Monday, March 14, 2011

Passion to pursue the DREAM..


I would like to refer a book “You can win” written by Shiv khera. He has written in his book about persistence in achieving your dream.


Recently I met a couple in a fest. They had put a stall for exhibiting their creations. I was volunteering for a NGO which empowers women in rural areas. I walked across the stall and found a beautiful collection of creative exhibits displayed. I was so impressed and had a conversation with them.

Wife:

Hari: All the exhibits are good.

Wife: we have some 3D origami as well.

Hari: Wow, Ce Superb. Its all plug and play right! I am using lot of IT (information technology garcons). Please pardon me.

Wife: I was an ex-IT professional. Since last year, I am pursuing my Interest.

Hari: awesome, what was your inspiration?

Wife: I was always interested and waited for the opportunity.

Hari: Cheers…


Husband:

Hari: I would like to appreciate your efforts for assisting your wife to pursue her interests.

Husband: Thanks. In our days, our parents were always busy in working and to run the family, but now we have the space where we can support. She was good at it.

Hari: very true. Cheers ;-)



Conclusion:

I am happy to experience this trend and would appreciate all the people to follow the same. It creates a platform where-in Husband and wife support each other and does something innovative, creative and productive.


It gives us a great pleasure when we achieve our dream or interests, which we have nurtured from the day that particular idea sparked.


I wish them cherish their dreams with success.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Article 498a Cracked

Introduction to Article 498a:

498a is an Indian law in which a husband and his family are summarily arrested without any investigation when a complaint is lodged by the wife or any of her relative claiming that the husband or his relatives treated her cruelly. Once the complaint is lodged the husband and his family are presumed guilty and it is up to them to prove that they are innocent in a court of law. This law has been under much controversy due to its increasing misuse leading to breakdown of families. It does not cost anything to file a 498A, and there is no penalty (or even a fine) for filing a false dowry complaint which has contributed to a fast rise in the number of such cases in courts today.

Summary:
Wife/daughter-in-law who's demands are not met can make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to a nearby police station. The husband, his old parents and relatives are immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars on a non-bailable term. Even if the complaint is false, you shall be presumed guilty until you prove that you are innocent.

498a can only be invoked by wife/daughter-in-law or her relative. Most cases where Sec 498A is invoked turn out to be false (as repeatedly accepted by High Courts and Supreme Court in India) as they are mere blackmail attempts by the wife (or her close relatives) when faced with a strained marriage. In most cases 498a complaint is followed by the demand of huge amount of money (extortion) to settle the case out of the court. This section is non-bailable (you have to appear in court and get bail from the judge), non-compoundable (complaint can't be withdrawn) and cognizable (register and investigate the complaint, although in practice most of the time arrest happens before investigation). There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police has arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. In these cases unsuspecting family of husband has to go through a lot of mental torture and harassment by the corrupt Indian legal system. A typical case goes on for years (5-7 years is typical) and the conviction rate is about 2% only. Some accused parents, sisters and even husbands have committed suicide after time in jail.

Relief: To all my friends suffering from their spouses and their relatives. Indian govt has issued an order to all the police stations, which states "Circular issued to all Police Stations dated 7.7.10 - no arrests u/s 498-a on complaint and compulsory counselling". Now we have some relief and there is an NGO to protect "Husbands" from these cruelties.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Autumn Spring --- Not-So-Grumpy Old Men

The best movie I have seen in my entire life. The director has given life to the movie by adding lively characters’ and the bond between them. Life after 60 is terrible but the director has narrated in a brilliant way (no words to explain).  

I have written the gist of the movie.

Fanda, the aging hero of Vladimir Michalek's movie, doesn't have it easy. His wife Emilie spends her days collecting and critiquing newspaper obituaries and counting the saved-up Crowns for their funerals. His son wouldn't mind if he moved into a home, and his grandkids are drawing pictures of gravestones with his name on it. There's not much left to look forward to, they all keep reminding him.

But Fanda, played superbly by Vlastimil Brodsky, refuses to go quietly into that dark night. Instead of tending to graves, he plays cheerful pranks on the world. Together with his old actor friend Eda (Stanislav Zindulka), he impersonates wealthy opera stars from abroad and subway inspectors to hustle fancy French meals and pecks on the cheek from pretty girls. When a particularly gutsy prank goes wrong, Fanda needs to find a lot of money fast -- or dip into the money Emilie set aside for their funerals.

Brodsky's performance as the old fool Fanda is graceful and sympathetic, and laced with enough sadness to give his flights into fancy a morbid edge. His levity is bought at a terrible price, and whenever the soundtrack gets too schmaltzy, Brodsky's terminal good humor grounds the movie in our shared fate. Shortly after "Autumn Spring" was completed, the seasoned Czech actor ("Jacob the Liar," "Closely Watched Trains") fell ill and committed suicide.

"Autumn Spring" is the kind of warm, uplifting champion-the-underdog film that studios now try to produce at any cost, a subgenre of world cinema that has been reduced to a formula. Many of these films fail miserably when the sentiment is obviously false.

"Autumn Spring" is the wonderful real deal.