Just saw this adorable movie called Bedtime Stories and it took me back to the fantasy world of fairy tales and bedtime stories.
I am a firm believer in Happy Endings and the concept of 'Happily Ever after'- I know that something happy and nice has to happen in the end. If there is no happiness in the end, then it is not over yet. Even now, I love to read fairy tales and feel the magic. When the protagonist are in the suffering phase, I know that there will be happiness and joy around very soon.
A movie is not over for me unless I see the happy picture in the very last shot - yes, tragedies are not for me. Also, Yes, I did cry when Dumbledore died.
Strangely, I believe this even in the mad and aggressive corporate world that I belong to. The competition is high, the pressure is huge and I am not even sure how long I can survive in what increasingly seems like a rat race to some extend.
So, when the lil girl in the movie says that stories should have happy endings with such an innocence, there was no way that I could change the channel after that. Also, I love Shelley for writing these lines -
'If winter is here, can spring be far behind'.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Capital Punishment?
The Kasab verdict and the debates following it led me to think about an essay that I wrote when I was in school and it was about Capital Punishment. I remember raving about things like death penalty not being a solution, where is the scope for reform and so on and so forth without actually realizing or understanding the context in its true sense. I also remember using some cheesy quotes like "An eye for an eye makes every one blind".
Now, when I turn back, I realize that my views have not changed much and I still concretely and genuinely believe that the state cannot and should not take over the life of any individual - especially in a manner which is irreversible. When we talk about evidences and enough proof to hang a person, are we so sure that there may not be any evidence which comes into light much later after the punishment has been executed.
The Times of India came up with a very strong news headline; "Kasab gets what he gave : Death". They also add that the newspaper is not in favor of death penalty but it is important that terrorists get death penalty so that we can avoid future instances of Kandahar - where deadly terrorists had to be released. Also, terror being unlike other crimes. A very genuine argument, I must admit. We all know for sure that Kasab was a part of the terror plan, but we also know how the young men end up as terrorists.
I saw the scroll on TV which said that Kasab did not show any signs of remorse. Of course, why should he? One, he knows that he will receive nothing less than death - so why remorse . Two, He was not supposed to end in this situation - he has been prepared for death when he set his foot on Mumbai - so its not something new to him.
I am still not very clear about the discussion related to terror and punishment , so I do not want to say something with my limited scope of vision currently - I will keep that for sometime when I think I can be eloquent about it.
The Constitution gives us a 'Right to Live'. Suicide is a crime - so we do not have the right to take our own life. So, is it right for the state to take control over someones life especially in the scenario where we have seen how flawed and painful the investigation system is!
When I was about to land in Singapore, the flight attendants made an announcement that anyone carrying more than 0.5g of drugs are subjected to mandatory death sentence. The very thought was scary because it is so easy to be framed for drug traffic - what if a smart bloke slips it into your bag? The punishment is irreversible and I heard that over 400 people were executed in 10 years for drug trafficking, which is a very scary number. The argument here could be that very soon the country became totally drug free and there was huge drop in the number of crimes in the country. Yes, the fear of punishment does work in enforcing the law. Even then, I really doubt whether all the 400 executed were genuine cases - even if one was innocent and was framed, the state has taken away the 'Right to Life' of one of its citizens. When we look at it statistically, it is a very small number. However, for that 1 person and the family, the trauma and the loss of life would have been so intense.
Now, when I turn back, I realize that my views have not changed much and I still concretely and genuinely believe that the state cannot and should not take over the life of any individual - especially in a manner which is irreversible. When we talk about evidences and enough proof to hang a person, are we so sure that there may not be any evidence which comes into light much later after the punishment has been executed.
The Times of India came up with a very strong news headline; "Kasab gets what he gave : Death". They also add that the newspaper is not in favor of death penalty but it is important that terrorists get death penalty so that we can avoid future instances of Kandahar - where deadly terrorists had to be released. Also, terror being unlike other crimes. A very genuine argument, I must admit. We all know for sure that Kasab was a part of the terror plan, but we also know how the young men end up as terrorists.
I saw the scroll on TV which said that Kasab did not show any signs of remorse. Of course, why should he? One, he knows that he will receive nothing less than death - so why remorse . Two, He was not supposed to end in this situation - he has been prepared for death when he set his foot on Mumbai - so its not something new to him.
I am still not very clear about the discussion related to terror and punishment , so I do not want to say something with my limited scope of vision currently - I will keep that for sometime when I think I can be eloquent about it.
The Constitution gives us a 'Right to Live'. Suicide is a crime - so we do not have the right to take our own life. So, is it right for the state to take control over someones life especially in the scenario where we have seen how flawed and painful the investigation system is!
When I was about to land in Singapore, the flight attendants made an announcement that anyone carrying more than 0.5g of drugs are subjected to mandatory death sentence. The very thought was scary because it is so easy to be framed for drug traffic - what if a smart bloke slips it into your bag? The punishment is irreversible and I heard that over 400 people were executed in 10 years for drug trafficking, which is a very scary number. The argument here could be that very soon the country became totally drug free and there was huge drop in the number of crimes in the country. Yes, the fear of punishment does work in enforcing the law. Even then, I really doubt whether all the 400 executed were genuine cases - even if one was innocent and was framed, the state has taken away the 'Right to Life' of one of its citizens. When we look at it statistically, it is a very small number. However, for that 1 person and the family, the trauma and the loss of life would have been so intense.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Of things Red and Bright!
Red was a color which I was never too fond of throughout my life. I always preferred the sky blues and the baby pinks and all the pastels. Also, while I was growing up, there was this notion of red - aggressiveness, the color of blood and a whole range of not-so-positive connotations.
Therefore, it was a very obvious choice that I made, I will not wear a red Saree for my wedding and I therefore chose the white and gold Kerala Kasavu Saree. If I were to change 1 thing about my wedding day, it would be the color of the Saree - but I am digressing here.
Throughout my growing-up phase and college life(where we got the freedom to wear color-dresses everyday), I do not remember any red color dresses that I owned. Even if there was one, it would be adequately balanced out with shades of white or something like that. I remember an instance where I came out of the gift shop with an unwrapped gift simply because the guy had only a red gift wrap paper.
Therefore, it was a very obvious choice that I made, I will not wear a red Saree for my wedding and I therefore chose the white and gold Kerala Kasavu Saree. If I were to change 1 thing about my wedding day, it would be the color of the Saree - but I am digressing here.
Coming back to Red, the first big joint possession that we got after the wedding was the car - and guess what it is bright RED in color. S mentions that he asked me for a choice of colors while I was asleep and I blabbered RED and that is how we got a red car. ( I am still not convinced about this bit. Needless to say, RED started making a presence in my life after that. Here is to all things RED and Bright!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Just Like That!
Its been ages since I blogged. I was honestly ashamed to read through my last post which was called "The Return". Well... it was the return that never happened. Hopefully, this one is the actual return, even though I am very skeptical to trust myself and the bouts of laziness as well as blankness that I go through often!
After ages, I felt the knot which I had within me for quite a while now release and go away. I'll write about the reason for the knot as well as why it was released in a separate post - but the feeling is immense. Let us just say that this was something that I was worried about for a long time and finally I do not have to worry about it. The feeling is so good that I have been beaming at everyone. I just don't want to say anything much - did I just not say that I don't trust myself?
After ages, I felt the knot which I had within me for quite a while now release and go away. I'll write about the reason for the knot as well as why it was released in a separate post - but the feeling is immense. Let us just say that this was something that I was worried about for a long time and finally I do not have to worry about it. The feeling is so good that I have been beaming at everyone. I just don't want to say anything much - did I just not say that I don't trust myself?
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