There was this golden chrysanthemum

shone who like the rising sun,

amidst the vast spread verdure

playing with dewdrops of nature…

Stood it under the blaze

gazing at the fiery daze

even though  the tired lark

veiled behind the comforting shade!

Watching the traveler

pass by the fields

wondered it

what lies forth behind the hills!

Where doth the running stream flow

pondered

the soul of florets

seeing the gushing current go!

Dancing clouds went by

tweeting birds

broke the solitude

butterflies amused for a while

dusk brought everything

silent and anew.

Sings the gilded one

tousling her floral skirt

“The green field in which I was born

I live here until my breath last…

damp soil of my land

 holds me upright lest I fall

thence Iam here until I perish

for deeply rooted Iam

in blithe!”

Centuries ago, Jahangir, the then Mughal Emperor of India had introduced the system of “RING THE BELL” for those who awaited justice.A huge bell was hung just outside his palace and anyone who wished to have justice could directly approach the king by banging this bell at any hour of the day, which was known as “BELL OF JUSTICE”.

Today, where we live in a time of advanced technology which have enhanced our standard way of living and has added a new dimension of communication, we still find the need to have such a system of the Bell of justice., the sound of whose shall reopen the eyes of the existing government, the citizens of our country and the public who are a part of the system in some way or the other.

Globally we stand at a place where the world now looks onto us with respect in terms of science, development and economics as a future upcoming developing country.

West has always looked onto us for spiritualism since ages and presently for the opportunities that exist in our country to enhance and flourish their businesses.

Spiritualism which originated long back and is deep rooted in the soil of India considers every religion to be same and every person to be treated equally.Hinduism is a part of this spiritualism, which says there are 84 million gods and goddesses existing in our universe and all of them are revered and worshiped.

With the advent of modern age, our country grew in terms of economics and technologies, but simultaneously got very much influenced by the trend and life of the western countries.

As any culture has its pros and cons, the bad effects got their way too fast than anything else.

Today when we hold a newspaper in hand on an early morning, there are cases of rape, violence, molestation and injustice towards women, which has become a very normal scenario.

The fast changing trends of the Indian films, the overexposure of the vulgar erotic songs to the young kids have definitely influenced them very badly. The availability of hundreds of channels on television from all over the world through 24×7 caters to the young minds the seeds of unwanted entertainment and illicit information.

There is no limit to the exposure and no strings attached to its use.

The parental controls which can be incorporated for this is hardly known to 50% of parents who are still illiterate and unaware of such technology or those who know about it hardly care to implement it.

Result is a generation which is having free access to the dirtiest of expressions shown on television or internet.

The modern technology has provided with  computers,internet,laptops,tablets,mobiles with all the advanced features I pads to name a few to everyone where the youngsters literally live in a virtual world created by their circle and the sites they interact on, taking them faraway from reality.

A fast way of getting interacted anywhere with anyone, the instant fame which an obscene photo can bring if uploaded on any social media site can lure the child, a teenager ,a person of weak stature to do all the things which can harm, detriment or hamper anyone’s life in future.

Pedophiles are commonly heard of on several internet sites where the sick minded people lure and trap the children who fall prey to them easily. If such people get access to personal information and get personal access to the children, there can be a hundreds of cases of child rape, molestation and victims still shall remain quite in fear of getting defamed or abused more.

Parents in the race of living a luxurious life and in order to provide everything to their children are racing with time and working leaving their children alone at the hands of house maids or servants, both of who can never be trustworthy.

There have been innumerable cases of child abuse in such conditions and the children now grown up still bear the grunt inside them.

An easily catered sites of porn have filthed the minds of people who till today were struggling for survival, now they struggle for lust and desire.

Their object is to find someone to be able to fulfill their want on whom they can show the power they have, even a frustrated worker or a vegetable vendor, a businessman, or an executive anyone can be the source of molesting a girl, child, woman anywhere within our home, within family, in a circle of friends or at workplace, on road, in public transport or anywhere.

We can check the criminal minds of the grown up individuals by implementing strict laws for such actions of disaster, which can at least infuse some sort of fear and consciousness in them before thinking of doing any heinous act.

For the young minds who are growing and who soon shall be the 75%part of India need to guided, supported with love and cooperation.

 Every small change begins at home and so shall this one.

A home where a wife is respected, a sister is loved and regarded can bring up a young man who knows how to respect women.

Indian system has been patriarchal since ages leading to the dominance of men and the submissive behavior of women in our society. When such things don’t happen in real life anywhere else, the patriarchal minds which have seen this since their childhood tend to deny the power or position of women openly. They try to defame the woman or use derogatory words, more over stalk them or even molest them just to justify that men are the supreme dominant persons of the society and a woman needs to think and accept this truth. Anyone who goes against this idea or who opposes such dominance is then a prey to the killers of humanity.

I strongly believe we as mothers can inculcate in our children this sense of respect for women from childhood. They should be taught to be a part of work at home and should be asked to help in each and everything that a man feels isn’t his work.

Children should know the value of a person as a human being and not by his /her status, gender or position.

A sense of tolerance and patience should be tried to instill in their hearts.

Recently I came across an organization called “MARD” which is a group involved in creating awareness amongst people against such crimes. Such initiatives should be taken at every level of a state, city, town or an area.

Small group of friends too can start the noble cause when they see any woman getting oppressed or troubled, they should raise a voice or protest there to silence the criminal bent of mind.

I too am involved with such an initiative called “VOICES OF DAMINI”, where anyone can share his /her views and voice the opinion about such incidents from their respective areas or experiences  to create awareness through  the pen.

For pen is considered to be mightier than the sword, I too try to ink my thoughts with the same fervor which can in some way touch the hearts.

An ideal example is the best when you yourself apply it to your life.

I being a mother of two fears the existing society and hate seeing my children exposed to such terror and wrath.

I want my son to be compassionate and practical, dynamic to speak for anyone who is oppressed and stand for the weaker one. I wish my daughter too becomes stronger as my son so to be able to deal with every situation of life fearlessly and cleverly. She should remain alert and be communicative with her family in future.

A drop in the ocean, my words and thoughts shall get dissolved in the gigantic initiative, yet I shall remain proud that I tried my best to create awareness and prevent such crimes by my words and my actions.

 

WRITTEN FOR “RING THE BELL ” INITIATIVE.

FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK:www.bellbajao.org

 

PHOTOCREDIT:www.thehindu.com

The scarlet floated in the air

touched the crystalline water clear

kissed by the reflected azure

I  lie  hereby with my dreams to endure!

With zillion dots to conjure

 a fantasy  in the serene atmosphere

enlivened by the words

those appeared

dwelt I deep

swirling  in the whirlpool

of  imaginary conjecture!

The moment still

freezes like a scene

As me floating

upon the misty lake

like a heiress of

 Aphrodite or Hera!

The prize is a beautiful logo to be displayed proudly on my blog page! Nothing more delightful than seeing this!

Hope you all go around and have a look at the upcoming contest on 24th May on http://thewhitescape.wordpress.com/

Enter the contest and enjoy the thrill of facing the bi monthly challenges!

Meanwhile enjoy today’s poem here !   ” RINSE THE SINS “

and don’t forget to share your views there too!

It was the season of roses, the queen of flowers then in April.

Having put up at the local tourist rest house, which was situated amidst the dense forest of fir trees, I along with my parents stayed there for months.

Every evening I walked through the paths that had the brownish color peeping through the greens, which proved that was the usual trail used by the local people there.

It was known to go inside the woods through the slopes was equally confusing and dangerous as the path could lead anywhere and there were umpteen ways ahead as we go deeper inside.

One evening I and my brother who is younger to me went for such an adventurous trip without informing my parents. We started with a nearby path and went on, enjoying the melody of cuckoos and songs of other birds .While walking we loved the small shrubs beside the path dangling with tiny flowers and even collected some fir cones to be displayed ,when we came back.

Lost in the charm of the elegant trees and the fresh air, we soon realized it was almost sunset and we still were far away from the main road. We didn’t have the idea of where this path was leading us to, so we continued walking swiftly.

It became dark in a while and we were amidst the dense woods.

Those days mobile phones weren’t launched in India nor had we heard of any such thing that existed.

So there wasn’t any question of GPS or SMS or calling up anyone for guidance. Afraid of the abuses that we would be getting for going alone in such a new place and that too within the forest was really making us cry.

Still I had to remain calm and composed to give confidence to my brother and with intuition we kept on choosing the ways, to ultimately reach another end of the hillside on the main road.

Sense of direction helped us to know where we must be and we headed towards our destination.

Those times when there were no gadgets available human mind was used more properly and efficiently. Our IQ levels weren’t as bad as they are now today.

We reached back an hour late and it was almost 7pm, pitch dark then.

Without creating any panic we entered the premises normally so that no could guess the fearful yet interesting adventure we went through  and we managed to save our skin.

To be contd…

PHOTOCREDIT:icetrail.blogspot.com

For those who missed :the first part- http://wp.me/p1Zs7k-1sZ

The long pine trees looked elegant and gigantic while I looked around the hilly region of Ranikhet, a place on the foothills of Himalayas, in the Almora district of Uttaranchal!

Nature truly appears to be at its best here, the place known as the queen of hills. It had been a  favorite place of the Britishers during summers, when they ruled India .Fortunately the name of the town didn’t change and it is still know as Ranikhet,sounded sweet and melodious as a beautiful song of the spring!

April 1991 :

This was my first visit to this scenic location which gave the longest view of the Himalayan range.

It was late evening by the time I reached and even in the month of April when the whole of India starts getting scorched by the sun, it was chilling and cold there.

Following day started with a glimpse of the most exhilarating view of the mountain Trishul which stands in the shape of a Trishul, an emblazon weapon carried by Lord Shiva.

The early dawn reflected on the peaks trident and they looked gorgeously golden.

PHOTOCREDIT:www.nainitalyatra.com

Never had I seen such a pictures queue sight!

Later during the day a walk through the Mall road of the town ,I could feel the warmth of the local people which I experienced during the visit to the local market . Every pedestrian had a smile on his face irrespective of being strangers. The girls had pink crimson cheeks which got more red when they smiled.

There was only a single road which had shops on both sides and which ran for around a kilometer. That was all the place had to offer in its commercial aspect.

Small shops of woolens, grocery, daily needs, cosmetics, a few stationary shops and few vegetable vendors. This was all in the local  market besides the handloom outlets which sold the local handmade woolens.

There was a single photostudio, which had the facility of getting clicked, but the developing and printing part was done hundreds of kilometers away down  the hills in  another city in the plains.

Wonder in which world I lived, it felt like an old version of a filmy town situated in hills but the most beautiful I had ever seen.

My heart instantly had fallen in love with this enchanting place amidst the pine and fir trees.

The carved fir cones looked magnificent on the branches and were a piece of delight when fallen and collected by anyone.

PHOTOCREDIT:travel2tourist.wordpress.com

The air I breathed had a pure smell and was fragrant with resins secreted by the fir trees, which was used to make turpentine oil! There were conical shaped tins attached to most of the trees to collect the falling gum from the slits made on the trunk. The scattered fir leaves formed a golden carpet on the slopes which was actually very slippery when I tried walking on it.

To be contd….

PHOTOCREDIT:10steps.sg

Through the gates of the cricket fence,

I walked thousand steps

More or less I dare not count and guess

for the living

I went ahead in the woods unknown ,

in search of some wood to be  burn instead of coal!

…

The orange glow filled the place

with  light of hope and faith

I walked and trotted so as

to reach near the burning fire-lake!

As I stretched my arms

to touch the ball of effulgence

it moved back and I moved forth

a play of childhood began

….meanwhile

I forgot

I was there on an errand…

Smiled he , when I got tired

as I sat under the tree’s shade

slowly it too faded behind

the thousand trees

“which I needed for the fire

Of the evening meal!”

what art thy heart speaks

in silence thou ne’er heard

my  flutterings…

With a fistful of

songs of love

I try to  touch 

thy soul

with words of passion

written in your amor.

I set ablaze the

extinguishing fire

you doth not see it though

perhaps someday you might see

the ignited wick’s glow!

sigh I o’er for your glance

yet you ne’er perceive

the missed beats of thy heart

when I kissed your cheeks!

Upon the dream decor

I sleep and wish

for a momentous begin

when thy heart becomes mine

echoes my name whilst wandering!

PHOTOCREDITpoojycat.wordpress.com