The Basics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGL6YY6oMs

The interview above with Malala Yousafzai has been making it's round on the internet. It brings about one topic that has been debated on countless time and that is education.

I don't know if this was subconsciously in my head, but this happened to be the theme of today as I watched Aarakshan by Prakash Jha.

Both bring about the same points about education, that it brings about equality and no one should have it taken away from them. Of course it looks at it from different points of view, for Aarakshan, it was education for the lower caste and the reservation system while for Malala, it was education for women.

We come from a society where education empowers people. Education shouldn't have to be for selective people, but for everyone. When people say that someone doesn't deserve education, the answer should be that everyone does. Everyone is a human being. Education should be given freely to empower the future generation. If a women is educated, she is able to study for a degree and help her family by earning money. She doesn't have to sit at home and take care of the house if she doesn't want to. If she does, then great, but she should have the choice.

In the movie Aarakshan, the reservation system was brought into question. Whether people in lower castes should be allocated a certain percentage in colleges. Why should we live in a society in which such conditions exist? Shouldn't we live in a place where everyone starts off in the same platform? Shouldn't we able to provide at least basic education to our children so that everyone has the same chance for life and strive for a better future.

Every country talks about the future generation and how they will bring about a change in the world, but if a large percentage of the doesn't even get basic education for cleanliness, forget proper classes, then what hope do we have?

Free education should be given to everyone. No matter their caste, gender, religion, etc. We are all here to make the world a better place, so let's start from the basics.

S

Happiness comes from within

Happiness comes from within.

That's what I've been told all my life from numerous people, that you should never worry about what people say and be yourself.

This becomes a little bit hard when you are constantly criticized for who you are and when people are always trying to change you.

But one thing I've learned and I speak from experience is that no matter how much people pull you down, you always have to stand tall and smile.

Even when you're having a bad day, put on your best outfit and say you look amazing and it will put that extra bit of confidence in your step.

Surround yourself with people who understand you, support you and make you laugh.

Nothing is better than a good smile.

There will always be hard days. Days where you even question if you should still be here. The only answer to that is "yes". There is someone out there that loves you for who you are. Those little quirky habits that may annoy some people, make other people fall in love with you.

If you learn to love yourself and be happy with who you are, happiness only comes back tenfold.

And always keep smiling, you never know who will fall in love with it.

S

Changing the country

On Wednesday, I went to a talk by Paul Beckett who is the South Asia Bureau Chief at the WSJ. He was talking about the Delhi Rape Case; summarising it and telling us how we can prevent this. It was a highly interesting talk and it brought about certain points which I think are relevant in a society like ours.

The problem is that it is our fault. As a society. When India claims that it is moving forward, yes it is. But our mentality sometimes isn't. How is it that when women have fought so hard for equality, there is rape that happens on a daily basis? How is it that SOME men think that they are superior and basically use their physical strength to make women feel inferior?

It all comes down to basics. We have to create a society where women are more educated. So that they can judge better and not be silent. Women have to be more independent, and that can only happen when every single girl in India gets an education. She has to be taught to be independent, fearless, and told that she is the future of the nation. And boys, they have to learn to treat them with respect. Isn't it your mother who gave birth to you? Isn't she the one that brought you up with so much love? Then why is it that these men think that it is ok to abuse the same sex that have given them unconditional love.

Just think about it. What if she was your sister? What if she was your mother? Your aunt? If you were their relative, wouldn't your blood boil?

So think about it. The change happens with us. If we are able to offer young girls the education that they need to make better life decisions, and we are able to bring up boys to respect them, then wouldn't we live in a better world?

S

The Zombie Apocalypse

Sorry that I haven't posted in ages, I've been on holiday and work has been insane! With two events coming up as well as websites and branding, I think coffee has replaced my blood and my iPhone has become my best friend.

Speaking of my phone, replying to people, e-mails and even watching videos has never been so easy. In an instant you can see grumpy cat memes, watch a TedX video or even respond to your e-mails. With that in mind, when was the last time that you walked down the street and noticed what was going on around you? (I'm only saying this because as I was reading an e-mail I walked too far and had to turn back, looking like a complete idiot)

People are not aware of what goes around them and now it's completely normal. You see people's heads down looking towards their phone with their headphones plugged in. They walk around using their peripheral vision so that they don't bump into each other.

Right now, this woman was on her phone behind me in line at the bank and she was so close to me that I could feel her breath on me. Maybe if she looked up, she would've realised that she was almost using me as a pillow and would've stepped back.

It's just difficult and a little bit scary just to see the top of people's heads instead of their faces. I feel like I'm going to see Cousin It from the Addams Family and it won't faze me because he'll fit right in.

I know you may think this is a rant, but it's just really the fact that I'm scared that we're already zombies, including me! And right now, I'm too young to be a zombie.

S

Words stay in the heart

This past weekend, my parents and I got into a huge fight. Words were exchanged and doors were slammed. This is normal in every family, so why am I bringing it up?

It's because of the aftermath. Have you ever been in a fight where you try and remember what people have said and you just remember the negative things they've said about you?

People say that actions say more than words, but remember that words stay in the heart. Sometimes what you say out of anger can stay in the mind of someone else for long periods of time. Whether it's something as simple as "You're stupid" to "I hate you" to "You've ruined my life", you have to keep in mind the impact that it has on someone else.

I admit it, I've done it. I've said things out of anger that I sometimes wish I could take back, but that's the problem, you can't.

So many young men and women hear the negative things that we say and take it to heart. You can't help it, we're human. They magnify all the negative and live unhappy lives.

So just be careful what you say. They can either make or break someone's day and you'd rather be the cause of someone's smile than their frown.

And one last thing, never forget to tell someone you love them. People tend to forget that they are loved and we need to constantly remind them. Don't wait for the perfect moment, do it now.

S

Be Strong

The other day, I heard a story about someone close to my heart. Let's call her R.

R married her husband S quite a few years ago, when I was a small child. She lived a life, that wasn't ideal but it wasn't bad either. Soon she had a baby girl and they lived well for a bit. During these years, S abused her verbally. Calling her names, saying she was worthless, etc. She left him and went to stay with her family but always went back to him. She had another baby girl and she may have thought that things would change now that they have two kids to take care of. But no. Things didn't change. Instead they got worse. A couple of days ago, he hit her, and threatened to throw acid on her face.

I think she finally had enough. She packed her things and left to go home. I don't know if she'll go back or she's call the cops, but I hope it's the latter.

My mum asked me this the other day after telling me this story. She asked, "I don't know if it's women who are less impatient, but she packed her things and left."

My reply to that was "It's not that women are less impatient ma, it's that in our generation, there is no stigma anymore if a couple is divorced. She doesn't have to worry about what people think, she has children to worry about and that's her first priority. Her husband is stupid to think that he can behave that way with her. She's less afraid, because people will always find out the truth."

Its so sad to hear that some people think that their loved ones are their property rather than anything else.

There's nothing that I can say to help her, except support her in what she does. I hope the number of people who behave like S decrease, and I hope people realise that you are strong enough to walk away. Don't worry about what people say. You are your first priority. If you are safe, then your family will be too.

There are always organisations that you can call for help in your country. Find out their numbers.

Be safe.

S

The Palace of Illusions

I finished reading The Palace of Illusions a couple of days ago and I absolutely loved it! Chitra Banerjee has taken the Mahabharat from an all male centered epic and shown it to us from the eyes of Draupadi.

If you do not know the Mahabharat story, it is the epic story of the Kauravas and the Pandavas (who are cousins) which leads to one of the most well known battles of all time - The Battle at Kurukshetra. When you read the Mahabharat, you read about all the men and their roles towards this battle. You don't hear much about the women. When I read this book, it gave insights to everything Draupadi went through her entire life from childhood, to her marriage of the five Pandavas brothers to the battle.

The way she has written this book makes you really lose yourself into the character. Draupadi is a powerful woman and is really stubborn in the way she thinks which, after reading this book made me realise that maybe I shouldn't be as stubborn as I am.

With this book and looking at it from her side of the story, I want to read the Mahabharat because this book doesn't delve so much into the past, before she was born. There are only bits and pieces of some stories and I want to know more about it.

Like I mentioned above, the one thing that I did learn from this is that sometimes it's not good to be stubborn. If Draupadi had let go of her anger and not been so stubborn, then maybe she wouldn't have influenced her husbands and the battle wouldn't have happened in the first place.

So yes, sometimes letting go of your anger and being less stubborn will help you in the long run. If the consequences of Draupadi's actions won't make you realise it, I don't think anything will.

S