Transgender in the workforce- A much needed welcome change

The names- Sathyasri Sharmila, Manabi Bandopadhyay,Prithika Yashini, Joyita Mondal.. when you hear these, do they sound any different? No! Right?! Yet, these are pretty different when you look them up in Google. And to me, these names offer relief and pride.
About five years ago, when my daughter was born, we got visitors! I didn't dislike them, but was wary of their attitude which reflected that if they're not given the amount of money they are asking for, they would curse my new-born.. ouch!!!

I don't believe in a curse. But, here they were, yes.. the transgenders, clapping, singing, swaying to the beats of a small dholak like instrument.. were not they living a cursed life themselves all these years? A life which we, the 'privileged' people had gifted them with.. A life which shouted out for an equal treatment.. A life which they had not done anything to be living like..

Back to the story now.. so, I got very angry ( might be the hormones in a lady who had given birth through a C-section recently). I didn't know how to convince them to take the money that I was offering ( no, not fearing the curse, not expecting a wonderful blessing..). I simply wanted them to go.
They would not listen.. wouldn't budge.. wouldn't accept any other amount. Exasperated, I asked them why they didn't work and earn instead of this way of earning a living. They counter questioned me- "Who would give us a job?", " Who would accept us as one of them?"

I muttered but there's a third column for gender now in most of the government jobs applications!

When they left ( we settled for a not-you, not-me amount of money), I kept on thinking for a long time.
And, have always wondered in my heart.. why is it so difficult to accept the transgenders? They appear the same to as 'us'. Not physically obviously, but in all other ways. In fact, some of them are so pretty that you will look twice at them!By not letting them be a part of the workforce, imagine the loss that the economy is bearing every day. We talk about women,stress, diversity, maternity, benefits, and many more issues at the workplace. We have started to talk about diversity in a different light now. The number of people, from the transgender community, being recognised for their calibre and getting accepted in the government jobs is a welcome move. Cheers to each one of such hard working individuals who have made the way for other members of their community to come out of the shadows, the lowly life, the mockery.. This typically proves that the they are as good as any other 'normal' human.
What is the next step that we need to take- welcome them aboard! Show them respect! Admire them for the perseverance! Let us be kind! Let us be real.

Say No to New Year Resolutions!!

If ever I am asked to define myself (yeah..who knows, someday I become as famous as Oprah Winfrey and people might clamour to know every little detail about me! Hahaha.. keeping fingers crossed!).. so I was saying that if ever I am asked to define myself, the first word used will be- "LAZY". Yes, that's the basic characteristic of mine, however, fortunately I have learnt to condition myself and therefore get myself to do things. But, if you are one of those people who make New year Resolutions in the beginning of every single year, then am excited to say that you are lazier than me and boy! That's a relief!

Lazier? Yes, heard it right. Plain lazy, to not to understand the importance of that something which you feel is so important for you and yet wait for the new year to put it to practice! "This 2019, I will learn swimming." , "This New year, I will workout and lose some weight.", "This year I will have better relationships with my family.", Etc. Etc.

Come to think of it, are we not undermining our own welfare? Our own capabilities? Our own judgement? Of course, we can actually do anything that we put our hearts and minds to, irrespective of when and where. Saw someone practising something fantastic? Want to adopt the action into a good habit? Learnt a lesson today? .. Go on, inculcate the thing! Enjoy the moment of being the best of yourself! Andbless yourself. ;D

My Travels - Kaamroop Kamakhya, Assam

Being actually very lazy by nature, the fact that i seriously love travelling, caught me by surprise and did send me into a mode of 'self-examination'. Time and again smallest of the things have sent me into that mode and i have never liked myself more after every such 'examination'.

Travelling to new places, meeting new people (actually, you later realise that everywhere people are surprisingly the same as you, just in a different language), absorbing new cultures, new rituals, facing new difficulties- boils down to one word: Excitement! And every trip brings an energetic rush in the blood vessels.


I have to confess, but, most of the trips that i have been to have been a 'Surprise!!. One such visit has been to wowwwwww! , the abode of clouds, ahaaa, Meghalaya!!!! That too during the monsoons...

We were going through our usual, routine phase of misunderstanding and not talking and stuff.. when one rainy evening, back from office, he silently handed me a paper (we were not talking, remember!?) which as i soon saw, had a list of flights and trains to Shillong.. whoa whoa.. "but i want to see Meghalaya!", i sighed out loud. With a slight thumph on my head and a smile,"Hey, stupid, Shillong is in Meghalaya, don't you know?!", my knowledgeable husband clarified to me.




Grrrrrrrreatt... wowwww.. yayyyyyyy!

Now, our train tickets did not get confirmed, so we took a flight to Guwahati, to be picked by his college friend Mr.Dinanath, from there and to Shillong.


It was an early morning direct flight, our first together; and it was mostly empty (seems not most people go only to Guwahati). Assam was soooo green and clear, but very sticky ( because of the humidity). We had to meet Mr.Dina and his family at the Kamroop Kamakhya temple, dedicated to Devi Kamakhya. An A/C deluxe Airport bus service took us to Kamakhya. There was a huge crowd, and i had not imagined that it would take us so long to lay our eyes upon the shrine. Tickets of several denominations are sold and we bought those of Rs 101/- ( we didn't know that meant an approximate time of 3 hours in the line of devotees, while the ones sold for Rs 501/- meant less than 1/2 an hour's waiting time in another line through another side entrance!! phew!) The whole place exudes energy, power, divinity. You would almost feel that in your veins, the 'shakti' and the love of Maa Kamakhya!



Note:- There is a special line, way shorter and faster than the ordinary line for civilians, for the defence people and their 'known ones', who literally throng the place.



It's a BIG, ancient temple with a huge courtyard full of figures of the most of our Gods and Goddesses. There is a small temple outside of the main griha, where we broke the coconut offerings. The way to the main shrine is a long, sometimes dark, tunnel-like passage with stone walls. Every inch of that passage sends you into a period centuries ago. With all the chanting around us, it's crazy not to get bowled over when the first glimpse of the Devi appears, rustic, scented with incense, smeared with 'sindoor', all glittery and gorgeous! Behold.

Though heavily crowded all through the year, the visit is nowhere met with any kind of uneasiness, all thanks to the well-managed system for 'the Darshan'.


I will now leave my readers to rejoice in the divine presence of Mata Kamakhya till we meet again!

The Tale of the "Hanging Tooth"

When it comes to things, events, moments related to my childhood, i am as nostalgic as it can get! And, very often i run into incidents that keep reminding me of my childhood.

Being a child- WOW! :) That was clearly a no-hassles period! And to see, i used to feel stressed even then. Funny, no?!

Last week, i dreamt of "tooth decay". Seriously! in the dream, i was trying to pull out one of my teeth, which had decayed and already a bit loose from the gums. I woke up suddenly, but, with the images from the "milk-tooth" phase of my childhood; how at one point of time, my mouth had more vacant spaces than actual teeth. No, i am not talking about the teething phase here.

Every loose teeth brought with it, immense pain and more than immense fear- Pain brought by my insistence to keep on hanging with the hanging tooth, and fear of how much pain it would again cause when it actually left my gums! I would try to bear with the 'hanging tooth' until it voluntarily detached itself from his beloved gums. All this time, it would hamper my day-to-day activities. The 'hanging tooth' would 'half-roam' inside my mouth; made eating an arduous affair; and would bleed untimely, causing me to stop all activities that i would be indulged in.

My elder brother (who is similar to all brothers in ruthlessness, scare tactics and pure cruelty) was of the opinion that one should not wait for the 'voluntary fall' of the tooth, but tear it out from its roots as and when it started 'hanging', thereby preventing this extended duration of pain and inactivity. Haah.. tearing the loose tooth would cause tons of more pain!! No?!


One day as i was struggling with my loose tooth and moaning as usual about how it disturbed me, my brother asked if he could examine 'the' tooth? I, as you can understand, did NOT Trust Him! He knew this too.
Moments later, he came to me again. This time he had brought some solution with him. It was white and green. He declared that if that solution was applied to the gums, it would immediately relieve me of all pain. Thank you! I was suddenly more than ready to apply that solution on the gums. He offered to apply it. Obviously, he had a better view of the problematic tooth, so i accepted the generous offer. He was so caring. He applied the solution and had my 'hanging tooth' held between his fingers too!

He had accomplished the task of tearing out the loose tooth and was so happy. Cruel! And, that solution was his invention- a mixture of chalk powder and scraps of "Margo" soap!!

Anna Hazare Sahab and the Jan Lokpal bill- My feelings, My Expectations!

Anna Hazare - A name, then, i had never heard of; and now, i am extremely proud of.

Some people are his fierce, extremely loyal supporters, some his ardent critics, some call him "Aaj ka Gandhi", some even include him among the corrupt.

What does he mean to me? He, to me, is a ray of hope, a flicker of light in the darkness, a sign of clarity in my earlier state of utter confusion.
Yes, i am not a "Delhi Belly" fan; i don't approve of songs like "Dum Maaro Dum- Unche se uncha banda..". But, i don't always acknowledge this in public because i am not sure how the people around me would react to my sensibilities. Day after day, things like these and many more, would get me depressed over where we are taking our country; why is there moral degradation among our youth; why guys and girls of my age-group don't take our cultural heritage seriously; why even my friends make fun of me when i talk vehemently about morality, truth and humanity?

This great man- Hazare sahab, has shown me that the same youth who used to hide its Emotional Quotient behind its Intelligence Quotient, can stir up the whole system once it understands its own importance, the part it plays in our society.

Hazare sahab is hailed by men and women alike, by both young and old. People from all castes, religions, and all walks of life have gathered in his support. Am i dreaming? This has given me extreme happiness and made me so proud of my people all over again.

I had started to live in a bubble where i was exasperated- over the way corruption had eaten away the whole system; over how those elected to power by us to take us to new heights, had thrown us in deeper lows; over the trust in our highly educated and experienced politicians that was shattered; which had created only confusion in my mind about whom to choose when everybody is corrupt and selfish. That is slowly giving way to an altogether different phase of action, hope, energy, increasing clarity.

Jan Lokpal Bill-- A lot has already been said about its advantages over the Government's Lokpal Bill, so i won't go through the technical details of it again. Why do 'i' want it? Why do 'i' support it?

A young politician recently said in a discussion that we have laws in place to curb corruption, those should be enacted upon properly instead of launching another law in the name of Jan Lokpal. They say that there are chances that that one person, the Lokpal can fall prey to corruption too, then who would be responsible for his/her misdeeds?
I agree that the Lokpal can fall prey to corruption too. Then, he can be tried for his acts too. But, is it logical that because of being scared of this one person getting corrupt, a law which can punish hundreds of corrupt officials out there, should not be created?
However, i do not think that there is no need for Jan Lokpal when there are several laws already for prevention and cure of corruption. No, there is no law which asks for dismissal of a senior official at once when he is chargesheeted, there is no law to cause speedy trial and punishment for the corrupt, and for similar other cases.

I was a child when the Monica Lewinsky scandal shook the US. I don't remember the exact details of it, nor did i, then understand the exact nature of Bill Clinton's offence. But, i do remember how i was surprised at the speed and exactness with which the trial against Clinton took place; at the impeachment procedure (though i didn't know what it meant, i was sure it was a kind of, disgracing trial for the accused); and at how simple everything was for them. How could they try the President and punish him too? Weren't they afraid of his 'power'? How come Clinton could not manipulate the judiciary and get away with the blame?

I want trials like these, for the corrupt and accused in our country too; and i expect Jan Lokpal to bring that.

Those on senior posts, the politicians, the 'powerful', are not fearful of the Law. They and their long-distance relatives, and sometimes, even those from their villages feel proud of breaking the law and manipulating things for their own good.

I want this 'Gundaraaj' to end; and i expect Jan Lokpal to do that.

I am not stupidly enthusiastic about the glorious era that Jan Lokpal can bring in our country. I am not a die-hard believer of the fact Jan Lokpal can actually remove all of the existing corruption. I do not have a blind faith on the righteousness of the Jan Lokpal.

But, if truly, Jan Lokpal can not do these things, then why is the government scared of it? Why has the thing come so far that it became a revolution?

I am simply hopeful. And, Thank you Annaji, for waking up the youth; for bringing the 'D.K.Bose.. generation' back to its roots.; for making 'being patriotic' and 'Vande Mataram' fashionable again! Thank you so much!

My Favourite Political Party: Do i have a choice?

One thing that the opposition party is very constructive and energetic about today is 'Criticism', and i am surely appreciative of it. It's their job and they are doing it fine.
But.... are they really doing this for 'Us- the Janta', or for their own benefit??

Why didn't they take up the opportunity of setting up an atmosphere of the right governance, when they had the chance to do so? What happened to their intelligence, logic, rationalism, sensibility, energy, sanity (which is on display right now); when they were actually in government?

I sincerely do not want to have a doubt, but this is the same party which had left me disillusioned only a few years ago, for whose "India Shining" campaign's failure i had secretly prayed too!

Several years have passed since Bill Clinton's impeachment procedure. But, for the past week, the hazy memory of it, is recurring in my thoughts. As I have accepted earlier, that i am not a 'Gyaani' of politics; i can not understand why trial and punishment for the 'bad' politicians (Bad of any kind) of other countries is so speedy and easy, no matter at what level he is?? Why are the sons and daughters (Or cousin, or nephew, or friends' in-laws' friends' sons, etc.) of senior politicians in other countries not treated as the senior politician himself?? And, why the same does not happen in our country?


I think i digressed from the main point, or may be not. May be it's an offshoot of the thought process involving our politicians. I only meant, when in our country all politicians (no matter which political party they belong to), are of the same kind (when in power, mind it!)- Greedy, Multi-faced, very very powerful, superficial- then, who should i look upto??

I know, for sure that in the next general elections, i am not voting for the current party forming the government... and, i can not vote for the party in opposition today just because i am not voting for the former.......... the question is-- Do i have a choice? Whom should i want to get elected to power? Who is my favourite politician now??

I feel really like the "Aam Aadmi" again... 'Bechara', confused, choiceless, and truly 'Gareeb'.

Politics- I know nothing of it!

The previously posted definition is a result of my ongoing state of severe unrest which the daily news have caused. What has happened to our politicians? Were there really people like Baba Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Dr.Rajendra Prasad, Shastriji? Or, are these fictional characters like Krishna and Ram?

I have not known any Indian politician belonging to "my times", whom i can remember with respect; who stirs feelings of "Indianness" in me; who makes me try to be like him/her.

It was not always like this. A few years ago, i had immense respect and liking for one of our politicians. She is continuously taunted for not being "Indian", therefore not being understanding enough of our well-being. I thought nothing of those petty remarks and disliked the section of people who in my opinion were not focused on the real work that the lady was doing for us. I had been in awe of her sheer grit, strength, iron-will, focus, attention to detail, and the way she had brought back her party to power, after its unforgettable downfall. The party was not communal, people friendly and catered to the needy and poor; so, even the party gained my respect and acceptance.

Before embarking upon the story further, let me first explain that i am, by no means a "Gyaani of Politics". Till now, i was a happy, typical "common man", who is solely interested in what affects his/her life.

So, why the outburst???

This "common man" has suddenly found her life plagued by hundreds of issues in a head-on collision. No matter from which angle i try to look at them, they seem to be connected to today's political scenario.

Delving further into the flashback, when there was a time that i was supporting the party for its ideology, i was also disliking its biggest opponent party for being too religion-centric and not doing enough (it was still in power then). I had secretly hoped that it's "India Shining" campaign would nose dive. I smiled. My prayers were answered. My favourite party got elected to the Centre with a wide margin. All through those 5 years, i could not stop appreciating the developmental work done in our country, the employment opportunities generated, etc, etc. Come election time again, and i was superbly confident of the win of my favourite party again.

Is that confidence still there? Has the smile widened or waned? Am i any more respectful of my then favourite party or the hard-working lady from that party? How have i changed?