Matilda

"Ammi! Ammi!", she cried in pain, I held her tightly but all in vain. I lay still before he could aim at me again, I knew I had to save my friend from this strain. No, I can't let her rosy dreams be nipped in the bud, How will I, her soul sister, bury her in the mud! And so I held her close in my arms rushing to the back door, Soaring sounds of gunshots everywhere, I crawled on the floor. Just then I heard a bloody Blackman coming behind me stealthily, So, I hugged her tight while continuing to walk steadily. The bloody blackman shot my friend mercilessly, Even after I begged and prayed to them endlessly. Alas! Another one came infront and shot her on the head, My heart skipped a beat and I collapsed while she heavily bled. She promised to travel the world with me in 80 days, She loved Jules Verne's description and all his ways. She said we will join the police to protect the frontiers of our nation, Be the staunch sentinels on duty with full...

Two days back, I watched the movie PK and like almost every other movie by Aamir Khan, I kept on brooding about it for quite sometime. This movie illustrates purity and innocence in religion and relationships. Love without conditions and devotion without demands: all these thoughts were beautifully brought out through the tapestry of the story. They prove how your religion is a superficial external cover because every religion refers to similar ideals and values which constitutes its core. However, in reality our own leaders are enmeshed in this criss -crossed web of religious polarisation. Recently,Dharam Jagaran Samiti and many other such institutions conducted religious conversions of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Gujarat. Now, the protest arose when the converts alleged that they were ‘forced’ into a new religion in return for ration cards in their name. So, eventually the DJS (which is a offshoot of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) went wrong at t...

As every radio listener knows, it's just amazing how we can all see with our ears! This sentence encapsulates the essence of how radio addresses can permeate through the masses. Now that the third edition of “Mann ki baat” series on All India Radio is also over, I reflect on this magical medium of the radio. Since the yesteryears, there was no television and radio meant everything for the people. Be it the bhajans to start your day or news at 9 in the morning or even the weather forecast to decide travel schedules or results of national examinations.  In the past, there have been many leaders who have used radio as an intricate social medium to propagate their messages to the public. General D’Gauelle is extremely famous for his radio speech on 18 June 1940 in which he assured his people to know that France belonged to them and external force by Nazis can't make them bend. His words infused hope and faith in the war devastated survivors. Yet another example is Indira Gandhi...

Meerut Jail September 7, 2014 I lie in this dingy high security barrack watching the sunlight creeping out of the small window on the top right corner. Every ray of hope seems to deflect and making a point not to touch me. I hear the jail officials talking about getting a brand new rope for my execution. The execution chamber is being cleaned after 4 decades. Knowing the proximity of your death is more frightening that not knowing the time of death. Trying to prepare myself, I am haunted by the ghosts of the children and girls I killed. Yes I know I turned Nithari into a hamlet of horrors. Yes, I know I mercilessly raped and murdered young girls. Can I have a wand to erase my past? It's way too late now.    Traumatised by the thought of impending death, I cant but come to terms with the crimes I have committed. Enmeshed in the vicious trap of cannibalism, I had felt kafkaesque. Fearlessly ignoring my moral sense, I didn’t mend my ways. The act of assaulting and kil...

What is the common thread running across the gulf countries? OIL! And what is so treacherous about it? EVERYONE WANTS OIL! Remember the famous industrialist Jean Paul Getty saying that the formula for success in the 21st century is 'Rise early and Strike Oil!' That is the raison d'être for America to capture Iraq and suck as much oil and other natural resources from Iraq. Claiming false brotherhood of Oil, US was able to gain enough out of their control over Iraq. Leaving the nation in 2011, they boasted of having given Iraqi forces the gift of powerful war weapons. Little did the Iraqi puppet leaders know that US had left behind tumultuous times for them to face. During the US reign, America deliberately widened the cultural distance between the Shiias and the Sunnis.This rift got worse when a Shia President took over and the bias in policies grew. And this internal instability gave elbow space for ISIS extremists to put a foot in.  The Jihadis, as agents of...