The physical, psychological stereotyping starts in the family, when doctor comes and say “ It is a girl !!!

I believe now is the best time for anyone to be born in this world. There are unlimited opportunities for everyone irrespective of their gender, caste, religion. But yes, there are different roadblocks on everyone’s path, it our responsibility to get past them and reach our destination. Being a girl in today’s world is a challenge but I am sure we are ready to take that challenge head on.

It is extremely sad that in a country where women are worshipped as Goddesses, female foeticide still exists. To get a chance to come into this world is in itself a great miracle. This is inspite of the fact that we find women excelling in diverse fields. Whether it be Naina Lal Kidwai in the corporate world or Saina Nehwal in the sports or Sonia Gandhi in politics we find women at every field’s pinnacle. But if you thought once born life gets easy for girls, let me correct you, the challenge just starts for them. From fighting for a chance to go to school to struggling for freedom to go out with their friends, life constantly keeps testing their mettle. It is a common assumption that such practices exist only in the lower economic strata of our society but sadly this also happens in well to do and educated families. Earlier it was considered that the so called economic burden that comes with a girl in the form of dowry, which in itself is another social evil, was the main cause why boys were preferred. But now it is the stoneage mindset of people which is the main culprit.

Even after the girl succeeds in her efforts and gets a chance to study and make a career for herself, the patriarchal mindset of people still stands in her way. The recent delhi gang rape is a testimony to the fact that girls are not safe on Indian roads. There has been a lot of discussion as to why men commit such heinous crimes and the basic reason that has been found is the feeling of male dominance. Rape is a way of proving that men are more powerful than women. But personally for me it just proves the opposite.

But the optimist in me still believes that better times lie ahead. These challenges just make a women stronger and more determined to create a space for herself in this male dominated society. Gone are the days when women would accept the insults lying down, the present day women is courageous enough to stand up to these useless diktats and  build a new path for herself. These relics of the past might slow her down but they can never stop her journey.

It is only when you turn insane that you realize the whole world is worth living

Insanity and passion are synonymous. When passion reaches a crescendo, it turns into insanity. When your whole world revolves around achieving that goal, you cant decide whether you are passionate or insane. It is only when you live each moment of your life like its your last, you really live life.

If your hobby is playing guitar, wouldn’t it be nice if doing everything gave you the pleasure that you get when you play guitar? Why doesn’t playing guitar seem like a work? Because you do it passionately, you derive pleasure from it. When Sachin Tendulkar goes out to the field, does he feel like it’s a burden, no. Because cricket is not just his livelihood, its his passion. And when your work stirs you up, life itself starts seeming wonderful.

Insanity can also refer to going outside of your boundaries, doing the unorthodox. When Copernicus said that Sun is the one around which earth revolves, people called him insane. Had he listened to them and taken back his theory would I have been writing about him now? No. It is only because he believed himself when everyone around him criticized him that he is now famous. Even centuries after he has gone, we still remember him. People like him never die, they are immortalized.

Insane are those who dare to venture out from the safety of their homes. It is their insanity which gives them the courage to go where no one ever has. It was only Neil Armstrong’s strong will which motivated him to undertake the risk and travel to the moon.  It was Tenjing Norway’s insanity that propelled him to the top of the mount Everest. They are the people who have lived their life fully. They live on the edge, because that is where real life exists.

But it is very important to understand that insanity does not mean we shut down the logical side of our brain. Insanity in this context refers to breaking boundaries of our own thinking in a positive way. The culprits of the delhi gang rape were not insane, they were fools. They make the world not worth living even for others leave aside themselves. People like them are insane in the sense that they have lost their rational thinking power.

In the end, being passionate makes our world seems more welcoming and beautiful. It makes us look forward to the coming day. So be passionate to extent of being insane but remember where insanity ends and foolishness begins

Life is game for the fools, comedy for the rich, dream for the wise and tragedy for the poor

Life is a mystery, life is a journey and life is a roller coaster ride. How we view life reflects our own perspectives and mind set. Life is a gamble, you tread carefully and you risk losing out on the adventures on the way, you take uncalculated risks and you might just lose it all. Lets delve into the different meanings of life for different people.

Fools are those who donot realize what is at stake. Addicts gamble away their lives for some instant gratification. People like A Raja, well to do educated people, put at stake their everything for some crores in the 2g scam and lose it. The people accused in the delhi gang rape not only destroyed their own lives in that moment, they also destroyed that poor girl’s life. Is life such a small thing? These people assumed life to be a game, they just forgot one little detail; you play such a dangerous game and more often than not you lose.

Rich are those for whom everything is easy. When one doesn’t have to struggle for anything, life starts seeming like a comedy. They stay so high up in their glass towers that the reality of life doesn’t catch up with them. Sadly many of our politicians fall in this category. Rahul Gandhi is a prime example. The fact that he has not been able to accomplish anything on his own is partially attributable to his skills and partially to the fact that he is not in touch with the real problems of India’s common man. To people like him starvation, unemployment, rising prices are just some terms they read in the books and laugh at it because they cant believe it really happens.

Wise are those who plan their life, who treat it as a precious resource which shouldn’t be wasted. For these people life is a dream they have seen and they have the motivation to turn that dream into reality and with their dreams also bring to life other’s dreams. Anand Kumar, founder of the Super 30 program in Patna is a case in example. By providing free education to the poor students, he is not only giving them a chance he is also inspiring our generation. Arvind Kejriwal, his life is a dream for many who wish to serve their country and he is trying to bring back the India of our dreams.

Poor are those who cant feed their children two meals a day, poor are those who watch their loved ones die because they cannot afford medical treatment. For people like them, what is life if not a tragedy. Farmers in the Vidharba region, is it not tragic that farmers who feed the entire country are themselves in such a poor state that they have to resort to suicides?

From where we stand we build our own view of life which is narrow and most of the time meaningless. We have to widen our perspectives and live life such that this gift of God does not go waste. Everyone makes a difference to their own life by their actions, go a step ahead, bring a smile on someone else’s face for a change.