It’s not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle

It is an experience I cherish almost everyday, I get those shrugging shoulders, them queering pair of eyes, that disgruntled look, those quick steps hurrying back to the pavement, the sudden change in pace of pedestrians crossing the street and the look of despair from the traffic guard on duty at the corner.

The questions I am commonly asked mostly with looks of genuine concern and sometimes sheer irritation often go this way; there’s the most frequent one “Why so fast?” rather “eto tada ki bhai?”; then there is my favorite “what’s that extra noise from your bike?”; and not to forget, the question which makes me feel so Herculean “ aren't you afraid?”  .

Some hate me for it, some love me for it and some just don’t care, some call it a passing phase whereas a limited few can relate to the feeling.

It is not about how fast you can ride or how well you can swerve, it is never about the heads you turn and definitely not about the stunts you perform; it is about the adrenaline, about the figment when time freezes just for you, about trusting your instincts and finding yourself, it is about the eternal bliss because I believe that among all the looks, shrugs and questions I get from everybody somewhere deep down I successfully create a small emotion of awe for me and my bike as I ride down.

It is not a hobby or a means of navigation, it is not an infatuation, it’s a lifestyle.

The Idiot Box

The apple falling on a young Sir Isaac Newton’s head in the late 1600s and Billy, an ADHD stricken 13 year old American boy on the verge of obesity, switching on his television set while munching on potato chips in the mid 1900s can easily be considered the two most prominent and ground breaking incidents in the history of mankind.

Much like any other innovation of man, the television too along with the gift of technology brings with it its own share of evil.

From a far fetched idea to a commodity just for the elite to becoming a basic need synonymous to food and water, from the world war to globalization to recession to the World Wide Web, the television has witnessed and withstood it all.

From the most powerful CEO of the wealthiest company to its lowest level employee if there is one thing common after they both go home is the activity of switching on the television set and relishing the same set of channels, such is the power of television.

The father of media and advertisement, the advent of television till date keeps defining and redefining the concept of accessibility and viewer ship through its far reaching and lustrous form of entertainment, of which the whole world has fallen prey today, Mr. Jenkins and Farnsworth, can proudly say.

It is often quite truly said that the moment we switch on our television sets, we shut down our brains. The television simply redefined the concept that “seeing is believing”, it brought about a revolution and almost all sponsors started fighting for a space inside the formerly grotesque box in the corner of the room, which has today evolved into a window to the world.

From death defying stunts to moral shaking reality TV shows, from informative news to rich documentaries and the latest media sensations, the television ignited the spark which gun fired the beginning of a mad rat race with the ultimate objective of featuring on the idiot box for one and all.

The Biggest Enemy

THE BIGGEST ENEMY OF MANKIND

It is often debated what or who the biggest enemy of mankind is. Some say it’s the global warming, some push it on terrorism and a few wise ones blame the economy, national policies and the impending world war.

Some say it is the corrupt politicians and some blame it on cancer and hunger.

Like this the list just goes on and on and the blame game just gets deeper and darker as we race to our own nadir.

They say know your enemy well to win the war so the real question here is do we know our enemy? Are we appropriately aware of what exactly the impending threat is that haunts us?

Do we not come to a general consensus when we sum up all the above mentioned threats? Do we not face the stark beacon as we move towards the end of the tunnel? Or are we too scared to admit that the biggest enemy, the deadliest threat, the ultimate nuclear missile to mankind; is man himself.

Yes, it’s true, today we don’t have to climb perilous mountains to face our enemies, we no longer need to gather our troops and spur our horses to war because we ourselves have become our very own personal brand of enemies to us. Today, the enemy leeches within us in the form of our cold conscience aided by our stooping morals and an absolute fearlessness from a supreme power as we race on a track made by the devil, the finishing line of which holds the imminent doom of mankind.

How do we define ourselves today?

Man; The creator of the nuclear missile? Or can we say the Nazi of the concrete jungle? Maybe we can appoint him the reckless polluter causing global warming? Or my personal favorite, the ones who promote war in the name of peace.

We need to curb this epidemic disease starting right from our own homes.

From respecting the old and the women to having a clear conscience, from promoting moral richness over materialistic wealth, from making love talk instead of money, we humans have a very long way to go if we are to break free from the shackles of the devil which resides within us.

Though tedious and troublesome at the first glance, all that the path to moral goodness requires is an inherent will to take the first step. Such is the beauty of ethical uprightness that her doors are always open for us, all that she asks for is the first gesture to step in.

Despicable Me

                                                       

Despicable Me

Kolkata represents a city full of life and a kingdom of dreams where culture and art are not hard to find.It was home to several Nobel Laureates who need no introduction.
But the question which eats me from the inside is that is our city really a place where the mind is without fear and the head is held high?
Being a guy in his early 20 's  and possessing a 2 wheeler in the city of Kolkata is no longer  symbolic to freedom and independence .
Coming from one of the humblest and having received the strictest  upbringing all that seems to be null and void as i unfold the papers everyday to increasing volumes of degraded acts of the biker gangs all around the city because sadly even i fit into the category of young bikers around the city.
The police give me irritated looks.
The humble ones step back in fear.
And the aware ones stare in disgust as i ride down most roads in the city limits on my bike.
But the real question here is
'Do i deserve to be treated this way?'
'Does my city really need to be disgraced in this manner?'
  
                                      I disagree

They say a man's budget and a woman's dignity is in their own hands'
sticking to context I’d like to raise a question to each and every calcuttan here and that is, fundamental rights kept aside would we as a responsible father or a brother let the female in our house be out on the streets by themselves, let alone walking on the road at 2 am?
Do we not lock our house at night before sleeping?
Do we not check and double check after locking our cars?
Fundamentally it is our right to be protected but we still take the necessary precautions, do we not!?
Then why fail to do so as far as our self respect is concerned?
Not being a male chauvinist i would l like to raise this simple question

’Is it really the job of the policeman down the road to stand and wait for us to safely return from the late night lavish party and then he can go home to his wife and children?’
Or instead not be out vulnerable on the streets at such early hours.
  
No place in the world is safe for us meek and vulnerable,
It was a merry winter evening, I was out for a short walk with both my sister-in-laws in the evening, in comes a man cruising his convertible passing derogatory comments to my bhabis and asking them if they needed a lift as I helplessly stood there, the place was the hustling and bustling  streets of Orlando US near Universal Studious. There was no cop around to give me instant justice.
If a disturbing thing like that can happen in a “greatest country in the world” inspire of their efficient law and order methodologies then how is our system at fault over here.
Instead of glorifying the villains( baba power & mama power) we should use the media as our powerful weapon to curb them as the telegraph has done countless number of times earlier.
Should i as decent Calcutta boy coming from a respectable background feel as despicable?