Is Delhi Safe For Women?

Is Delhi safe for women is a question doing the rounds these day. News channels, newspapers, social networking sites, drawing room conversations. It's all over.

I am from Delhi, I am a woman and I think Delhi is as safe for women as any other place in India or around the world. Is there any one place in the world where you can say a woman is safe? I think not!

Now please don't think that I am saying it's safe.....that's not the point of this post. I'm just wanting to tell you how, being a woman, I decide what risks I take and what I don't in order to live my life.

For a woman, in India, there is no place 100% safe. There are loads of statistics of incest, rape in marriage, dowry deaths, harassment at work.....I could go on but you've got the picture. It all depends on what a man around you is thinking or feeling.

Being a woman, I'v had to take a conscious decision about what I do or not do in order to make myself feel safe. Yes I drive around late at night, yes I wear clothes which might be termed as "provocative", yes I party, and I do all that NOT because I think I'm safe.....I do it because I do not want to live my life in a restricted way.

Sure I get nervous, sure I feel like slapping a guy who looks at me the wrong way but what is the option? Cover myself, stay home, live a life which is "safe" and boring. I think not. Instead I put my faith in God, keep my eyes and ears open, be very very alert and try to live my life to the fullest. Because it's not about Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore......it can happen anywhere because men in our country think brute force is the one and only weapon they have to dominate women and prove they're superior.

Disclaimer : My aim is not to offend any man who reads this post. I have a ton of really wonderful friends who are men, who are perfect gentlemen, who reinforce my faith in men and give me the courage to live life on my own terms :)

OMG

The photo says it all. I took it last night on my way back home and at that point of time I couldn't help but say OMG and laugh. I mean come on, this is Delhi, the national capital. It was hilarious.

Later though when I thought about it, I felt a bit sad and a bit mad. Sad because a whole lot of people in our country are illiterate and for them it's just a print. They don't know that the wrong side is up and I really don't blame them. They are poor workers doing their job of hanging a board where it's supposed to be hung.

Then comes the mad part. Someone obviously has not done their job properly and that's the reason these boards are upside down. If the guy who was "supposedly" supposed to supervise has paid even 1% attention, he would have seen what you and I, the educated lot can see. But he didn't and so we can all look at this photo and have a good laugh.

Rain

Rain.....we get so little of it in Delhi but whenever we do I feel so rejuvenated. Dark sky, thunder and lightening.....awesome.

I've always loved rain ever since I was a little girl. I have some great memories associated with it. Endless times when I went driving, got wet or walked in the rain. Memories that I'll always cherish even as I go on to make new ones every monsoon.

Yesterday it rained....only for an hour or so but my brother and I went up to the terrace and got totally drenched. I was walking around barefoot as the raindrops fell hard and fast. As far as the eye could see it was green and clean and rain.

Of course in just a couple of hours, the sun made his entry back into our lives, mocking our short lived pleasure and leaving us yearning for more rain...

Heaven...

Today is a one of those rare days when I'm home alone and totally enjoying my solitude. Doesn't happen often in my house since the family always feels "baby" should not be left alone.

Awesome weather in Delhi, lots of rain and cool. Sitting without the fan, drinking endless cups of earl grey chai , listening to my most favorite slow romantic numbers and thinking my own thoughts.

Heaven...

It’s Not Rocket Science

I am bewildered at the way this country works. Seriously. Someone, somewhere thinks (or not) in a way that's beyond me.

A few months ago the area in front of our lane was cemented. Very good.....they’re thinking of ways to make the city look cleaner. A few weeks ago the road in front of my house was re-laid. Even better. And then guess what? They start DIGGING.

They dig all the cement out (some new drain being made in order to harvest rain water) and pile all the mud on to the road. I mean forget about the fact that this is the rainy season....that’s normal coz they always dig roads during this time. The whole dug out mud washes on the newly laid road making a total mess of it.

To add insult to injury, they don’t even work on it every day. A whole stretch is out of action making it very difficult for all of us to park our cars plus traffic is a mess. In over a week they haven't done 10 yards.

Forget about our inconvenience. Can they not figure out for themselves that they just wasted all the money that went into cementing and relaying? Can they not think and plan better? I mean come on......it’s not rocket science!

The Sound Of Silence

Does silence speak? I think it does. When you actually listen to it, you hear all that you don’t when you’re mired in sound.

I live in Delhi…..a bustling city which is never silent apart from those few hours at night. And living amidst all this chaos, I don’t think about the sound of silence. My mind is so tuned to the mayhem around me that I completely shut it out.

That’s one reason why I love going to Jaipur. There I am totally cut off from the daily sounds of my life (including my phone which is on silent the whole time) and I listen…..in peace.....to all that it has to say.

Birds chirping from morning till evening and even at night, the ripple in the water, the leaves moving gently in the breeze……..the sound of silence.