Finally a "Golden Moment"!!!

Finally has won a Gold medal in Olympics after a span of 28 years. The Gold medal was won by Abhinav Bindra in 10m Air Rifle. He is the first Indian to win a individual olympic gold for India, since we started participating in Olympics in 1900. I would like to say that it wsa a long and grueling task and India put in a great effort, but somehow I cant force myself to say all these things. India has talent, no doubt about it but still there is so much lacking. I am not blaming anyone particular because it is such a vicious cirle. Most of teh authorities are not as serious about athletes and their future, as much as they should be. Most of teh athletes join sports just to get a good job or a house. Is there really someone in the sports "business" for just the love of the game?
It is amazing how a population of more than one billion cannot produce handful of sportsmen or women to compete in competitive sports. Moreoever even if we find someone who has caliber, then that person is always put down. It is a crabby mentality.
Now that we have a Gold, I hope and pray that it is an inspiration for everyone. Athletes and officials, alike and they will stride towards a common goal of the betterment of the game rather than their personal gain.

Honor Killing

Recently it was reported that a father killed his daughter because she found out about his affair with another women. Moreoever she used to taunt her father with her own sexual escapades. This has brought out the ugly, nasty face of the new India. This also brought out the problem of lack of communication in Indian families.
Communication is completely absent in most of the Indian families. We keep talking to each other but never communicate. We like people (especially our family members) to listen to us but never try and see their view points. It is our responsibility to be a good family, to create a good community and a better India.
There should be compulsory counseling for people when they are expecting a babgy. Bringing a life into this world should not only be a result of a lapse in judgement or a moment of passion. Parents should be responsible for the life they are creating. Thye were the one's who asked for the child and should be ready for taking care of them.
As far as moral responsibility is concerned then cheating should never be acceptable. if you are not happy in your marriage then get divorced. Why stay in a rotting marriage and create the illusion of a perfect marriage? This will result in everyone getting hurt.

Cleanliness at Haridwar

It is said "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". I believe this but my belief was a little shattered this time in India. I went to Haridwar, a religious place in Uttarakhand to pay my offerings to River Ganga. I like to go to that place because it is quite and serene. I love to watch the evening Aarti and dip in the ice cold water. In all its always a very pleasant experience. I have seen my share of obscene people in this place but that did not deter me from going there since childhood. I think lusty looks have become so common from men in India that women just prefer to ignore them altogether. I had become so used to them also but after coming to US I realized that it is not common and it should not be acceptable.
This year around my experience was very different. I went to Haridwar and saw the dirt, leaves, cow dung, flour and many more things on the shore. It was a mess. To top it all people offer flowers, money and other stuff to the river. That would mean that people through all these things into the river. This was really disturbing to me. I know that Indian government has been trying to clean up Ganga for a very long time. They have spent millions of rupees in this process. Ganga is not only a religious river but it is also a source for water to many cities and villages, along its course. I think the government of India should not only clean the river but stop all the dirt from getting into the river in the first place.
I also saw people washing their clothes in the river, right where people were taking a dip. It was so ridiculous that I felt like slapping people. Where is your social responsibility? You talk about culture and being very close to God then how come you don’t respect the person next to you. I think it is up to the general public to keep our country clean. The government can only do so much about cleaning the streets, but if we keep making it dirty then it would be just a vicious circle of filth. I am not picking up on only haridwar but this is the case in every religious place in india. There is prashaad and flowers and stuff, always thrown around on the ground. it is really bad and we ahve to do somethign about it.

Shreya Saran molestation

A man misbehaved with Shreya Saran yesterday at a temple. This temple is considered one of the most pious and pure temple in India. People, who molest women, think that she will forget about it and it will not scar her for life. They are not hurting her so she would be fine with it. But they don’t understand that it does haunt women for years. A touch, a look or a comment from someone can trigger real bad memories of someone violating your body.
I felt sorry for the state of women in India at this time. I feel the government should do something about punishing these eve-teasers and making an example out of them, but more importantly Shreya should be considered a perfect example for other women to look up to. She is very delicate looking but she stood up to a man who tried to violate her modesty and her personal space. Women should empower themselves and try and protect themselves. A policeman cannot be available at all times and women should be in a position to defend themselves. Learning a little bit or martial arts is always advisable, especially for women who work or even go out for groceries alone. That would include any woman who has ever been out on the streets alone, and that would be everyone in India or the world.

Cheating

Last week I was watching the infamous show "cheaters" in which a camera crew spies on a spouse and finds out if he/she is cheating on their respective spouses. I find it stupid but I didn’t have anything to do and that is why I started watching it. As they say, a train wreck is always endearing and you will definitely keep watching it. So I kept watching it and it made me thinking about people who cheat. Why do people cheat? I am not only talking about cheating on your partner. I also mean why people cheat on exams, in reality shows, in relationships, at work or in any field of life.
A friend of mine told me last week that she had found out that her ex-boyfriend was cheating on her while they were going around. Now that she had broken off the relationship, it did not matter but she was seriously hurt by the betrayal. I was shocked too as they always had a very frank and open relationship. It didn’t make any sense to me. Why do people portray to be someone they really are not?
I was also watching another serial on a Hindi channel last week, called Rock and Roll Family. It is supposed to be a dance show which should include three generations of a family and they are supposed to be competing. It just so happened that two families were not really "families". They were cheating and therefore were put in a fix. I could not fathom the fact that someone could really lie about being a part of a family. You just make a family if you don’t like your own. This was a competition in which people could have chosen, not to participate. They were not required or forced to participate. I feel that if you cheat you lose a part of your own soul. You are not only cheating others but you start cheating yourself. Try and be honest, it might hurt you initially but it will be easy in the long run.