Alice in Wander-land !!

Alice is eighteen years old.
Alice has just completed her higher secondary education and awaits to start a career.

One day, while she is quietly resting under a tree in her garden, she notices a white rabbit clothed in crisp attire with a pocket watch hung to its side. Busy as the rabbit looks, Alice's curiosity leads her following the rabbit down the hole. She expects to find answers to her problems and assumes the rabbit hole will lead her into a bright future. The rabbit meticulously guides Alice into an admission in a reputed college and hence ends his role..it hurries off.. Once inside Alice looks around, strange new world, with newer still the expectations and hopes. As she just begins to explore the place, she experiences a deep deep fall.. A tunnel that seemed endless and into a pit, leads her into a hall.. Around looks Alice, doors and doors lined and lined.

Aah the doors of opportunity, thinks the girl to herself. !!
She finds a small key.. that wouldn't open the first door.. Efforts still needed exclaims she to herself..
She finds a Bottle of knowledge..that says.. "DRINK ME".. She absorbs all the contents.. and shrinks small enough to squeeze through the first door..

Still more doors.. Alice confronts.. A second door here... She finds a cake beside that says.. "EAT ME".. Devours the cake soon Alice.. and grows so large, her head hits the ceiling..
Alice is too large.. she needs to get past some door, but she is too large to... She is in search of a larger door.. a larger opportunity.. nothing less would suit her purpose..

Alice wanders about.. strange new creatures...and wild are her thoughts..
As Alice walks around.. she comes across a Tea-party... Invited as soon as she is, joins the partying souls.. Yet remains a gap.. a void which Alice cannot comprehend..
She has chosen her life.. her life inside the tunnel...
She has no choice.. but to work, wander about and party...

Years hence, Alice thinks to herself...of the garden and the burrow hole.. and tells herself..

"A hole lead into the tunnel..
I took the one the rabbit traversed
and that has made all the difference.." !!

The debate continues !

For those of us who have read "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov and those who read about the proposed amendments of the IPC, Capital Punishment, still remains a subject of heated debate and accute brainstorming. To begin with whenever I come to think of it, I have mixed feelings in my heart and mind regarding the issue itself and its consequences at large !

Capital Punishment or as we might have heard several times in bollywood cinemas.. "teenso do ke teher.. To be hanged till death", is not as simple as it sounds..

It involves, deliberately depriving someone.. of his right to live.. LIFE as we know is God's and only God's gift ! Once taken away, the whole humankind put together, with all the money of the world pooled together may not help in restoring the same.. So, is it humane on our part to think of taking someone's life away.. that too legally !

If God is the one.. who grant's life to his creations.. who are we to think in mortal terms to be able to exert a decision making role in the same? But then again, how many of us, would want criminals like Ajmal kasab to be alive? Is there any Indian who is actually willing to forgive such a man..to deny himself of the right to teach a lesson to such ruthless people on earth?..Then again.. they posing greater threat to nation, through possible air hi-jacks and the kind if kept alive in confinement.

As I plunge deeper into the subject, I feel Death is a quick painless punishment for anyone, who will think deserves only that. If I were wronged by anyone.. to the extent that I wouldnt ever forgive him.. I would rather chose the option of.. "Itna. tadpao.. ki koi maut mange.. lekin maut bhi naseeb na ho" !! Why let him have the easy way. ?

But then, I am not a legislative, neither authorised to opine on legal terms. Yet, as aperson of practical outlook, I feel there are better solutions to such problems than meets the eye.

As we all know, and as justified by science too, criminals and the kind are often people of different genetic make-up altogether(Heard of extra X chromosome in persons with criminal tendancy?) many of them, have been tormented, tortured and outcast by the society driving them into aggression and unsocial behavior.

In such a situation, the solution should be more humane.. aiming at changing their thought processes and teaching them the right thing to do. Imprisioning in barely animal ambience would only make matters bad to worse.. many of them need counsellers.. medical attention.. psychologists.. n in some cases even psychiatrics.. Why not try these simple processes out? The expenses would be a fraction if it helps in teh long run.

Let us remember that, punsihment is never given to compensate a victim.. No person on earth who has been deprieved of a close one.. has been tortured or gone through mental agony can be compensated. Punsihment is only a deterrant.. a reminder to epople who attempt such things in future what the consequences can be. So it is time.. to deliver justice quick and fast, along with a better approach to handling these unwanted elements of the society.

Apprehensions Surrounding the Lok Pal Bill:


Intended Audience: For all the citizens who are aware of the present Indian political scenario, who wake up every morning these days to switch on the news channel and witness endless debates on the 'proposed vs drafted Lok Pal Bill'

Some questions surrounding the same:

a) Does any of the versions of the Bill look promising enough?
b) Does any one in this country be it a political leader/ administrator personnel or even the Loka Yukta representative deserve unchecked power?
c) Do the prime representatives of the party supporting the move look fair on their integrity level?
d) If a panel needs to include different people from different backgrounds, to ensure looking at a problem/case from different angles in order to ensure a just move, what is the whole point of involving both Prashant as well as Shanti Bhushan in the committee.. can we expect different views from them?
e) Does democracy mean sitting on a podium inspiring masses to do so without food and water, on the pretext that you are fighting for the right cause .. Be it Anna Hazare or Ram Dev(who many opine should rather stick to teaching Yoga than dabbling with politics !!) , wasnt there a better means to prsent their voice apart from forcing the system to do something.. It is something like a child forcing his parents not to enforce eductaion else he would go without food and water... Or even on the other side to teach them a lesson to invade a huge crowd in the wee hours and start intimidating a mass of gathered crowd. remember we still shun the Jailenwalah bagh tragedy. Thousands of people thronged the premises of Tihar Jail on 16th August in support of Anna.. The activists who got it started in the first place had the Gandhian quality of being able to gather the crowd, provoking the masses.. But how many of them actually knew what it was all about? The big difference between being gandhi and being Gandhi-like lies in the fact that while Gandhi had the will and power to start and start a movement at will, I hardly suppose any of these men can stop the mob if it gets out of hand? Can they? and if in the chaos something goes astray staking the lives of thousands who is to blame?! auto walas, sweepers.. students.. government employees all gave whole heartened support to Anna.. But talking of Delhi Autos.. who refuse to go on meter! or government employees who don't understand what service actually means?? What I wish to point out here is that corruption free attitude begins with one self.. I as a student must have downloaded thousands of free softwares (I am sure even Mr Arvind did in his IIT days..).. am still a regular user of torrent and songs.pk. So am I not corrupt? are we ready to give it up first before raising the fingers altogether at the system. But then again because I am corrupt should it prevent me from raising my voice against corruption? what should my stand be?

Well, its just a grim reminder of the present state of facts. I don't know whether it is appropriate but still I would like to switch on the media every day to find happy and cheerful news which would levitate my spirits..when I turn the pages every morning.. I would rather read about the efforts of our leaders having brought about changes in their respective portfolios(No matter how far that has been overshadowed by their general flaws and fallacies in politics).

I consider myself an aware citizen of the country.. aware of the several scams and consequently the respective committees set up to look into the same.. BUT ! at the the same time I am tired of the same.. I am tired of the parties pointing figures at each other.. (be the charges legitimate or frivolous).. It might sound a tad bit wonderland.. but through my days of life I do want to watch the people striving to improve their lives .. be it themselves or through elected representatives. !!!