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.

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.

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!!

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?

The Return!

As expected, I was MIA for a while. There is no point in writing as to why - the point is I am back and it feels nice. Its a brand new year and I hope I am inspired to write more often.

The first 9 days of the year have been good. Professionally, work is just catching up - which leaves me with some free time. Personally and at home - the aim is to cook regularly and have healthy food with less of junk. (Note - I said less and not a no).

Began the year with 3 idiots, which was refreshing - minus the controversy that later followed up. Have been trying to get tickets for Avtar 3D without success.

Looking forward to a good year ahead!

P.S - I have been really pissed of by the colour status message on FB. I cannot seriously figure out how this can help in raising Breast Cancer awareness. There ought to be a more dignified way out right!

Motivated!!

I know I have been really irregular with my blog and the reason being pure laziness which is often masked as being busy and overworked. I finally decided to log in and blog after two of my fav people stumbled upon my blog and told me that it was a nice read. Also, I discovered that I have one follower (Ardra) . Yayy!!

This post is for the two of you - A and Y for inspiring me again. I have decided to write about 5 memories that I have with you guys !

A

1. There is nothing like plain hunger which bonds people together and both of us are classic examples of that. None of us knew cooking and we had enough of the food outside (we couldn't afford eating out every day). From the first gas stove & cooker to a saga of burnt as well as half cooked food - we have been there and done that. In spite of all that, we manged to make one of the most delicious aloo curry that I have every eaten!

2. Both of us also went through the most exciting experience with the 'stalker' & yet put on a brave face when the neighbors came. The hilarious part was the owner's son trying to become the superhero of the whole scene.

3. This is not a shared memory - but something I thoroughly enjoyed - Your awesome attempts at hindi and attempts to make a meaningful conversations with the landlady !

4. The train journey to blore & the bus journey back to Hyd. I loved every bit of it, right from MMTS to Secundrabad station to blore to blore bus stand.

5. This one is close to my heart - I am not sure whether you remember it! The two days that I was down with terrible fever - you were there to take care of me - taking me to the doctor & making sure that I ate something, talking to my mom and telling her that things are fine.


Y

1. Again, there is nothing like hunger with unites and both me and A would definitely agree that after you came - we came to know after ages what good food means! There is magic in the way you cook and I have always wondered how everything always tastes good. Thanks for feeding us!

2. The numerous shopping escapades that we have had - each time spending more than we actually planned to ! My fav one is the one to Pantaloons - when you bought the lovely blue sweater :).

3. After hunger it is the shared quote of pain and trauma we went through during the dentist episode - even though it was your teeth which was being operated upon, I passed out due to some weird reason. I remember how you bravely bore all the pain and brought me home !

4. I am sure you would be a terrific home maker - I was stunned with the way you decorated the house and how you transformed it from a complete mess to something so close to perfect !

5. The midnight birthday celebrations which you organized for your friends and invited me - I was always marveled by the way you came up with creative ideas - including decorations and making that perfect handmade card!

The numerous gossip sessions, the chai time talk and the aimless walks have been fun. So here is one for the good times!