My name is Shah and I am a victim of Islamophobia...

So am in Delhi, the capital of the country supposed be where the 'dil' or the heart of the country lies but is that so??

Am apartment hunting in Rajender Nagar which is a place in central Delhi. 1st of all it is very difficult to get apartments in Delhi already and that too in Rajender nagar which is like a hub of IAS aspirants from all over the country, north south east west....And it turns out, it is even more harder for a muslim and that too from a rarely known far away island called Andaman..And the backdrop of recent Delhi blast did not help at all..

1st I do not find a decent enough place for my taste and finally after days of searching, sacrificing my quality study time(my exam is in 2 months and I gotta prepare for 9 papers) I kind of narrow down to this one flat which pretty much suited my requirements.My agent tells me that the owner wants to meet me in person..Fair enough!!!I go to meet him in his dingy 'office' in a petty little basement. The first thing he asks me is from which place I am..Clearly from his get up I could make out that he must neither be good in general knowledge nor geography so I did not expect him to understand where Andaman is and I took some time to explain him where it was and that it was definitely a part of India..He is not convinced..He asks me my surname and I say 'Shah' and he is confused further..Next thing he asks me is what caste I belong to..I am taken aback by this sudden question but I tell him patiently that I am a Muslim...And thats it..That did it..He did not appear confused now. He looked determined. He shook his head and gave me a look that I think unfortunately I'll remember the rest of my life.. He plainly denied me the house and looked at me as if I was some delinquent sitting there..

Now I am not one of the most religious type, but yes, I am a Muslim and I am definitely not ashamed of that. And I am not gonna let some ignorant snobby moron make me feel bad about it but somehow I can't help thinking about it. I keep reliving that moment and it feels like a slap on my face.

It raises a lot of questions in my mind. Hey I can understand that he needed to be sure of who is gonna stay in his house for safety and security reasons and all, am all for it.But whats with that look???He could have asked my background or that of my parent's or what they did for a living, Id proofs, etc etc there are many ways if security or safety was the point of concern.But that was clearly not the case.Whats with the stereotyping? 

India might be a free country politically or economically but are we free socially? from prejudices? from stereotyping? from xenophobia? from social inhibitions we hold?Why is there such a dire need to divide the world into 'us' and 'them'? And not only religion we have prejudices based on caste, class, region, community etc etc...and the saddest part is that this prejudice plagues both Bharat and India. How can we move forward with attitudes that are backward?

I may never be able to find the answers to all my questions.All I can do is request you guys that next time when you make a decision about a stranger please be sure that it is based on facts and not on your prejudices.

And P.S. For the zillionth time, All Muslims are not terrorists.

So, Whats in?

        A very strange thought came to my mind today. Every era in time scale  is defined by some striking features that took place during that time, something which governed the thinking of maximum number of people, or to use a phrase appropriate in this era , the 'in thing'. As people evolved, their thinking also evolved and so did their concept of 'in thing'.

      In earlier times, and I do not mean some distant past but maybe India 30-40 yrs earlier, conformity was the rule of thumb. Everything and everyone needed to be similar in thoughts, beliefs, presentations etc. There was very little tolerance of ambiguity. People who obeyed the rules of the society where held in highest esteem and those who tried to be different were the deviants. Kids did not question, women did not come out of the house except for fetching water maybe, arrange marriage was the rule, there were typical dress code for everyone decided by  the society details of which I dont think I need to go to..

    But as the society grew and modern consciousness emerged , the status quo was challenged and era of being different ushered in. It grew out of the monotony created by conformity and also support by the evolution of human mind which made 'out of the box thinking' possible. So, kids are not punished for asking questions, open minded and modern homes accept love marriages, women can be CEO or world leaders or auto drivers, people can be gay,or can have sickening pale skin or pink hair and yet be admired.Moreover,  these things do not appear strange or weird or wrong anymore but fascinating. Though there are still pockets in the world where it might still be considered strange but that's a different story altogether.

    The society has become 'broad minded', there is more openness, greater tolerance of ambiguity. Different is appreciated and many a times sought after. Hence everyone is trying to be different, sometimes trying too hard to their own detriment and of others also, like the Norwegian maniac shooter guy.

   As the world is truly turning into a global village, and multiculturalism is the new world identity, the individual identity will only be recognised if it is different enough to add a new dimension to the chaos or should I say to the 'new world order'. So, if I am different, I am 'in'.........

Gandhi - the movie

              I was just watching the movie GANDHI on tv by Richard Attenborough staring Ben Kingsley. One of the finest movies made in our times. All the praise it recieved in the form of numerous awards was well deserved. The actors need to be applauded for their work, they looked very believable especially Ben Kingsley who potrayed the role of Gandhiji. Even though it is made by an English man and the movie is in English, I could still relate to it very easily. The Director's vision and his attention to detail is comendable.Certainly a must watch to every Indian and more than that for anyone who appreciates good cinema.

              Bapu is definitely one of the most important personality in Indian History. He was a great leader. I disagree with him on some of his actions, but he was only human. As someone once said, "You can find hundreds of people who did not like Gandhiji, but  thousands who atleast partially agreed with him and maybe millions who adored him."

              One of my favourite quote by Gandhiji, which was also in the movie is-
"They may torture me, or break my bones or even kill me.But they'll only have my dead body, not my obedience."
 Gandhiji did not only say this, but believed in it and was courageous enough to put it into action throughout his life...Truly a Mahatma.

 

Humble cook meets ardent foodie

Me and my sister have started this cooking blog together...She is the cook and I am the foodie..Its our tribute to all the fun times we had cooking and eating .....
Hope you enjoy it...
LEMON & CORRIANDER

In love with andaman weather

      The most wonderful thing about Port Blair, my hometown, is its weather. For those who don't know, Port Blair is the capital of lovely, tropical, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

       I like each and everything about these islands, obviously because its my hometown, but the most wonderful thing is monsoon. I love the Andaman rains. I love rains in general but there is something about Andaman which makes it even more fascinating. You can see the dark clouds approaching towards you from the horizon and with it comes the gentle sea breeze. Suddenly you realise that the scenery in front of you is becoming hazy and hazier. The next moment the haze is approaching towards you and as you come to your senses the showers are upon you.

       And it keeps raining for an hour or two, sometimes drizzling and sometimes just pouring down. And once it stops, everything around appears colourful and especially green. The trees are happy, the flowers are smiling, the little birdie with its ruffled feathers starts chirping again.The blue sea is playful and the horizon is clear.

      As I am writing, its starting to rain again, so I am gonna go enjoy it and then will do the next best thing that is jumping into my bed,pulling over the covers and enjoy my beauty sleep.

         Here are some of my favourite Andaman Monsoon pics...

This one's taken from my window...

These when I was at sea....

Spirituality and me - the journey

        
             I have always maintained that I am more spiritual than religious. As I grew up, I came to realise that spirituality is not just knowing what is right and what is wrong, or what ought to be done and what is not to be done. It had a much deeper meaning. I took a plunge into its depths for the first time when I read this incredible book, "The Monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma. I remember being overawed not just by the whole plot but the numerous teachings and wisdom embedded intricately into the plot.
            I realised what it means to be truly at one with myself. I felt connected with my inner self and through that I was connecting to every single soul around me. A lot of ancient wisdom is involved in truly understanding the journey of a soul and I pray that in my life I get opportunities to get acquainted with them and when I do I have enough light in me to understand them, cause now I am ready to be a student..

 As someone said," The depth of learning is in direct relation to the intensity of the experience" , I am looking forward to the wonderful experience.
            

Indian Democarcy and CAG

             On going through news reports on corruption of past few months, references to CAG keeps popping up quite frequently. It stands for Comptroller and Auditor General, an institution which emanates form our constitution, entrusted the duty of maintaining accounts of Govt. of India and auditing it to ensure financial accountability. Appointed by the President himself/herself, CAG is generally a senior officer of the Indian Administrative Services. Essentially, CAG evaluates the performance of various governmental ministries and departments for any wastages in expenditure.It offers a feedback to the government to bring efficiency in its functioning.
              Within circles of Politics and Administration, CAG's office has often been criticized for being out-dated, its advice merely being a post-mortem of the government and that it acts only when the damage is done.
              Nevertheless, recent political scenario suggests to us that the role of CAG in today's democracy is changing from a mere account-checker to conscience keeper. Be it 2G, Commonwealth games, Adarsh Housing, functioning of Coast Gurad,etc, it was CAG reports which exposed large scale scams and the shoddy policies of the govt. Being a constitutional body, its reports have a high validity and even govt cannot shy away from its claims. It makes an excellent tool in hands of the opposition to demand transparency and accountability from the govt in the floor of parliament. At the end of the day it forces govt to act responsibly and responsively.
               Discussion would not be complete if credit is not awarded to Mr. Vinod Rai, who is presently the CAG of India, who has made the headlines for his unforgiving audits and scathing reports, and who is responsible to resurrect the offices of CAG saving it from being outdated and irrelevant.Numerous former CAGs have been trying to uphold the sanctity of this constitutional body, but none did it better than Mr.Rai.
              It somehow reassures our faith in our constitution makers,our constitution itself, our democracy, and reaffirms the fact that even structural mechanisms present in our polity can still be trusted upon and if used to their fullest potential will lead to desirable results.
             As a common Indian esp belonging to the educated middle class section, what does this recent change in paradigm signify to me?It helps me to recognise the structures which makes the govt. more answerable so that taxpayer's money is not misused by the people in power. It educates me regarding the functioning of present day govt. so that next time when I vote I can make an informed decision. Moreover, it makes me a little optimistic that there are forces which will make my govt more transparent or it'll have to face embarrassment in media and among general public..


             

Spirituality and me..-the beginings.

             This is my first blog on spirituality. This is probably the first time ever I am writing about spirituality and more so about my views. I have always thought of myself not as a religious person but a spiritual one.When I grew up I did not receive any religious training. So my concept of spirituality evolved from the notion of right and wrong. I knew love, compassion, generosity, courage,etc  were the right values and hatred, jealousy, selfishness, etc are the wrong values. All throughout my teenage, these were the principles which guided my behavior and helped me face my life's dilemmas with ease. I used to think "Even though I don't go to religious places, I don't worship God like others, I don't follow religious traditions, I know whats right and whats wrong, Morals and Values make more sense to me rather than submitting oneself blindly to traditions."
              I am not an atheist I do believe in God. I believe in existence of the "Supreme". I believe that someone is watching over me and guiding me. I just prefer not to name my God. I prefer not my religious affiliations but my actions for the mankind be my religion.
              I have a great interest in various religious texts and I have had brief exposures to teachings of a lot of them. All have essentially the same underlying principles of love, brotherhood, compassion to all living beings. None of them preach hatred or violence and if they do they cannot be words of God. I chose to follow the essence rather than mere text.
            This is how my spiritual identity took shape...

Its Just Not My Day............

             Sitting by the waves Kabir was thinking, could this day be any worse? World is full of negativities. Life is not just.Why is it that someone who has enough gets everything and someone who is in need gets nothing?

              Just as he was awaken by a phone call in the morning saying that his best friend is really sick he knew that today wasn’t going to be the best day of his life. He had stayed up for most of the night completing his deadline which he had to submit to his boss today urgently. So when he got up his head felt heavy, he had a hint of headache, he had to get dressed in lightening speed, go to his work and submit the report, somehow convince his boss for an hour leave to visit his friend, so to sum up, today was just not his day.

              He knew today would be the day when his car would not start at once, he would be stopped at traffic lights for a considerable period of time, threatening his arrival to his office on time, etc, etc  and it  did happen that way. His boss had already arrived by the time he had reached and he was screamed at in front of his colleagues for being late. His report was not well received either. His boss made sure he pointed out every mistake as annoyingly as possible. Now it was almost impossible for him to ask for leave. So he had to skip his lunch and drive down to the hospital in that time. When he reached hospital he learnt that his friend’s condition had deteriorated so badly that his family decided to airlift him from the islands to mainland, so they had left a few moments ago. His friend had been battling liver cirrhosis due to alcoholism. Kabir cursed himself for being late. And not just today. They were best friends yet life kept him so busy that he could not be with his friend when he needed him the most. And now somehow he knew he had missed his chance. Today was just not his day.

              All throughout the day he was dull and dreamy. Too upset to go home he went to his favourite beach a little away from the city to spend some alone time.He wondered and wondered about questions he had no answers to. He thought about his life and how different it had become from what he had imagined it to be. Why was he living at all just to live a mechanical life? He wished he had a little bit more control on his life or maybe he could just float out of his body and lead a separate life. He used to feel so powerful when he was young. Where did all that enthusiasm go? Was there no purpose in his life today?

               As the sun went down so did all his hope for happiness too. He cursed himself, his life, his destiny, his gods, everyone. He did not realize how late he had been out until his watch suddenly beeped and it was 9pm. He had to go home now. Accepting life’s reality to some extent and giving in to its pressures he got up and walked towards his car. Once again his car would not start. He tried many times but it wouldn’t budge. Yes today is definitely not my day he thought. He is stuck in a lonely beach and he knew there was no scope of getting a bus from this place and that too at this point of time. He had to walk to the nearest residential area from where he might get some kind of lift. As he was just out of his car and had walked a few distance, he heard a loud noise from behind, something metallic brushed his leg and he was thrown sideways. He experienced a sharp pain in his knees and he passed out for what seemed as hrs but was for a couple of minutes.

              When he regained his senses, he slowly tried to comprehend what had happened. It seemed like a speeding mini- van had crashed into his car causing it to dash into the nearby tree. Had he been inside his car he would have definitely been dead. He got up and started assessing the damage. He could get up so he wasn’t badly hurt, his car was ruined, so he went to the minivan. There were a bunch of boys inside looking badly hurt covered in bruises none of them were showing any signs of movement. He checked his cellphone and he couldn’t believe his luck, he had full network. Now all he had to do was call for help. He felt elated. He would be saved. Help was on its way. He felt happy and also confused since moments ago he was cursing life and destiny but now it seemed like he longs for it. He lay on the ground thinking, today is just not my day…. today is just not my day to die, today is just not my day to give up, its just not my day to lose hope.

Welcome to my Virtual Safari....

 After overcoming my technological impairments and sheer dumb laziness, i have finally created a blog : my niche in this exciting virtual world...I am sure this would be a wonderful experience for me and hopefully my readers too.
  The meaning of Safari is "long journey" in Swahili while the word has its origin in Arabic word "safar" which means a journey again.The most well known usage of this word is for an expedition to the wilds.
  Just as a Safari tries to show varieties in wildlife and landscapes, with my Virtual Safari I would like to explore and write about the varied interests I have.In short, it would have something for everyone.So let this wonderful journey begin...........