A new year... a new beginning...

I like the advent of a new year. Technically speaking, it is just another day. A day which has 24 hours like all other days, a day where one goes through the self same routine like most other days. The first of January is no different from the 24^th of June or 8^th of August or any other day. I don’t understand why, but somehow, I can’t stop that excited feeling growing within me as I reach the end of December and I eagerly wait for the 1^st of January.

Perhaps this excitement is due to the symbolic ‘newness’ which is attached to the arrival of every year. I actually revel in the feeling of ‘hope’ which engulfs me during the start of a year and it sort of inspires me to kick out all the negatives out of my life which had unwittingly become a part of me all these days. Out goes the every thought and action of mine which makes me sad, angry, irritable, envious, de-motivated and dejected; instead I enjoy the process of filling myself up with peace, contentment, and acceptance which automatically motivates me, spurring me to dream of a better tomorrow and work towards realizing it. I also enjoy making resolutions. Ofcourse it is another fact that these resolutions are seldom carried down the whole year, but nevertheless it is a ritual which I enjoy observing religiously.

As I am getting ready to step into the threshold of 2013, I am so very thankful to all the myriad, mixed experiences and emotions of the year that was and grateful to the various people who have been a part of my life all these days, inspiring and motivating me to become a better individual in a variety of ways.

Here’s wishing each one of you a very happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2013! May you be inspired enough to achieve your dreams and live life to your fullest! 

Nirbhaya shouldn't have died in vain...

Nirbhaya is no more and the people who are responsible for her death are still living, enjoying the protection and security accorded by the Delhi police, eating food provided by the Indian govt, and perhaps hefty negotiations are taking place between their concerned relatives and smart lawyers who may take up their case, and prove that it was a human error or an act committed due to insanity. Like most other rapists who are unfortunate enough to be caught, they too may have to suffer a few years in jail and then would be released into the society, and may in due course become respectable citizens of this country emboldened by the attitude of a ‘tolerant’ society which pretends to sleep.

Each day, as I wake up to the news of assaults, rape, abuses, and atrocities against women and children, I can’t help feeling a sense of shame and anger. Why do we tolerate such nonsense? The more I think about it, the more I feel stronger laws are required to punish the guilty. But to prevent such devilish incidents from occurring, we have to first change ourselves, our thoughts, and our myopic, fear filled minds. We have to stop haunting the victim, causing her to cringe in shame and fear all her life and instead hunt down and punish the wrong doer at the earliest. The society, instead of ostracizing her, needs to encourage such victims to emerge from her trauma and lead a normal life in every possible manner. Let us learn to react and protest strongly against ill treatment of women, whether at home or the workplace. Let us teach our sons to treat all women with respect and dignity and let us teach our daughters to command that respect which is rightfully theirs and live a life of dignity without guilt.

The Delhi incident has sparked off a public outrage and hopefully, this spark will flare up all over the country to bring about a change in the way women are being perceived and treated in our country. Nirbhaya shouldn’t have died in vain…