Trustworthy and Torn : Haiku

Trustworthy

claims tall every time

change they shall bring for all

country, emptied of trust

Torn

one gave life

life partner other, differences amongst

torn poor me

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014. I am doing two posts for every alphabet. The Non-themed posts can be found here.

Also, linking the first haiku with Haiku Horizons Week 9. The prompt - ‘Empty’

Quarantined

BlogAdda's Tangy Tuesday 

   




Shattered in pain, crying her insides out. No words can define her situation. Lost. She lost a part of her existence already. Her soulmate, her husband. The society is around. To take care of the necessities, the rituals. 

After he leaves, bathe her. Bathe her out in the open. Clothes. Colourless for her from now on. She doesn’t deserve colours in her life anymore. Her husband brought colours to her life. No him, no colours. Widow. They call her, right in her face. Cursed she is now. Cursed for life.

Quarantine her. For she is not a suhaagan anymore. Quarantine her like those diseased cattle. For her touch is not auspicious any longer. You talk about touch? Even her presence is inauspicious. Unwanted, to be precise. As if the death of her husband is not enough of a loss for her, she needs to be reminded all the time that she is cursed, cursed for life.

But, we are modern people now. We allow her to wear colours. Yes, ‘allow’ her. Allow her shades of light pinks, light blues, pale yellows and peaches. That’s it. No reds, greens and maroons can adorn her anymore. Nope. She doesn’t need them.

You allow her to live a normal life. Hah, ‘allow’ again. For she now needs permissions. Of those elder women - the ones who have gone through similar fates. Permissions - of the caretakers of culture, caretakers of society. She needs permissions for conducting some simple routines of life. 

But, we are modern people, you know. Ofcourse, she can be a part of ‘normal’ ladies group now that you have ‘allowed’ her. But, you cannot talk about your husbands in front of her. She can get jealous. I mean, who knows, maybe she might just want to rob you of all your happiness out of jealously and curse you of the same fate. You know, curses of ‘such kind’ of people affect you sooner. So again you quarantine certain topics in front of her. Topics of husbands. Of happiness. Of anything that ‘you’ think that she can never ‘enjoy’ now that she is a widow.

Marriages. She shouldn’t be attending them. How can she? Marriages are a celebration. How can she be a part of any celebration? She lost her right to celebrate after her husband, didn’t she? But again, as I told you, we are modern people. Call her, atleast as a formality. She wouldn’t dare to come. But if she disappoints you, you need to show her ‘her’ place. Remind her. Remind her that she is the cursed one. Keep her away as much as possible from any auspicious ceremony. She cannot handle the shagun ki thali nor touch the shagun ki mehndi. Quarantine her again. For apshakun she is. Evil eyed. Make her feel like an outcast. She should know that she is different. Not normal. Cursed.  

Her daughter’s marriage. Her daughter - her only reason for existence. Arey, we are modern people. She ofcourse will be part of her daughter’s wedding. But. You cannot let her do the kanyadaan. No. She is her daughter, so what? Her curse might fall on her own daughter. The girl is starting a new life. How can her mother’s apshakun be a part of her new life? Quarantine her of that dream too, the one she saw with her husband. Of getting her daughter married to handsome man. After all, she is cursed, isn’t she?

No, we are not robbing her of everything, you see. She can do something without any guilt. Like praying. Yes, that is the only righteous thing she can do after her husband. Pray hard. So that the sins of this life don’t affect her next life. As such she is suffering by being a widow in her present birth because of her past life sins.

Widow. You use that word for her as if she is diseased. Diseased. Yes. Not her. But You. It’s you that needs to be quarantined of your baseless beliefs; not her right to live a normal happy life. May be, just may be then, you can call yourself a modern society.  

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014 under Non-Themed category. I am doing two posts for this Challenge and Themed posts can be found here.

Qualified and Quelled

Qualified

fair, beautiful, tall

convent educated, cooks well

apt for our son

Quelled

desire to study

quelled due to antique beliefs

just a girl she was

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014. I am doing two posts for every alphabet. The Non-themed posts can be found here.

Kundli Connections

Kundli (horoscope) - the magical piece of paper that holds the answers to all questions unfathomable to the logical mind of a sane human being. Apart from holding the powers to foresee about how the child would fare in his studies, whether the beta has the yog of flying abroad and how much money would he mint; the kundli becomes the most sacred and sought-after word for Indian parents when it comes to getting their offspring married to complete strangers.

Image courtesy: Google search

After all, when the prospective partners aren’t allowed to talk to each other for more than a few hours, let alone allowing them to date other person, one obviously needs a measuring scale to decide whether this is ‘the stranger’ who you can get your child to spend their life with? Well well, the kundli comes to the rescue. For it is not the likes and dislikes of the children that should help choose their partner, but it is some random planetary position that gets the privilege of deciding whether this is the best dulha (groom) for your rajdulaari (princess) or she is the perfect bahu (daughter-in-law) you are looking for your eklauta beta (only son).

Your khandaani pandit (priest) plays a very important role in this ‘stranger gets married to stranger’ game. For it is him who would after some deep analysis of the rahus and the ketus residing in the kundlis of both the girl and guy, shall he let you know whether she is ‘the stranger’ who would keep your son happy, be a good daughter-in-law bringing in prosperity to your household and who shall also bear you the khandan ka varis.

The zodiacs are matched. Very necessary. For an Arian shall find it hard to get along with a Capricorn and shall be best compatible with a Gemini. The mangaliks are to be set up with fellow mangaliks only. Wait, the ones having shanis would also do at times. The planets and their positions are studied, dashas and mahadashas are calculated, matched and after trying various permutations and combinations of the planetary positions of both the stranger parties, a score is arrived at out of a total 36 points. This score is ‘the’ magical number which would decide whether to go ahead with this particular stranger for your child or not.

Anything below 18 is not acceptable at all and this rishta is to be dismissed off without another thought. Yes, even the planetary positions need a minimum number of passing marks. Well, if the scores stand anything from 25 to 32, then this particular stranger with whom the score has been achieved can be met and then be judged on other parameters.

And Holy Hell, if the score is anything above 32, rounds of gulab jamuns start circulating amongst the families already for this is ‘the’ match that is made in heaven. And come hell or high water, this rishta cannot be refused. Because this is ‘the’ bouy that is supposed to give your daughter all the happiness she deserves in the world and she is ‘the’ sanskari bahu your house would ever get. And making the guy meet the girl and other such unimportant events later, boom.. they are married !!

In this process, one might also come across families that aren’t compatible to yours. And this magical piece of paper called kundli comes in handy for warding off such families. The mother just puts up a sad face and announces with a sigh to the other mother that the kundlis aren’t compatible which is responded by the other party with another sigh and something like ‘it’s all destined’ and other such well-rehearsed lines. Both the parties know the truth, but none utters. After all, it is so rude to say that your beta isn’t earning as much as our daughter. Why say and spoil, when you can blame it all on the kundli?

So you see, things are that simple in our arranged marriage system to decide whether he/she is ‘the one’ or not. Pretty convenient, ain’t it?

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014 under Non-Themed category. I am doing two posts for this Challenge and Themed posts can be found here.

Just a silly Housewife !!

At your service all day

Your conveniences, your comforts

Right from day’s first ray

But wait, she doesn’t manage office life

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Running the entire household

Things ready at their place

Just the way you’ve told

But she doesn’t face the clients

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Knowing your taste

Aware of what you hate

Food, clothes and your toothpaste

But she needn’t fulfill the March deadlines

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Caring when you are down with flu

Enwrapping you with her warmth

Pumping when you’re lost without clue

But she doesn’t hear boss’s musical voice

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Smiles when you return

Stories of your day patiently she listens

Dishes of your choice she will arduously churn

But she doesn’t know what is travelling crowded like

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Your happiness is her priority

Compensation is your smile

Does everything to the best of her ability

But she doesn’t know the work life strife

After all, she is just a silly housewife

Treat her, mistreat her

Just the way you like

After all

She is just a silly housewife !!

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014 under Non-Themed category. I am doing two posts for this Challenge and Themed posts can be found here.

Incident every working mother should read !!

By the end of this post, you would agree that the post justifies the title I have given. I got to know about this shocking incident a few days back from a friend and I have been telling this incident to a lot of people and have wanted to write about this since long.

This is a true incident. Both husband and wife were working and had a two year old baby. Husband’s and wife’s family stayed in some other state. Since none of the families could come and take care of the baby, they appointed a caretaker woman which is a pretty normal practice in a lot of households where no family members are available to look after the children of working parents. The woman came everyday in morning before the parents left and stayed with the baby till they returned. This continued for a few months. The baby seemed to have adjusted with the caretaker and things were running absolutely smooth.

One day, the mother came back from office unannounced by lunch time. She saw that her baby was fast asleep and asked the caretaker when had she slept to which she replied that the baby had gone to sleep after her breakfast. The mother asked the caretaker to take a leave since she was now available at home.

When the baby did not wake up even after five-six hours, she panicked and called her husband. They took the baby to the hospital where his blood samples were taken. And when the reports arrived, its revelations shocked everybody. The doctor told them that the baby’s blood had traces of sedatives/ sleeping pills.

The caretaker mixed sedatives in baby’s food so that the baby would fall asleep all during her stay not causing her any trouble and she could while away her time without any efforts to actually look after the baby.

I am not much aware if the parents registered a police complaint and whether the caretaker woman was caught or not. But I just hope they did and the woman was caught.

I am not a mother, but just listening about a child being drugged to sleep sent chills down my spine. I can just imagine how the mother would have coped with this. Had it not been for the coincidence of her returning early, she would have never known about this cruel act and it would have continued damaging the child’s body to God knows what extent. I am not sure about the medical effects the sleeping pills could have on a child, but the very fact that they were being used on a child was a shocker to me.  

Just thought of sharing this incident. It might just help someone.

This post is written as a part of April A to Z Challenge 2014 under Non-Themed category. I am doing two posts for this Challenge and Themed posts can be found here.

The Childless couple

Struggling for so many years as a childless couple, Rehaan was the apple of our eyes. I still remember how he came into our lives as a five year old and how colourful our life became with his vivacity and cute tantrums. We never thought that we could feel so much connection with a child we had adopted, but as they say, all good things come to an end and so did ours.

One fine Sunday evening two years after his adoption, we found ourselves drugged and looted of all our wealth along with our son. We panicked that our son had been kidnapped, got a police complaint registered; I still remember how distraught I was at the thought of losing my son.

But look at the folly of our fate that we had been drugged by our son who we loved so dearly.

I couldn’t believe my ears when the police said that we have been victimized by an adoption racket that my child, that my Rehaan was a part of and who was constantly in touch with his real parents or whoever they were.

The dirty racket which plays with the emotions of childless couples like us and looting them not only of their wealth but also our capability of trusting somebody again.

What else can you expect in a country full of cons but another con like this !!

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 1. The prompt was to come up with a 9 sentence fiction.

Meeting Mr. Narendra Modi !!

You have seen him putting a state on World Map. You have heard media go gaga about his visions for development. You have heard about how good an administrator he is. You have read about him being called a leader in truest sense. You have heard people acknowledging him as the only hope for better India.

When people from other states praise the good roads or the cleanliness they see around in your city, you feel proud for being resident of that state. When you say that you work for his government, you see respect in their eyes because you are a part of the government that has been working for the betterment of its people ever since it came to power.

But, truth be told, you are just another employee working for the state government, like thousands of others. You are barely into the system with a meagre experience of 4.5 years in your kitty. Since past approximately three years, you have been a part of the editorial team of an in-house magazine published by your organization. A work that you love to be a part of simply because there you are doing something that you think you are best at. Write. The magazine being the only arena that leaves some room for creativity as well as a chance to hone your writing skills in a proper government set-up.   

And then you get a chance. A chance to see him. A chance to meet him in person. Because he would be unveiling an edition of your magazine which carries his article as the Cover Story. You are one of the people to have been chosen to go and witness the occasion. Be a part of the same. And all this happens so soon that you hardly get time to sink in what’s happening.

Mind it, all during the way to his office, you are confused and considering if you should opt out of all this because you are just a newbie official on the block. But, before you know, you are in the grandeur of his office. Awards won by various government offices lined up in the balcony, super tight security, the magnificence of the building that could put any five star hotel to shame, well defined procedures and zilch chances of blips make you wonder. You wait for the time slot allotted to you for the unveiling. While you wait, you are still discussing the rapidity of the sequence of events which have brought you here with your colleagues and still considering if you should stay right back and not go inside the cabin. But then, as they say, life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. So while you were discussing the chances of staying back, you are called inside with your Chairman, your CEO and your colleagues.

And then you step inside one of the most beautiful cabins you have seen in your entire life of being a government official, which ofcourse is still very nascent. But, you are still sure, you wouldn’t see anything as magnificent as that one simply because it belongs to the highest authority of your state government. While you are overwhelmed at the thought of it, you see him. His aura brightening the place much more than anything ever could. After that, whatever happens, happens probably in your inebriated state coz you are just awed by his persona. The work that you had come for - the magazine launch, it happens. But, all during this, your sub-conscious has noticed every single detail. The way he stood up from his table, the words he spoke to your Chairman, how the magazine was handed to him, unveiling of the magazine, what he spoke while he was unveiling the magazine, he handing some copies of the magazine to your Chairman who in-turn gives a copy to you and the camera going click click click.

And when you are out of that space, what remains is the hangover. The hangover of seeing Mr. Narendra Modi in person. The man for who rules the state government you have been working for. The man you have only seen on television, hoardings and newspapers. You have just met him, in person. You, a newbie government official who is still learning the ropes of the trade. And there, you got a chance to meet him.

Do you consider yourself lucky? Yes you do. Are you happy? No, you are elated. Aren’t you talking like a star struck fan who has just met her favourite star? Yes, you kinda are, coz for a newbie official, meeting the highest authority of your state government is no small feat. Are you ever going to forget the incident? Nope. Never. And hence this post. So that it remains etched. The incident. This incident of a young government official getting a chance to meet the highest authority of the state government she works for. The incident of me meeting Mr. Narendra Modi. *Beams*    

And by the way, this is the link to his website about the unveiling of the magazine.

Gift wrapping a Future Country for my Child !!

I am just another citizen of this country. Yes, the kind who sees the sorry state of affairs of this land, cribs about it, laments at the condition and may be even write about it at times ranting about the happenings around. And just like my fellow Indians, I am cynical. I am cynical about the future of this country. I too worry at times about where would all this stop and how far could the condition deteriorate more.

But, yes, I do dream. Dream about positives. Dream about things getting better. Sensing hope with change in some political movements happening in the country. Feel proud when ‘mango people’ get acknowledged for their efforts.

And one of the dreams of this just another citizen of this country is a dream where some small changes happening in the country, may be, may be would lead to bigger modifications being brought in the political, economic and social  scenario of my country. May be we could be living in a better place.

A country which has fought its battles, a country which has at times been wounded, at times even lost but gradually it has become a country which has not only survived but also emerged victorious defeating the very enemies of its existence. It is such a country that I would want to gift to my child for his/her secure future.

A country free from clichés of Gender based roles: No matter how modern this country grows, no matter how much development takes place, the clichés of gender based roles still remain. It was the same when my mother was a child, it was the same when I was a child. But I hope, whenever my child comes to this world, the situation would have bettered. I wish I could gift my child a country where gender parity exists. I wish my child would not be judged on the basis of his/her sex but on the basis of his/her capabilities as a person. I wish my daughter would be able to guilt-freely handle her multinational company position and my son would not be critiqued as being hen-pecked for helping his wife in the kitchen. Ah, I so wish.

A country which is a Safe Haven: As I told you earlier, yes I have ranted about it before on this blog. But trust me, even writing about the current safety conditions of women in the country seems to be such a mocking exercise at our own self. It’s as if we have become so accustomed to hearing about these incidents these days that any new incident hardly hogs some corner space in newspapers and some quick rumbling by news anchors, leave aside the possibility of it creating some stir within our souls. I sincerely wish my child doesn’t have to see or go through this phase. I wish I could gift my child a country where safety is not a luxury available to few. I wish my girl would never have to worry about her safety while moving to another city or while coming back from her office late at night. I wish my son takes the safety of women around him as his own moral responsibility. I wish just like my wishes for my children, others too would have wished the same and would have molded their children accordingly. I so wish.

A country free from Pollution and Adulteration: Yes we all know about the effect pollution has on us. Yes it is dangerous. But, hazards of industrial pollution? What about the threat the improperly disposed bio-medical waste poses for your health? You don’t even have an ounce of idea about the ghastly effect the pollutants being emitted from those factories have on your body systems. And adulteration. The shocking truths rather not be told here. Because I know, you have read about it earlier, here and there. Because I know you would skim through this paragraph if I rant about it more. But being a part of machinery that deals with these day in and day out as a part of my job makes me worry more. And hence, I wish I could gift my child a country which has its pollution checks under control and adulteration be a word unheard of. I wish my child doesn’t have to inhale those hazardous emissions and would be able to have food that doesn’t reek of adulteration. Yes, I so wish.  

A country sans the Scams: I know I know looking at the current scenario, it seems impossible. I know there are thousands, big and small ones, going on right this very minute. But still I wish. I wish I could gift my child a country free of scams and corruption. I wish he reads about the gory details of scams and corruption in history books. I wish my child is able to trust the people who run his country and believes that they are doing his good and not only their own. I pray that he isn’t cynical like me about the future of the nation and has the flame of hope about the bright future of the nation always alive within him. Oh yes, I so wish.

A country discriminative against Discriminators: Discrimination on the basis of religion as well as promoting people from your own caste, we have seen it all. Communal lobbies exist in all walks of life, be it society, politics or your work life. I wish my child never sees them, rest alone faces them. I wish I could gift my child a country where he is judged, promoted or otherwise only and only on the basis of his mettle as a person and not just because he belongs or doesn’t belong to a particular section of society. I wish I could gift him a country where he is never asked to quote his surname for showcasing his abilities. Yep, I so so wish.

So, these are few wishful wishes for the secure future of my future child. They are here because I believe that if my country’s future is safe, my child’s future would be secured too.

This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda.

I wish more I could do

Its a BlogAdda - WOW  Post

My baby was my sunshine

Like every parent I ensured all the time she was fine

Her every little need

I fulfilled, I guaranteed  

She loved playing with me in the park

Every evening, with her I embarked

Dressing her in cute little pink frock

I made her wear warm blue socks

Just as she was running around with small happy feet

I took on the park bench my regular seat

I watched my doll play under the tree

That’s when I caught her looking at me                                     

Dressed in tattered rags

Her small shoulders seemed bogged down with snags

Cheeks smeared with tears

Her eyes brimming with fears

Something inside me moved

I wished her pains I could soothe

I asked her what was she doing in here

She held out her hand and rolled down a tear

In her tiny voice she spoke

She had to beg coz her parents were broke

Same old story I thought

God knows many innocent childhoods, this poverty would have cost  

I handed her some food packets

Even my child’s small little jacket

I wish, for her, more I could do

But I knew poverty in this country would never bid adieu

Feeling small with my meek gesture

Holding my baby, towards home I venture

One last look near the gate when I reach

She was still looking at me

Tears pushing the corner of my eyes

Hugging my child, hard I cry

I wish, for thousands like her, something more I could do

I just wish poverty in my country soon bids adieu !!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

SEVEN : Haiku

Stirring Seven vows

Togetherness it brews

Aroma happiness

Image Source : Google

This post is shared with Haiku Heights # 308 and the prompt is SEVEN

It's all about being Smart !!

[ This post is one of the top 15 posts chosen by BlogAdda for the Contest. Details here.)

Sad it is. But it’s a truth too - that we live in a country that wakes up to the news about women harassment and problems day in and day out. And even after all the uproar, all the rallies, all the candle light marches, every single day something or the other happening in the country makes your skin crawl.

Somewhere a woman is raped, somewhere else a child is brutally killed after the animalism on it, somewhere a woman hears catcalls behind her, somewhere a woman has to keep adjusting her dupatta to avoid filthy gaze of men around and everywhere these women harbor fear in their hearts. As a woman, it feels like loss of my right to live without any kind of fear. Yes, my very fundamental right of being a human being seems to be at a loss.

I stay in Ahmedabad. Thankfully, I haven’t come across any unfortunate incident myself, but who hasn’t heard about them. After all, considering today’s circumstances, no place in the country seems to be a safe haven for women.

So what do we do? Stop going out and stay within the confines of our homes. But then, is safety guaranteed within our own homes? I guess not. I told you. It’s the loss of my fundamental right of living without fear. But, haven’t you heard, ‘Change starts from within.’ It sure does. If nobody helps, can we ourselves not help ourselves? Can we not stand for ourselves? Can we not take our steps? We can. So, given below are some safety tips I can hand around to my fellow Ahmedabad women. But, I guess, looking to the situation this country is in, any safety tip handed down could work anywhere.

Creatively pursuing, I am putting down the list of smart tips (in no particular order of importance) starting with the letters of my city - Ahmedabad. I know you would have noticed, but why take chances ;)

Ahmedabad	Alertness always works
AHmedabad	Hold Hands
AhMedabad	Make smart choices
AhmEdabad	Educate
AhmeDabad	Decode the surroundings
AhmedAbad	Access to Safety devices
AhmedaBad	Being brave
AhmedabAd	Activate those vocal chords
AhmedabaD	Do not be a show-off

A – Alertness always works

Remember, the times when your mom told you to be alert all the time when you were young. Ladies, this works even today. May be more now. So whether you are hopping on a rick during late nights or just walking down the road, let those grey cells be active always. Nobody, but you can sense the danger first. We are great with sixth sense, remember? Trust it. I know, Ahmedabad isn’t a place to be worried all the time, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

H – Hold Hands

I do not mean literally holding hands.. jeezz.. By holding hands, I mean ‘Support’. Yes, support fellow women when they are in trouble. Meekness doesn’t work in today’s times. So next time, you see a woman being troubled by some miscreant or an autowalla haggling with some girl in distasteful manner, go stand by her, fight him along with her. Atleast make a call to the police if matters run out of hand. Chances are that others would join in as well. I know people of Ahmedabad are very helpful of women in such times. They would join for sure.

If this helping others keeps on happening time and again, I don’t think determination of a handful of dirty minded can last against the goodwill of thousands.  

M – Make smart choices

I know we are smart ;) but how about having some smart gadgets on our smart phones installed. Something like Smart Suraksha App that could be used so easily and effectively.

Now, Google has done a great service to womankind by inventing Google maps. Use them when you are travelling to a new place. Don’t just sit inside a taxi and let them take you for a ride. Ask the driver to take a particular route seeing the map just to let them know you are well equipped.

How about keeping the phone numbers of some key people on speed dials? I know we all have them, but in times of urgency, these things tend to slip out. Just thought of reminding!

And yes, do not forget to keep ICE numbers. Don’t know what’s ICE numbers? ICE stands for ‘In case of Emergency’. Just store a few important contacts beginning with ICE. May be having ICE numbers is not a very popular phenomenon, but, God forbid, if anything untoward happens, atleast the people who would know about ICE can inform about your condition to right people.

E – Educate

Yes Girls, education is the key in here too. Seems education is the key to everything ;) So, anyways, by education here I mean, making women around you aware of the possible dangers and ways to fight them off. (You are free to read these tips out to them. I know, I know its shameless self-promotion, but couldn’t help it)

And by women, I don’t just mean the women in your family. That young girl who comes to clean your house, your watchman’s daughter and even your regular sabziwali gets counted too. Of course, we would tell our daughters to be safe and teach them ways for it, but what about those unprivileged who haven’t been taught by anyone from their families. Don’t forget them. Hand them some safety tips too. They might in turn share your tips with their friends in villages or small towns from where they come. I bet you would be doing some a lot of good ;)

D – Decode the surroundings

If you are going to the parking lot of those malls alone, make sure, you are not distracted by your phone while walking down. Check your car before entering it. And once you are inside, drive off immediately. You can check your make up in the mirror later. Some such practical tips can help ward off potential danger.

I am sure you would have heard about letting your whereabouts know to your family on the phone once you get inside a cab or autorickshaw so that the driver wouldn’t play around. You might as well be doing that. But at times, in a huff-puff we might forget using a language that the driver should be able to understand.

Don’t just rattle away in your crisp English accent or your mother tongue about your whereabouts. Use a language you know the local driver should understand. If you are travelling out of town and you are not sure, ask the driver himself what place exactly you are and then speak it in the phone. 

A – Access to Safety devices

I know that you all know about carrying a bottle of pepper spray or a deodorant or a small Swiss knife so they could become our guardian angels in distressing times.

But, there’s a catch in here. As our trademark trait, we carry huge bags where things once lost can hardly be found. I know, I know, we can’t change that. But having such devices in our loving bags and not being able to find them on right times would be so unfortunate. Isn’t it? So, the least we can do is keep these safety devices in some small pocket of our bags which can be easily accessible. One small crevice in that large bag which should not be stuffed with anything else except for that life savior instrument. Not a big price to pay. Right, girls?

And yes, I saw a video of a campaign called ‘Seeti bajao’ under which women carry a whistle which can be used to drive off those hooligans. Seems so effective, isn’t it? But remember, the golden rule – keep it accessible. How about keeping that small whistle in your jeans pocket? If your purse gets snatched off, atleast you would have the whistle to alert people around.  

B – Being brave

At times when we actually need it, all the bravery and other such blah blah inside us goes into hiding in the Himalayas. Natural it is. But if we stuff the positivity and bravery inside our minds, possibility is that it won’t ditch you last minute.

Train your brain to act quickly under not-so-easy circumstances. Cook up some harsh incidents inside your brain and also plan a way out the mess. I know this sounds like a crazy advice but trust me, it works. It works when needed.

How about learning a few tricks of self-defense? May be master a kick or two to be used in case of emergencies! Atleast a basic course could help the grown-ups if you are not prepared to take a full-fledged one.

And for your little princesses, it wouldn’t hurt to enroll them for learning karate along with those salsa classes, won’t it? After all, it isn’t a bad idea to teach our princesses to be warriors when needed.   

A – Activate those vocal chords

Yes, girls, shout out loud. The moment you sense danger, use those vocal chords to the maximum. If you are being harassed in any way, raise your voices, literally. Raised voices deter the confidence of miscreants.  

D – Do not be a show-off

I know Ahmedabad is running the race for becoming a buzzing, happening city. People are changing. We are changing. All good. But in this race, we might be inviting troubles. How about keeping that bragging about all the shopping you did at the new AlphaOne mall or the pricey food you enjoyed at The Grand Bhagwati all by yourself atleast when you are taking a cab or any public transport? How about keeping heavy cash and valuables out of sight from maids, drivers or such other people? I am not saying they can’t be trusted. They can. But why lure troubles? Why take chances? So isn’t it sensible to be sensible and not be a show-off?  

Okay, so these were nine safety tips I could connect. And coming to the last but not the least, all I would say is:

Life is too short to experience everything yourself. So learn from experiences of others. (I am not being philosophical suddenly) What I mean is that there are so bloody many instances happening around us; don’t turn a blind eye to them thinking they can’t happen to you in a city like Ahmedabad. Accept the fact that misfortunes can hit any shores. Even ours. From every instance you read or hear about, don’t just whine over the situation. Try to gauge the nuances of the smartness that might have avoided any unfortunate incident that happened to others. Learn.

After all, it’s all about being Smart, isn’t it? ;)

P.S. - I am sharing my Smart Suraksha Tips at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.