Surviving Contradictions

Life is always about making choices. We all start making choices from an early age. The only difference is as we grow up and are so called 'intelligent' beings, we tend to take longer while making decisions. The duration taken in decision making is not because we are spoilt of choices rather the environment around us does all the 'push' and 'pull'. 

As we grow up, we tend to (rather supposed to) become wiser and this 'wise-ness' comes only when we agree to 'abide' by the invisible guidelines that judge you whether you are the 'right' or the 'wrong' person. And again this rightness and wrongness isn't derived at by using some standard formula, it keeps changing and yes, that the most mind boggling part. 

The issues and events that are lately making headlines in news are rape, rape, killing, bombing, firing, world cup and of course Modi. Yes I have intentionally mentioned rape twice. 

I over head a conversation a couple of days back wherein people were discussing how a woman who ran away from her husband and his family because they were physically abusing her however when police found her, she was sent back to the family and a few days later she was found dead. Ears, nose and apparently fingers were missing from her body. I fail to understand why it is so wrong to avoid or walk- out of situations where one knows they can't take it any longer. What is so culturally rich about staying in a hostile situation/ environment? I'm sure the in-laws and husband felt offended 'how could she run away?' "This is not our culture, married women running away!'  

I often wonder where this sense of (hollow) culture vanishes when you are hitting a person, chopping off their body parts and violating their space. I'm sure something is not written in bold in the 'invisible guideline' that we follow so blindly. I think it does give an endless amount of knowledge on 'what to do to be called cultured' however has massively failed to mention 'things not to be done in the name of culture'. 

Another fact to be noted here is (I’m sure it's the case in other countries too) our societal norms are sometimes contradictory to what our Constitution provides us for. All effort that has gone in coming up with the worlds' most versatile constitution seems to have gone down the drains. We are not able to treat people equally, we don't believe that everyone has rights; one can't speak their mind, express themselves and so on. 

There's so much to think about and work upon. How difficult could it be to give someone space, rights and of course respect? Why do we expect every other person to be our identical personality?