Play of Light and Shadow (Wordless Wednesday :15)

Jhansi Fort

Hard Rock (Thursday Challenge#6)

This week"s challenge is Hard (Rock, Ice, Brick, Steel, Cement,...)

This Rock near Gangotri really intrigued me .. its interesting the way its neatly sliced into two !

The mighy Ganges roars down from Gomukh into Gangotri here. The Rocks seem really hard, but look how over the many centuries, the River Ganga has managed to wear them down create so many crevices .....

 

And Finally ..... :P

Marriage - Simply a Convenience ?

This article in yesterday’s newspaper caught my eye. It talks about how singles in their 50s are now looking towards remarriage or Live In relationships. I find the idea very intriguing and interesting! There is no harm in getting married or Living In with somebody even if you are in your 50s. I have always maintained that marriage should not be treated as something one “Must” do at a certain age. Marriage should ideally be meeting of two like minded people who love each other enough to want to spend their lives together – irrespective of the age they are at.
What caught my attention in the article was this one Para :

“Most women still prefer marriage but many say they are fine with live-in companions if they provide them financial security" ………. A 51-year divorcee in Vejalpur, is keen to find a partner with whom she can live to the fullest, watching movies, eating out and travelling. "Once bitten, twice shy, I do not want to get into a marriage without knowing if my relationship with the man will work or not. However, I need financial security and want the partner to put some money in my name first”

What irked me was this Lady’s desire to get married for the sake of “Financial Security”.

Its funny isn’t it that women in their 50s – most of them who have gone through marriages earlier are still looking for a partner just because they need financial security! Expecting financial security or help from your partner once you are in a committed relationship is a different matter but just getting married because you want to be financially secure is so ridiculous.

I wonder what kind of marriage this will be. Obviously a marriage of convenience where the woman will have a Husband to “protect her” and “provide for her economic needs” and to hell with the companionship part! So none of us should be surprised if a man wants to get married because he wants to be “Looked After” – After all the woman is marrying him only for financial security so in return he can expect her to tend to his needs !
On one hand it heartens me to see that women in our country are looking towards Live Ins or second marriages even when they are in their 50s –Such things are generally frowned upon in our society. On the other hand it sickens me that most of them want to get married because of those age old reasons of social acceptance and security.
 I sometimes feel that most marriages in our country are actually nothing but marriages of convenience. Women ideally get married for security, stability and social acceptance and Men because they need to provide a good Bahu to their parents and someone to look after them and their families. Where do love and companionship factor in these marriages?

I wonder what leads to this attitude. Why is it so ingrained in our women that they must look towards male members for financial security? Unless women change this attitude the perception and behavior of the society towards them is not going to change!

Women must realize the importance of financial independence. They must understand that they need to take the responsibility for their own financial well being and not depend on their Father, Brother or Husband to provide for them.

Self reliance is the key here and that self reliance will come from educating and empowering women. Every woman must be educated enough to be able to work and fend for herself if the situation so arises.

What do you think – Is marrying for financial security a good enough reason? Are most marriages in our country simply marriages of convenience?

Khajuraho - Poetry in Stone (A picture post)

This week's Thursday Challenge is CREATIVE (Fine Arts, Crafts, engineering, Music, Clothing,...)

I don't think I have seen a finer specimen of creativity and craftsmanship than the Khajuraho temples.

The temples are exquisitively carved ....... 

and have a symmetry and harmony to them that has to be seen to be believed ........

 The sculptures look so realistic that you almost expect them to start talking to you .....

Wordless Wednesday -14:Two Birds !

Can you see the bird above and the Iron bird below ?

Toronto Skyline

Book Review: Conversations by Rajeev Nanda

Author:Rajeev Nanda
Publisher:LeadStart Publishing


How many of us have conversations with ourselves or with people close to us – not mundane conversations about day to day things but thought provoking conversations that force you to introspect and analyze your whole thought process.

The book “Conversations” is all about that. “Conversations” is an amalgam of stories and poems –all of them exploring human emotions, attitudes and perceptions. And almost all of them challenging our belief systems and forcing us to think out of the Box. The stories are all conversations between ordinary individuals – a soldier who is posted on the border who suddenly questions the logic of war, College friends who decide to form a “truth club”, a couple who is forced to rethink their values and attitudes about commitment and the meaning of marriage, an old lady on her death bed who gives a thirty something lessons on how to live life passionately – each of these stories make you think and question your attitude towards life.

The author Rajeev Nanda is an IT professional but writing has always been his first love. You would not expect a Technical Geek to come up with such a profound and thought provoking book but Rajeev does surprise us here. As he explains in the introduction to the book, two near death experiences left a great impact on him. The first was when the bus he was travelling in collided with another bus. Although his bus hung precariously from the bridge, He and his co-passengers were saved. The other bus however fell down the bridge and there were no survivors – except for a little baby clutched in his dead mother’s arms. In another incident in terror torn Punjab of the 80s, the bus he had just got down from was blown to pieces by a bomb in it. In his own words, These incidents as well as the writings of Arsitotle, Ayn Rand ,Amrita Pritam and Nietzshe made Rajeev “think about life and what we do with our time on this planet. “

This book is frankly not for people looking for something “light” to read while travelling. This is a very intense and serious book. At a time when chic lits and books about friendships, quest for love and college life are the most in demand, Rajeev has indeed been very brave to attempt this book. For me this book was a very refreshing read from the usual genre of today.

However I do have some complaints regarding this book. The stories could have been crisper and sharper. The author tends to ramble on for great lengths especially when he is describing characters and situations. The reader tends to lose interest in the middle and become exasperated by the long winded and sometimes boring descriptions. The book is philosophical and stories interspersed with words of wisdom but somewhere in these dissections of life and its perceptions, the art of storytelling has been lost. The stories might make you think, but I am afraid to say they lack the zing that makes a good story.


All in all, however Conversations is definitely worth a read.

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