Recent news of Khap panchayat in Muzaffarnagar banning girls from wearing jeans came as a shock to many. The panchayat believes this will prevent eve-teasing incidents and help maintain decency. A lot of furor is created every time something like this crops up and rightly so. What in the hell the panchayat has to do with this? On one hand we talk about the freedom of speech where even the worst of stand-up comedians make fun of Prime minister on national TV and on the other hand we want to decide what one should wear. If this ridiculous news makes you angry I have got some more news to cool you down on the same lines. One small town in Italy, Castellammare di Stabia is planning to ban wearing of miniskirts! The mayor (modern version of panchayat) believes miniskirts can be very provocative and can lead to indecent behavior. Surprisingly this news comes from a country which has produced Giorgio Armani! Forget Armani, it comes from the country headed by Silvio Berlusconi who himself has been alleged to have a lot to do with miniskirts! Nobody knows how much of this allegation is true, may be the opposition is trying to tarnish his image. But one thing that is sure is that if this kind of stupid laws can exist in a country like Italy then it should not come as a surprise if a small town in India decides to ban wearing of jeans. Besides, nobody has defined what decency is? If a well known director in India makes a movie depicting intimate scenes it qualifies as aesthetic movie and same movie by an unknown person becomes a ‘C’ grade movie. So let’s just not get affected by this news as it is just a mini issue, skirt it!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Unity is strength?
Saying "unity is strength" is like saying bombshell Neha Dhupia's next movie will fail to detonate, it is that obvious! Okay, I am not here to discuss Neha Dhupia’s non-existent career so let me come back to the main topic. Just yesterday I experienced two different incidents of this particular adage. The reason I am saying ‘different’ is because one of those examples reconfirmed my belief in the proverb whereas the other made me see the darker side of it.
As always I was traveling in a bus where moving your body was a crime as if everyone in the bus had told each other to "statue" (old school games...Still love them). On its way through the alleys of Kurla, the bus happened to brush along the side of a truck. Initially I felt only the left hand side mirror of the bus had kissed the driver's door. But I was mistaken as the bus driver didn't seem to care and it continued moving forward jolting the truck on its way, one could actually see the truck moving. Still the driver didn't care and moved forward. Nothing happened for few seconds, and then we saw the truck driver racing towards the bus from behind. He, like a speeding car, overtook the rear-wheels of the bus and reached the front door and got in. Without wasting a second he started beating the bus driver. He was so much aggrieved as the bus driver didn't even come out to see what had happened and how much damage was done. It was then the proverb came into picture. Everyone in the bus started getting angry with the truck driver as they were running late! Despite it being bus driver's fault, the passengers threw the driver out of the bus, abusing him they asked him to go to BMC and complain instead of wasting their time here. It is anyone's guess whether that truck driver would get justice or not. But the unity of passengers certainly saved the wrongdoer!
When I finally got down from the bus I was a bit shocked as this could happen to anyone driving his personal vehicle and even in that case the bus driver would manage to get away. That is when I experienced another example of this. One bus had broken down on the slope and I could see all the passengers as well as the passers-by having their share of fun pushing it upwards. It was such a relief to see the strength of unity in real sense.
As always I was traveling in a bus where moving your body was a crime as if everyone in the bus had told each other to "statue" (old school games...Still love them). On its way through the alleys of Kurla, the bus happened to brush along the side of a truck. Initially I felt only the left hand side mirror of the bus had kissed the driver's door. But I was mistaken as the bus driver didn't seem to care and it continued moving forward jolting the truck on its way, one could actually see the truck moving. Still the driver didn't care and moved forward. Nothing happened for few seconds, and then we saw the truck driver racing towards the bus from behind. He, like a speeding car, overtook the rear-wheels of the bus and reached the front door and got in. Without wasting a second he started beating the bus driver. He was so much aggrieved as the bus driver didn't even come out to see what had happened and how much damage was done. It was then the proverb came into picture. Everyone in the bus started getting angry with the truck driver as they were running late! Despite it being bus driver's fault, the passengers threw the driver out of the bus, abusing him they asked him to go to BMC and complain instead of wasting their time here. It is anyone's guess whether that truck driver would get justice or not. But the unity of passengers certainly saved the wrongdoer!
When I finally got down from the bus I was a bit shocked as this could happen to anyone driving his personal vehicle and even in that case the bus driver would manage to get away. That is when I experienced another example of this. One bus had broken down on the slope and I could see all the passengers as well as the passers-by having their share of fun pushing it upwards. It was such a relief to see the strength of unity in real sense.
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