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.