R.I.P a woman who was not safe in her own country :(

Was just lying on my bed when a thought made way to my mind and I was hell scared to even get out of the bed!

Born and brought up in a family where girls are equally treated as guys.  Where rules set are the same for me and my brother; where my parents introduce me to others with the same pride as they introduce my brother; where I deserve the same respect, love, education, food as my sibling does.  Being born in a family with such liberated mind set, it comes more as a shock then surprise to see people still looking down on the ‘so called weaker gender: Female’.

People are debating; people are protesting trying to bring justice to the recent victim of the gang rape in Delhi. And I lay on my bed contemplating about what happened just a few days back!

On one hand there are these protests happenings, bills getting passed in the parliament of the largest democratic country in the world and on the other hand I know a girl is getting raped in some nook and corner of this country.

If this is what India is, I dread to ever have a daughter.

There is still a section of society that feels a girl is raped or eve teased because she dresses in appropriately.  These losers need to understand that  even a girl in salwaar kameez is raped. Before teaching a girl what she should wear you better teach the guys to exercise self-control. How long will you blame the innocent girls who are getting eve-teased or raped? Is it okay to vandalize their names albeit they being the victims? 

Politicians are trying to pass newer stringent laws. But is this, what India really needs to change? By passing laws we are only targeting the ways to punish the offenders/criminals/culprits. What we actually need to do is make sure we uproot the crime itself!!!

Is Rape, the best a man can do to prove that he is superior to a woman?

Every man has to first start respecting his own mother, girlfriend, wife, and friends.  We need to build up an India where each girl is respected at her home first.  Let us stop telling our sisters, girlfriends, daughters to not wear skirts. Let us not ask them to get back home by 9. 

Let us now tell our guy friends, boyfriends and brothers to respect each girl. It’s time their mind sets change. It’s time a girl is no longer looked down as a sex object. It’s time every girl and every woman be given the freedom and stature she deserves, she wants and she craves for.

As an Indian, I won’t feel proud if India wins the world cup again; I won’t feel proud if we win a dozen medals in the Olympics; I won’t even feel proud if India becomes the best developing nation of the world. 

 I will only be proud of India when I see that every girl lives here without the fear of getting raped without the fear of being a victim of an acid attack and without getting eve teased. Until then I will never be proud of my own country!

Work, Life and a Break - Part4

For Previous Parts: 

Part1: Work , Life and a Break -Part1

Part2: Work, Life and a Break -Part2
Part3: Work, Life and a Break - Part3
 

Pranay went home a bit early that day. He was busy packing stuff for his temporary Delhi transfer. However, his attention was more on Myrah. It all seemed surreal to him. There was something mysterious about the girl, something more mysterious about the events that unfolded just a day back. How he had been trying so hard to find her but just when he lost all hope, everything turned around magically in his favour? He didn’t understand the reason why he was so attracted to her? There was a strange connection.

With such questions darting his mind, he was left perturbed.

Next morning, he boarded the flight to Delhi, with a lot of butterflies in his stomach. A new phase of his life was soon to begin…..

In Delhi, he frequently met Myrah, almost every day. Over a cup of coffee, for a walk around Connaught place, over dinner, lunch, on a movie date.  They were deeply madly in love and were quite open about their relationship.

Almost a year had passed since they were dating.

That day they had gone to watch a chick flick and while coming back Pranay proposed her for marriage.

A tear rolled down Myrah’s cheek. Pranay didn’t quite expect this. Before he could react and understand the whole situation, Myrah said, “Pinch me. It is all too good to be true.”

Pranay kissed on her forehead and said” I Love you. There is nothing and no one on this planet I have loved more than you. What is it My? “

Out of love and affection Pranay sometimes called her 'My'

Wiping the tears she said "Nothing baby I am just too delighted.“

 After a short pause she asked “Do you believe in destiny Pranay?”

“Not that much. I believe Man alone has the power to shape up his future”, replied Pranay.

She smiled and said ” I was just like you until I met you.”

“Ahh so everything changed in the past 1 year?”, questioned Pranay.

“No, everything changed 8 years back”

“What ? 8 years?”

“Ya. Have you ever come to Delhi before?”

“Hmm ya.”

“Do you know Ridhima?”

“Ridhima ???”

“Ridhima Sinha”

“Ya she is my cousin sister. We were very close when we were kids. So what about her? By the way how do you know her? I do not remember mentioning her to you.”

“8 years back. Her dad was posted in Delhi.  I was her neighbor then. We were best friends and our still very close. She used to talk a lot about you.  She was in awe with Pranay Bhaiya. I mean as she addressed you. I had fallen for you there itself “

“Wait a minute… “, interrupted Pranay, “ As far as I remember her best friend was Chinu. Although, I met her just once, she was a kid yaar. Plus, I remember she was not that attractive. She had short hair. Sported thick glasses and was overweight.”

“Pranay, I am the same Chinu.”

“What????  Please do not joke. You do not really look like her. “

“I got laser done. So, no thick glasses anymore.  About being overweight, no one likes to be teased as a fatty.  I worked out sincerely to get back in shape. Lastly the hair, it’s not a big deal to grow them. Pranay,  8 yrs is a long time. Back then, I was in my early teens. And now I am a young woman. Changes are inevitable.”

Pranay was stunned.  He was too shocked to react.

“I loved you then but you never noticed. Whenever you came down to stay with Ridhima, I used to find ways to see you, observe you.  I was madly in love with you. But I guess you never noticed me. I was just a 16yr old ugly looking girl and you, a 21 yr old young, smart looking guy, probably dating some hot chick."

Myrah continued, "Shortly, Ridhima’s dad got a transfer to Mumbai. There was no chance of getting in touch with you leave aside a relationship."

After a pause she continued, "I dated a few guys after that but none of my relationships went well. I realized I already had a bench mark set. It was you. No guy could even reach close to it. I feared of losing my best friend so never discussed this with Ridhima. Hence, my love for you never surfaced. 

However, I was always in touch with Ridhima. I kept getting your updates. I knew you were in Mumbai struggling hard, working hard. "

"A year back, I was in Mumbai for a 2 day conference . I knew you were in Mumbai but didn’t get to the details of knowing where and all. But my deepest desire was to see you at least once.  I could never in my wildest dreams, imagine getting in a relationship with you. It all looked quixotic. The second day was about to end. I wrapped up my work and called for a cab to drop me to the company guest house. With a heavy heart and unfulfilled desire of not seeing you I started walking towards the exit gate"

"Look at the odds of the situation, you popped up out of nowhere. I knew u were my Pranay instantly. I had seen your pictures on Facebook."

"It is all DESTINY, Pranay.

It cannot be ruled out as a coincidence that I came for a conference in a company in Mumbai.

It can’t be a coincidence that the building was just adjacent to your office.

It can’t be a coincidence that you met me again in Delhi.

It can’t be a coincidence that you got a transfer to Delhi."

"It’s all the game of Destiny."

"I have been loving you since 8 years but when I came to term with your absence in my life. You entered my life again and turned things around instantly. This time you started loving me the way I loved you.”

As she finished she saw Pranay almost in tears. He was not able to say anything. He hugged her tight. He wrapped her in his arms, trying to protect her from the world. He felt a strange possessiveness for her. He had a gem, a gem he didn’t want to lose.

"There are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. Sometimes they gust with the fury of  a hurricane, sometimes they barely fan one's cheek. But the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they often do a future that is impossible to ignore." -  Nicholas Sparks

Work, Life and a Break - Part3

For Previous Parts: 

Part1: Work , Life and a Break -Part1

Part2: Work, Life and a Break -Part2

                      
      His shrill didn't go unheard. Mystery Girl turned to check who this Mystery Girl was.  As she turned sun rays fell on the diamond stud on her nose and lit her whole face. She was as beautiful as she was the last time. Her eyes caught Pranay and she was completely baffled. 

Pranay walked towards her briskly. Blocking the entry to the Café, both of them stood there looking at each other uttering no words at all. Suddenly, MG raised her eyebrows and flashed her hand in front of Pranay’s face, bringing him back to the present time. 

Pranay came out of his contemplation and he blasted.

"Now, dare you say that you do not know me! I know you know me and you can’t deny that! You are the same girl. You look exactly like her. So you are definately her!"

"If you are talking about the girl whom you offered lift a few months back. Then yes I am the same girl and I am not denying it either” replied MG with a grin on her face.

"So…..? "

"So what?"

"I mean how come you are here, in Delhi?"

"I live here."

"Ahh!  precisely. I was mad looking for you in the whole of Mumbai and you say you live here."

"You were looking for me??"  

"Yes. I will tell all of that. But before that can we move out of the café. Everyone is staring at me as if I have commited some heinous crime."

"Sure." She replied giggling.

Pranay wasn’t able to control his excitement. When he had almost lost all hopes of finding her, out of nowhere she appeared again. Ebullient he asked her name.

"Myrah"

"Myrah, never heard of such a name! What does it mean?"

"Myrah is a greek name. It means Princess"

"Your name compliments you in the best possible way.  "

"Her cheeks turned red with his flattering comment."

"By the way I do not need to share my name. You already know my name. That day you had called me by my name. How come you know my name?"

"Did I? Not possible"

"Ohh common. That’s a blatant lie. I clearly remember you biding me good bye and addressing me by my name. "

"Actually there is a little secret behind me knowing you and I prefer sharing it a little later."

"Ohh.  Is it? "

"Yes."

And then a moment of silence crawled.

Covering the awkwardness, Pranay asked, ” Sooo can I ask you out for a coffee”

“Coffee? I just had one and I guess even you , Toh?”

“ Yaar if not a coffee, an ice cream, a shake, a burger anything will do. The whole point is I want to know you more.”

She smiled.

He took it as a yes.

He was not that familiar with Delhi so he let Myrah decide where to go.

She took him to a MC Donald's close by.

As they munched the fries and relished the burgers, they started sharing everything about their lives with  each other. To an outsider it wouldn’t have looked they were strangers.

 
Pranay was surprised to know she was almost 5 years younger to him. Her maturity and serenity had touched his heart. 

It didn't quite bother Pranay to ask her how she knew him. He knew it would be some silly thing else he would have surely remembered her. So he didn’t push her in letting the secret out.  

They chatted for hours and it was almost the time for the shop to close down. Pranay dropped Myrah home but not before exchanging numbers. He had an early morning flight back to Mumbai the very next day. He left Delhi with a hope to see her again.

When he reached office the next day, he was in a different world. His manager congratulated him and asked him to handle the project single handedly. He was going to lead a team of 15 resources.

He couldn’t control his excitement and happiness. What more could he ask for?

But he had underestimated his luck-O-meter.  He was going to manage a team of 15 resources but from Delhi. The client was in Delhi and the project would be operated from Delhi. To set up the project, it would be best to shift base to Delhi.

Delhi? Close to Myrah. Kya baat hai! 

He messaged her instantly. Coming to Delhi and this time not just for a day; this time for a long long stay.

Myrah just couldn't stop blushing.

To be continued......the final part

For Previous Parts: 

Part1: Work , Life and a Break -Part1

Part2: Work, Life and a Break -Part2

Work, Life and a Break -Part2

For the previous part: Work , Life and a Break -Part1


     The next morning Pranay woke up with a bad headache. Probably it was the hangover of an uncanny encounter with a mystery girl. He couldn’t possibly think of anything. He forgot about work, meetings, office. All he could think of was that pretty girl. Would he ever see her again? She surely knew him but why was he not able to recognize her? Was she someone from the office or just a random girl?

       When all questions remained unanswered he concluded that it was all his imagination. He must have over worked yesterday. May be the entire episode was a figment of his imagination, may be it was all an illusion!

         He thought it was not a good idea to go to office.  But a hardcore workaholic that he was, he couldn’t really sit at home doing nothing. He decided to work from home instead.  He was not really able to concentrate on work. The more hard he tried to focus, the more his mind wandered elsewhere. It was re accounting the yesterday’s episode verbatim.

         He was one of those who did not believe in ‘Love at first sight’. But as they say you can control everything in this world but not your heart. He had fallen for a girl within seconds of seeing her. He felt a strange connection with her. This was something he couldn’t understand but he knew ‘Kuch toh baat jarur thi !’

         The sudden cell phone buzz brought him out of reverie. He checked the time on the antique wall clock hanging opposite the sofa. It was 4pm. He had a strong feeling, she was not his imagination. He decided to go back to work to find something about her. On reaching office he called up a few acquaintances and enquired if they knew about the girl. But the description didn’t quite resemble to anyone they had known.  Whatever it may be he was not giving up so easily. After so many years, he had liked someone and it was special. 

       For a few more days his search for the MG(mystery girl) continued. With no success at all, Pranay gave it up for good.  Even though he got busy in his mundane life, the MG never skipped out of his mind. 

        Around 3 months later, Pranay left for an important client meeting to Delhi. He had been preparing very hard for it. Impressing the clients would mean bagging a meaty project for the company. This would in turn raise the sales by 20%.  As expected, his hard work did pay off well! The clients were convinced of the proposal forwarded by him. Pranay was definitely enjoying the best phase of his life.

       While heading back to his hotel room, he felt a strong urge to have a coffee. With a lot of time in hand, he thought it was not a bad idea to enjoy a cup of his favourite coffee in his favourite coffee shop. He quickly googled the coffee shop closest and directed the cab driver with the route.

         At the coffee shop, he placed his order and turned to grab the seat close by. Coffee was the only thing he was addicted to. The smell of the beans had a hypnotic effect on him. Amidst the hypnotises that he was enjoying, his eyes caught a similar face in the room.  For once he did not believe what he had seen. A battle began between his eyes and mind. But when the person turned around, the doubt was clear. It was definitely her.  It was the Mystery Girl.  What was she doing here in Delhi? Did she notice him? Will she recognize him if he called her? Where did she disappear after that day? 

         Fearing to lose her again, he broke through his thoughts and came back to the present time. She was walking towards the exit gate and was just about to open the door, when......  Pranay exclaimed, "Mystery Girl waiiiiiiiiit!”

 Everyone in the coffee shop stared at him in unison.

to be continued...

For previous part: Work , Life and a Break -Part1