Brave New You.

I was in a book shop browsing through the new released bestsellers when I had a chance to talk to this nice American lady about her favorite books. We had a small talk and I was surprised to learn that one of her favorite books was ‘In The Name of Honor, By Mukhtar Mai’. I had read this book long back and honestly, I could not keep down the book then.  ‘In The Name of Honor’ is the memoir of Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman from the impoverished village of Meerwala (Pakistan), as told to the French writer, Marie-Therese Cuny, and translated from French to English by Linda Coverdale. It is a beautifully written book, incredibly powerful and extremely important memoir that portraits Mukhtar’s fight for justice. She was "sentenced" to be gang-raped by the tribal council of her village, to pay for a crime her 12-year-old brother did not commit. She was brutally gang-raped but instead of dwelling on the injustice committed against her, she focused on her fight for justice and dignity. Instead of committing suicide as so many rape victims in her situation would do, she fought for herself and eventually became an outspoken activist for Pakistani women. 

‘… As you read ‘In The Name of Honor, I think you will find a story that is tremendously inspiring rather than one tells of brutality and despair. By the alchemy of her courage and stubbornness, Mukhtar has taken a sordid tale of gang rape and turned it into something heartwarming and hopeful. And that is one more reason why, when I am around Mukhtar, I sense that this shy pleasant woman is truly a great and historic figure – and why she’s one of my heroes’ - Nicholas D. Kristof.

I cannot agree more as it puts me in a thought about the other thousand million souls who are fighting a battle of their own.

Ergo; I dedicate this post to the indomitable spirit to survive!

There's this place called Earth. It can often be pretty surprising. On this small planet, sometimes immense pain can lead to happiness leading to change in the outlook which was never known in the first place. Everyone has a weakness they hide, everyone has a tragedy they don’t talk about, and everyone has a battle of their own that they are fighting. But nobody really speaks about it, nobody wants to. It is kept hidden wrapped under the fake smiles and happiness because we are afraid that the world might step on our fault lines and would make us screech.  

People have scars in all sorts of unexpected places, like secret road maps of their personal histories, diagrams of all their old wounds. Most of our wounds heal leaving nothing behind but a scar; not something to be ashamed of, for they are the manifestation of how strong we have been. Scars are the signs of a fighter. They remind us what our journey has been all about.  They remind us where we've been and what we've overcome. No one can claim life has been perfect to them.  Life is not perfect; it has its setbacks. Things go bad and sometimes worse.  Life gets unbelievably treacherous at times and we all have dragged ourselves at some point to make things right. Life is like that. May be we are all made that way. It doesn’t matter how tough we are. An ordeal creates mayhem, unleashing all the wounds, the fear and the trauma. But maybe that’s the point. May be going through all that is what keeps us moving forward. It’s what pushes us. May be we have to get a little messed up, before we can step up.

My point here is, life is not as bad as it seems. There is always something left to search for, something to fight for. Look around you and you will know how blessed you are. It is the time to get up and stand for what you believe in. The time for you to embrace your strengths, clean up the dirt, glue the broken pieces together, and show the world what you are made of. If you fail in doing so, try again. Keep trying, until you dare to conquer this complex life, or make the world seem a bit more magical all the while helping those who simply can't help themselves. Whether that means fixing what the world has helped to break, or having the decency to be a bit more mindful, especially of those who have been left behind. With the world as it is, we all sometimes need to be reminded to take the plunge, even if everything can sometimes seem quite trivial. But there are moments even amongst the greatest despair when the world proves that it's all worth it. When the small blue dot in the infinite universe where we live on reveals its true beauty, and when we'd think of rising ourselves up a notch.

Michigan & Mission Photography

Today I visited Michigan. With 2 of the most wonderful people I have met in United States, my professor William .F. Slater and his wonderful wife Joanna Roguska, who as matter of fact are now my extended family. 

Joanna is an amazing photographer and watching her take beautiful pictures provoked me to give photography an attempt. After many (failed) attempts I could take a few decent pictures. The pictures are very naive and absolutely unprocessed. I so much loved taking the pictures that now I sincerely intend to work on learning photography. 

A quick info that they are shot by Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX7V.

Love At First Sight!

It is my favorite time of the year. Autumn! Followed by the Winter.

While I was walking through the lovely brightly lit streets of Chicago Downtown with one of my best friends, chit chatting and catching up with life events in intense and interesting conversations, reminded me of my initial days (2011) which I had spent exploring the city on my own. All the memories and good times distilling through my mind briefly flashed in my eyes, and flowing through my face made my lips form a simple curve which has often set things right for me!

Hence a post, briefing on why Chicago and I got involved, and our sweet love affair.
I came to Chicago in the fall of 2011. The moment I landed from the aircraft after an exhaustively 23 hour long journey all across the Atlantic, I felt like I was into a place similar to what I had been living in. The zest and flavor of the enriching city was so much similar to that of my former love, Mumbai. I have always loved Mumbai, it has a special place in my heart. It had been a magnificent teacher, a splendid place which I now call ‘Home’. But Chicago was something more, something different, something charismatic. It was a home away from home.
Getting over with my jet-lag, I planned to roam around the city before I could get ready to give myself a kick-start for the new phase of my life. There is nothing more freeing and empowering than learning to like your own company and thus I liked the idea of exploring the city on my own.  I decided to go the North Side of the Chicago, which is more often called the ‘Downtown’. I was already captivated with the sensuality and magnetism of the city and was on my way to spoil myself in this mystic pleasure. I always prefer public transport (in a city) to a taxi and hence boarded the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) train line (It was the closest and cheapest mode of transport). The train was filled with people from various origins; their different facial expressions, personalities and wardrobes present added sparkle to the otherwise dull and uninteresting dimension of the public transportation system. Reaching Downtown, I felt the same joy and excitement that you see in a child in an amusement park. I got on the streets and began walking aimlessly around the city. Several vivid and sensual impressions of beautiful people all around, children laughing, lovers kissing, bands playing jazz music at one of the side walks and the sunlight wetting the city were absolutely mesmerizing. That moment made me realize one thing, boundaries don’t keep other people out, they fence ‘you’ in. The city swept me away from my feet by its marvelous architecture; the masterpieces reflected the perfect proximity of intelligent human artworks and impeccable machinery skills. The beautiful buildings and high rises were a perfect contrast of normal and extraordinary illusions. The city was truly a paradise!

The day went by roaming around aimlessly from one place to another, from one street to another and meeting new faces. While the evening was covering the sky and slowly the black net of night was bulging, overflowing with its glittering haul of city lights and stars, my ears began to ring with the very different sounds of people singing and laughing in the street each with a distinct tempo.
All this while thinking and unfolding my thoughts, I realized how my pursuit of achieving my dream, the invaluable guidance from my well-wishers, the strongest friendships, the love-hate relationships and the best made decisions (then thought worst!) has landed me on the other end of the globe. It was because of these events that I could take the courage to get out of my comfort zone, trust my instincts, and fly to Chicago to pursue what I believed in. Amongst all the lessons that I have learned in life, one of the most important things which I now believe in, is, if you believe in your dreams and you are willing to take the chance without giving a damn about what anyone would think about you, then the view from the other side is absolutely spectacular!
It was late night and I decided to head home. I dint know then, what was in store for me and where I might land up. Knowing none of it, I was falling for the city and its people. I fell, truly did, before the smile faded from my lips, into a dreamless, gentle sleep in my bed. I had fallen; unaware of the fact that it was the 'love at first sight!'

It truly was.