Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts

Sunday, May 4, 2014

NOTA: None Of The Assholes

In the last few weeks, I’ve become increasingly ashamed of being a part of this country. Embarrassed that I am a citizen off and represented by a land that is ruled by dicks – the anatomical shaft is the foundation and the head is the ‘brains’ the so-called ‘intelligence’ that represents us and defines our future. Indeed as disgusting as that metaphor was… a 1000 times over is our constituency. I fail to understand why the economy of the busiest metro in the country should come to a financial standstill to elect a bunch of uneducated thug-like bastards who forgot which @#$% actually tunneled them out. The same members of our ‘gorrmint’ (government) that cannot even spell without spitting or stuttering.
I have no ounce of education, interest or even knowledge of the dirty politics in this country. The limit of my knowledge is that it’s dirtier than the sewers and public toilets. At least the latter can be cleaned at some point. We can’t say India has gone to the dogs. You see dogs are far beyond such an insult. India shouldn’t compare herself to such higher species or standards. She has been raped far more than any woman in this country has even been letched at on an average per day. And she will continue to be raped until a dictator comes into power and decides to be her sole rapist. That relationship, by the way, is known as marriage in this country. Men are usually born from rape (nonconsensual nonnegotiable marital rape that our constituency allows as per revised laws in 2014), watch rape as a normal act through their childhood and then grow up to incorporate the essence and activity of rape in everything they do. They rape the law, the people, the men, women and children, the education, the poor and needy and finally the common sense of the aam admi.
Let me understand one thing. If all the politicians want a Hindutva India or a Hindustan, then how the FUCK does no one say throw the Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Harijan, Achoots, North East Indians and god knows every cast/religion out. WHY ONLY MUSLIMS? Are you THAT uneducated, dear people that religion to you classifies as Muslim or all other etceteras that fall under the umbrella of Hindus?  Did your school system NOT teach you diversity? Or did you just go to the same as NaMo, Gandhis, Kejriwals, Ramdas, Didiins, Jayas, Sonias etc… Cuz even the good ones rise and are not protected by the filth of this constituency. It’s like when Joey Tribianni learnt that condoms are 99.9% safe and there is that 0.1% freaking chance…. that they AREN’T. In this case, the 99.9% is the probability of corruption vs the sad 0.1% of pure untouched common sense and goodwill.
After voting today, I sense that I will lose more friends and confidantes if I were to know their thought process or simply the choice they made. That’s why I decided that I would not divulge my vote and treat it to the level of secrecy the overtly ambitious Hollywood CIA movies make it to be. My vote is my sole discretion. It is my 1st time voting and in true full-blown fashion it’s come out in a year where the elections have taken this country by storm. There is revelry and rivalry running side by side.  Allegations vs farce promises are the key to winning the elections. Who accuses whom, who slings the most mud and better yet who satisfactorily justifies the mudslinging – inclusive of poultry, dairy, groceries and stationery items. There is yet no proof of development nor is there any promise for improvement. The public is torn between a peaceful coexistence in whatever state (hell) they are which is equivalent to fighting the demons they are familiar with vs those who are suddenly driven by extremism and have chosen some jackass who represents them or is constantly spewing extremism in full shameless view of the public. Here is where free speech is divided – free hate speech, which goes scot free against free sensible, debatable and challenged speech that has no bearing or room in a free democracy.  
I am judgmental of those who have voted for X, Y, Z candidates of the constituency. True that their knowledge maybe far reaching or reversely far limited than me. Or could be that the reasons I associate with their choices have nothing to do with the choices they made. Yet, I find myself in a dilemma as I rot in a nation that has enough money to level the ranks of the USA and yet prides itself in living like an upgraded 3rd world nation. Those around me who think or advertise extremism, affect me. By some stroke of birth (I will not use the term luck), I was born in a Hindu family. I call that a ‘default’ setting. Thankfully, my family has allowed me to ‘customize’ my life, my thoughts and my practices independent of me being 1) a woman 2) a Hindu 3) an educated independent agonist individual. And we do not match on a few levels. Sadly, that is not the case elsewhere. You see either families and relatives directly control you and make choices for you until their demise or they give you a false sense of independence when really THEY are pulling the strings. Why must we be so influenced? Why don’t we ever question or argue or debate or justify? Why are we afraid of accepting and embracing the minority vote or the least favored choice? Why does someone else’s hatred, mistrust, experience, fallacy affect us without any base? Why is every Muslim neighbor a threat or a minority in societies, schools, offices etc.? Why do some Catholics tell others that all other religions are nil… zero… zilch (personal experience and anecdotes from convent life and an aunt)? Why does every damn Hindu think no end of themselves? Why do Buddhists and Sikhs think their religion has more spirituality and culture than any others? AGAIN these people represent the minority and not the majority. I hope the world and India understands this point.
Our teachers taught us to be independent, to question when in doubt, to take more answer sheets to present our views/answer and to accept, learn, train and work with one and all. Does that not continue outside our school gates? Do we just walk out of there, vomit all of it like an aspiring anorexic and then go back to that school gate only to reminisce the common sense that was once upon a time ‘lectured’ to us? Our history is full of kings, emperors and rulers who nurtured our nation as well as destroyed it beyond repair in a rare few cases. The majority were Hindu rajas. We don’t mope on their descendants and ‘‘teach them a lesson’’ for what their ancestors did. Nope. We don’t hunt down relatives and royal families and go for their jugular for something some random person in some cornerstone of history did. But we sure will watch acrid hate speeches, news and views and then spurn the neighbor who for the last 10+ years has peacefully coexisted with us. Smart move people. Real smart.
Modiji is revered yet for abandoning a wife who, as per news, has given up her favorite things including footwear till he is PM. Rahul = Congress and a heritage that thinks they are entitled to EVERYTHING India has. Kejriwal… my man Keju… what are you wasting time on? Where did you lose focus and die a familiar death? Mamata Didiin stop yelling. We’re not deaf! Sonia… You Italiano you… I really don’t care. Sheila Dik-shit – nuff said. Thackeray ji I’m a Mumbaikar and can’t speak fluent Marathi. Are your goons gonna burn a vehicle for that (incidentally belonging to some innocent Maharashtrian)… and I can go on about everyone in power. Some may say I am not out and up there doing the good and fighting the battles. No I'm not and have no inclination to. That doesn’t make me less concerned or bothered by it all.
We don’t need elections to spew violence. Every festival, event, demise and strike is followed by a warning to the aam admi “Go home soon” “There might be communal disturbance” “This area is sensitive” and it goes on. You bloody bigots. When FCB player Dani Aves was targeted by racist Villarreal fans who threw a banana at him, the world took to social media and posted similar pics to mark shame and protest against the act. I know some of my own Anti-Muslim, Brahmin-oholic stuck up friends who did the same. Seriously… who are you fooling? You're a so-called-proud Indian and yet you could give 2 hoots about domestic communal racism. But come international football stars and you couldn't be more favorable in their support. Remember this. We have the NaMos and the likes in full media view, using tax payers money to show their ugly faces on the cover pages of TOI. But the thing we must be vary of is the millions of NaMos, Sonias, Rahuls, Kejus etc living among us. Side by Side. Breath by breath. Those who have friends and pals from all communities, enjoy Easter Eggs, Kaju Katlis, Eid delicacies, Momos, etc. and yet would abandon or kill in a blink when the moment asked. These people live a peaceful coexistence but would turn their heads if their progeny loved someone from another caste or creed (recently a Dalit boy was beaten and hanged for falling in love with an upper cast girl: TOI). Have the guts or balls I say. If you are open minded BE OPEN MINDED. Don’t be a venn diagram with shades of grey. Not cool at all!!!
*This post is not meant to hurt the sentiment of any caste, creed, race, sect and whatever worldly divide we have invented. It is intended to reveal the inner bigot and hypocrite in us. To understand that as much as we hate others for being public and vocal about their baseless reservations and forcing others to follow suit... we are also intentionally or unintentionally following suit.
This video directed by Shlok Sharma is a stroke of minute-full genius. It stands for what I have expressed in my post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc5erdvB-4Y

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Fusing my Religion

That's me in the corner; That's me in the spotlight; Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you; And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much; I haven't said enough!
By R.E.M.

Monday evening I went for Lalbaugcha Raja’s darshan. Something I had skipped last year. I’m not steadfastly religious, do not believe in object worship, don’t believe in the encyclopedia of names for the ‘Gods’ and I certainly do not appreciate when how, whom and why I should worship or pay homage to, is predefined for me. When I do feel like it (divine calling as many say), I go for it and do it my way. My prayer lasts anywhere between a mere 1min to probably an hour – most of which I spend in a quiet uninterrupted corner just pondering. The setting could be the corner seat of the Mumbai local to the corner pillar of Ram Mandir near my house. I have cried or remained mum. I have sincerely prayed and sometimes just looked for penance for 1 of many wrongs I may have committed but not admitted to.

To many, my practices may seem futile or because I do it ‘for the heck of it’. ‘Ignore’ is my mantra. Something I subject even mum too. From a balanced spiritual lady, somewhere along the years, I lost her to endless pujas, artis, darshans, teerth yartras and some unreasonable, inexplicable practices – a little on the extreme side. Ok a lot extreme if you ask me but what works for her is her choice. Here no one lets you be. What they do and consider the ethical, traditional norm is THE norm for you. I enter a temple and I would get eyes for donning jeans, missing a dupatta, not looking deep in trance enough or a list of do-nots that I may’ve unintentionally adhered to.

Fortunately, mums taken the cue and let me be. Of course, I had to climb the staircase of guilt, jump through a fire hoop of the looks, crawl through a dark tunnel of a long lecture (the worst) and fly across obstacles of ‘corrective actions’. Like a video game. It took many an evening of doubts, discussions of life path (still can’t figure how that’s related), being called an atheist, questions on my beliefs and virtual guilt trips of trying to drag me down. We have reached a mutually accepted truce. She asks. I agree or decline. If I agree, I stay for the last bit where I can have some prasad and leave. I honor her wishes and she mine. My logic, which finally got to her, was I would never do something to disrespect what is important to her – and forcefully going for incessant number of pujas with no intent, counted as disrespect from me to her. Peace!

Prof. Wikipedia defines religion, as “an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to the supernatural, and to spirituality.” I’m fortunate that my family inculcated AND practice secularism. I lay emphasis on the ‘AND’ because we have many who feign belief and do not practice. My family does and I appreciate, love and bask under this fact and freedom. From my grandparents’ era, all married their love and sweethearts. There was never a question or interrogation of the caste, creed, sect or religion. There have been marital discords, disharmony, splits and reconciliations all on human grounds and errors. When mum found out about him, she asked about him and his family, what they did where they came from et al. Honestly, I assumed somewhere she would make a comment or ask me something as a part of all the changes she has gone through… you know religiously. She didn’t. Once even offering to drop me close to station so that I could meet Abeer sooner and not waste time as we were headed to Charni Rd. late evening. I appreciated her attempt to let me have the freedom to love and seek love as I pleased. A luxury in this country.

The 1st question I always get asked is “Did your parents agree?” followed by “Will you convert?/ Tattoo cannot be accepted so how will you?...” some ridiculous not-so-crucial questions I do not appreciate. I mean where did “what does he do?/ where did you’ll meet?/ How’s it going?... etc” slip down the ladder of queries 1 asks friends about their beau. You don’t meet or go on random dates and ask point blank the person’s religious background and decide if to proceed forward. To me it matters what he likes vs what upsets him. Where do his principles come from? What is he as a person, a human being, a friend, a brother, a son, a worker, a dreamer? I incessantly ask him questions about things I’m ignorant about. He answers them graciously, surprising me with knowledge and details I wouldn’t have expected to my ‘simple’ questions. THAT is what characterizes getting to know someone rather than the societal question bank, which comes with select check boxes. A rigidity I will never adhere to. Both he and I came from mixed, exotic backgrounds and that appealed to me more than anything J #epicwin

Forget love. Basic friendships are subjected to such gruesome menial mentality. Followed by a hypocritical thesis on the most recent communal riots. 1 should not comment unless 1 truly believes that the opposing community is not solely at fault. Crimes, malpractices, unreasonable communal laws, all run across society. Yet the audacity to classify continues. When I visited an agyari (Parsi Fire Temple) I was asked where my sadra-kasti was (custom inner garb post baptism-like ceremony) and then dismissed cuz I was young. When I was taken to a Roman Catholic church by my hostel matron they dismissed me but let me stay on learning of my recovery from a severe bout of the chicken pox. When I went to the dargah I felt like I was ‘blessed’ harder by the priest that anyone else. When I was just outside a mosque I was stared at (that was Nigeria and we were the only Indians). When I stood in front of the wailing wall in Jerusalem I felt like a tourist – I was 1. When I dated my 1st boyfriend, his mother tried hard to convert me to be a Born-again Christian. But maximum contradictions, questions, doubts, and ridiculousness came from my vast religion that I was born into – Hinduism. I cannot and will not go into the vastness of everything that’s followed and imposed; many times without understanding its purpose and history. Baseless practices like default settings. Robots at best.


I do not consider myself any less for not fitting into the standards. I pride myself in having my own religion – a potpourri if you will of all the good and spiritual I can pick up on. Lessons learnt and verses recited with deep meaning invoking something in me. An exotic relation with the guy upstairs… you know who hears me out when human ears are all too busy or reserved for other earthly purposes. I don’t disturb him much and he has been generally good to me with the occasional flutter. Or SHE has been good to me… We freely adjust you know. Fusing OUR religions J 

A link shared by an Ad-Exec buddy about a social experiment on racism goes well with this post: http://www.upworthy.com/a-boy-makes-anti-muslim-comments-in-front-of-an-american-soldier-the-soldiers-reply-priceless?g=2