Ragging - A Parent's Perspective

I still wonder, after years of passing out of a Delhi University College, as to what is that makes (or made) ragging cool? Still can't figure out a thing.  You have to have some inferiority complex to put a guy down in front of a crowd.  

I wrote a post on ragging a few months back.  It was a detailed post bringing out various facets of the issue. It was Ragging - Who Is Responsible? 

I got reminded of the post, as the colleges have started.  I was reading how parents are anxious now, because there had been so many ragging related deaths in colleges of late.  Many parents are accompanying their daughters and sons to the colleges (at least for the initial days).  It's so unfortunate.  Loss of human life is unfortnate and losing a child because he/she went out to study in a college and was harassed to death is a very painful thought.

We are reading that police personnel have been deputed in colleges in plain clothes.  Also, some NGOs and senior students are too helping in checking the menance of ragging in Delhi colleges.  I hope and pray it works.

Isn't that so disturbing a thought that the society is churning out youth who need to show off, get into using muscle power, or money power or political power to prove they are superior than others?  Isn't money and power not intoxicating them.... so young?  When they still have to earn some worth for themselves, they don't mind swelling their chests on the exhaled carbon dioxide of their wealthy and influential fathers.

There is a lot of awareness now but the anxiety of the parents is understandable.  

Have you ever wondered what made ragging so cool all these years? How were you ragged during your college days? Or are you a parent? how do you feel about it? Do share.

RESTLESS

I feel dwarfed

Suddenly your ordinariness as a common man ceases to lose its sheen.  Suddenly you feel so vulnerable, so small.... so dwarfed.  Another attack on common people, and this time again Mumbai, doesn't bring out anger, or angst. It has given a frown on the forehead of scores of other urbanites, like me.  A sense of helplessness, a feeling of no control on the violent world around freezes you one moment, and the next moment you want to unshackle yourself from the memories and the frames frozen in time, which are spread all around you - in visual and print media.

The people who died, and who will die in the cruel hands of terrorism have created and will keep on creating void in the lives of their loved ones, their families.  But beyond that, it's just numbers.... dead or injured.... just numbers.... critical or stable.... just numbers..... just a record.... of uncelebrated death.

This time I'm not angry.... I'm just dwarfed. 

RESTLESS

The Gurgling Belly of Delhi!!

Or should I have named it the aching belly of Delhi?!! My tummy ached laughing at the gags - some intelligent and the rest pure....shitty ones!

I would be a hypocrite if I say I didn't enjoy the movie... I laughed in sheer disgust at times covering my face and the other times I just laughed (yeah... on those potty jokes).  Yes I did like the movie, for sure.

Yes, of course, it was me who wrote about my anger over the Bose DK song.  And it's me again praising this movie. Can you guess why??

First of all, let me say that I didn't know that there are two versions - English and Hindi.  I just happened to land at the English version, and thank God for that!

I hear so so many people cursing the movie makers (oops.... i thought you hated the guys who cursed all the way long!!) I heard that Delhi Belly is being hated because they are earning money by saying curse words!  Can a movie really really survive only on curses?!! Let's give it a try.... no dialogues... only curses... any language will do! ha!

I am pretty clear that it was a movie to be watched by adults and as adults of a young nation, a westernized nation, an English speaking - eating - walking - drinking nation, we must grow up.  I didn't find even a single word out of place. Not a single utterance was artificial.  The lingo used WAS the real youth.  It is the trend of the times.  Here I'm not being judgemental.  I'm not even saying it is f*****g cool to be heard saying such words... am not even contesting it.  (May be someday I'll write how bad I feel when young boys and girls from educated families dish out ma... behen... gaalis) But still I fail to understand why so much anger watching people speak such words on the big screen??  The only reason, you can give me is that, such movies encourage more indecent behaviour.  Btw, art imitates life or the vice versa??

Art is supposed to show the reality of the society.  It mirrors what is actually happening.  Is the urban youth not using swear words at the drop of a hat?  I had a misconception that educated people would use slightly sophisticated words, mostly in English but I know i was wrong. It does not matter much.... the taste seems to get better with mother tongue. 

It is said that we prefer not to curse in our mother tongue, as a foreign language helps us keep distance from the gravity of the words.

It is also said that we speak out in our mother tongue when we are really really very angry.

But, today I see all rules bent!

I am yet to see the Hindi version of the movie, Delhi Belly (what do call it 'Dilli ka pet'??!!!)...... Or may be I wont... who would like to hear the hindi translation of "i will cut ur ***** " :(

Another thing that's upsetting people is the sexually explicit content.... again I would say this was a new generation adult movie... a NOW adult movie.  Do you mean to say you won't like to watch such stuff with your partner? I'm sure either you are lying or you don't want to see what kind of openness this generation is living and experiencing. I call it adult movie of NOW generation because it was minus the drama attached to sex and neither any guilt or strings attached to it!  Isn't that the real youth of this generation all about?

I've heard so many people complaining about the movie.  What is your say? Did u watch the movie? Hindi or English? Didn't you laugh and enjoy the whole fun and drama? Let me know!

Cheers!

RESTLESS

PS: btw, one intelligent line from the movie.  Imran, the journo,  asks a star in an interview, what more she wants to do in future?  The young, chirpy, fascinated girl says I want to start my clothes line soon :D Imraan corrects her - 'oh, u mean clothing line!' Happy washing clothes girl!!