Rishi started dreaming of the day when he would be a graduate and would be holding a degree in his hand with a black gown and a black hat. But just a day before the convocation Rishi slipped while bathing and got his right leg fractured. Hence he had to miss convocation. He got the degree but the dream remained unfulfilled, nevertheless, the wait was over.

In the meanwhile Rishi got placed in Google. First day of joining Rishi dreamt of couple of things. He wanted his first salary to arrive as soon as possible and the second one….he wanted a girlfriend. He was single all this while….he deserves one now for sure. Luckily within a month he met a girl Snigdha. Snigdha Awasthi. Snigdha was a pretty girl and intellectual too. Their frequencies matched and they started spending time together. So couple of more waits came to an end.

On 14^th Jan Rishi proposed Snigdha, but Snigdha asked for sometime before she comes to any decision. Now you guys can imagine the kind of wait this is. Finally on 13^th Feb, Snigdha said yes and the parents/relatives/friends wait of Rishi-Snigdha getting married came to an end a year later. Now Rishi has started dreaming of his own car, his own villa, his kid and Rishi’s parents of their grandkid (this one obviously is more eager). Finally the family was gifted with a beautiful doll. They named her Namrata.

Years passed and timed moved on as did life. The dreams/desires/aspirations kept changing and finally we come to Rishi-Snigdha’s 25^th wedding anniversary. An august gathering has arrived at ARORA Mansion which also has a BMW parked outside. A couple of years later Rishi retired. Namrata has also got married.

At times Rishi thought that he was done with all the worldly duties and there were not many responsibilities to carry now. He wished for a calm and peaceful death. Just when he was thinking on those lines he got news that Namrata is pregnant. Suddenly he wanted to live few more years and play with his grandchild. One fine day Rishi took his dinner and went to sleep. The next day when Snigdha came to wake him up and to give him the good news that Namrata has came to visit her parents, he didn’t get up. He was no more. He had passed last night when in sleep. He died a peaceful death, something that he wished and waited for but his wish and wait to see his grandchild remained unfulfilled as Namrata was only in her 6^th month.

We see that Rishi’s life had a “wait” associated with it at every step and corner. Similarly we also keep waiting for something or the other at every point of life. All that differs is the reason for that “wait”. Desires change, “wait” does not. It remains constant.

So “wait/Intezaar” can be for seconds/minutes/days/years….at times they end up giving us joy & at times only tears. Nevertheless, it is an undefined journey in itself. Always enjoy this journey because you never know what the final result is going to be!!! It may be in your favour. It may not be in your favour. But try to make the journey of this “wait” as beautiful as possible.

All the Best.

.....@ Debashish