Independence Day,

My colleague forwarded an independence-day greeting to me, the other day. I loved the power-point presentation about India and in the process came to know that Mark Twain and Albert Einstein said such nice things about India.

We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made- Albert Einstein.

India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition - Mark Twain.

I wondered why I didn't feel so elated when I heard Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech about how wonderful India was. Do I suffer from the same prejudice which my fellow Indians and most of the third world people feel about Westerners and white skinned people? I always thought that I was beyond 'the color code'. I told my self that the gentlemen in question were great achievers, but then Nehru too was a veteran, a Prime Minister and an author. Okay, maybe I felt that he was in awe of Western culture, and rubbed shoulders with the British in the name freedom and country. Or maybe it’s something akin to the difference of being complimented by the members of opposite sex (taking into account that I’m straight) versus getting a compliment from the same sex.

Am I really 'beyond' the prejudice of color? I definitely don't feel a high when I interact with foreigners anymore, though I admit that I was elated to interact with an American couple who used to come and teach us carols when I was in school. I even fell in love with a handsome steward (who looked just out of an American movie) when I was barely 15, on an international flight.I guess I was very artistically inclined and admired everything beautiful which my eyes came across, and I probably considered 'fair skin' as beautiful when I was younger. Today, I try to drum it into friends not to consider the pretty ones as 'good'.

In fact I have developed a totally new angle in looking at 'good-lookers'. I can list them in a bulleted format

• Scientists proved that when a study was conducted on a group of stunning looking people, they discovered that when compared to ordinary looking people, the stunners lagged behind with lower IQ
• had bad temper
• were less sensitive
• and often had no character
• lacked in artistic abilities

I have even collected evidences that the beautiful die in vanity and the ones who are physically not rated very highly rise beyond frontiers. I have A.R.Rehman and Illaya Raja, the Indian music director whose music has prescribed in a reputed British university as my number one example . There are people like Oprah Winfrey and Mandela who proved their mettle that they are stunningly beautiful inside. Beautiful children get attention from their childhood, when compared to children with lesser beauty. (all children are beautiful by rule,I am referring to the peoples' opinion about what they regard as beautiful, here) So, the latter type of child has more fire in their belly to get the attention which the prettier one gets, hence works harder. In the process, the good looking one who enjoys attention anyway, lags behind, intellectually.

Now that I've given my point of view about how I regard people, I am back with my question why I felt good when I heard good things about India from Mr.Twain and Einstein... Perhaps, it was something as simple as hearing good things about things you like or are proud of, afterall. Oh yes, I am very, over-confidently, passionately proud of India. These gentlemen simple touched the right chords, I guess!

In defence of the girl child

I was just out to pick up my daughter at her playschool yesterday and saw what i thought was highly inhuman act on the roadside. A construction worker lifted a little child sky high and threw her into the sand which was piled near by. I stood stunned and glimpses of an elephant playing football with his mahout and some people nearby just flashed across in my mind. The woman lifted the child a second time and threw it down when adrenalin started to pump into my body and I rushed to the site. There were other women who tried to intervene when I started to shout at her to stop her from repeating it yet another time. I did not know the local language but came to know later that the child was crying too much, and eating sand. I also learnt that she was the fourth girl child. Apparently, she was taking the brunt of her mother's anger and frustration.
I conversed with the woman in Hindi later and asked her whether she was willing to give her youngest two daughters,( who were born a year apart ) to childless couple. She said 'of course, by all means' and added 'I will ask my husband and tell' and with a sheepish grin added, "I will have a child like him" showing a little boy nearby.
I hated what she said and told her,"No don't have any more children. What will you do if it is a girl again?"
That evening shook me.For many reasons. I wanted to do so many things. Yet, my hands were tied. I wanted to educate the mother and father of the child to be kind to her. That birth control is not a sin ( they were muslims) That a female child also is given to them by Allah. That they should think of educating their children.I had so much to say.And I felt that the city is always in a hurry. No body has time. A little soul like that child has no one to defend her. I felt selfish. I felt the whole world selfish. I felt guilty as a person, who is not able to save the child from a mother like that.
I do not see JUST a girl child there. I see our entire nation there. The very nation which is patriarchal, chauvinistic and hypocritical. Ours is a country which worships Goddesses but looks down upon girls. Every mother wants a son and every grand mother a grandson.Are they trying to please the men or do they genuinely hate their own kind?
I somehow feel that I have unburdened my soul to my unknown audience in the cyber space. If there is anyone listening please help me find parents and homes, not houses, for these little children.Thats all I have to say, for now.