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Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde

~ Doctor. Author. Mahabharata fanatic. Yoga enthusiast. Sanskrit learner. Chiku's (my doggie) adopted hooman. Love to unfurl with pencil sketching, Kishore Kumar & black coffee laced with Hazelnut syrup. Curious about the Mystique.

Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde

Category Archives: Social Causes

Scratch on my car; Wound on my heart!

05 Monday May 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in My cars- my chariots, Random Musings, Social Causes, Spirituality

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

Accident, car, car accident, emotional attachment, Emotions, feelins, Heartbreak, possessiveness, Scratches, Trauma

I saw a gleaming Porsche in my colony yesterday. I eyed the beauty with a single thought, ‘How does it’s owner manage to sleep peacefully? Every night this dream is parked outside unguarded; must be possessive agony till he/she sees it safe and sound next morning.’

I found out the next day…Today. The Porsche was fine. My car had been banged into by an unknown reckless driver.

I received the gloomy details courtesy my maid. Time: 9.30 am. Damage: Emblem ripped off, Bumper hanging out. Witness: None. (Yes, on a crowded, buzzing with life, weekday morning. I can totally see why Nobody Killed Jessica can happen in our country). Assailant: Absconding.

I heard in silence. My heart held anything but silence.

2 voices babbled within me. The Intellectual one; saying ‘Don’t react. It is a mere material object; not worthy of emotional attachment. The mind always blows out of proportion a minor problem. Intellectualize the problem.’

The Emotional voice sobbed, “It is not a mere material object. She is My car. My baby!’

Intellectual said, ‘Possession is a Momentary Joy; and Permanent Agony at the thought of losing it.’ When  I brought her home 2 years, the dread started: regarding the First Scratch.

My Liva is an electric blue. IMG_0034 The tiniest scratch would stand out like a jagged scar. Why hadn’t I listened to my brother’s sensible suggestion of White or Silver? He then offered me another sensible suggestion, “Make the first scratch yourself. It will hurt less.’ I had shuddered at the mere hint.

Back to today. As I rode down the elevator, I steeled myself for the inevitable. Practical one reminded me gently to carry the home key(or you are stuck outdoors), turn off the geyser (nobody wants two accidents to crash into their lives). Intellectual one prodded me- ‘Visualize the damage and make it as worse as you can. Reality will seem much bearable in comparison. ‘

Emotional one screwed shut its eyes before they saw. Practical one glanced to see if the car was jutting out; badly parked? It wasn’t. I was not guilty. Then why? Out of all the cars parked in a row…unaffected. Why my car? Why Mine?

Intellectual one reasoned , ‘It could have been worse.

1.You could have been inside when the other car banged into it.

2.You could have been the cause of your car accident.’

Maybe. It could have been worse. Perhaps the blow we receive is a pre-softened version of the one meant for us.

Emotional one stooped over the car, with trembling lips. ‘No, it was not mere metal and paint. She was my darling. Hurt, bruised, ripped. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and carry her home. She was my private Oasis from the humanity overflowing outside it, my  Chariot. Mine.’

Wynand says in Fountainhead, ‘Whenever anything becomes Mine; it acquires a special quality,  a halo around it.’ I identified completely with him.

The Practical one assessed the damage in cool detachment. It checked the Insurance date. Checked the PUC. Mechanically reached for the service station and dialed an appointment.

Tomorrow, the mechanic, the  truly emotionally-detached will decide whether my Baby gets hospitalized or waltzes home with a mere band-aid.

So, is  ‘Emotional detachment’ a farce?

If a Philosophy is not practicable, can it still exist?

What does your car mean to you- Possession, Object or Beloved?

Rare Verdict. Common crime.

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Random Musings, Social Causes

≈ 68 Comments

Tags

crime, death sentence, Flavia Agnes, judgment, juvenile rapist, maximum comments, nirbhaya, rape, Shakti mills, survivor, verdict

Flavia Agnes calls herself a Feminist and Legal scholar.
Flavia Agnes terms the Shakti Mills Death-Verdict as “Too harsh on young boys from impoverished backgrounds.”

1. Too Harsh? : You know what I find harsh? Life for the Justice-Seekers(JS)

If you die, so much the better JS! We can swipe a collective tear, then build a mausoleum in your name, introduce a law in your name. Hell, even allow Mahesh Bhatt to pour it all on celluloid! Posthumous celebrity status for you, JS!
Of course, when it comes to enacting that particular law… We can deal with your obituaries. Just don’t remind us of our unkempt promises.

On the other hand, If you survive…what a blasted headache you are! We now need to take sides, judge, debate, juggle, evaluate. We now have a dual problem on our hands- rehabilitation of you and rehabilitation of the criminals. We are especially interested in the latter.
The JS survived. A Survivor, not a Victim. That , of course means
a] The crime was not heinous enough. I mean, no intestines hanging out, no metallic objects ripping internal organs. Nothing Serious.

Our standards have risen since that December. We need more gore before our blood boils. Ms Agnes, could you enumerate exactly how many gashes, fractures and liters of JS blood quantifies as ‘Heinous-enough’ for you?

b] She survived= She is strong enough. Mentally and physically. She will cope. She publicly declared that she will not allow this incident to rip apart her life. What a relief we don’t have to deal with a whiner!
But what about our bottled empathy? It needs a release and a recipient. Ah, might as well heap it on the ‘poor angel criminals’.

The criminals erred, therefore they are human. By default, they deserve human rights.
The JS has no human rights; because the JS is not human…just a bloody statistic.
Such breath-taking clarity of thought!

2. Too young to punish; but not too young to sin: ‘‘Under-age’ as a terminology, a fundamental right, a loophole.

Let us reverse the roles. Underage JS; adult criminal. Does the Law have a special clause for this? Double punishment? Augment the sentence from Life to Death? Ms Agnes, do enlighten us.

3. Poverty trump card: Ms Agnes, Legal expert and Feminist, contributes another loop-hole for the benefit of criminals. Poverty!!!
Stealing out of poverty, begging out of poverty… I can still understand. Raping out of poverty??? I am zapped by the flights of your imagination, Ms Agnes.

The rich have 2 weapons to wriggle out of punishment: Bribery or Intimidation of the JS & family.

The poor now require even lesser efforts to escape harsh punishment. Just flash the poverty card.

NOTE: So, all you middle-class people…Don’t even think of it. You have a fairly decent job, middle-class values and a good upbringing. You don’t have the twin privileges of poverty and illiteracy.
Steer clear of Rape. You are neither rich enough nor poor enough to afford committing rape.

4. Rarest of Rare:
Ms Agnes says ‘The Death sentence will dilute the rarest of rare premise. Even if (Hold your breath!) the accused commit rape more than once, rape cannot be termed as ‘rarest of rare’ . Ah, such pearls of wisdom!

Since I do not claim to have legal expertise, please indulge me, Lady. Select the correct alternative from below:
The ‘rarest of rare’ term is applicable in relation to :
A.Criminal
B.Crime
C. Neither of the above

Ms Agnes would tick on option A; since she thinks ‘only one rape’ is not good enough. Her misguided angels will be demoralized for life if it appears on their resume. An Encore? Now she may consider it. Provided those intestines are hanging out.

What about 1 murder + 1 rape? What about 1 robbery + 1 rape? What sort of permutation and combination is ‘Heinous’ enough for Ms Agnes?

Of course, a crime is not officially an ‘Offense’ until
{i} reported by JS, {ii}registered by police {iii} proven in court. Until all 3 steps are complete, the offense remains off-record. For a ‘repeat offense’, please repeat all the above 3 steps.
Till such time, the criminal is innocent until proved otherwise.

Option B. She emphatically states that ‘Rape is not Murder’. Point appreciated. Sounds good on a Dais. Sounds good on paper. Solid one-liner punch. Yayy for Women-Power!

Only, it means nothing. Empty platitude. Hollow.
Every JS needs closure. She can never achieve it with the vitriolic certainty that her criminals still exist on Earth and that they still breathe. From being jobless miscreants, they have earned a lifetime of ensured food and ensured roof. On tax-payers money. Quite a progressive leap in their life!

If the JS is a working individual, a part of her salary will help maintain their existence. She has to live with that torture. Every single moment of her life. Still not rare and harsh enough, Ms Agnes?

I would opt for option C. I think ‘Rarest of Rare’ should apply to the JS. For a JS, the crime against her is the very ‘rarest of rare’ incident of her Life.
Her Life. How can anyone else decide it is not rare enough or heinous enough for her life?

Rape is not mere male vs female. It is one human being trampling, spitting and defecating on another human being’s right. Still not rare or heinous enough?

5. And lastly, Ms Agnes has empathy for the grieving, bereaved Family…of the Criminals!

I have often wondered how these jobless, good-for-nothing, penniless vagabonds suddenly metamorphose into The-Sole-support-and-Breadwinner of-our-Family?
Enough of misdirected sympathy. Zero tolerance , please, for these tactics.

But take heart, Ms Agnes. The future is bright for your misguided souls. They can keep appealing to the High Court, then Supreme Court, then the President. With every subsequent plea to a higher court, the JS has to again depose, again prove her statement and re-re-re-relive her nightmare. Still not rare enough, Ms Agnes?

If the President allows the file to decay long enough, the Court will automatically convert a Death to a Life sentence. See? There is an entire battalion of allies existing to cuddle and console your misguided angels!

Take heart, have Patience. Your sympathy will bear fruits. Ms Agnes, your misguided angels may still walk free.

P.S: Does every Court have a Bhagwad Gita? Open it once in a while. Chapter 2, Verse 11. “Do not lament for those who do not deserve lamentation.”
Poor, poor Krishna. No wonder Gandhari, holding up her scales, is having the last laugh in her corner. justice lady

How does your country deal with Juvenile Delinquents?
Do you believe in Death sentence?
How many are too-many for you?
Will you react only when the criminal and the crime arrives at your doorstep?

Crime won, Nirbhaya lost …Read here for Dec 2015 judgment.

Queries

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in My cars- my chariots, Random Musings, Social Causes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

car, driver, driving, orange light, pedestrian, road crossing, road rage, rules, traffic

1. The orange light. Press accelerator or press brake? The blinking orange is that alluring last-chance warning to escape the red. How many of us slow down on an orange light? Unless… see point 2…

2. Do you modify your decision according to presence of traffic personnel? I do. What seems right on an unpatrolled road suddenly seems forbidden otherwise. And forbidden fruit is so tempting!

3. Blood Alcohol test on the victim? Is it ever done? I know nobody in a sane mind would sacrifice life /limb  to end up as a road-accident -victim. But then, neither would any sane mind want to be an accident-maker. Think of suspended license, penalty , loss of face,  a lifetime of survivor guilt…

4. Why does the mobile-addicted cool dude sauntering across the road think his life is my duty?

5. Why does every group of women need to join hands and create a human chain , simply to cross a road?

6. Why is spitting on the road easier than just swallowing it,  for certain people?

The art of driving in Mumbai- Part I

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in My cars- my chariots, Random Musings, Social Causes, Spirituality

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Accident, adrenaline spurts, car, driving, Matiz, Mumbai, Nirvana, owner, patience, peace, road rage

OK, I admit it is a nightmare. It escalates blood pressure, boils blood, creates stomach ulcers, gives visions of bloody murder.

I am now trying to achieve Nirvana while driving. Here are my pointers.

1. Start early. Nothing like those extra 15 minutes to soothe fragile nerves.

2. Dont make it a competition between that I-have-a-deathwish taxidriver and the Why-the-hell-do-girls-drive testosterone bravados. In my early nervous stints at the wheel (and even now in unexplainable spurts of adrenaline), I do press on the accelerator.

If you cannot control the competitive urge, make it a different type of competition. I pat myself on the back and say “I won’’”, if I do not give in to that adrenaline surge, if I ease on the accelerator and allow the idiot to overtake.

Those 5 seconds honestly make no difference. Invariably, we end up side to side(or bumper-to-bumper) at the next red signal!

3. Listen to fabulous music. It is the magic elixir to shorten and sweeten any journey.

4. Anticipate the sadistic tendencies of truck and taxi drivers. They almost always turn left after giving a right indicator, take a U-turn if the parking lights are blinking and veer into your lane with no intention of acknowledging ur existence.

5. Remember, you always appreciate patience in the driver behind you; but never in the driver ahead of you.

6. Indicators are genuinely meant to replace horns (in daytime). So dont use them as synonyms.

7. Never admire another bigger, better, newer model. Just like you wont admire a younger, slimmer, prettier girl in the presence of ur current one.

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