The Rainbow Hue

Come June and the whole world seems to be rainbow hued. It’s like looking at life through rainbow tinted glasses. Everywhere you see, everything has something rainbow in it, has turned to a rainbow. Be it the logos, the make up and people’s dressing sense, everything seems so full of colours, everything seems to take a rainbow hue. And why not, after all it’s Pride month.

So by changing the colours of  DPs, logos, wearing Pride make up, is a way of showing support for the LGBTQ community. But the question that begs to be asked, is that enough? Is wearing the rainbow flag for 30 days of a month, enough support for a community? What happens to the rest of the 11 months, or the 335 days (336 because we are in a leap year)? Is this 30 days of change sufficient enough to show support? Is this tokenism sufficient enough? Let’s face it, this tokenism is not enough, it doesn’t quite say enough, at end of it all there may not be enough of actions, and actions speak louder than words.

So at the end of June, when once again change all the DPs and logos and it all goes back to the normal ways, ask yourself if you have done anything to make the change? Have you changed your outlook or do you go back to the stereotypes that has been engrained in your head? Have you done anything that would bring about a change? What did you do to dispense off the stereotypes or did you just add to it? What did you do the whole month of June, just celebrate and wish everyone a Happy Pride, and preen and pout? What happens when the party is over?

Companies may change their logos to include the rainbow flag but their actions don’t say much. Though do put into action what they say in words. They flood your timelines with good looking models, many posing as couples, that’s nowhere close to representing the community, but only fuels the anxiety of those who are already very body conscious. But their action speaks very little of inclusivity of a community that’s normally marginalised, that has been the butt of every joke, often bullied. So where are those images of real people from the community?

Throughout the month you’ll be flooded with coming out of stories and stories of fight for acceptance. But once the month is gone, these voices die down, and there’s hardly a platform given to these voice. They need to be heard, they need to be accepted, and not just at Pride month, not just for tokenism. They need to be allowed to be who they are, we all need to be who we are.

So it’s time that we learn to be more inclusive, it’s time we be more kinder and sensitive to those around, to ourselves. It’s time we allow ourselves to be who we are, our true selves, and do the same for others. It’s time we support love, not just a day, not just a month, but for all the days of our lives. It’s time we let our actions speak louder than the words coming out of the bigots, to show this is natural, to show that this is normal, to help affect a change, a change in the way we think, behave, perceive a community, and as a community. Cause at the end of the day this love, and as Lin Manuel Miranda said “Love is Love is Love is Love”!

Un-Mask!

“Come in

Why don’t you take a seat

And while you are seated 

Why don’t you take off that mask

No not the one that you wear for the pandemic 

On second thoughts, please take that one off too

But the one you wear for others to see

I know you wear one 

Let it slide off your face 

Let me see the real you 

You may hide from the world your scars

The stains of the tears you’ve cried

The pain, the marks, the wrinkles that have been left by time

But your eyes betray you

For they are seen even you have it on

And they speak volumes without uttering a single word

Why do wear a mask?

Why do you deceive?

Why do you put an outward show?

When inside you are someone different? 

Someone totally torn

Why do you hide behind that mask?

Are you ashamed of who you are?

Are you afraid of people and their judgemental eye?

People will judge 

As long as they have a tongue

And envy in their mind and heart!

Are you afraid they will never accept you

For who you are

But then don’t you live for yourself and not for them

So just be yourself 

Be true to yourself 

This is the least you can do for yourself 

And now please take off that mask

And dey in on fire, and with it burn all the others that you wear

Scatters their ashes in the wind 

Let it take them faraway from you 

The only mask you need

Is the one that protects you from the pandemic 

So destroy them all!”

Said he while looking at himself in the mirror!

Dance with My Father

We have all seen a mother cradling her child in her arms, and we have numerous images of the same. But there are also tender moments that a father shares with his child, though not quite rare, are not usually shown, or rarely seen. A father holding his little one in his arms and dancing with it can be a very tender and precious moment. It’s in these moments that a beautiful bond is created between a father and his child.

Many have been blessed to experience these moments but few are able to recollect the same, cause let’s face it, when was the last time you remembered anything when you were an infant. And then there are some fathers who miss out on these moments, for whatever reasons it may be. After all they are working hard for the money. These moments once gone can never be gotten back again, like a missed opportunity to creat a memory that will never return.

Girls are lucky in this case, they get to experience these moments through out their lives, after all they are their Daddy’s little girl and he’s their favourite dance partner. And not to forget the “Father-Daughter Dance”. As boys we are not quite that lucky to have these moments throughout our lives. Let’s face it we normally shy away, or avoid dancing with our very own mothers, let alone dance with our fathers.

So in the end many of us end up loosing the opportunity of sharing these precious moments, or even reliving these moments, cause we don’t quite have any recollection of the same. And when we no longer have the opportunity, we are left wanting, left wondering, what it would it be like to Dance with my Father again!

A Melody can save a LIFE

He stumbled out of his car

And into the bar

After he had been driving all night

He was grateful to see the bar light

Cause he hadn’t any hope or anywhere to go that night

So he walked to the barman

And asked him for a tonic and gin

And then sat at the bar

Trying to drown the sorrow within

The bar was empty, except for a piano man

Who was tickling the ivories by himself

So he walked towards the piano man  while nursing his tonic and gin

He stared at him for while and then said these words to him

He said sing me a song oh you piano man

Sing me a melody tonight

I am old, cold and no where to go

And maybe your melody will give me a reason to fight

My life’s bubble been burst

But I thirst for love and it hurts

I feel all alone and lonely in my life 

So I  want to put an end to this strife

So sing me melody and help to save a life

Now the piano man looked at him from his perch 

And gave him a warm smile

He nodded his way and continued to play 

A melody that would save his life 

He sang sir if I could be so bold 

But you don’t look so old 

And i see no reasons to give up on life

We have all to face strife

It just all part of life

So take deep breath and don’t regret You’re doing quite nice

Clear your mind of the doubts that’s blocking you

Clear your mind of all negative thoughts

Spend time with your family and friends

Don’t  hold your pain within 

And talk when it’s begins to overwhelm 

So raise your glass 

And toast life till it last

And I’ll sing you a melody for life 

So he raised his glass

Toasted the life he had tasked

And drank his tonic and gin

As the the piano man played him a melody 

He tipped his hat to him

He paid for his drink

And left with a grin

With renewed faith within

As he stepped out of the bar that night

Humming the melody that saved his life!

Make you feel my LOVE

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

Oh, I hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

When you feel the world crumbling around you

And you don’t what you need to do

Just call me I’ll be there for you 

To make you feel my love

You don’t have to bear that pain alone

You don’t have to let it fester within your soul

You can talk to me when you feel lonely and alone

Just to make you feel my love

The storm is raging on the rolling sea

And on the highway of regret

The winds of change are blowing you off your feet

But I’ll hold on to you never let you get wet

You don’t have to travel alone

Or bear the burden of your cross on your own

I’ll be there to comfort and hold you

Just to feel my love

Just to feel my love!

When Words are more Deadlier than the Sword

A man who was visiting a small town in the States, saw a vicious dog attack a young boy. He quickly grabbed the animal and throttled it with his bare hand. A local journalist who happened witness the incident, came and congratulated the man, and told him that the headlines the next day would say “Brave Local Man Saves Child by Killing Vicious Animal”. However the gentleman told the journalist that he was not a local but only visiting a friend in town. So the journalist told him that the headline would then be like this “Patriotic American Saves Child by Killing Dog.” Once again the man corrected him that he was not an American, and was from Pakistan. In that case, said the journalist in a huff, the headlines would be “Pakistani Kills Family Pet!”

A few days back there was a headline stating that a pregnant elephant was killed after it was fed pineapple filled with crackers. The immediate reaction to the headline was that of disgust and disdaine. How could someone do something so heinous to such a gentle creature and it’s unborn child? Had we lost all our senses that made us humane? How cruel  and sadistic could one get?

And slowly and surely social media was flooded with messages and images of the elephant, and how we failed the poor creature and have lost all our humanity in the process. Some of these illustrations were indeed heartbreaking. The who’s who of social media, including the celebrities, politicians and sportspersons, posted pics and condolences and expressed their disgust of the act. Even the veg section of society accused the non veg section of society on the hypocrisy of their support and condolences, since they consumed meat (not quite sure of the logic here).

So you had all this reaction to these headlines and messages that seemed to floating around social media. However, when you peeled away this initial information you realise that there’s more to the story than just the headlines. The elephant wasn’t fed the pineapple but accidentally ate the pineapples that were not meant for it. This was a way (not a legal one though) used by farmers to keep wild boars from destroying their crops. So this was not a case of a heinous prank but a classic case of man v/a wild and man encroaching the animal territory, a constant struggle for survival. The poor animal mistakenly and fatally got caught within this battle.

Words are indeed mightier than the sword. They have the power to motivate, to inspire, to captivate, to move mountains. But at the same time it can be more deadlier than the sword. It can be used to manipulate, misinterpret and mislead and can even be a source of tension. The case in point being the initial headlines resulted in a condemnation of the act and an outpouring of emotions based on words that were factually inaccurate. The incident indeed had taken place but not in the way the words made it to be. And then there was also an added communal angle about where the incident occurred, which once again was factually incorrect. Even the date when it occurred was incorrect.

All this shows that it’s so easy manipulate our emotions with the help of mere words. We are willing to jump to conclusion based on our interpretation of these words, which is more than willing to manipulate and mislead us.

So before we decide to condemn, let’s get our facts straight. Let’s not be mislead by mere words, cause social media and WhatsApp universities are willingly waiting to twist words and manipulate and mislead our emotions, and we like fools fall for it time and time again. So we need to be careful on how we react, cause words can indeed be more deadlier than the sword.

Indian Crabs

I remember this story that we were told as kids (damn now days I seem to be remembering a lot of things that have happened in the past, looks like quarantine has got me reminiscing on the past). The story was that of Indian crabs. For those who haven’t heard of this anecdote (a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person) here it is.

In a popular CRAB market, there was a store which housed all the crabs of the world. There were baskets of each country in the world lying there full of live crabs. The baskets of each country were covered from the top except that of one country "India". The basket full of Indian crabs was uncovered from the top. This perplexed a visitor who asked the owner why only the Indian basket was left open from the top and that of every other country was closed from the top. 

The owner replied: “It’s simple. If we left the baskets of other countries open, all the crabs would climb to the top and walk out. However with the Indian crabs it is never so as every time an Indian crab tries to climb up the container, another crab pulls it down and therefore none of the Indian crabs are able to leave the container!!

Sadly, in the current pandemic scenario this holds true. Rather than working together to find a way to combat the virus, the political parties have been trying to pull each other down, squabbling and complaining like little kids. Rather than bridging the political divide and coming together to work as one they are more hell bent on bringing each other down, trying their best to destabilise each other and add to chaos that’s already there. You can be critical of each other, but for once work with each other for the benefit of the people who elected you and not for your political agendas.

We don’t need clapping, or banging of plates, lightning of diyas, or showering of petals. These are for social media, they are not going to do anything fruitful. And the financial package, sadly, would never reach the ones who need it. We need a leadership, which sadly is mostly missing and mostly appears to either assign some new tasks or extend lockdowns. Celebs and social influencers are either quarantined in their farmhouses, busy posting pics of new tricks they have picked while on lockdown and will only make appearance when it suits them.

We need to stand united if we need to make it out of this situation and come out alive we need to work together, especially our political parties. After all united we stand, divided we fall. Now that’s a thought for another write up!

.. doing the things you LOVE!

“Doing what you’re LOVE is where the Happiness lives!”

This was something that I got to experience this Sunday evening. Even it was just mere 30 minutes, those 30 minutes provided me happiness and contentment that I so longed for,  I so missed. In those 30 minutes I was able to put behind me all my cares, my worries my fears, my doubts, and live in that moment. It brought me calm and joy that just made want to reside in those moments. And though 30 minutes may seem little but it gave me energy that can take me through days.

And although I may have not been certified to take a session, and so I called it a knowledge sharing session, it felt so good, felt so right, felt fulfilling and joyous. It combined the things I loved to do, and what more could I ask for. Seeing all those names pop up got me all excited, made me forget all my nervousness, helped calm me down and just be my joyous self.

I’ll admit I had doubts about my ability to share what I’ve leaned, cause I am no expert, just a student learning to dance. But thanks to the encouragement of my friends Shivam, and Risha and Salome (who also helped me put together the session), and the go ahead of Conrad, I was able to find it in me to do something like that. And not to forget the support, help and tips of my buddy Tanya, who came to my rescue with the stand and Bluetooth speakers. Besides how can I say no when Sangy ma’am asks!

In the end it was all worth it. It was worth dressing up and being ready on a Sunday evening, with now where to go. It was all worth it because I got to spend time with all my running buddies, albeit virtually. So seeing those names made me feel as if they were with me in the room, and that made me relax, that calmed me down, and made me want to give it my best, but most importantly, it allowed me to be me.

So when I hugged my phone in a virtual hug I felt I was not just hugging them, I was hugging myself, telling myself as I told them that we will make it through. And in those moments I found pure joy, cause I managed to do the things I loved the most!