Wednesday, December 28, 2005
quit!
I quit my office recently. The last day, I finish the formalities and all that. As I return the ID card, I feel this sence of almost something saying in me, you are no more welcome here, you will be treated as an outsider, for one second I almost panic! It’s almost time for me to leave and I clear my desk. Almost everyone is gone out to play or watch cricket. As I leave, my closest colleagues come with me till the bus stop. As I am coming back in the bus, it’s a strange feeling… I am not associated with anything! I am kind of scared… I miss my friends at office… It’s gonna be a nice new experience at the new company but then, I shall still miss the intimacy I had developed with my colleagues. Hope they keep in touch…and we get to meet up soon…
A show on NDTV 24x7
I saw a program on NDTV 24x7. Topic of Discussion: Should Gays and Lesbians be given rights or should they continue to be treated like criminals? On the same not, article 377 – does it need correcting? The following are a few of the points that came up:
1. Its unnatural, so no rights
What nature are they talking about? Oral sex is natural? But heterosexuals are allowed to do it. How about sex for pleasure, no other animal except humans do it. Is that not un-natural? Using contraceptives – really don’t think there is nothing in nature that uses contraceptives. Is that not unnatural – how come church does not oppose that?
Human intelligence, that itself is unnatural, for that matter there are a lot of things that humans do which is unnatural! Ban all of that! Homosexuality is unnatural, my foot!
Ok we will narrow down to humans, are homosexuals not born naturally? Are we not humans? Therefore, we being gay, is that not natural? Why do they want to point at us and say we are unnatural? They don’t have any right to say that! Every being with all the characteristics they are born with are natural!
2. Its bad to the society
Is smocking not bad? People die of smoking! But that’s accepted! Is alcohol not bad? What about guy and girl holding hands being romantic, kissing is public, wearing skimpy clothes, is all of this ok? Then, even we should be! Is it not bad to cause trauma to millions of homosexual kids by this stereo type of the society?
Being open and accepting, now that’s what I would say is good. Not vulgarity but living like decent citizens, either gay or otherwise, that should be accepted. Do not accept vulgar and indecent straight lifestyle. Proper sex education to kids, not gay or straight but “PROPER” sex education, that’s what we need to give our kids!
3. Guy kisses girl is ok, mom kissing daughter is ok, father kissing son is ok, and all this is with love. But when a guy kisses guy then there can never be love! Hello…father and son are guys and still there is love between them. Love sees no gender! Love was never gender biased! Wake up and grow up!
4. Homosexuals spread diseases! Please, there are equal numbers of heteros if not more who are cause of diseases! Give us rights to be together and share our life with our lover. Then the sleeping around and all that will automatically stop! We will then have a choice to lead a life not just think of sex! Simple nice solution, but NO! Straight people are jealous and afraid that we may begin to lead a better life than you with your families with only greed and no love…Fine if your definition of marriage is not to be changed, call our relation lovage, +some thing to mean guy and guy or girl and girl living together with love. That way your technical definition remains intact. Of coarse you should not use lovage to mean straight relations as well.
We are not handicapped in anyway for you to help us become proper! You don’t go around correcting people with fantastic looks, great brains or melodious voice just because they are not like “normal” people. Its similar with us, we are just too good for you to “correct” us. Please don’t give such lame excuses.
People talk of accepting mistakes and correcting it. Prove it that you are capable of it! Accept that you made a mistake saying gays are criminals! Correct it! Give us basic HUMAN RIGHTS to live with and share our lives with the PERSON WE LOVE. As humans, we don’t ask you of that right, we demand it! It’s a very good example to set our children (your born children and our adopted children that you gave birth to but didn’t have the capacity to raise); and example of living with love and peace. If you are responsible parents as you claim to be then correct your mistake, not only for your gay child but for the millions of other gay children, give them a life to live without guilt but with peace of mind and love of a lover. It’s a matter of guts, something homophobic heterosexuals’ lack!
1. Its unnatural, so no rights
What nature are they talking about? Oral sex is natural? But heterosexuals are allowed to do it. How about sex for pleasure, no other animal except humans do it. Is that not un-natural? Using contraceptives – really don’t think there is nothing in nature that uses contraceptives. Is that not unnatural – how come church does not oppose that?
Human intelligence, that itself is unnatural, for that matter there are a lot of things that humans do which is unnatural! Ban all of that! Homosexuality is unnatural, my foot!
Ok we will narrow down to humans, are homosexuals not born naturally? Are we not humans? Therefore, we being gay, is that not natural? Why do they want to point at us and say we are unnatural? They don’t have any right to say that! Every being with all the characteristics they are born with are natural!
2. Its bad to the society
Is smocking not bad? People die of smoking! But that’s accepted! Is alcohol not bad? What about guy and girl holding hands being romantic, kissing is public, wearing skimpy clothes, is all of this ok? Then, even we should be! Is it not bad to cause trauma to millions of homosexual kids by this stereo type of the society?
Being open and accepting, now that’s what I would say is good. Not vulgarity but living like decent citizens, either gay or otherwise, that should be accepted. Do not accept vulgar and indecent straight lifestyle. Proper sex education to kids, not gay or straight but “PROPER” sex education, that’s what we need to give our kids!
3. Guy kisses girl is ok, mom kissing daughter is ok, father kissing son is ok, and all this is with love. But when a guy kisses guy then there can never be love! Hello…father and son are guys and still there is love between them. Love sees no gender! Love was never gender biased! Wake up and grow up!
4. Homosexuals spread diseases! Please, there are equal numbers of heteros if not more who are cause of diseases! Give us rights to be together and share our life with our lover. Then the sleeping around and all that will automatically stop! We will then have a choice to lead a life not just think of sex! Simple nice solution, but NO! Straight people are jealous and afraid that we may begin to lead a better life than you with your families with only greed and no love…Fine if your definition of marriage is not to be changed, call our relation lovage, +some thing to mean guy and guy or girl and girl living together with love. That way your technical definition remains intact. Of coarse you should not use lovage to mean straight relations as well.
We are not handicapped in anyway for you to help us become proper! You don’t go around correcting people with fantastic looks, great brains or melodious voice just because they are not like “normal” people. Its similar with us, we are just too good for you to “correct” us. Please don’t give such lame excuses.
People talk of accepting mistakes and correcting it. Prove it that you are capable of it! Accept that you made a mistake saying gays are criminals! Correct it! Give us basic HUMAN RIGHTS to live with and share our lives with the PERSON WE LOVE. As humans, we don’t ask you of that right, we demand it! It’s a very good example to set our children (your born children and our adopted children that you gave birth to but didn’t have the capacity to raise); and example of living with love and peace. If you are responsible parents as you claim to be then correct your mistake, not only for your gay child but for the millions of other gay children, give them a life to live without guilt but with peace of mind and love of a lover. It’s a matter of guts, something homophobic heterosexuals’ lack!
Monday, December 19, 2005
T-shirts...
Tirupur! I had plans of buying lots of good quality T-shirts at real cheap rates. I didn’t get the chance to! We were there on a Sunday and still people are working like crazy! Workaholic place it is! It was marvelous to see how the T’s are made. And the management, typical Indian style bosses, no MBAs here who isolate themselves with all sort of jargons and stuff. Hardcore bosses who mix with the team and work to making both a good life for themselves as well as their employees. Simple plain human bosses… we had coffee at each manufacturer and by the end of the day I felt like I had had enough coffee to last a month. The three things I shall always remember from her – hardworking people, good old Indian bosses and conversations with my friend’s dad. One dynamic and interesting father I have come across till now. My friend…you are so lucky…
On the train! finally!
For a long time I have been wanting to go on a ride in the train from Ooty to Metupalyam. Finally my best friend form high school and me decide to do it! It’s off season now and not many tourists. Its too cold in Ooty and we both have cough! Still, we decide to go ahead. We take a late night bus from Bengalooru to Ooty. The road is bad and we were very lucky to have got the last (read most bumpy) seats in the bus. After nice good tossing about we reach Bandipur at the foot of the hills of Ooty at 3 in the morning. From then on I was awake with my eyes glued to the window (I wish I could open these sealed windows for better clarity) looking out and hoping to catch a glimpse of a wild tiger… and I got to see only Deer! Still, it was good fun, catching glimpses of these in the little light that the bus cast on the road, almost a silhouette. By 5 we were on the peaks. The mist was so thick that visibility was just a few feet. Finally as we reached Ooty the lakes and mountains were smoking, the mist rising as the early morning bright sun kissed it. Beautiful…
We took a room, cleaned and changed and set out on a walking trip round Ooty. We sat at a roadside tea stall and sipped some very beautifully colored but quite bland Ooty tea and walked toward the botanical garden. It was not the flowering season and so we just go an eyeful of green green mountainside. After a few hours of walking in the gardens we headed for lunch. On the way we bought tones of home made chocolates, flowers, yummy green Ooty apples and a pair of Caps – really cheap there ;). After lunch at a nice Bengalooru based restaurant we strolled back hand in hand to the hotel, checked out and headed to the railway station.
The train arrived and thanks to good crowd handling skills, managed to get window seats! The really really slow journey downhill began. Midway, the engines were changed and we were then tugging along with old old steam engine! Super cool! For the next 2 hours or so we were among lush greenery misty mountains, clouds, beautiful tea estates, lovely old railways stations, flowers along the tracks, black tunnels, bridges over deep gorges, tiny waterfalls, some almost next to the tracks and lots of coal dust and smoke! I am so glad we don’t have steam engines any more, they are so polluting! If this tiny engine generates so much smoke, I cannot imagine the big bad ones. Every time we go through a tunnel, I feel like an insect being fumigated! Over all, the ride was amazing! It ended at Metupalyam were we went on to Tirupur to meet my friend’s dad…
We took a room, cleaned and changed and set out on a walking trip round Ooty. We sat at a roadside tea stall and sipped some very beautifully colored but quite bland Ooty tea and walked toward the botanical garden. It was not the flowering season and so we just go an eyeful of green green mountainside. After a few hours of walking in the gardens we headed for lunch. On the way we bought tones of home made chocolates, flowers, yummy green Ooty apples and a pair of Caps – really cheap there ;). After lunch at a nice Bengalooru based restaurant we strolled back hand in hand to the hotel, checked out and headed to the railway station.
The train arrived and thanks to good crowd handling skills, managed to get window seats! The really really slow journey downhill began. Midway, the engines were changed and we were then tugging along with old old steam engine! Super cool! For the next 2 hours or so we were among lush greenery misty mountains, clouds, beautiful tea estates, lovely old railways stations, flowers along the tracks, black tunnels, bridges over deep gorges, tiny waterfalls, some almost next to the tracks and lots of coal dust and smoke! I am so glad we don’t have steam engines any more, they are so polluting! If this tiny engine generates so much smoke, I cannot imagine the big bad ones. Every time we go through a tunnel, I feel like an insect being fumigated! Over all, the ride was amazing! It ended at Metupalyam were we went on to Tirupur to meet my friend’s dad…
Inspiration...
Is it Murphy’s Law of lack of inspiration? I watched this Olympic swimming on TV the other day. My God – they have divine bodies. I decided then and there that I would get a runner’s body and work towards it! I also started running the next day onwards. A coincidence, my other better half also had started going out for walks. 3 days later, I am back to square one, late rising and rushing to office. Running forgotten, o rather cast away… God Help me!!! Give me back by healthy athletic energetic body…
Re-Discovering!
I walk into office on a Monday and find a mail from my better half. It’s a lovely pamphlet of a 12-day event near my place – Mahabharatha rediscovered. Me and one of my good friend and colleague decide to attend that evening’s program. We plan to leave office by 5 and, surprisingly we beat Murphy’s Law and actually leave by 5. Of coarse the traffic delayed us and we got there a good half hour late.
The place was a huge open ground covered in a really nice pendal and good seating arrangements also! We buy a pack of steamed ground nuts (some thing I have not eaten for some time now) and settle down. My companion was good and got an extra cover to put the peels and keep the place litter free. I am very pleased with her for that.
There was an initial Rajasthani dance sequence. Frankly, didn’t really understand much of it. However the last part was really nice watching all the women folk in their beautiful dress, mirror work and nice folk art prints on it. Then the governor of Bihar - a north Indian state – Rama Jois, was called upon the stage to give a speech. My colleague and me were thinking what he would understand the Kannada invitation – lo and behold. He delivers a crisp, super charged, beautiful masterpiece in the most eloquent Kannada that I have heard. This was on of the best speeches I have heard – that too from a politician. It was only later the next day that we realized that governors are chosen from a different state and Mr. Rama Jois is actually from Karnataka.
The final event that night was a fantastic puppet show. It was in the lovely Yakshagana style. It was nice, really really nice. I can only say, see it to feel it… I can still recall the resonant voice of the narrator every time I think of the show.
I return home having decided to attend all the events. Murphy obviously caught up with me the next day and stayed till the end of the events…
The place was a huge open ground covered in a really nice pendal and good seating arrangements also! We buy a pack of steamed ground nuts (some thing I have not eaten for some time now) and settle down. My companion was good and got an extra cover to put the peels and keep the place litter free. I am very pleased with her for that.
There was an initial Rajasthani dance sequence. Frankly, didn’t really understand much of it. However the last part was really nice watching all the women folk in their beautiful dress, mirror work and nice folk art prints on it. Then the governor of Bihar - a north Indian state – Rama Jois, was called upon the stage to give a speech. My colleague and me were thinking what he would understand the Kannada invitation – lo and behold. He delivers a crisp, super charged, beautiful masterpiece in the most eloquent Kannada that I have heard. This was on of the best speeches I have heard – that too from a politician. It was only later the next day that we realized that governors are chosen from a different state and Mr. Rama Jois is actually from Karnataka.
The final event that night was a fantastic puppet show. It was in the lovely Yakshagana style. It was nice, really really nice. I can only say, see it to feel it… I can still recall the resonant voice of the narrator every time I think of the show.
I return home having decided to attend all the events. Murphy obviously caught up with me the next day and stayed till the end of the events…
Monday, December 12, 2005
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