The greatness of being a woman

I was in standard 6 when I first saw a blood coated clothe in the school toilet. It appeared like a proof of a big crime in the old toilet building of the school. As a child, I got shocked and ran to the teacher to tell about the crime. The teacher did not seem to be serious and she instructed the sweeper to clean the toilet. I was confused on the ignorance shown by the teacher as I was thinking about the crime and source of that blood.

Years went by and many of my friends came out of ignorance about that blood and enjoyed the feeling of being a woman. I still was ignorant and thought it might be because of some wrong –doings of people. I have seen my mother and all others suffering with the so called ‘great feeling of being a woman’. Leg pain, back pain, head ache…no pain could spare the woman from enjoying this.

I have seen my friends and cousins look at boys with a special admiration and adoration, but I never find anything significant in boys in comparison to girls. I did not consider them as superior to girls. I considered them as my friends and loved to play basket ball with them as these silly girls do like gossiping than such nice plays.

Being the daughter of a drunkard father and an ignorant mother, I had a very troubled childhood and might be because of this God made me live my childish life to the fullest and waited to give me time till I complete my tenth form. After the public examination of standard 10, I preferred to research on death as I started loving death, my troubled life accelerated my feeling towards death. Each day and night I sat and prayed for death.

One night I was praying to God for death and I believed that “death will come today”. I closed my eyes and awaited death and something came into me. I was not sure that it is not death as the new feeling took me into another world. I was confused and opened my eyes to see the new world. It was the world of women. I closed my eyes again and for the first time in my life, I prayed for the well being of the entire world.

I could sense life in my body. I was really excited as it seemed that my body is preparing itself for giving birth to generations. Suddenly I had feeling of completeness and perfection in my own personality even though I realized an inner urge and deprivation for something unknown. On the spur of the moment, everything went wrong and there was a feel of loss .My body, that was ready to give birth, became disappointed and I perceived my womb shedding tears. I could palpate the flow of blood coated tears from my womb.

I was confused on these sudden changes, which were really fresh to me. I found a drastic change in every single thought of mine. I looked at the rose flower I kept on the dining table that morning. I was really happy to pluck it from the rose plant to own it, but now my heart is sinking in sorrow while looking at it as I was thinking of the pain it would have undergone while getting detached from the plant.  For the very first time in life, I had a soft corner for my mom who was trying hard to make both ends meet.

After a few days of rest, I went out to see the outside world. I just want to make sure that it is the same world, but miraculously it got changed. I felt that men are great beings than women, though I felt their crazy nature as stupidity. I found myself detaching the company of boys and getting closer to girls. I also started gossiping with them with a feeling that we are doing something really great.

Today, I love the entire world and want it to be happy. I believe that being a woman is the greatest thing on earth. I find myself capable of doing great things. A man has limitations to do things, but women have no limitations. Both man and woman can dream of going to space and such sort of adventures, but men can’t deliver and feed the child.

I do respect man for being a part of the reproduction process. Thanks to cloning that made women independent from men. Today in physical terms, a woman can think of a world without man, whereas man will find it difficult, but being a woman, I cannot think of a life without my man, as I love him a lot…I cant even think of a life without him.

I asked myself what made me think like this when science is ready to help me and all other women to have a life without man. I don’t know how to explain the psychology and philosophy of this feeling. My answer is simple. I could know the meaning of safety and security for the first time within his hands. I feel that I am 'the safest' within his hands. Now I understand, 'the greatness in the feeling of being a woman' is to accept the 'greatness of man'.

How Anthony Burgess did become a writer?

At the age of forty, Antony diagnosed for brain tumor and was informed that he might not live for more than a year. This news shocked Burgess because his death could lead his wife Lynne to poverty and loneliness as he could not save anything till that day. He thought of several income generating business to save something for his wife, but, the disease was really serious and Antony was not permitted by doctors to go out for work. Finally he decided to write novels as he felt that he might do it. The royalty of the books could bring a long term income which could support Lynne to live.

Till that day, Antony had not written even a small story, yet Antony started writing. He was not sure about any publishers who could publish his books. He was not sure about the thought of success. But love and dedication paid the prize. Yes, necessity is the mother of invention. His love to his wife helped him to overcome all the problems in his writing career and he made a one year plan. It was in January 1960. He calculated the entire seasons and anticipated that he would not be able to the next winter. He made up to write the maximum in this short span of time and with hard work he completed five novels. The dedicated hard work and positive thinking reduced the intensity of the tumor and he had given hope to live. Very soon, a he got a miraculous healing and he could write 70 novels before death.

Antony’s life reveals a very big fact about life. Will power is a great gift from heaven and we can watch miracles if we could use this divine gift well. God is capable of performing miracles if we face challenges in a very positive way. God respects your freedom of thought and will not override it at any cost. If you trust in God, you need to give a 100 percentage trust in God’s capabilities. Even 1 percentage faithlessness can make God helpless in performing miracles on you. If there is only one year ahead of you, you need to plan the year with God. Life offers a lot of limitations and uncertainty, if we could recognize this fact, we can face life with more enthusiasm and inspiration.

What makes you run so fast?

Oh dear squirrel, what makes you run so fast?

Is your mom there  behind you to make you eat?

Is there a maths teacher run after you to teach?

If not, what is that makes you run so fast?

Oh dear squirrel, why are you rushing like this?

Have you stolen an edible nut from your brother?

Or are you rushing to meet your new girl friend?

If not, what is that makes you run so fast?

Oh dear Squirrel, why are you in a hurry always?

Is your wife in ail as she gives birth to your baby?

Does your daughter look for you to get her protection?

If not, what is that makes you run so fast?

Oh dear Squirrel, why do you not answer my question?

I would like to let you know that my heart prays for you

That God please help the squirrel, who is in a hurry

I pray to help it in the reason that makes it run fast

Now I look like an Emperor

Looking at the bright moon was a comfort to my painful heart

The light from the bright moon encouraged my thoughts to shine

Among the twinkling stars, the moon appeared as if it is an emperor

I told my heart to shine like a moon to become an emperor among stars

Sans confidence my heart appeared as if it is not able to reflect light

It condoned with the small sins and pains which seemed like black spots

I looked at the moon, where black spots are more evident than my heart

Knowledge revealed that those black spots are the signs of survival effort

My conscience again returned to earth to see the black spots of my heart

I recognized each of them have a memory of pain and so sign of anguish

I felt that without those black spots, moon cannot be a symbol of beauty

Sans those signs of pain my heart also cannot brighten as the moon.

This resemblance brought a great deal of confidence into my heart

I was consoled by this great thought of calmness without any effort

In calmness, I was surprised to see the presence of greatness at heart

Now I realize that I am also brightening like the moon, the emperor

The castle of my dreams

Being a writer was never a part of even my distant dream as a child. Since childhood my perception about future life gained several forms which were really unknown to me. The initial dream about my future was to become a teacher as I did want to beat the kids of my teachers who used to beat me without reasons. I secretly enjoyed the satisfaction in my dream of beating and harassing the kid of my 3^rd standard class teacher. The rebel in me laughed like a naxellite when I could imagine the helpless face of my teacher as I beat her kid. I am not sure of the day when I forgave her along with all other teachers. Might be after I joined a convent school where most of the teachers were nuns who do not have kids.

   

This situation must have made me sympathize to myself and I lost that desire of revenge. It was not possible for me to live a life devoid of dreams and my next dream took me to air and I started a new dream of becoming a soldier- a pilot. I read about fighter pilots who have given life for the sake of the nation. I cherished that goal and dreamt of serving the nation as a soldier. I pictured myself in the white uniform of a fighter pilot and started studying about the reality of Air force which revealed just another world where I thought of other options to serve the nations. This just another thought was enough and I made up my mind to have a complete transformation of intentions and I started dreaming of becoming a civil servant.

Whoever heard about my new dream laughed at me and they spent a lot of time to drive my mindset to withdraw me from my dream. These much of negative reactions made me strong and I have decided to swim against the current and I made to pass the preliminary and mains examinations of Indian civil services examinations. As I was becoming closer to my intention and dream goal, something was pulling me behind apart from my friends, relatives, acquaintances and parents and I could realize that it is none other than my own latest dream. When everything was positive and I started being right in the track, I felt something really odd as I never had a life that goes well with the current. I told myself that I am not borne to swim along with the current and I want to swim against the current. One fine day, I made an about turn and started swimming across the current. While swimming     I closed my eyes where I had the loveliest of dreams- my current dream.

In my new dream I was laying in a raft which was floating on a lake in a greenish natural strip of land. On one side of the lake I saw a deep forest and I could experience nice breeze from the other side of the lake. Along with the musical voice of birds, I could hear a stiff and lovely voice of a river stream which made me happy and passionate. My closed eyes were enjoying the imaginary sights of daffodils as shown by William Wordsworth and frozen lake beside the dark and deep woods as shown by Robert Frost. I opened my eyes where I could see myself laying in a raft on a similar lake. The woods on one side of the lake were dark and deep whereas the breeze from the other side of the lake was from a nearby mountain and it carried the fabulous smell of daffodil flowers. I drove my raft to the shore of the lake which was a juncture of plain land, mountain and the lake. I saw my house there which was built a half in water and the rest on land.

On reaching my home, the castle of my dreams, I could see a few people waiting for me, the well known and most readable living writer of the century. I look at the mirror and I could see that I am still young. I have had this dream several times in my life and each time the dream gained more clarity which added a lot of values to my effort to become a successful writer. I don’t know why I feel like this could be similar to almost all aspiring writers like me. 

The reason for unhappiness

When I was in trouble, when I was in pain

I could see the entire universe crying for me

I went outside to see the world’s reflex ion

The plants refused to swing with the wind

Wind was dull as if does not want to flow

The animals refused to hunt for prey and eat

Grasses were having a feeling of sorrow

The mist looked like a tear drop on flowers

Flowers denied relishing presence of the sun

Small birds stopped singing and dancing

The vibrant currents of the river were slow

The ocean was calm with no tides in it
The black spot in the moon appeared darker
Stars were hidden under the passing clouds 

The entire earth looked as if it is not happy

I wanted to know the reason behind this mood

Searching for the cause of this sadness

I reached to have a look at myself and my face

I looked at the mirror to see how I look

I could see a painful sad face of mine

Which made the entire world unhappy

I wanted to cry and finally made it to relax
Then I heard the voice of a nice music of rains

Role of media in the development of a Society

The current world equates the term media to the mass communication industry including newspaper, television, radio, journalists and other related professionals. In effect media is a tool people can use to provide a forum or platform for the subjects of public debate. Thus, media can play a great role in selecting this subject of public debate. So, we can say that Media retains power to guide and misguide the collective mindset of the society. The question thus arises is, whether the media guide us positively or negatively? Is the media biased and is it possible for a biased media to guide a society in a positive manner?

A few months back, I have read an article written by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, the ex-President of India, in which he had written his experience about his visit to Israel. The entire front page of Israel’s local news paper pictured a farmer who made some notable achievements in agriculture. The news was written in a way that everyone who reads it get motivated by the experience of this farmer.  I could not believe this as Israel is a land of sensational news. Every day the country faces at least one bomb blast and war movements.  Doctor Kalam continued writing that all such news of violence and crime are being given in very small columns in the inner pages. 

Think of India, here media is more prompt to sell the sensations than the reality. We read the news about scams, wars, corruptions and crimes in the front page of each and every news paper. Television channels are even ready to go to the bed rooms of sensational people. The real motivating stories are sometimes finding it difficult to get at least a small column in the news paper.  What is wrong here? Why the media guides the society to go after such irrelevant things when we have tons of development criteria are there to focus.

Suppose if agriculture is the life sustaining activity of a region, will they let their seeds to loss its quality? I know that your answer is a big no. The region will invest its one hundred percentages to maintain the quality of its seeds and further harvest. Only a good seed can yield the best harvest. Now let’s consider our nation. When we compare the frequency of population with landmass, our country holds the position of the most populated land on earth leaving behind China and also it is the largest democracy in the world. Thus human resources are our asset. How can we let to lose the quality of our asset?

Don’t you think that the biased media, who think that our people do like only this kind of news, misguide us? Even the film makers are biased and mistakenly made a mindset that the society does not have a quality to understand standard movies and produce only Masala movies. Do any of these media add any value to the growth of our nation? Are they not making us debate on gossips and silly things when there are a lot of real issues? Now, I would like to make a humble request to Media personnel’s. Dear friends, we are not against you, we understand the value of service you are providing. But, we want you to understand our quality, we are not silly illiterates, we are a society of esteem and so please provide us something worth to be debate, in other words- the reality!!

We must realize that the media has a very constructive role to play in the development of any society. Instead of celebrating politricks, scams, crimes against women and other destructive concerns, our media must put forward a constructive debate. It must act as a unifying agent. A common opinion is the key for the development of the nation. Let's come together and make this campaign a great success. I am sure we can do it....The revelations in Egypt and other nations are an example for this. Here we are in democracy....but actually lives in a virtual anarchy. Thus media must demonstrate its active role to bring the country back from the virtual anarchy.