Let the 'BLANK NOISE' be heard !

Recently i chanced upon a blog in the blogosphere which is about one of the most important issues prevalent in our society..'Eve-teasing'. The blog is called 'Blank Noise' .

Let me introduce myself first.. I am presently living in kolkata..i have my residence in faridabad..and have my roots in kerala.. (now that is what i call diversity).. The reason behind mentioning it is to let you know that i have been to some places in north, east and south and witnessed some eve-teasing incidents.. And i am not ashamed to admit that the worst kind of eve-teasing incidents occur in kerala.. and the frequency of such incidents are also comparitively high there. Well.. I am not a statistician to claim anything.. neither do i have numbers to prove it. But my experiences.. a few witnessed by myself( when i was too young to react) and many heard-of incidents instilled this belief in me.. Whether its true or not is not the point of discussion here. What i am concerned about is what breeds this social menace.. Is it the culture? or as some believe the unintentional provocation by the victims .. I will cast my vote for the former.
To make things clear, i am not talking about molestation or crimes of higher degree. In those cases, there are a lot of factors governing them. But in the case of eve-teasing, culture is to be held responsible to an extent. Its ironical that a culture that is supposed to uphold moral values and ethics in all contexts is the prime cause. Going by the cases that come in the media, one might feel these cases are more in metros. I seriously doubt that. It is just that it gets exposed in the media easily when it happens in a metro city.

I have been to kerala many a times.I noticed that women in kerala generally don't share seats witn men in a public transport unless they know each other. Infact I have had a few stares too when i sat on a vacant seat next to a lady whom i did'nt know. The culture there divides men from women. When it comes to socialising.. women tend to make their own groups and men mix among themselves. It seems as if it is socially awkward to form a heterogenous mix. But the fact of the matter is, the farther you try to seperate the sexes, the more they tend to crave for each other.. Women somehow bind themselves to an over-hyped morality, while men give in to their libido :) and often act stupid by indulging in eve-teasing.This is not the case in a metro city ...say Delhi, where people are more broad-minded and their psyche differs a lot from the former. Now whether the example i cited, that of women not sharing a seat with men in a public transport, is a cause or an effect of eve-teasing remains as perplexing as the chicken-egg problem.

The problem is, in some families the females tend to ignore it or rather try not to create a scene when faced with similar kind of situations. As men what we can do is REACT. Imagine it can well be your sister, mother or wife.. and infact at some point of their life they might have even experienced it. Talk to them and make them realize never to ignore such a menace.

The second arguement, that of provocative attire is not invalid. It certainly plays its part, especially in the metro cities. But then you can't expect them to wear burkhas just because of this reason. There is only a thin line between vulgarity and decency, and the line is not the same for everyone. Moreover, who says that the burkha-clad women are spared? If you thought so, you were so wrong. Blank Noise is a project against this evil.Even you can support the cause in your own way.

Btw, sometimes even women are at fault in judging eve-teasing. I have been a partial victim of their impaired judgement. Imagine yourself in a government office where you are a part of a long queue and you somehow want to get your work done. Impatience tends to set in and you unknowingly push the person in front of you, not realizing that the person is a 'she'.. Inevitably you end up getting a stare and few murmurs as well. The 'you' i mentioned was me on more than one occassions. Thankfully to this date i have not been branded as an eve-teaser.

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Fact & fiction

Aaah..Its been a long time.. Feels like a decade or so since i have posted something..Caught in between a monotonous work schedule and career dilemmas, i had subdued the writer inside me.. If i can call myself that.. Most of the time, I am just blabbering about something or the other that does'nt concern most of you.. Well.. the other day i got a mail from one of my friends.. and as usual i decided to do something out of it..( my boss was'nt around).. I enjoy toying with somebody's work...

Some interesting facts (and my interpretations)

1. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

Only if the real reason is the onion and not the work of peeling :)

2. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.

Oh my god.. my teeth are white. Is it bacteria doc?

3. The Mercedes-Benz motto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” meaning “the best or nothing”.

Reminds me of the jockey tagline 'the next best thing to naked'

4. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.

Alas! It did'nt help...

5. The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.

The reason you should be in the company of beautiful girls.

6. The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.

Don't lose sleep.. Better start smoking again.

7. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

You try laughing 300 times a day. I gaurantee you being branded as a jerk.. and you may even end up getting fired.

8. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

The ones who believed it was the ocean inside the seashell had all their blood surging in their ears.. NONE IN THEIR BRAINS.

9. Dalmatians are born without spots.

So are we...

10. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

That really was an interesting one :)

11. The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids.

PJ:ALERT Owl raat ko jaagta hai.. jab aankhein bhaari ho jae jaagte jaagte to neeche hi aati hain (Effect of Gravity)..

12. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.

The reason i dont like honey is the same

13. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.

Then why do we get monday morninig blues?. Mondays are never clam.

14. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.

I have sneezed enough to post these kind of stuff.

15. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

I wonder who proved this theory! You can't see it on ur own cos u never know when u r about to blush. And wont it be rude to look under his/her shirt whenever somebody blushes :-!

16. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.

And what when they blush..? :)

17. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.

Ever played the game of 'fuzzy duck' and 'ducky fuzz'.. the words being repeated amongst a group (alternatively when somebody says 'does he'). Scope of getting a lot many spoonerisms.. try it?

18. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.

Only... 7 million dollars went down the drain and the 200 doubled up.

19. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Gosh! Could'nt they afford an elevator?

20. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

Guess the egyptians knew this very early. They kept nail-cutter and a pair of scissors inside the mummy case.

21. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

Nobody ever bothered to know what that was called.. Finally we know it...

22. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.

Thank god 199.6 million do know about protection.

23. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it is smiling).

When i was a child what i deduced from all the watch ads i saw (at different times) was that watch companies dont provide batteries along with it. That is why they stay at 10:10 all the time

24. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

So remember 'Dyeing your hair will make u dumb'.

25. The average person laughs 13 times a day.

Switch back to fact# 9.. Which one should i believe? Adults laugh 15- 100 and children 300 times a day... so still the average comes out to be more than 15 anyways..

26. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are:Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)

I thought they must be having indian names... All the time i was under the impression that they were gandhiji's 3 bandar... Or Are these south african names

Regards,
Rakesh

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Conscience on sale

This night was different from the rest for the otherwise busy streets of Mumbai..Tranquil as never before..The chattering of leaves..crisp and wrinkled..broke the silence -- But not too often.

A gush of wind would have had those leaves torn..if not for their resilience. Something which reflected the true spirit of the city- the city of countless dreams -- Young and Restless --Trampled by sore realities..

The inmates of the brothel down the streets of Andheri had learned their lessons a hard way. Crying out in unison to an apathetic mass of onlookers..they discovered cynicism was what they got in return. It was’nt helping them. So they learned to laugh..
Not for themselves.. but for others..
Not on others... but on themselves..

Weary eyes concealed in the glitter of mascara were in search of prospective customers. Everybody was welcome there. Caste, religion, age or language..nothing mattered -- Nothing except money. The smell of currency.

Middlemen were so common in Mumbai. This business was no different. Like leeches sucking on others blood the pimps made their living. They knew how to bargain and how to make sure they never run out of fresh skin to dig their teeth into. After all.. the women must have felt better not doing it themselves.

Tonight..it had been hectic for her. Men were pouring in one after the other as if she was the last of the eves. For one last time -- for the day but obvious -- she draped the saree around her body -- only to pick it up from the ground later. Tied those loose hair -- Only to find them tangled in a while..“Just my life”, she sighed.

She heard someone entering the room, closing the door behind him partially..As if he was unsure. A few tentative steps towards her..She could tell that he was a first timer. She felt somewhat relieved. "They were not demanding", she thought.

The man was now moving away from the darkness that surrounded the corridors -- into the light. His face was now clearly visible to her..“As if that mattered”, she would often say to herself.
She could see him breathing heavily..Sweating like a pig even in this frigging cold.

But wait........................
That was not the only reason she looked perplexed. That face..It looked familiar.

She remembered faces..unusual for a person like her . But it was as if she was compelled to..For someone who was still in search for the one who was responsible for her pathetic present..it was not unusual.
A scornful smile was haunting her since that day..the day which was in repetition now.. She just had a glimpse of that bastard..a glimpse that she did not know would last her lifetime.

No..it was not him..she reiterated. She had seen this man somewhere else -- a place too ordinary to recollect -- under circumstances too bizarre to forget

********************A few years back ***************************

I had not seen sharada bhabhi cry like that till now..She was a very strong woman. She did not shed a tear even when she lost her husband..My brother..In a road accident.
A kind of numbness had plagued her since then...Devoid of any expression for most of the time.On rare occasions when her eyes met mine, all I saw in them was a 'determination to fight back'..not the agony of defeat. Hope over despair.

But today that hope seemed to have taken a diversion..

My brother was a lower class government employee and after his death, my sister -in-law has been running around for the vidhwa-pension ( meant for the wife of a deceased goverment employee). Bureaucracy kicked her from one door to another..Doors which never sympathised..Only loathed her empty hands.

She was not going to give up. She could not do that so easily. What she managed to save working as a laborer ..sure was'nt enough for her daughter's education. A constant source of income from any channel...however small it maybe..would have been a great deal. Quitting was never an option.

I was always mad at her for she never let me share her responsibilities. "Stay back and look after the things at home", She insisted . I was forced to agree upon.

But today ..I asked her to let me accompany her ..just this one time. She said nothing..Just smiled..a smile which meant "You would not make any difference to the ones behind the doors". and she knew what would.

So this time our hands were not empty..but then neither were they full. She had fisted in her palms her entire life..Palms which were too small to buy our way in and to say ..we were too late to drop out.

Cornered, Exhausted ..but still hopeful ..bhabhi went into the office of the person everybody referred to as 'bade sahib'.

A broad chested figure ..fair in complexion..with a crisp white colored shirt and black pants sat on the only chair in the office. He was leaning over the table with a look of concern on his face. If people called him 'bade sahib', there must be a pretty good reason for that.

After a very long conversation, I finally saw what i expected..my bhabhi kneeling down..searching for his feet. The man withdrew his legs immediately..and seemed deeply embarassed by this action.

"If only were they audible", i thought. Though I had tried hard to read their faces ..my attempts.. to get anything more that can confirm her gesture ..failed miserably. Was she thanking him?...or was she begging for mercy?

I sat there in anticipation...which ended where i had started.

********************Back to that night **********************

"I will never forget what she said to me on that day after you shunned her out of your office.Life comes a full circle. Then....we were at your doorstep..Now.. you have come to mine. The only difference is that you will not go away from here discontended..the way we had to.

That is the only difference between you and me. I sell my body for a living..you sell your soul "

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