Punishment or Realization.

जैसी करनी, वैसी भरनी।
ना माने तो करके देख ।।
जन्नत भी है, और दोज़ख़ भी,

ना माने तो मर के देख ।।

-Unknown

    This morning, while having my breakfast I had a thought. The thought was ‘If one makes a mistake, what is important? Is it punishment for the mistake or the realization that one has made the mistake?’ In this case, I am not talking about errors or small mistakes that one makes in daily life, and immediately after noticing knows that one has made a mistake. However, noticing a mistake is the first step towards realization/ compunction. The first step because noticing may not necessarily lead to realization or remorse; it may also lead to denial or in some cases complete ignorance after noticing.             

          ‘What is the point of punishment if one never acknowledges/ realizes that it is for what he had done in the past?’ In this case, the culprit has to be in almost similar or same situation in which he had done the mistake (in search of a better word as the word ‘crime’ seems too serious and ‘error’ seems too ignorable). Unless he/ she is in the same / similar situation it is difficult to relate.  Assuming the culprit is not completely dumb. ‘But there is no guarantee that the culprit would be able to understand fully the pain/ damage that he/ she had caused.’  Further, I also strongly feel that the culprit should have the knowledge of the crime he/ she is being punished for. He/ she should not be under the delusion that the punishment is some unjust behavior that the world has decided to grant him/ her.   

          On the other hand, ‘what is the use of punishment if one has already realized their mistake?’ There is no use in beating around the bush. If the person has realized that he/ she should not have committed the unwanted deed then there is no use establishing the point repeatedly. Some things depend upon the victim. Is their motto to make the culprit realize the mistake under any circumstances? Even if that means putting, the later under the same unpleasant situation multiple times until they completely understand what crime they had done in the past.

          It is a debatable topic. Many considerations should be accounted before deciding the punishment. Like the motive behind the action (in legal language which is the mens rea.) The situation for the action.

If I think of the idea now, the whole judicial system is based upon this debate. The debate that came to me as a thought for my breakfast. It is funny how I never thought of it before today. I completed my breakfast by the end of my mental discussion.

GOD'S SLIP

Many many years ago,
Maybe about a century or so,
When God was making humans,
Like he always did,
He created me in one of those bulks,
Similar to those in my group,
Then he started sending them to Mother Earth,
And there the mistake happened,
He forgot to send me down,
With the others,
Maybe I had slipped in a dark corner,
Out of his sight...

I lied there for years to come,
And finally one day,
He noticed me by slip of luck,
And took me to be a member,
Of the latest bulk,
And thus sent me without any required modifications...

Thus I landed up,
As a MISFIT with my contemporaries,
Unable to adjust poor me!!!
With all the characters of the older group,
But a task to live,
With the latest one...

I am sure,
If this slip wouldn't have happened,
I would have adjusted,
In a better way,
I wish I was able to live with the ones,
I was MADE to stay ...

But alas!!!
This is not the case,
It is as if I am watching another world,
A different one from what others see,
Unable to understand "it" and "them",
As much as they are unable to understand me....

So here I am,
An absolute MISFIT,
Just because of God's Slip...

JUST WONDERING...

Someday when deleting texts, I just realized
We could have been great together
'Cause I hardly delete texts
and you had the longest chat history

During a lone-silent ride, I just realized
We could have been great together
'Cause I seem to like your voice
And you have
endless stories to tell

While watching a rom-com, I just realized
We could have been great together
'Cause  I am an amazing kisser
And you had the most attractive lips known to me

On a gloomy day, I just realized
We could have been great together
'Cause I am a cheerful soul
Yet you seem to be the-high-point of my day

On a winter night, I just realized
We could have great together
'Cause I always have chilly feet
And you seemed like a wonderful toe warmer

Meanwhile living, I just realized
We could have been great together
'Cause I am a born romantic
And you seemed like a perfect story...

HOLD ON...

When the skies are dark,
When the silence is sharp,
When no breeze seems to blow,
When everything appears low,
When the air is thick,
So much every breath makes you sick,
When every step hurts,
Adding to your discomforts,
When sanity has evaded you,
And even little charms seem too good to be true,
HOLD ON to your patience,

'Cause the best rains are about to happen...

FRANGIPANI FLOWERS

O yes!!!

If someday, somebody asks me

About my favorite flowers

They would be

FRANGIPANI FLOWERS

As a child in a park,

“Do not touch”

“Do not pluck”

I remember was the caution

Near delicate darlings

Where they stood

Proud and generous

High on its tree

And smiling if on earth

And yes of course

For me, they are peace and hope

By their tinge of ‘yellow’ within ‘white’

For where there is ‘peace’

There is ‘hope’

And finally giving way

To newer ones they fall

They clip off from their tree

Without dying priorly

Descending in their glory

They lie there on ground

Exhaling beauty all around

Without breaking into petals

Giving up to speckles, freckles

They wither

Blooming in summer

Always many in number

‘Cause yes they are generous

And white

And peaceful

And beautiful

...

LET'S CELEBRATE SARCASM

DUSHEHRA- A Hindu festival which marks the victory of good over evil, a day when Goddess Durga defeated Mahishasura and Lord Rama defeated Ravana. "Dash hara" is a sanskrit word which means removal of ten bad qualities within you. The ten of them being- ego, cruelity, injustice, lust, anger, greed, over pride, jealousy, attachment & selfishness. So celebrating Dushehra means analysing your evils and removing them keeping in mind the lessons of the past (well theoretically it means so!!!). Dushehra also happens to mark a holiday in most parts of India.

Today it is Dusherhra. In the morning when I checked my  accounts in social websites, I found them overflowing with Vijayadashmi wishes. Lengthy messages which people usually forward without reading, seemed strange to me. It made me wonder how we can criticise someone like  Ravana when the imperfections and sin within each one of us has increased manifold of what he had.

Ravana was a mage having some qualities which even Rama lacked. He was someone whose greatness in knowledge, glory, force & devotion were unmatchable. Even after holding hostage the wife of his enemy he treated her with utmost respect. If we think logically he was someone who died for his sister's pride. He is still worshipped in parts of India, Sri Lanka & Indoneshia. He is considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva.

Later when I went to market I could see numerous effigies of Ravana being made which will be burnt in the evening. Those effigies are usually made of fodder with snaps at places within. I realised that how in the evening they will  burn & the smoke will make the sky almost invisible. What a way to celebrate end of evil !!!

I noticed how some people had arranged loudspeakers for music while they worked on the figure. Those loudspeakers played typical Bollywood songs and only some of them played devotional songs. The irony wasn't lost on me when I heard songs like "Munni badnam hui" and "jumma chumma dede" being played.

That is what we have come to, in some way- we burn the effigy of evil but fail to realize that the evil within us continues becoming stronger and if we compare ourselves with the one who is being burnt we will know how ahead we are of it in terms of evil.
HAPPY DUSHEHRA 

DURGA-ASHTAMI

"Arey kuch toh dhyaan rakho, mandir mein kaise chali aa rhi ho!!", suddenly a man helping the pujari shouted at the woman standing before me in the queue-for-turn-to-pray. The lady flushed red, took her daughter, moved out of the queue and left the temple. She looked very embarrassed. The man who had shouted looked very angry. He looked as if he would have humiliated her much more if she would have stayed any longer. When she was leaving I saw 'the crime' which earned her this behaviour- her daughter , who seemed hardly 5-6 year old, had forgotten to open her shoes outside the temple.

Today is 'Durga-ashtami'- the day when Hindus worship Goddess Durga. On this day it is a custom to wash feet of nine girls as a mark of respect for the Goddess and then offer new clothes as gifts by the devotee. She is made to sit on special pedestal. She is worshipped by offering rice grains and burning incense sticks. She is worshipped because according to the philosophy of 'Striya Samastasva Devi Bhedah', women symbolize Mahamaya (The Goddess Durga). Even among these a girl child is considered the purest, because of her innocence.

Today morning when I was in the queue I had witnessed this scene. I was completely perplexed to see this man disrespect a woman with a girl, when he had been specially worshipping a Goddess, symbol of womanhood, from past eight to nine days let alone the fact that he worked in the same temple. He also must have done rituals to respect women that very morning.

I can also remember my mother's routine on Durga-ashtami. She used to fast for eight days in a row, this day being the last of them, having food only once a day. She used to get up in early dawn on this day. She used to clean the house and then prepare a feast for the nine girls. After the girls left she used to go to the temple, taking me and my brother along with her. She used to work from dawn to dusk without a sigh of relief.  Even today she would have done the same thing back home. The lady in the queue reminded me of her.

I am not a feminist, neither am I an orator who could give nice speeches on how-to-improve-position-of-women-in-society. I just have an idea that if in the slightest form you respect women or claim to love one, then show some kindness towards each lady or girl you happen to meet. Be it you mother, your sister, your wife, your daughter, your friend or any random woman you meet- RESPECT HER. Women have been object for gratitude since ages. THEY ARE THE REASON FOR THE WORLD TO EXIST.

HAPPY DURGA-ASHTAMI.