You Are You

 You are strong when you take your grief and teach it to smile.

You are brave when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.

You are happy when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.

You are loving when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.

You are wise when you know the limits of your wisdom.

You are true when you admit there are times you fool yourself.

You are alive when tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.

You are growing when you know what you are but not what you will become.

You are free when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.

You are honorable when you find your honor is to honor others.

You are generous when you can take as sweetly as you can give.

You are humble when you do not know how humble you are.

You are thoughtful when you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are.

You are merciful when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.

You are beautiful when you don't need a mirror to tell you.

You are rich when you never need more than what you have.

You are you when you are at peace with who you are not.

HOW SAFE ARE OUR WOMEN IN INDIA?

My dear Friends, here is a chilling account of an incident that occurred a few days back in the Capital city of our country. A place that everyone looks up to as the most prestigious, elite class of cities with innumerable people who are called as “The Cream of High Society”.  But has anyone seen the other side of Mid-night? Please do read on.

A medical student on her way from home after duty was gang raped by a group of six jerks in New Delhi on the 16^th of December.  Her boyfriend escorted her.  She is struggling for her life on a ventilator.

It must be noted that less than an hour before the rape incident, the men on the bus reportedly called out to a carpenter and offered him a ride. He got on unawares and was robbed.  The innocent man was dumped out of the bus on a busy road, which is very close to the well-known INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. The bus then headed towards the stop where the young lady and her friend were waiting to board a bus to take them home. 

The men, including the bus driver, had taken out the bus for a joy ride on the evening of the incident. According to the police, they were all drinking before the incident and practically moonlighting, hoping to make an extra buck.  They spotted the student with her friend at the bus stop, called out to them saying they were headed to the place where she  lives and pulled over.  As per the reports, the young lady and her friend boarded the bus, assuming that this was one of the many privately operated buses that are treated like public transport in Delhi.   They bought the tickets and boarded the bus.

On the bus, an argument began when the accused asked the lady’s friend what he was doing with a young woman at that time of the night.  Since when have the bus drivers begun “Moral Policing”?  That was none of his or her business to investigate on anyone’s private life.  They were soon being harassed for being out at night, which was approximately around 8:15 PM. When her friend intervened to help her, the attackers gagged him and then began hitting him mercilessly with an iron rod. She tried to protect him and the men on the bus decided she “SHOULD BE PUNISHED”.  She was hit with the same rod and gang-raped in the most heinous and demeaning manner in the driver’s cabin where she was forcibly taken, while the driver kept the bus moving.  Having sated their satanical and insatiable hunger and lust for a woman’s flesh for a certain point of time, (as per the Friend’s revelation it was 90 minutes of torture for the young lady, who was physically assaulted with the iron rod on her face, her private parts, the internal organs ruptured), the couple was thrown semi-naked onto the road.

They were found unconscious there, by a passer-by who informed the police. They were then taken to hospital, where the woman has undergone multiple surgeries and is on ventilator support with what the doctors have described as “irreparable damage” to her abdomen and intestines.  Doctors say that her condition is very critical.  The abdomen and the intestine are not in the right place. This was an absolutely abominable act, which ought to be condemned by anyone who has the least bit of remorse and humanity in them.

My friends, don’t you feel that this act calls for some thinking?  Is this not a gross violation of human rights? Are a boy and a girl being together a crime? It appears that the criminals have no fear for the laws of this country, as they admit openly that they are remorseless.  If the men are questioning the girl and her friend as to what they were doing out at night, may I ask those hoodlums what were they doing at that hour of the night too? Is being out on the road only the privilege of the males?  The question arises now as to how safe are our women in this country that worships the female deities and seeks her blessings for all their wants. What is the Center doing about the ever-increasing crime rate in our country?  When it comes to discussions on sensitive issues on women in the Parliament they have NO TIME.  Why are our laws so lenient that every criminal is treated like a king?

Laws should be deterrent. We need more of implementation of strict laws rather than verbal talks from the members of the Parliament. There is more of verbal diarrhea on rules that are only on paper.  No wonder the criminals are making hay under such an atmosphere. The fear of the corporal punishment ceases to exist.   When will the Center really really wake up?  We find that 30% of the Security and the Police Force are on VIP duty. Isn’t this outrageous? Where is all our tax that is being paid so judiciously by us the common man going?

 My Question to all is – “why is it that the statement in the end always comes as a blame game on the women as “She asked for it.” Why cannot the men be put on a leash? As someone once said, “We men have a defective gene somewhere”. Yes that is really very true. Men just cannot control their lust when they see a woman.  Why is it that they lose their self-control at the sight of a woman? Where has their will power gone? Look at this picture - who are the men to question on what a woman wears?  My message to those perverts is this -"Thank your stars SHE  has not come naked in front of you. Where has your lustful senses gone out of place? 

There were even young men who got the information all warped up on the wrong side of the brain, and who had the audacity to tell me, "But aunty she should have dressed decently and not scantily."  Oh really!! When a woman is fully clothed from head to foot in a Punjabi dress or even a pair of Jeans, or the traditional Indian NAARI, in a saree, even then she is raped. And for those trying to enlighten me - In this case, the young student was fully clothed, in New Delhi's Winter, BUT I insist on the BUT,  she was thrown out in a semi-naked condition.  Who the hell has the answer to that?  These men think that they are all PURITANS, the so-called SAINTS.

I am writing this blog because I am so depressed, yes; I am so disturbed at the lawlessness of our country. I like any young mother have so many questions to ask from our law makers and from the Government – Why? Why are you so partial to the women folk of our country? How can you guarantee to us mothers that our daughters are safe?  Can you assure us that once our daughters go out of the house to earn a respectable living, will they come back safely, physically, mentally, emotionally to carry on their daily tasks and routine chores with their heads held high in dignity and pride?  Can you?

I am sick of all the “YES MINISTERS”.  It is time for me to cry out in despair – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

A Mother's Love

When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
- You thanked her by crying all the night.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
- You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
- You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
- You thanked her by coloring the dinning room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
- You thanked her by looping into the nearest pile of mud.
When you were 6 years old, she walked you into school.
- You thanked her by screaming, “I’M NOT GOING”.
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
- You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
- You thanked her by dripping it all over you lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
- You thanked her by never even bothering to practice it.
When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to gymnastic to one birthday party after another.
- You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
- You thanked her by asking to sit in the different row.
When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
- You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
- You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
- You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
- You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car.
- You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
- You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your school graduation.
- You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.
When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus, carried your bags.
- You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of you friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
- You thanked her by saying “It’s none of you business”.
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
- You thanked her by saying “I don’t want to be like you”. 
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
- You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
- You thanked her by telling your friend it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiancee and asked about your plans for the future.
- You thanked her by glaring and growling, “Muuhh-ther, please!”
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told how deeply she loved you.
- You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
- You thanked by telling her, “Things are different now.”
When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative’s birthday.
- You thanked her by saying you were “really busy right now.”
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
- You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.
And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did, came crashing down like thunder on your heart. 
If she’s still around, never forget to love her more than ever. And if she’s not, remember her unconditional love