Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from April, 2011

From the Editor - Rare and Elusive and Right Under Our Noses

They are rare and they are elusive. In fact, they are so difficult to spot that at times their existence is shrugged off as another unsolved mystery in the same league as the Little Green Men from Mars and the Loch Ness Monster. However, for us at Ghumakkar, they are a reality since we can proudly boast that we have them amongst us. Yes, we are talking about that rising and rapidly multiplying breed of travellers – The Indian Women Backpackers. If you have been reading Ghumakkar regularly, you could not have missed Nisha Jha’s recap of her travels in her story . And those of you who have been around long enough would have immediately thought of our original backpacker, Lakshmi Sharath , whose Ghumakkar ID ‘backpakker’ says it all. Indians are social people and when someone talks about travelling alone, the first question that comes up is “Why? Won’t you get bored?” And if you are a woman, you have to fight through additional layers of approvals and disapprovals. You need to have a cert

India Against Corruption - The battle is won but the war goes on...

Too many minor victories often result in no final outcome whatsoever. Such dates are often lost in history. Now that Anna Hazare has won the first battle against corruption through his almost 5-day long fast, it is our responsibility to ensure that the date 9th April 2011 goes down in the history as the day when the first battle in the war against corruption was won. What has happened in just the beginning and once the excitement of the victory dies let us keep the fire burning. The rest of the road is all uphill. We have to keep a watch that the government fulfils all that it has promised within the timeframe that Anna has set without any excuses. The responsibility rests on our shoulders. Youth has to carry the movement on. My friends who visited India Gate during the protest were impressed by how calm the entire place was in spite of the huge crowd. Anna Hazare has set an example. Let us follow it with honest hearts. Once the Jan Lokpal is formed, we should be ready to deal with

Deep Within

I laugh I cry I accept I lie I am a funny heart That suffers wrongs That keeps peace That breaks into songs I love I hate I envy I care But deep within Where solitude stays I feel no fear I weep for days... Beyond , a photo by Vibha Malhotra on Flickr.

My Little Angel

Nishu and Me I am here in India for a short visit during my vacations. I was expecting my 4-year old nephew, Nishu, to have distanced himself from me over the past six months but exactly the opposite has happened. It has forever changed my opinion about children. I used to believe that children live only in today and get attached and detached very easily. But here is my little angel breaking my heart with his little gestures because I know that I will have to leave him again and go back. Here are some of the things he has done in the past couple of days to make me unbelievably happy and sad at the same time: 1) He pouted yesterday and asked why I need to go back to the UK. Then he told me straightaway not to go back. I felt immensely sad because I know that I have to. At least for the next 6 months. 2) He kissed my hand without me asking for it. 3) Everyday I try to make him take an afternoon nap by reading stories to him. I doze off while he stays awake. He lies there quietly