Is Revenge Justified??

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” This brilliant citation by the revolutionary non-violent freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, talks about the whole state of affairs of the current world in just 10 words. Following the path of non-violence can sure save the world from killing itself, but can non-violence be justified for the most heinous crimes? Do the victims not deserve their right of getting back? Isn’t it right for a victim to take the law in his/her hands if the law is helpless and wants evidence when the criminal is visible in plain daylight?

Revenge has been an old-fashioned emotion of humans, only the methods have changed- during the World War people committing crimes were beheaded with guillotines and now the recent methods of jailing till death have replaced them. And have we heard about people getting executed due to their crimes in the recent past? The answer to this is an unambiguous no. People committing atrocious crimes like raping women or kidnapping and causing bloodbaths have been known to be killed in the most painless ways or being held captive with provision of the best services due to the newest human rights laws. But do these savage animals warrant “human” rights?

Vengeance has a lot of significance, and not only the local front but also on the global frontier. Many countries feel it necessary to show off their strengths and display that their nation is not a weak one and would not get easily bullied into submission. The reaction of a certain nation to an act of terrorism on a state can also be counted as a show of force in the field of weaponry and defense. The action of Japan on the twin bombings during the World War put their nation away from the torment and inaction. The attack planned and executed on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii took America by surprise and also acted as an act of defiance and non-tolerance by Japan towards the larger nation.

An act of violence which is committed in order to bring the perpetrator of a crime to his end is an act of justice. Be it violent or non-violent, this act should not be punished as it makes the person responsible for his crimes feel the pain and anguish behind his doings. Terrorist attacks in the past decade have not gone scot-free as the larger sovereign nations of the United States and the other NATO nations have firmly put their hand on the criminals and have promised the public to punish them. The killing of Osama bin Laden was a brutal murder by the United States, but the pride felt by the assassin is extreme as the slaying of such a criminal soul is considered justice for all of the hundreds slaughtered in the name of religion.

The rise of unethical religious terrorist groups like the al-Qaeda or the Ku Klux Klan has put the world at a higher danger, but aren’t these mischief-mongers supposed to be wiped of the face of the earth. At some point of time, the general public has to take action against these evil minds. Killing them after they massacre scores of people is one of the best options to cleanse the earth of this scum.

But are we on the right track? Isn’t killing supposed to wipe of the whole human race?

Killing, even in the name of justice is supposed to be a crime. It may give the victim the sense of being given justice for a short period of time. But, in the long term, this feeling scrapes of the soul of the victim. This shows that revenge is a temporary heaven, but a permanent hell. In the act of taking revenge, the collateral damage caused to society may rise to unnatural levels and in the end cause problems to human society. The assassins and Special Forces created by governments to protect their countries and also to defend them create a whole race of psychopaths no different from the sinners they wipe off. But isn’t the obstruction of justice a crime in the statutes of the law? So should we stop justice to the victims by cutting the criminals from their miseries?

Payback is a thing supported by all sides of humanity, and it is the universal belief that a person always gets punished for his sins. Then why shouldn’t man act of his own accord and punish the perpetrators at that point of time rather than waiting for a lifetime to pass by? Revenge against a wrong-doer is always justified in my opinion and it should be taken as soon as the unlawful person is unearthed.

Harsh Love

The soft patter of the rain thundering on the window panes was the only sound being heard. Not the tick of the clock, or the buzz of flies. These unlikely conditions being amplified by the fact that the time was 3; 3 in the afternoon. Punctuated by a soft hum, the rain continued incessantly. The table shook mildly and subsided to its original position. The hand moved away from the open pile of books, and moved knowingly towards the object sitting at the center of the table.

Picking it up, he browsed through the contents of the message he had just received. Reading it several times did not make things any better and he just froze. The world he had been happily in returned to him; those moments of happiness; of shared passion; shared time; and, the shared love. But for him, there was no way to forget the last conversation they had had. He still could not believe what he had said. The ridge it had created between them, and the hurt he had caused her. But now, here she was again. What had given her the will, the strength and the courage to return back to him? He could not believe his own eyes as he slipped into the bowels of the past; to the moment when he had destroyed all those moments of happiness, love and passion.

The Friday morning air stirred the whole environment. Hot and humid, direct from the tropics.  The air conditioner spewing cold air in torrents but not having an effect on the temperature in the room. The solo figure laying on the bed, with fingers moving soundlessly on the screen of the tab held in his hand. A smile lingered on his face as he kept moving his fingers; talking continuously to his best friend. The friend he never wanted to lose, never wanted to hurt, never wanted to see in pain. The one person he cared about the most, the one person he wanted to see happy- Sally.

Open the door, she replied to him. Surprised at this sudden command from her, he walked to door of his flat and slowly opened it. She rushed into his arms, and threw him off his feet. Hugging him tightly, she held on to him as he deposited her on the sofa which lay at the corner of the room.

Sitting next to him and clasping his hand, she said,” Why is my Sam looking so tired today?”

“No Sal, it’s nothing. Just having a bad day. But now that you are here it will all change,” he replied with a slight echo in his voice. Sensing the stutter and lack of composure in his voice, Sally turned Samuel towards her.

“What happened dear? You won’t tell me as well,” she asked him while he just looked into her deep eyes and fell deep into them.

“It’s nothing. I’ll manage sweety, there’s no need for you to sleep over this.”

“I anyways won’t be able to sleep if you like this,” she replied sternly with a slight temper visible.

“i’ll be fine love, I just need some time.”

“Then i’ll get going. You stay alone, and after that if you feel you can talk then call me. Anyways, I just came to tell you a sweet little good bye.”

“Why good-bye? You going anywhere,” he asked with a slight irritation.

“Great, you forgot this as well. I am off to New York for a week. I have my job interviews there,” she exclaimed.

“I am stuck in this deep problem since a week! I don’t know what day it is. And yeah, go on to New York. Get a job there, find a great guy also and get settled with him. Anyways all i’ve done is to forget all you say, haven’t I?”

“You are getting me wrong! I just came here to be with you for some time. It will be a week before we can meet again that’s why. I didn’t want anything else.”

“Just go and leave me alone. I don’t want to be with anyone.” Taking her by the hand, he walked to the door and opened it. Sally’s eyes welled with tears at this action by him and she obeyed. She ducked through the doorway and stood facing him.

“Don’t start with your crying stuff. I can’t take it anymore. You got a job, and stuff to do and enjoy. What will you get from a loser like me? Nothing. So just go and live your life. Get a guy who can earn and be like you. That will be exactly what you want from inside, you just won’t tell me.”

“Fine. Now I’ll do what I feel is right. Enjoy your day. See you later,” she replied. Choking on her tears, she turned her back and ran away, far away into the distance.

But now, here she was. Back again to be talk with him. He knew not what to do; he didn’t want to hurt her again; not repeat all he had said to her. But his heart made him pick up the phone again. He typed in the words, and there started their conversation again. But the question kept reverberating in his mind, what was the source of her strength to return back to him? He did not have any idea about the answer, and he never would know it. But all he knew was that he would be hurting her again, and he wished that love would not be so barbaric and cruel.

My Hero..

His soft touch,

His engrossed attention,

And his continual presence.

Those enjoyment laden hours spent at home and in the compounds,

Playing numerous games,

And those minutes spent at home studying.

Those long discussions,

And the entertaining tales,

Spent pleasurably, with a smile on both our faces.

Always free for me,

No matter what be the time,

No matter how tired he may be.

With his immense care,

He always stands by me,

With his arms on my shoulder,

Protecting me from the tough ways of life.

Supporting me in every one of my antics,

And my passions,

Forcing me to enjoy,

And to live life the way I want.

His silent naps in the afternoons,

With gentle snores,

His humming of old songs while keeping me company,

And his prickly beard (Just at times) while we share a quick hug.

More awesome than any person in my life,

He is my hero, my idol.

His presence makes me smile,

And his support pushes me through every difficulty.

His life-long perseverance gives me the strength to endure,

And to success in life, the way he has done.

Love you so much Dad..Thank you for all your support, love, and care..:* :* :’D :’D

It's just good business

Stealing the title from a dialogue said by Lord Beckett in the Movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, I move on to the incident which blew past me all of a sudden and hit me right in the face. Sitting alone in one of the several thousand auto-rickshaws racing along on the Mumbai suburb roads; I gazed at the vehicles going past and buildings flowing past at a steady pace.

Signals are commonplace in Mumbai and soon my ride came to a halt. As the signal turns red, the beggars get into position. The cars stop at the red light, and then their business begins. Moving from vehicle to vehicle, they use their poverty to ask for money; they use their disfigured bodies; they use the name of God to exploit people; they use their sex to earn their living.

This is basically what the rickshaw driver said to me once this business started taking place.

Yeh log ka toh roj ka hai. Subeh uthte hai aur sidha chalu. Aise kaam karke saale log din ke hajar rupaye kama lete hai. Dono waqt murgi khaate hai aur sath main daru aur cigarette, voh bhi mehenge vale. Kamate toh hum bhi hai, but kharcha bhi utna ho jaata hai- bacho ki padhai, bijli ka bill aur sab. In logo ko toh kuch nahi bharna padta. Unke bacho ko toh kuch padhna bhi nahi padhta, paida huye aur sidhe kaam pe. Pura din yehi karte hai- uthte hai, sidhe kaam chalu,jitna milta hai utne main se khaana lete hai aur baki ka daru pe. Aur kabhi bhi unko paise ki kami nahi hoti kyonki koi-koi log toh 100-200 rupaye bhi de dete hai.

Jindagi main unka ek hi kaam hai, aur voh hai bacha paida karna; jitne bache, utni jyada aamdani unko.

Hey Bholenath! Aur yeh aurat ko dekho; aisa nahi ke kuch dhang ka kaam karke paise kama legi! Idhar signal pe aake h**** banke kamana hai fokat mein. Yeh sab iss signal pe sabse jyada chalta hai kyonki panch raste milte hai yahan. Bahut dhanda hota hai.

(This is their daily business. They wake up early in the morning and the first thing they do is start begging. Doing such jobs, these people earn approximately Rs.1000 per day. Both their meals consist of chicken, alcohol and cigarettes, all of the best quality. Even we manage to earn this much daily, but spending patterns also differ- I have to pay for my child’s school fees, and the bills and what not. These vagrants don’t have to pay a dime for anything. Their children don’t even need studies, all they have to do is ask. Their schedule consists of just some things- wake up, and beg. They buy food from what they get, and from the remaining they buy their alcohol. And the main thing is that they never have a scarcity of money; some foolish rich guy comes and gives them Rs. 100-200.

But the only work they have in their life is to get kids; the more number of kids they have, the more is their daily earning. Hey Lord! And see this woman, she can earn by doing some odd job at anyone’s house. But no, she wants to earn at this signal by posing as a homosexual. And this takes place maximum at this signal because 5 roads meet at this signal, this leads to maximum income.)

Not a lot of this struck me as important, but the point about having kids took me back in time to the Economics lecture I had gone through. A picture with a question tag: “Why do you have kids when you are poor?”

And the answer to this by a poor woman with a dozen or so kids was:”I have a lot of kids BECAUSE I am poor.”

Seeing it from a poor family’s point of view, this strikes me to be the perfect option. But seeing it as a third person, it poses itself to be selfishness and exploitation with the combination of child labour as well. It is not at all beneficial to the economy and to the general public, and to the poor people who earn by working honestly. This malpractice also works to prevent children from getting educated and living honest and sophisticated lives; and makes them continue their lifestyle from generation to generation in the dark lives of poverty.

To just sum it up, ITS JUST GOOD BUSINESS…