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...