India has lost an "Amanat"

In the morning I turned my phone on and I saw, on Facebook, my friends posted about the 23 year old daughter of India passing away, media called her ‘Amanat’. I could not help myself but started crying shaken by this lost life. I did not know her. I haven’t seen her. No matter how hard I try to put all my senses together and mix it with all possible extraordinary knowledge I will not be able to understand what this girl has gone through. With all my heart and head put together I will still be at my best and understand just a fraction of her misery.

If someone asks me ‘what do you think you would do to such criminals?’ my heart will say forgive them and give them a chance to restore but my mind might say hang them. I am neither a High Court Judge nor a Messiah but as conscious human I understand one thing, this is immorality at its peak, murder of the system a million times plus one and the whole society at stake.

Newspaper, TV and social networks are hammering the issue day and night. The objective behind it is to find out “Whose fault it is?”

Is it the fault of the society that talks about the animal rights and treats human as animals? Or the society that is close to dogs in their houses but turns a blind eye to the hungry at their gate? Is government to be blamed by the citizens? Or government has a right to blame the nation? Is the western influence at fault or is there a fault in our own culture? Does it really matter to get into all of that and make a display of our own nakedness to the world? Or is it all right to bring it to the streets?

I think the solution lies with each one of us. Can we stand up and try to influence at least one man to put himself in the shoes of his mother, wife, sister or daughter and feel what they feel? Can we influence at least one woman to think and act in a way that she will not fall prey to any nonsense?

All the ladies reading this, to all the mothers, sisters, daughters here; I want you to know that you are precious, I value you for what God has made you and I respect you for who you are.

I have been reading and hearing about Amanat’s incidence and not surprised for the reactions of people all over. In fact I welcome them and congratulate all of those who are out there on streets. It is for the first time India has seen something like this and I pray it will bring a significant change. I am hopeful, very optimistic and eager to see what India is going to do. I really want to see a better January-2013 and better yet December.

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Have you asked Right Questions to Life? If you did you would have had all the right answers on you

While talking to my brother the other day I realized something we all are often mistaken at. He shared a story about a sister. In her story filled with lot of encouragement and faith there was this unusual contradiction that confuses herself and the listeners alike. While going through all the challenges and overcoming them faithfully she had this question that troubled her all the time, "Why me God?"

I hear this question repeatedly and it comes from all the age groups. In fact, off late I hear it little more than in past. Well, don't we tend to ask this question ourselves at times? And my immediate natural response to this question is, "Tell me one reason why not you?" Honestly, I cannot recollect where and how I found this thought but it really makes a great deal of sense to me. It humbles me and tells me that I am just like every other person sharing this planet with me and I am bound to experience the consequences of all the actions and attitudes as much as all of my fellow travelers do.

This and many other questions that they feel are unanswered forever. Man feels left alone without any solution to his inner ache and in his search for the answer he is lost in a hopeless endeavor until (and even after) he settles for compromised situations.

Once a photographer friend of mine asked me a question, "What do you do to understand what your client wants from you?" I was very quick, "I just throw right questions at them", I said. One of the keys that I consider very important as an artist is that whether I ask right questions before putting my hands to actual work.

I think this principle applies to life in general. Most of the time we go on asking wrong questions to life and often we wonder why there is no relevant answer in place. Have you asked Right Questions to Life? If you did you would have had all the right answers on you.

Pictures Inspire

Normally I do not sit in front of the television with the intention to watch programs or movies. A couple of days back I happened to watch few parts of some of the TV serials, absolutely ACCIDENTALLY.

In Hindi cinema and TV serials there was a time when the story revolved around a person or two. Almost always this person was an upright character with a very positive attitude and helping others around him and that made them a Hero or a Heroine of the play. We had at least handful stories that inspired us, fed our minds and helped us think wisely and many of us learnt lessons through them.

Today the picture is completely different. People have changed the ways they made movies and so did movies as far as making a change in people is concerned.

After reading reviews on few such serials I found out that most of them feature more of the cruel and cunning characters being dominant over others and simple ones suffering all the time. Casts are being awarded for their efforts to bring these issues of old times on the screen is if they were never known to the world and production houses are making money by wasting the time of the women sitting in our homes.

If we dig a little dipper and try to find out the reason behind this then we will come up with one thing that will say, “We need something new, we need change”. They say change is good. I hardly see it around. I see bad things changing to worse and good things slowly disappear. In this fast changing world we are so busy entertaining our hearts that we forget all old good things that were once close to that same heart. In the whole process of these changing pictures in front of our eyes we end up changing our mind frame every next moment.

We are not sure whether our kids will come back in the evening with the same mind frame that they left the house in the morning. Kids are not sure what will change their dad’s mind next moment. Wives are afraid about the fluctuating thoughts of their husbands and husbands are no more shocked by wives’ every other forgotten decision.

Fast paced picturesque world is responsible to this at large. They are making more movies, more serials, more reality shows, more news these days and more channels coming up to air them. Last decade must have produced more of it than all of them produced in the history put together. Obliviously it has a bigger impact too; at least the viewership data says so.

King David said, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes”. I am sure he knew, ‘whatever I see affects my thoughts and then my actions and my living’.

Can I be little sensible to think what is placed before mine eyes and be careful about how it inspires me?

It really depends on what I see. Oh! The pictures inspire me.

In India thousands of hours are wasted in front of the idiot box or in cinema halls and pondering over uncountable useless things after watching it. Do I have to explain what the outcome is?

Anyway, You are all mine.

I always have a lot to speak
no time to listen, almost
But it's me who complains
there is nobody that hears

I'll better keep my mouth shut
and listen to what you want to say
I may not be able to give you anything
Just happy, if I could at least share your pain

How wonderful will it be
if I realize difficulties you are going through
I know that may not be possible
because my understanding, still to grow

Are there many in the world
who may take me to count on?
Can I be that shoulder
they may cry, relax and rest upon?

Oh Lord! Grant their desires, answer prayers
and make them truly happy
I may not even ask for anything more
Anyway, You are all mine.
Anyway, You are all mine.

- Anil Parkhe