Dreams (Un)limited

This one is going to be the last post which I will be writing from Kolkata as I am leaving for Delhi in another couple of days .I’ve been harping on this topic for some time but as usual was too lazy to write it down. Recently there was some controversy about the suicide of a female army officer. I tried to follow the story but then lost track of it. It touches upon the ever sensitive issue of ‘Women in Army’. Is the Indian society and hence the Army ready for women in Armed forces? The answer is quite evident.

I remember my school days when there used to be presentations about joining the Army during the career counseling sessions. These are the sessions which I used to skip without giving second thoughts because they were never meant for girls. Forget about allowing women in combats, they are not even given permanent commission. This simply means that they are allowed to serve in non-combat positions for only a couple of years (I guess its 5 but not sure). When counties like U.S and U.K can take a progressive step but giving women almost equal respect and positions in the armed forces then why not us?

Maybe some day we will see this change .Our society has undergone a profound change since independence. I will be lying if I say that our situation has not improved since then. But still there is lot to be done. Maybe insuring security for the womenfolk should for the first and the most important step. It’s easier said than done .But as I mentioned earlier there is no harm in being optimistic. That reminds me that I would like to mention a book called Daughters of Arabia (don’t remember the name of the author).As the title suggests the book gives a deep insight into the lives of women in the Royal Kingdom. It had left me shocked because of the bitter yet truthful story. Here when we are fighting for equal rights, there are people who are not even treated as human beings and are traded like cattle in a market. This book has a prequel called Princess which I am yet to read. But this one is awesome.

Maybe should include some personal experiences to liven up this awfully dreary post. When told about my joining karate classes, most people reacted by asking the same question ‘who has been threatening you?’ Damn, do I have to be threatened for taking up karate! Well an attempt towards becoming self sufficient can be the apt reason for this sudden whim of mine. But then cooking also comes under the same jurisdiction. And I proudly declare that I’ve used these holidays to hone (ahem…) my culinary skills. Now, I agree that am going overboard with things:)

I really don’t want to stretch this one anymore. But mention of one novel experience is a must. Couple days back on our way to a party we had stopped at a petrol pump. I was amazed to see that all workers there were females. It was 9 p.m and they were in no hurry to finish up their work. The procedure of filling up the tank was done with the confidence of a pro. Wow! times are actually changing. I wanted to check up the petrol pump again but dozed off on our way back. Maybe that would’ve completed the story but can’t help it. This one incident gives me the hope to look forward to some more revolutionary changes in the future.

I am back

I am back after a long hiatus. Basically my habit of procrastination is responsible for this. I just finished reading ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand. I had quite liked ‘The fountainhead’ by d same authoress. The idiosyncrasy of a creative mind in the former still made some sense to me. But this one has left me baffled. Too much philosophy is involved which is hardly required. The lives of the lead characters had some similarity with those in FH initially. But as the story progressed I was no longer able to relate to them. God knows which country on earth can come up such absurd laws as in this book. I was told that this one is more likeable than FH. How? Could not figure that out even after withstanding the torturous 1069 pages . uff….. My advice would be that never read this book unless you have the enthu to read this crap.
Before every vacation I raid my hostel library to get myself the thickest books available. This time I issued ‘The Sicilian’ by Mario Puzo( a sequel to Godfather),Angels& Demons(a prequel to Da Vinci Code),AS and Not a penny more… by Archer. Except the last book I was disappointed after reading the rest. That makes me think that sequels are generally not able to live up to the expectations. I had read Oliver’s story (a sequel to my fav Love Story) and Scarlett (sequel to Gone With The Wind) .And was really sad after reading them. Total let downs.
But the Harry Potters were absolute delights. I am a self confessed HP fanatic. I was reading the book 6 on my way to Kolkata from Delhi. I cried after reading the climax which was Dumbledore’s death.:( . My co-passengers were staring at me in disbelief. My otherwise huge ego which prevents from crying in front of strangers was of no use that day[this happened 6 months back and was also the last time I cried,good ya:)] .My parents who were unable to pick me up from the station thought I was angry with them and hence gloomy. Hope I don’t have to do the same for the next one.
These days I am down in the dumps because of boredom. Thinking of re-reading Mom’s huge collection of Bengali and Russian classics. Maybe will watch some movie as well. Mom wants to watch Krrish. uhh….another sequel!