WAR...where does it end

Everybody was scared. There was darkness all around, and there was not a sound to be heard except-the heavy heart-beats of the terror stricken people. There it lay. The valley. The beautiful valley. The most serene in all of Kashmir. There it lay in total darkness. The trees were quiet. the waters of the lake were still. The birds did not sing as they always did. Still was every thing except- the minds of the people, who had never seen life beyond this valley of theirs that they called home. This was new. Such fear, such uncertainty, such trauma-had never shown its face here, in the valley of paradise. But now three tiny little letters seem to have ripped their lives apart -WAR. This is their story. The story of the people of the valley of Ladakh. The story lived by these innocent lives every single day of their existence, which will one day cease in the plot of this very story. As this scenario was observed by the eastern slopes of the valley, there was another situation on the west. The Border Security force of India had its eyes and ears open for the enemy. the enemy that in no way was differnt from the defendent. The enemy that once was their own brother. It was almost midnight. A hundred and forty soldiers were posted at different hiding places.All these men clad in khaki uniforms with leaves and paint all over their faces were armed with the most dangerous guns. Each one of them was determined to kill his 'enemy', to sacrifice their lives for their 'country'. The two countries or even the whole world had its fingers crossed- not knowing whatwould happen next. Millions of people went to bed that night awaiting a new dawn, with prayers in their hearts, hoping to see a dove flying high in the sky. The minds of the soldiers,-' jawans' as they were known making youth the epitome of bravery, which seemed in itself to be a sarcasm for was'nt war just a frivulous act born out of unthought aggression like the blind passions of youth?-the minds of these jawans were no less restless. they shivered in the cold...but in their hearts burnt a fire of anger. For what and who....they no not. All they know is that the nation needs them to shed blood. And they would do it for the nation. If only they had a broader definition of 'nation'.....

From Dowry to Dowjones.........by Neethi Narayanan

{This essay on the evils of dowry was written in 2003, and was selected as the final entries for the teen of the year contest.} Is this the new era- where grooms arelike commodities on sale, the in-laws bargainers, and the woman-the master and yet only the slave? Dowry-an expression of love and blessings in the form of gifts for their beloved daughter, about to start her new life with her soulmate, has today been metamorphosed into a tyrinnical demand. Every parent wishes to give his daughter all the happiness in life and marital bliss but unfortunately it now comes at a spine-breaking price! Several men look for in their 'perfect other half' another easy means of revenue! The groom's family insists this is culture. The bride's kin feel this is their duty.The nation calls this "dowry". But for humanity , this is sheer cruelty. Every corner of the road, every page of the newspapers today talk of some innocent girl or the other succumbing to her miserable fate in the hands of her in-laws just because she could not pay the entire price for being their son's wife. She is tortured, blackmailed, threatened, beaten, locked up, sometimes starved, and more often than not-killed. All this just because she could not pay her tenants- her tenants who gave her a family and relations for money!!! This age-old practice, believed to be part of the Indian value-system, has now degraded those exact values. Our devilish society- that has squeezed out of every woman the dreams of living a happy married life, and flushed out of the country its well reputed image-urgently needs a make-over. And if anyone can do that- its the woman herself. Why should she pay to be tortured, infamed and insulted, becoming slaves of society?So what is it in that groom that is so expensive? What has he got except-greed for which he demands a bribe for being a husband!!! If he is worth nothing, why pay with your savings, freedom, and dignity to marry a worthless man???? Well, there is hope. Hope for a make-over of values, priorities, and the definition of marriage itself. Lets not weigh a beautiful life-long bond of unlimting, unconditional love and companionship in the scales of cash and kind. Well....we are still waiting for the time when homes and families stop comparing themselves to the stock exchange.

Crime, Politics and the Sea.......Neethi Narayanan

Deep within the oceans,

You may often encounter

A relationship of unparalleled love,

That'll make one sit and wonder.

The sight of a frizzy haired creature,

Would be what you would have found,

With colourful tentacles swirling above

Sitting pretty on a plump little mound.

The pretty haired lady is the sea-anemone

With her colours concealing her sting.

And at her feet is none other than the hermit crab

Like an elegant throne with its magnificent king.

The sea-anemone may seem attractive

but its sting keeps off the crab's foes.,

W the safe and secure hermit crab

Chariots the anemone o'er the Benthic meadows.

Oh! what an absolutely lovely symbiosis God has made,

Of the lady and her hermit!

One gives shelter, the other support,

And no harm to each other will they permit.

Well, if this was surprising, then what would you opine

Of a symbiosis even more profound?

The bond between one on the 'chair'

And another hidden under the ground!

The tentacles here are a Gandhi-topi

Placed over a bright and 'honest' face,

That attracts people with its colours

But its sting is blanketed by its grace.

And yes! the hermit crab in this case

is a 'hermit' indeed!

That lives in a world under our world

And is loyal to his duty and (mis)deed.

Together they romp about every where-

the 'protected' and the 'protector'-

Where one goes ravaging life and land

While the other promises to make the world prosper!

And the thoroughly confused, utterly puzzled,

Are the innocent 'We the people'

Who see it but can't see through it-

See the truth -no matter how short and simple.

So to those who are sorrowfully unaware

Of the hermit crab and the sea-anemone's fling

The analogous symbiosis of crime and politics

Is already out to devour you with its sting!