Echoes from beyond

I saw him yet again

His whisky breath and swollen eyes

And he still had the bottle in his hand

They said it would make him numb

But for him it was twice the pain

There he sat at the same old place

He even offered her a drink

And she just watched silently

Slurry voice telling tales of failures

Of love lost and loneliness

Yet again, he shouted out loud

Dragging his feet Oh, so close

Keeping his head on the stone

And he apologized one more time

And again, promised to bring her flowers

The rustling leaves and cold stone woke him

And on the stone was written

“In God’s care. Alice”

Goodbye, my friend!!

Of all the goodbyes I ever said this sure is the hardest and the worst is that I have no other way to bid farewell to you. I am not sure if you will like this post of mine like you always used to do but I am putting in the best for you my friend. This is the least I can do for you. So many regrets, so many questions, so many unfulfilled promises and shattered dreams, so much of tears, pain and broken hearts and yet we can’t stop living. I still feel that you will show up with that infectious smile of yours and your voice ever so gentle. Did you wished for a second chance when you realized that it was all coming to a tragic end? I am sure you are in a much happier place now but the void you left in the hearts of your loved ones is truly irreplaceable. Never again will a mother hear the voice that lifts her soul, never again will a father be assured that his son will lend a shoulder to lean on, never again will a sister adore the beauty of life, and never again will a brother feel whole again. Even if the sun has set for you, your love continues to exist in the hearts of those who care for you. It all seems like a dream...so difficult to let it go so easily.

Isn't it  foolish to nurture all the jealousy, hatred and hurt when we are not even sure of our existence the next moment? We never know when a dear one will leave us today. Please take a moment to appreciate life and make someone happier even in the most insignificant manner…..coz you know, every act of kindness counts!! As always, what we really need is a little bit more love.

Stay blessed!!

 Rest in peace my friend......you are precious.

Rest in peace, sister

Source: Google

When it is a crime against women, its shameful that we have so reasons to blame the woman. If its not her dress that provoked the culprit, it certainly is because she ventured out alone and didn’t take enough care to protect her womanhood. May be she became a victim to atrocities because she was too naïve to really recognize the demon wearing the mask of a saint, or may be that her innocence gave way to her chastity, all the more excuse for the moral police to condemn her. The death of Ningombam Satyabhama is one such tragic incident…such an inhumane and gruesome act. It shudders to think what we have become!

They say she was killed by a man, who took advantage of her innocence and she silently became a victim of extortion of all sorts and the price she paid was her life. And to all of you who questioned her chastity, shame on you!! We have no right to judge her when we ourselves have savoured sexuality no matter how discreet or trivial it was. There she lies, her lifeless body bearing witness to brutality and speaking volumes of the pain she endured minutes before her death….how she must have pleaded for her life realizing that every second she is closer to death!! And they disposed of her body as though it was a carcass, half exposed and mutilated that became an eyesore for onlookers, and yet there were children and other minors watching it with so much curiosity. Such a ghastly picture imprinted in the young minds which I am sure will haunt their innocent for many years to come.

Souce: Google

It is just sad that the people of Manipur have no choice then to call for bandhs and strikes and damage public transport when we are faced with such situations thus crippling the already paralyzed system. But then, we have so few choices coz the authority seems to hear the plea of commoners only when the streets are empty and shops are shut. If not the concerned authority, there’s a host of organizations to bring justice to the many whose voices are not heard and to them the people still have hope and faith. We have no choice but to believe in this already failing legal system that justice will be delivered to the deceased and her family. It is just a matter of time. Even if the convict have gone into hiding or fled from Manipur, sooner or later he will have to face the consequences. Or maybe, just may be this is just another case which will quickly disappear just like it stormed in, when people got busy with their own lives!! 

I seriously hope not.

Rest in peace sister.

Happy Wo(MAN)'s day!!

A few days ago, I had many of my friends especially my guy friends wishing me “Happy Women’s Day”…I had nothing else to say except politely thank them. I wish there’s also a Men’s day so that we can appreciate men for all the great works they’ve done for our species. Somehow I feel sorry that amidst all this hue and cry of women empowerment and rights of women and such serious feminist stuffs, somewhere along the way, we have generalized all men to be chauvinists. We have painted them all with the same colour which is really really unfair.

Last week when I was at Delhi, infamously called as the Rape capital, I was all geared up with a pepper spray in hand, flaunting it to the taxi driver as I was travelling alone. He must have read my mind or something coz he had that stupid looking smirk on his face and I ended up feeling stupid. After reaching my destination, he handed my luggage, smiled politely and asked “Madam, aur kuch?? I could not help but smile at his innocence. Am I really becoming so self-possessed and judgmental? Or it may be just that we are just too preoccupied with fending ourselves that we risk losing our courteous manners.

On a positive note, I must admit that life is so much easier being a woman. Quite often there’s always a chivalric gentlemen who offers his seat while I am hustling in a crowded bus, the queue is definitely quicker for women be it in banks, post office or any other public services, I can hold hands with my best friend whenever I want without disapproving stares, it just take a couple of hours to get a hundred likes when I upload a picture, and many times a flirty smile is all it takes to get a work done. And so often many of the guys tease me saying “Why do you need a PhD? There is some nice guy out there earning a PhD for you. You just have to find him”!! As easy as that!! In short, there’s so much to celebrate about being a woman.

As for me, no matter how much tall claims they make, I just cant understand the need to have a separate day to celebrate being a woman. We talk about equality on one hand and again we feel special when we have such separate days for us. We protest for equality and yet we have this unfair reservation policies which segregates us into different categories!! What an irony!! How about empowering our girls to be independent and teaching them how to give and earn respect? Let us teach our girls to say NO at the right time not at the expense of losing her modesty and grace. After all, women are in no competition against men. If equality is what we are striving for, then so be it…..we are only humans and let us stay humane. 

Valentine's Day chants!!

Ah, here it is again, my favourite time of the year…the month of February. I never knew that they have a thing called Valentine’s week until last year with all these days…Chocolate day, Teddy day, Promise day, Hug day and oh…there’s even a Kiss day!! Its Valentine’s day today; no doubt love is in the air. Whatever they say, love will always be the HAPPENING thing. Perhaps this is the reason why inspite of all these bans on celebrating Valentine’s Day and a modest crowd going Anti-Valentine, there is a dearth of people who’s leaving no stone unturned to convey their love.

 I bet it’s the busiest time of the year for florists. I have never really sent flowers to anyone. All thanks to facebook, I learnt that there’s a Ferns and Petals store at Imphal (my hometown) and I was super-excited. I guess I inherited my craze for flowers from my Mom…she makes sure that our home has all these pretty flowers blooming and she sure has green fingers. So, I called the Ferns and Petals number from their website…oh it wasn’t working so I emailed them. They responded within hours and called me back. I ordered a bunch of roses of different colours and before I could tell for whom I was ordering, the guy at the other end of the line interrupted sweetly. He said in his most sincere tone “Mam, I am sorry to tell you this but you see as you know, here in Manipur, our society reacts a little differently when we go to deliver flowers to girls….if you know what I mean…..the fathers and brothers have all these questions…….” I stopped him immediately. “Oh, I am ordering flowers for my Mom, so its okay” I smiled and told him. I could feel him exhale out of relief. He again apologized. I totally understand his situation. I am sure the delivery guy must have had many misadventures when he goes to deliver flowers. I can hardly think of my Dad’s reactions if a cute guy comes with a bunch of flowers for me….he’d surely be cornered…big time!! The florist went on to tell that a few days ago he delivered flowers to a girl, ordered by his boyfriend from Bangalore to surprise her. The girl was beaming so happily when she took the flowers that he could not help but feel happier and contented. And this is what keeps him moving…..to spread love, to make strangers happy, or perhaps just to make someone feel special.

So to all my amazing readers, here’s what it is. Let us not stop loving. Let us not stop hoping and moving on. What really matters is that through all the embarrassments and guilt trips, through all the pain and sleepless nights and broken hearts, you can still hope that love is sure more closer to you than someone who has never loved anybody at all. Just for a moment, let us shed our ego, our pride, our arrogance and be true to our feelings. Let us bring a smile to someone who is less happy than us, someone who need more love than we do. What we all need is a little bit more love.

Perhaps this will make Valentine’s Day even more meaningful.

Happy Valentine’s Day folks!!

Words put together

I don’t know for whom I write. I know there are millions who write better than me and many times my writings are not even worth reading. Its just that all this scribbling has become a way of my life and perhaps I have learnt to tame my heart, my fears and forgive myself through sheer words. Some of my friends told me that they understand me better through my writings and some even claim that I am an emotional freak so easy to please….God, they are right!! It all began when I was a kid, when I got my first diary and its all still there….all my memories of childhood, all these years as I grew up to be the person I am today….everything. Earlier I used to write for myself but now how I wish I can write for a better purpose. I keep striving but I know I have too many flaws and it only makes me feel smaller. May be I am just another girl with just another dream.

 I guess tonight is one of those many nights when I feel awfully worthless and the only way to seek solace is to look at the dark sky and feel the vast emptiness envelop me. 

And for you, my forgiven past, I write.

New beginnings

Five days into the New Year and here’s my first post of the year. So the Mayan fiasco has come to an end and we survived….what a huge relief!! As for me, my new year began in the best note with huge surprises and heart melting gestures, amidst giggling friends fighting the brutal cold…..and I know…I just can feel that this year is gonna be great and to tell you that hopefully this may be the last year that I will be a “student” as I intend to submit my PhD thesis and bid goodbye to student life….this is huge!!

Nonetheless, I can’t help but pay tribute to the 23 year old who was gang raped. My heart reaches out for her. She must be unaware of the events of the day when she stepped off from home on that fateful day…that her world will come to a crashing end by the brutality of some men whom the entire nation condemn...just another girl whose death shook the entire nation but the repercussions are yet to be seen.

I wonder how many rape victims got justice coz it’s just that when finally all the hues and cries of the masses have dwindled down and everyone get busy with their lives, the victim will still be haunted with the ghosts of the past and will be left struggling for a lifetime....It is like a social disease and it’s a shame that the Delhi case seems to have triggered many such incidents all over the country as we find media reports of such horrific incidents everyday adorning the pages of the dailies. What else do we say? We need to change the mentality of the society first instead of playing blame games.

So my New Year wishes is that, let the spirit ignited by “Damini” “Nirbhaya” “Amanat” not go in vain. Let every women get the respect she deserves. May this New Year bring peace to my homeland and to every reader of my blog, may every day be a day worth celebrating.

Wishing you all a year filled with love, hope, peace, happiness and success. :)

Rest in Peace sister.