A Nightmarish Reality

Losing a person as young as you, who grew up as your shadow, but now is in a place that's far away from you. Sleepless nights, and if any sleep at all, visions where you see them again, outlandishly terrorized of what has happened to them. Whispering your name, asking you to have a look at their moist wounds, to help them tell everybody it's not for real, and that they are coming back to everybody who is already mourning their premature departure.

And then that drifting away til they finally dissolve in hazy air that appeared out of nowhere, arm out-stretched as far as they can to not let go of that one last grip, which will be all that you're going to remember. How you couldn't hold them close to you when you had that chance.

You try your best to picture how would have that 9-year-old bubbly-beautiful girl with short hair and bright eyes turned out to be after her adolescent years. How would she look like if she were with you today, after 10 years of her demise? You try your best but only find yourselves desperately looking for inklings from their siblings, parents and yourselves, failing desolately.

When you think about the relationship you used to share and what possible difference, if any could've 10 years made. If they would've graduated from the same school as you, be living in the same city as you. If they'd have grown up to become a person with same philosophical ideology as yours. Shared similar avocations as yours.

Death leaves a headache so fragile that it never really goes away, but is always there reminding you of its actuality. A heart so heavy and a depression that rises in your throat, pounding hard inside, leaving your heart wrenching in waves of turmoil. That first time you see them so pale, so cold, that's the last you'll ever get to see of them again. That'll be how you're going to remember them for the rest of your life. A vivacious soul that went to sleep, eternally. That girl with captivating persona who turned pale, inanimate.

Isn't it the most painful kind of death when you have to bear with the mourning in your heart for even longer than the days of their life?

Craay-zay Misconceptions People Have About Deserts.

It's very obvious for people to have their own set of curiosities about places they've never been to. But here's a list of insane questions I've been asked about my native place- The Thar Desert.

1.     Have you ever seen rain?
For a sec, even I hoped the inquirer was referring to the song by the Creedence Clearwater Revival. But nooo. This is the most outrageously absurd question I've come across til date. And it has to be. He actually meant if I'd ever seen the sky pouring, as if the clouds get sucked out of the space just because there're sand dunes down on the clod! *Facepalm*

The Thar Desert, just like any other part of the world experiences the 4 seasons including monsoon. There're even hailstorms and floods that destroy crops, like other states of India.

2.     Can you sustain winters?
It's a fact that deserts are subject to extreme temperature changes as freezing nights alternate with blazing hot days. Rajasthan has it's very own hill station too- Mount Abu, a part of the Aravalli Range. Mount Abu has a pleasent climate thanks to its rich dense green forest cover, In summers when typical temperature of desertious Rajasthan is around 44°C, Mount Abu's temperature is 31-34°C. In winters the temperature ranges from 10°C to-8°C (in Night).

My own city has witnessed temperature extremes of upto -2°C many a times in the winter season. So yeah, our winter wardrobes are pretty much brimful, just like your's! Hahh!

3.     Is everything made of sand?
Now I wouldn't complain if people ask questions because of the bias of photographic record. I've been asked if Rajasthan's railway tracks and highways actually look as depicted in the poster of the movie PK. While it's true that you'd find sand dunes around but that does come with a little vegetation, plain surface, 4/6 lane roads and flyovers as well. If you're planning to visit the state and expecting to find mounds of pure sand everywhere for your photoshoots, you're wrong. You would only find them in limited parts of the desert.

Don't be surprised if you find more landforms other than desert. Yes, there'll be hills & uplands, forests, more than a dozen lakes, 2 dozen plus rivers and lush green farms. Unlike the normal perception, there is vegetation even in the driest, hottest parts. You'll find these keekar trees almost everywhere, as far as your sight can go.

4.     Do you spot camels roaming around at any hour?
I'm not sure about the Middle-East and Sahara deserts, but we do not use camels as our means of public transport (other than exceptions of tourist activities). It's possible that you might spot a herd of camels in the sub-urbs or near village mandis. But no, we do not have our personal camels to pet or ride.

Normally, new borns' celebration acts do not include speeches naming 40 camels to the baby and property wills do not constitute of distribution of a herd of camels amongst the offsprings.

5.     Do you guys actually witness fights over water sources?
There are some parts that do get hit by water crisis in summers. But the situation is much better after the Indira Gandhi Canal Project was completed in the 1980's. Besides, there are ground water reserves and you'd find hand-pumps in villages and sub-urbs catering to the water requirements of peeps. However, most of the big towns and cities hardly face any crisis, and we've got abundant water supply for all our needs even in summers.

6.     You guys eat that dish, Daal-Baati, right?
My mother can serve you a plate or more of the most delectable daal-baati choorma you've ever had. But do not walk-in anyday of the week without prior notice expecting to join us over a dinner for that! We do eat some vegetables that you're unfamiliar with, like saangri, pattod and we eat baajri ki roti more often than you do. But other than that, we have usual food like you do.

*based on actual incidents.

Do we need to Employ a Police Jawaan for every single Woman and Girl in Delhi for their Safety?

It's so convenient for us to blame the administration whenever the law and order situation seems to take a toll. Undoubtedly politicians, followed by the police are the first ones in our list.

Now it's true that politicians do spice up the situation with their statements, often leaving the citizens in a mental frenzy about whom to blame next! But when it comes to the police force, especially Delhi Police, it has always been a soft target for any political party.

As known to us, unlike other states Delhi doesn’t have a full statehood. Meaning that its government has no home minister to defend it from the gratuitous political onslaught. Which explains why Delhi Police has become merely a force of "thulle" for our political leaders.

But why does every nasty crime in the National Capital Region of Delhi close the curtain on our 'jawaans' as being solely responsible?

Tweeting "Delhi police is criminals in uniform" somehow intensifies the issue.

It seems like CM Kejriwal scans the media and latches on to the fact that crime incidents take place under the homage of officers. Often launching an array of disrespectful verbal attacks on the Delhi Police.

Hailing from the police force of NCR, where every second person is a VIP or his relative, employee or associate of a VIP, these people sure have 'duties' are must be downright unconstitutional. It becomes even more difficult owing to the dreadful police-population ratio.

Capital cities have always witnessed a high crime rate because of several factors, most of which are not under any one party's control.

Based on my experiences with the Delhi Police, I am highlighting a very serious point here:

The police helpline number in the capital city is tremendously effective. Any call made to the number - 100 - automatically gets logged in a computerised system and a PCR van reaches the scene of crime, given that it is reported!

It's a quite common practice in India to play Holi pranks on relatives, neighbours or even strangers and pedestrians on the roadside. It's okay to some extent, when done in a friendly way. But, for a person like me who's never ever celebrated the festival or indulged in any pranks for personal reasons, getting a water-filled condom smacked at you by a gang of some 20-something goons is A VERY BIG DEAL.

Consider this: you're commuting with a girl-friend by an auto in a very crowded locality. All your clothes, hair, wallets and mobile phones get drenched in water all of a sudden. Your friend's liner literally gets washed off and it takes a while for you to realise that a whole bucket full of water has been splashed on you.

Would you still call this a prank? Well, I don't.

I asked the auto driver to halt the vehicle there itself and dialled 100. (Mind you, a prank isn't just a prank when a crowd gathers around you, gazes at you, mocking your wet clothes and laughs at your face)

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To my surprise, I got a text within a matter of seconds after hanging up. It contained details about the police van's vehicle number, the constable's mobile number and asked us to stay there as help would be made available shortly. In under less than 10 minutes, a police van reached us. Meanwhile, they also called us a couple of times to ensure we were safe and still there at the spot.

Of course, the pranksters and the local elderly who tried convincing us into letting go of it had fled the scene by then. I couldn't let it go standing drenched in water, in the middle of a crowded locality, with everyone around ogling at our wet bodies and clothes.

It was the third time I had been aimed at by pranksters and I was not gonna let go this time because being ogled at my wet body and clothes in public makes me uncomfortable and I'm not a coward to let them make me feel like an easy target for their definition of 'fun' activity.

Delhi Police's action as soon as I reported the crime:

In-spite of no proof or identification of the guys, the policemen escorted us near the police van and asked us to give any information we had about them. He then called up for a backup team and within 5 minutes a team of 5-7 constables reached the site and went inside the residential area to search for any hints about the pranksters.

One of the children who happened to be playing in a park nearby led us to the house of one of them. The boy's family and a crowd of 30-40 people of the colony who'd gathered there by then were warned by the officers. An FIR written by me was followed by this and the local vendors were warned to either give information about the guys or to remove their stalls from the site altogether if they ever fail to report to the police of any such activities in the future.

Turned out that this specific locality was infamous for these incidents despite being a very crowded place. The team of policemen then proposed to halt an auto for us to drop us home safely.

We were provided help in every way possible by Delhi Police:

They just served their duty towards 2 girls who had reached out to them for help when we felt unsafe traveling in the city. Notice the fact that how easily the police could've let it go given that Holi pranks is a very common scenario across the nation.

We asked for help, we received it. And I am grateful to Delhi Police.

Just one question, to everybody who lashes out on Delhi Police everytime a crime happens. "Do we need to employ a jawaan for every single woman and girl in the capital for their safety? Are these policemen and their superiors themselves raping women?"

A crime doesn’t take place in isolation. All criminals, victims, citizens (and policemen) are a part of the same society. They (victims) live among us, (criminals) commit crimes among us, and (policemen) work among us.

All that we have to do is, be aware citizens and actively participate in helping policemen in maintaining law and order of OUR society. If a crime is not going to be reported ON TIME by eye-witnesses, how can we expect any action against the culprits?

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Police is not meant to act as our bodyguards, but to take action against those who do wrong within our society.

What I've shared here, wasn't exactly a crime. But given the tiny-winy intensity of it and the splendid display of dedication of the policemen towards their duty, imagine the extent to which their work can influence the law and order of the city.

Not every recruit in Delhi Police has done something to get bashed collectively with the spiteful comments that it is showered with time to time. This was one of my many experiences with the police of NCR. There've been numerous other times when I asked for help and received it. Sadly, it doesn't make to the headlines because it's just their 'job'.

To sum it up:

Please do not ever verbally abuse a policeman, because they take up their duties much more professionally than those in power. Like every other respected field of work, they deserve an applause for being true to their work. This blog-piece was just one attempt in that direction.

Do not become ignorant fools by believing everything that these power-hungry men want you to believe. While the police is out there, taking up their responsibilities seriously, RESPECT THEM FOR IT and understand your duties towards the society as well by helping police maintain law and order. That institution alone is not responsible for whatever is happening in the city. We all are. And together, we have to fight the evils and anti-social creatures.

Instead of following the sheep-herd mentality and ruling out the possibility of any help reaching out to you, try having an iota of faith. Do your part as a citizen. Report crimes when they happen in front of you.