Recently read 2 blogs and result - I am also on this Lamhe - The Moments page again.
Kiran's - Break Free, Un-shackle, Disrobe
Rashmi Bansal's - The Naked Truth
Kiran, very well written, all of these points are something which has been in my mind from a long time, and you know what, I keep telling or suggesting my younger brothers, sisters, cousins etc that "its not how the world is, what matters is how you are. Its you who is going to decide what path you have to take, good or bad."
Same like you, even I had pre-concieved notions and they all only broken when I get into Engg Hostel and get to meet/live to all kinds of people.
One more thing to keep in mind is "Nobody is BAD for all, he is obviously good for some or the other". We cannot be just against one and supporting other. Life is about walking all together.
"Smoking" and "Drinking" (Read over-alcohalic) is always bad, but not necessarily the person doing it. yes, we have been told in our childhood so that we doesn't get attracted to the bad habbits. The point is that this is not the right method, but this is the only way we Indian have been doing it and keep doing it still.
The correct way out here is to explain in the childhood about the goods and evils of relavant things and let them give an option to choose.
Writing this I remember "My Name is Khan" scene where the SRK's mother in childhood time, explains him by drawing the 2 similar pictures and ask SRK to choose ond of them, and in real life too, this is gonna work surely.
Coming to second point of "vegeterian:non-vegeterian" debates, I have to say only one thing - its not about good or bad, its about ecological balance, employment, way-of-living, bread-&-butter, sustainence etc etc.
Kiran's last point about "Shame" deserves special applaud. And it again goes back to the same point-1 thing, that we have been following the wrong methods to correct children.
About Rashmi's blog, I am not pointing all the things here, but one thing I have to say there is that every paragraph of her blog poses a question in front of us and forces us to think.
India is really a diverse country, I feel more bad things then any good about it, for exampple the latest includes -
(1) Khap panchayat & Honor killings
(2) Different opinions of religions on smoking and drinking as well as dressing
(3) Various cultures and their customary beliefs
If we count like above, we will just doing whole day and it will still not be over.
I have also been in the US for a short time and it was a good experience, being there living their life. It was a life-time experience. My US collague told me once - "All people come here and capture the scenaries in cameras, and YOU have lived the Life here, captured the American culture which you will take with you".
What I am trying to say here is - Rashmi's blog is very true in all sense, but first of all we need to find the root of why its happening, why we have these beliefs and lets come forward to break it. Loosen ourself.
Many places outside India like US, the best thing is less diversity. One fact - "There are as many similarities in European Countries as we have dis-similarities in Indian states itself". We need to come out of these cultural beliefs and reason ourselves intelligently and logically without hurting the existing "right" facts. And finally we need to follow our heart.
The day you leave any worries aside about what others are thinking, you are gonna live the world fully, that's for sure. But never cross a thin line in whatever you do while following your heart.
Not everything in the world is debatable, any 2 people may express in different ways which may seem like opposite but the same 2 people may be trying to say the same views. I always advocate vegeterianism, but I don't oppose non-vegeterian. If we don't drink, doesn't mean we have to be against it. Also, I feel there is a thin line between nudity and intimacy.
Lastly, we should also respect the opposite opinions, listen to them and find answers to those, if not to the opposite person but may be to ourselves.
