"For now I ask no more, than the justice of eating.....!"

After a long time, I am back here again to share an experience with you all!!  Actually the bright is always visible but what about the dark side of the story! So, here today i thought to compare both of them and lets see what is it all about!!

 In my five days of holidays I make it to West Bengal which is breath-takingly beautiful. People over here are very welcoming, but yeah sometimes for me the language was a problem! As I entered the city Kolkata ,the first thing striked in my mind was the shooting of my favorite film “KAHANI” Yes!!! Kolkata is very much alike as shown in the movie. 

And accidentally it was the time of Durga Puja which is the most awaited festival every year here by people! Bengal is a place where people have naturally long black hair with beautiful eyes and how can we forget that it is a place where the most prolific writer “ Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore” was born.People here have a great sense of humor, they love their work, very hardworking and very loving but it was just the glowing side, many of us didn’t know what I am going to tell you now! 

Even I didn’t know this grievous and upsetting thing till I didn't enter to “Bindol” a small village, which is also known as kidney village….!! Do you know why? Because people out here sell their kidneys to get rid of starvation! A study of 20 villages carried out last year recorded 13 deaths from starvation and 1,000 families suffering from chronic hunger syndrome. The government estimates that 37% of the population subsists on less than the official poverty line of 327 rupees (£4.57) per month in rural areas and 570 rupees in urban areas. 

This is not over; here people have taken out a very dreadful way yet easy for them to avoid starvation!

Here, Anandashankar is ready to do the same thing with his own child today , as many other villagers do when they don’t get food for weeks. The poker is glowing red hot in the flames of the burning wood. The boy holds a leaf against his stomach and warily eyes the older man sitting on the other side of the fire. Suddenly Shankar takes hold of the poker and lunges towards the boy's stomach.

Everyone in the village knows what should happen next. The child will scream loudly as the flesh begins to blister. Again and again, the poker will jab at his belly. The more the child screams, the happier everyone will be, because the villagers of “Bindol”  believe the only way they can "Cure" the distended stomachs of their famished children is by branding them with pokers.

 It was so painful to even look at that child in this condition. But for them it was nothing new, it decreases their hunger! Friends most of us throw bread or vegetables everyday in dustbin, do you know it’s just waste for us but even a small piece of bread means them life. At one side people were eating sweets, enjoying the Durga Puja, and on other side some villagers were trying to find little happiness to make a way out of starvation!

Do we know the Bhaiya, Aunties, Didis…who work in our home as maids or to clean our cars in short the “Servants” are mostly from west Bengal.

How can we forget that this is the place from where we got such major literary figures like Satyajit Ray, Sir Rajendra Nath Mukherjee , Abdul Karim Sahitya, Bisharad Rabindranath Tagore,Kazi Nazru , Sarojini Naidul?

Our so called Minister of Bengal “Mamta Banerjee” what is she doing even after knowing the situation of her own state! Can she first do her own duty and then point on other political leaders?

This is something again very very shameful for our political leaders! And this is only about Bengal I am talking, what about states like U.P ,Bihar ,Jharkhand ,Orissa etc?

"Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit."

THINK IT OVER!!

NIKITA(IO)

I am a Free Human Being With an Independent Will....

We have been brought up and raised by a woman, whom we call our mother! She cares, loves unconditionally and places the needs of her children above her own, on a personal level, and not only with words, but also with actions. When I was a baby, and was not able express myself, though I really don’t get, how my mom used to understand me just by my gestures! She was always on time to feed me, play with me, and make me happy even if I used to cry unnecessarily! We all do it, and our mothers know every bit of us! 

Why I am writing this, it’s just not about our MOTHERS; it’s about every woman who is our sister, friend or mother out there working hard in some or other way to stand out in this male dominated world…Yes, don’t you find it a male dominated world?? 

Whenever a lady wants to go out and work, then she has to fight and has to go through many difficulties, sexual assaults, discrimination!…And when she succeed,then,that is also not acceptable by most of the males! 

If she sits back at home so that she can nurture her children or do the household job then also it’s said, “Oh!! She is a woman, she can’t go out and earn!!

Even after having women like Sarojini Naidu, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Mrs. Aruna Asaf Ali, Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Mother Teresa and others, still status of women in India is not clear.

Traditionally the feminine or “yin” symbolizes the fertility, creativity, nurturance, compassion, passivity fluidity and a holistic view of the world! Masculinity on the other hand symbolizes the “yang“, determination, passion, action, logic steadfastness inflexibility and an individualistic view. Well but I would like to clarify that these are merely contextual representation; the concept of masculinity and femininity can be perceived differently in different cultures times and contexts.

Are we in 21^st centaury still underestimating women and doubting on their abilities! The position in India is no different. Women were glorified in epics and puranas, for their service to their men. Serving a father first, secondly a husband, and later serving her children and grandchildren, had been her lot. Puranas mention the names of Seeta, Savitri and Anusuya and glorify them for their devote service to their husbands. They even say that a woman can easily get salvation by serving her husband.

 She can bear more pain and has more tolerance than a man. She is stronger in conviction and in perseverance. Yet women all over the world are playing a secondary role only.

Women are being raped, they are sold for money, used for sex, they are burned to get some dowry, and female feticide still exist in our country! Now, after all this what do you expect me to say......!

This definitely starts from our own home, the way we behave with our young ones and we teach them the gender difference, it really need a change and should show the gender equality. 

Ok!! I would like to share an incident with you all, I went to a village Jasrana of Haryana, to show a Documentary related to Education! So there we asked question how many kids go to school, trust me there was not a single GIRL who was getting education! On asking why girls are not sent school, they replied “woh padhh likh kar kya karengi,unhey toh bass chulla sambhalna ana chahiye” (what will they do by studying, they should just know how to cook!)  

Well, this was really disappointing, is there any policy that girls are born to just do the household work! And even if we think they have to take care of house, don’t they have the right to study, to live and play like we all do at age of 14-18, rather than getting married and taking all the responsibilities on their shoulders. 

Even after living in a Democratic country, yet we fail to understand why women are not getting the equal right to study, to live their life like any other man, to walk on roads safely and with all respect. Why still not only in villages but also in Cities, where many educated people live, abort a baby GIRL. This is so dreadful situation, how can you have the courage to kill a baby!

There is one more thing which I would like to put in notice is that, the women in Saudi Arabia didn't have the right to vote till now!!! Recently on Sunday, King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, the biggest change in a decade for women! Do you think its enough for the women over there?? Are we treated as equals??? Is justice being done with women all over World??? What do we conclude, can we ever have a safe society for our Mothers and Sisters???

"Woman" is my slave name; Feminism will give me freedom to seek some other identity altogether....!

THINK IT OVER!!


NIKITA(IO)

Alloo Paneer Pops…..

So, here I introduce you to a new "cook" My loving  friend "Aditi Arora"  brings us the yummy, crispy and tasty Allo Paneer Popss…! I am sure it will POP your mouth…!! 

Here we gooo;

INGREDIENTS-

1. 200gm Cottage Cheese 
2. 1 Tablespoon Rasin
3. 1 Tablespoon Oil +Deep fry
4. 1 medium Onion (chopped)
5. 3-4 Green Chillies (chopped)
6. Fresh Corriander leaves
7. 1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
8. Salt - to taste
9. 2Potatoes Boiled and Mashed
10. 4 tablespoon Refined Flour (maida)
11. 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper powder
12. 1 Cup Crushed Cornflakes

Cottage Cheese (Paneer)

HOW TO MAKE:

1.     Soak raisins in warm water for some time before use. Drain well. 

2.     Heat one tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and sauté chopped onion till translucent. Remove. 

3.     Mix together paneer, potatoes, red chillies, onion, green chillies, coriander leaves, garam masala powder, salt and raisins. 

4.     Make cylindrical shaped croquettes one inch thick and two inches long. 

5.     Make a thin batter of refined flour, salt, pepper powder and water.

6.     Dip the croquettes in this batter and roll in crushed cornflakes. Keep the croquettes in the refrigerator for an hour or more. 

7.     Heat sufficient oil in a pan and deep-fry the croquettes till golden brown and drain on absorbent paper.

8.     Serve hot with green coriander chutney. 

-ADITI ARORA