Thoughts: A self searching process.....

        Being a part of a society  where reservations are a reality; where the issues that are being faced are something we inherited from our ancestors, and which we accept without blinking an eyelid makes me wonder...just how much of the person I am is essentially me?

        Learning to be not only your own person but also to ensure that the thoughts in your head is your own is seemingly impossible now a days. The other day I caught myself craving for a steak and realized that my classmates had been taking about it in class, and it kind of had stayed with me! When we talk about peer pressure, human error and being yourself, how many can say that they live on their own accord? how many of us can say that they have made their own mistakes? 
            Being conditioned since we were kids is a reality not only for Indians but for people belonging to all societies. Some of us believe that worshiping an idol is obvious, for others its a sin; for some being secular is important, while for others living in accordance to only their religion is a way of life. I know a lot of us believe that the former is correct, for some the latter, but ask yourself..how do you develop your morality? Who says being religious, even overtly religious is bad? And who decides what is secular? 

           Most of my friends believe that being secular is the way to be, many of their parents think that western education has destroyed their basic "social and cultural" values, leaving them devoid of a knowledge of "us" and "them". Both are right in their place, yet both seem wrong....
              The concept of wrong and right, the concept of self and other, the concept of god and creation, the concept of reality and illusion is all so constructive! Creations of man to meet their own needs! Who is to say my reality is only an illusion? Its a reality for me! And if one has to be on the same page as the society, as the whole, then why pretend to be a single entity? Why pretend to a complete whole? Or are we all individuals pretending to co exist with each other? Kind of a catch 22 question no? Society without humans is meaningless, and the self without the mirror of the collective is pointless! 

                   Differences, self doubt and human error are a reality in a manner the depletion of the ozone layer is. No one likes it, but its a reality that we need to not only acknowledge and accept but also look at discovering some solutions towards to ensure a more free self and thus a free society!

Clothing: A woman's prerogative? A statement? A social commentary?

               Have you ever noticed the variety of clothes that a single individual can indulge in? The worst thing is that I always used to think that I have no clothes, and then I moved to Mumbai, where closet space is as precious as gold. And then it struck me, I have no place to keep my non-existent clothes!! For a woman, her clothes defines not only who she is, where she comes from, what she believes in, but it is a part of the face that she puts on before she faces the world. 

                When travelling in the locals, if one just takes say 10 minutes out, one would notice a whole plethora of dressing style. She may seem like a rock star, a punk kid, an elegant dream, a dreamer, a safe bet, and so forth. Everyday one assumes that a girl in shorts is a open confident and at times easy. How many of us would have guessed that some girl who is wearing a saree has a big thing with her hair slicked back, her eyes with deep kohl has 9 tattoos, goes clubbing every weekend and dreams of being a fighter pilot?
                                Yes clothes do make us but to what extent? In a society which is transforming, where one is able to get the latest music, yet where the caste system is a reality, where one may be a Nobel prize winner while one's neighbor will kill their only child because they dared to marry outside of their caste; can one really break down an individual in such simple terms? This question holds especially true when one talks of women as She is not only an individual, she is a daughter, a symbol of her household, a representative of the parent's upbringing, the nurturing essence. 
                                  The social boundaries, the role play is a reality for all of us, we see our mothers, our friends, our wives, our neighbors, our own self go through the drill everyday, where we find ways to express ourselves while keeping within a certain set "standard". How much of it is right? Who is to say, who is to ask if a girl in shorts was "asking for it", if she spends the night she wants to be with you....we need to evaluate who we are, how much of it is real, and realize who we really want to be.    




An Indian girl