If only, she would abort her girl child to protect her from rape..

Unwanted as a baby, insulted as a girl, raped as a woman and silenced as a lady. When did our definition of a woman undergo such a sea of changes ?  Expected to give up her career to raise a family and complete all her chores on time, never asked for an opinion, not allowed to enter the temple in her periods as if it is something she does against God's wishes, dutifully provide the family with healthy sons that grow up to be as insensitive as the others, beaten, burnt and raped. When did we lose our humanity and fell so low that we stopped respecting and started raping the womb that gave us birth ? Many of you might be offended by the title of this post, but I stand by it with all my courage. I would be least surprised if a pregnant woman decides not to have a girl child for the fear of what happened to a 23-year old student in Delhi. Being her age, I can't imagine the trauma that she must be going through.

The media is hungry for that one sensational byte, one statement from the family, one more picture! They manage to ignite a protest, start support groups online, abuse the accused on social networks. But what good does it bring to the victim ? She has become the talk of the nation, but how is it helping her ? Not long ago, a girl from North East India was publicly molested and beaten. The case became viral on Youtube overnight. Banners were hanged, posters were painted. What good came out of it, still manages to stay a mystery. A german woman was raped and murdered in Goa last year and instead of justice, advice was served. Tourists were asked to dress and behave according to the Indian customs while they were in India.

"Protest infront of India Gate, 22nd Dec, show your support". I received this text a few days back, asking me to show my support for the gangrape victim. Many of my friends swore that they wouldn't miss it for the world. Although it did make me think, were they excited because they thought it was cool that they were protesting for a cause for the first time ? or were they angry because an innocent 23-year old was gangraped and thrown out of a moving bus ? 'All the female politicians must be raped', this filth also made it to every youngster's phone, as if the recent happenings weren't disgusting enough. Just this morning, I was informed that the punjabi rockstar Honey Singh has composed a song on the victim, depicting his rage and suppressed anger. All I felt upon hearing it, was humiliation and shame. An obnoxious Bollywood star saw this as an opportunity of promoting his latest movie. The opposition sees it as a means of initiating a political riot. 

What fears me the most is that have we started taking pleasure in the victim's misery or do we enjoy the blame-game ? Some blame the accused, others blame the city altogether.

The main accused, Ram Singh, the bus driver, said that he only did this because his friends thought he was not man enough to have sex with a woman. How does forcing yourself on a woman prove your manhood ? How does that third leg give them the advantage of being superior over women ? Of all the rape case accused that are arrested, almost 70% accept that they did this to show her "her real place". But then, how does forcefully inserting your penis into a vulnerable woman's vagina do that ?

The body, the scars, they all might heal, but will the soul ever heal ? I myself live in a conservative North Indian Punjabi family. I'm not allowed to leave my house alone after 6 in the evening. Even if I have to got to the nearby chemist, I take my brother along. It never makes sense to me, but I do the needful to ease out my parents' worry. But what if a gang of six decide they want to rape me, will my brother be able to protect me ? You see ? right there, something is wrong at the bottom of it all.  

The current maximum penalty in rape cases in India is life imprisonment. Officials say that death sentence has been put on the table and it might be served in extreme rape cases. What I want to know is that, what will be the criteria of deciding which case is an extreme and which isn't.

Is a woman raped by one man for ten minutes any less haunted than a woman gangraped by 6 men for an hour ?

This post is my not-so-poignant ode to the dying human spirit.

14 Hours - A Book Review.

Title : 14 Hours - An insider's account of the Taj Attack.

Author - Ankur Chawla

Publisher - Rupa Publications India

Genre - Personal Experience

ISBN - 9788129120656

Pages - 162

Rating - 4/5

About the Author [Source : Internet]

Ankur Chawla went to school in Delhi and then graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management, Shimla. He was selected as an operations management trainee with the Taj Group of Hotels. He has worked at different Taj properties, including the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, for almost five years. Ankur has, over the years, also played musical instruments such as the tabla and drums, participated in theatre, acted in documentaries and undertaken several public-speaking and marketing engagements. He currently holds a managerial position in the food and beverage department at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi.

Summary

A stark and compelling narrative , this is the story of a man who battled immense fear and peril to emerge a survivor.

Ankur Chawla says ' Working in a hotel prepares you for many things, but not this. I could hardly agree more with him. 26 November 2008. Mumbai was terrorized to its core and  Ankur Chawla has given us the insider's account of those dreadful 14 hours in there. I did not want to judge this book like any other books that I read, simply because of the sheer soul Ankur has tried to put in. If he is anything, its brave for me. If I would have been in his place, I wouldn't have had the courage to re-live the trauma even after several years. I applaud him for the genuine effort. 

This book is a tribute to those who died in the attack and a salutation to the spirit of those who survived.

At times, when I closed my eyes, I could see the shady figures dancing around with rifles and the grey bagpack.

The story has been heard numerous times, in snippets, on various news channels and read on laudable newspapers, but what they could not provide was the first-hand account and the racing heartbeats of the people fighting their fates against this unfortunate mishappening inside the Taj.

About being totally honest, I do think the book had some glitches and grammatical errors, but of course writing a book, specially the one with these kinds of feelings attached can be really hard. Perhaps, maybe Ankur could have hired somebody to do a better job at it. Still, this does not affect my rating of the book and neither does the sentiment lose any of its original value.

It was a tragedy that we may never even wish upon our foes. I hope Ankur regains his 'before-incident' chirpy self, although we all know that is easier said than done. Mumbai had been terrorized and so was the rest of the country.

I can only wish peace.

My rating for this brave narrative would be 4/5.

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The Bankster - A Book Review.

Title: The Bankster

Author: Ravi Subramaniam

Publisher: Rupa Publications India

Genre: Fiction

ISBN: 9788129120489

Pages: 358

Rating: 4/5

About the Author (Source - Internet)

Ravi Subramanian an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. It is but natural that his stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Dharini and daughter Anusha. In 2008, he won the Golden Quill Readers Choice award for his debut novel, If God was a Banker. 

To know more about Ravi, visit www.ravisubramanian.in or email him at info@ ravisubramanian.in. To connect with him, log on to Facebook at www.facebook. com/authorravisubramanian or tweet to @subramanianravi.

Bankers build their careers on trust, or so everyone thinks, till a series of murders threaten to destroy the reputation that the Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) has built over the years. Who is behind these killings, and what is their motive?

When Karan Panjabi, press reporter and ex-banker, digs deeper, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a global conspiracy with far reaching ramifications a secret that could not only destroy the bank but also cast a shadow on the entire nation. With only thirty-six hours at his disposal, he must fight the clock and trust no one if he is to stay alive and uncover the truth.

Bestselling author Ravi Subramanian, a master storyteller of financial crime and winner of the Golden Quill Readers Choice Award, returns with his most gripping thriller yet.

Summary

The book begins with three parallel stories and then in the mid-way is left with two stories. The parallel stories are that of Joseph Braganza in Angola, Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) in Mumbai, and Krishna Memon in Devikulam, Kerala.

The author writes about the sad state of affairs of the rich trying to get richer through frauds. Like many other readers, what hit me the first time I saw the book, was its title. It isn’t the banker, it’s the bankster. The name itself has put in a lot of weight and suspense to the story.

GB2 is the main centre of the story, a reporter from TOI, the nuclear power plant story, many stories have been intertwined with each other and Ravi Subramaniam deserves a great round of applaud for it.

Infact, what isn’t clear until the end is what exactly is the crime and what has menon got to do with it ?

I won’t unfold the rest of the mystery here, In order to know more, buy the book from your nearest book stores, or online from Flipkart.com.

This review is a part of BlogAdda's Book Review Program.

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