The Curious Case of Richard Loitam's Murder

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" - Martin Luther King Jr.

I've got to admit at the outset that I am not a good writer nor the son of a writer. But I feel strongly this time that this case needs to be heard and made loud and clear across the board for the better. The recent case of the murder of a 19-year-old aspiring architect student from Manipur by the hostelmates of Acharya NRV School of Architecture at Soladevanahalli, Bangalore was not only shocking by any degree of measure but also a serious incident which should not taken lightly in any manner.

Richard Loitam....Photo Courtesy: Ibtimes.com

So far the prelim post mortem report is already out citing brain haemorrhage as the cause of death. Police officials and management of the college in question cited this as the result of the accident that Richard had had on April 16 - just two days before his death. But accordingly to the close friends of the deceased it was just a few minor bruises. And  Dr. RK Vidyabali Devi, Richard’s mother, who herself is currently a professing doctor says "The fact that the preliminary postmortem found haemorrhaging (bleeding) at places over both cerebral hemispheres means both sides of the head had been badly wounded, which is not possible in an accident”.

Again, not surprisingly, police officials and the management of the institute in question again accusingly claimed drug overdose as the cause of death which is totally bullshit speculative assumption and unfounded accusation. Just stereotyping anyone from the Northeast as a drug addict is absolutely rubbish and childish. Grow up Acharya or whatever!

In fact, according to the close associates of the deceased, Richard was an active sportsman and was never indulged in these kind of things. And the manner in which the case was handled (by both the police officials and the college authorities in question) has raised more questions than answers. And it's all the more increasingly suspicious over the sheer silence from the management of Acharya NRV School of Architecture at Soladevanahalli to this effect. It is both misleading and baffling to some degree as we all seek justice for Richard Loitam who was just snuffed out just like this.

There are several questions still lingering at our heads. Was the killing racially motivated? In a country with 1 billion plus people of different faiths, castes and races - oh, of course, faiths within faiths, castes within castes, and races within races - isn't it obvious and natural to think and ask this question? And not doing so would be counterintuitive.

OR, is the institute in question hiding or covering up some far more bitter truths than we know of so far? Because there have been no tangible actions or arrests or whatsoever so far from the college management side. Or is Acharya NRV School of Architecture at Soladevanahalli, Bangalore conniving together with the perpetrators of the heinous crime that took place on April 18, 2012.

Richard Loitam...Photo Courtesy: Entertainerr.com

I have to admit here: not all Indians are racists. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. We have been taught in schools that way. If there were some - definitely, possibly yes. Otherwise the unfortunate incident that happened on April 18 would have never happened. Just changing a TV channel during an IPL match doesn't tantamount to murdering a person to this degree - and that too a person who wears an infectious smile all the time.

Wait a second, you can't kill a person who is innocently smiling at you. As you know, smiling is contagious. Even your kindergarten kid will not buy your story that an always smiling person just got murdered just because he changed the TV channel during an IPL match. There is much mucher than that. Or you can see the picture above. A picture is worth a thousand words. Period. That's all what we demand to know and hear from the college authorities in question. Unfortunately, so far the management of Acharya NRV School of Architecture at Soladevanahalli, Bangalore is simply apparently covering up the truths hiding its face in the sands.

So we demand a smoother delivery of justice for Richard Loitam by the authorities concerned at the soonest possible timeframe so that such heinous and gruesome incident does not repeat again in the land of the largest demoracy the world has known.

Indeed, it is very sad, terribly sad to hear such an incident like this.

Here is a message from  Dr. RK Vidyabali Devi, Richard’s mother

"We have sent our children for education to other places of India by trusting the college management, warden etc. We are keeping the kids in the hostel as we have faith in the management. Why have they treated my son so cruelly when I have trusted them? Why destroy the bright futures of our children? The crucial time that have been lost in getting help/treatment is unreasonable. All sons and daughters’ lives are precious to every parent. Please do not break all mothers’ heart. Please give me justice. The case should be converted to a homicidal case as the preliminary post mortem report shows proofs of severe physical assault and internal injury which is the cause of death. Investigations should be swift and thorough. I trust the Indian judicial system, please give me justice, and I expect immediate punishment of the culprits whoever they are."

In any case, if you want to support to this cause, there is a campaign called Justice for Richard Loitam ongoing now on Facebook. You can join this group on https://www.facebook.com/groups/410394948972870/ 

Or you can sign up for the petition at www.change.org

When God Shuts a Door, He Opens a Window

"Only in our dreams are we free, the rest of the time we need wages." - Terry Pratchett, an English writer

After three months, the sky turns blue again. At least I am happy to see it turn blue after a seemingly long dark and grey sky. Unfortunately, however much we aspire of a sky completely free of clouds, it is always studded with patches of clouds as if they are meant for each other forever. And so is life not completely free of sorrows and unpleasant things that accompany it. So smile on them anyway and they will smile back in return. They are meant to be friends, not foes.

To stay in tune with the sentiments around my surroundings and myself, I have changed my blog theme. It's sky blue with patches of clouds now. And I chose purple color for my blog title but I don't know why.

It is after almost two months I am writing this blog post. In these two months many things happened. On August 15, on Independence Day, I ventured into something that I had been longing for. I knew it was not going to be easy but life mein risk lena parta hain; hain na? And I am still working on it. I felt as if I got freedom after seven  years. But I have now realized that being independent isn't a license to freedom from accountability.

Now I am working more hours than I used to. Sometimes 24 hours in a day is not enough. Yet I don't see any tangible results. Sadly, I keep failing and falling downhill. It's like spending a sleepless night and waiting for the first sun rays gushing through the window. Sometimes I feel like giving up altogether. But I am not giving up too soon. Now I have come to know that the dreams that I used to envision and the reality that I see are two separate worlds and don't stay together. If they are, then you must be very lucky. Everything can go your way in mind but not in reality.

At times it seems all the doors have been shut and I have nowhere to go. And it's certainly a nightmarish feeling if you have come to this point any time. Of course, life is beautiful in all its splendor but when it turns cruel, it becomes nasty and it's not easy to talk about it. It takes a little courage to stand up and walk again.

I always envy of birds flying so freely in the sky without having to worry about anything. I guess, I don't know whether they have such a thing called 'worry' in their dictionary. But it just doesn't seem to be. They don't worry about anything. They don't worry about what to eat. They don't worry about what clothes to wear. In fact, God has given them exquisitely elegant clothes to wear. He is so generous! Isn't He? And of course, they don't worry about shelter. If there was no 'worry' in life, majority of the problems we face in life wouldn't exist at all. Even after this realization, surprisingly I still worry a lot about various things in my life. It's not a good thing to keep up as we grow old in age. But it is natural to worry about life: what to eat, what to wear and where to stay, and what not.

As I write this post, Manipur is reeling under the eternal curse of the economic blockade with its two lifelines being throttled. For a gas cylinder, it costs Rs. 2000 now in the Land of Jewels. And prices of all available commodities in the state have shot up to astronomical highs and is beyond a common man's purchasing power.

Now the 'worry-meter' in Manipur measures the highest in India, or possibly in the whole world, as the prices of daily use commodities have far exceeded the common man's purchasing power. People there are suffering to the highest degree as the whole Manipur is being choked to a 'possible death'. Nowhere in India, or perhaps the whole planet Earth is such a dismal state of affairs seen and it is very sad to see people of Manipur -- the people who impose the economic blockade as well as people who don't -- are suffering silently. In Mumbai, when onion prices reached Rs 50 per kg for a week or so, the whole India rose up and within a month, the issue was resolved amicably. But nobody from Delhi is saying anything or doing the least when 'nobody-like-Manipur' is suffering to the extreme. Maybe because it's a small state, or maybe it doesn't contribute anything to the GDP of the country, or maybe it's silent and not doing anything on purpose. I feel so sad that I can't do anything about it.

Well, I wanted to write something else as I began writing and instead I ran into rants. Forgive me being offtrack a bit.

Now I envy the two pigeon birds who come to visit my dwelling place every single day without fail. [Recently they returned from a long trip somewhere] My dwelling place has become their playfield. They play all day long outside the window while I grind as many hours as I can before my monitor. They are so free and they are so independent. I envy them. When I left my job after working seven years a few months ago and began to dive into my personal project, I knew it was not going to be easy. And it's still not easy. Free from bosses is no freedom. Freedom comes with a great price. And I am paying now.

For me, 2011 will be an unforgettable year in my memory lane for many reasons. This year I saw the end of many beautiful things I built for many years and this year set the start of my journey all over again. It's like the beginner's mind. The late technology icon, Steve Jobs said, "It's wonderful to have a beginner's mind." But it's not easy that way. I am starting all over again. Again, 1999 was the year I started all over again.

When something beautiful ends, something else beautiful begins. It's the way how life goes on. It's our choice to snap it off but let it go. At the end of the day, it's destiny that finally decides. One professor describes what destiny is in a simple term like this: Suppose there is a nail pinned on the ground and a needle falling from the sky. Destiny  is the probability of the needle hitting the nail on the ground. After all, God is such a mathematician.

It's destiny that binds people together and it's destiny that separates people from one another. We don't have to feel sorry about it. Instead, flow like the river; run like the wind, be generous like the trees. There is so much to learn from them. Life's meant to be a beautiful thing, but not drudgery.

And of course, when God shuts a door, there is always a window open for you. All cannot be shut at the same time. God can't be that cruel.      

The Two Little Pigeons

It's a beautiful day. I got up from sleep to the melodious songs of two chirping birds, just outside my window pane. They are lovely, sweet little creatures. They come once in a while and chirp their choicest tunes, just outside my window, early in the morning, just to wake me up. It just feels good to hear their chirps early in the morning and begin my day. And I wish I knew the meaning of all their chirps.


But I am a little sad today, too. Not because I had a bad dream, or a bad sleep either. By the way, I had a great sleep last night. I even had a series of dreams wherein I saw many of my friends, chatting and talking about how life has been up to. It was a sweet dream. [Maybe because today is Friendship Day. I remember you guys and you all still live in my memories even today. And I wish you guys a very Happy Friendship Day. Just want to say: There is no goodbye in Friendship. Just like memories, Friendship never dies.]

But I am a little upset these past few days. The reason: I haven't seen two couple pigeons on my balcony railings outside the window the last three days. They were a little sweet things to me. Every morning, they would visit and sit on the balcony railings and spend there for hours, and sometimes even for whole day. They would talk in a language that I don't understand. I wish very much if I knew what they were talking each other.

At times they would stare each other, and other times, they would just come and sit quietly without speaking a word. A week or so ago, I saw both of them having a fight, just like husbands and wives do sometime. I don't know why those two sweet little creatures were fighting. It was sad to see both of them fighting. But at the same time, I was surprised to learn that these little creatures do have disagreements and conflicts at times, just like we humans do. And the next day, I saw them reunited again. I was happy to see both of them talking, staring each other and playing in the balcony railing outside my window.

All this drama of these two little, lovely pigeons, I watched daily from my small personal office like set-up inside my room, facing the balcony railings outside the window.

Sometimes, they both would kiss each other. But those moments, I won't stare at them. Because I was afraid they would feel shy and would never come back to their love nest again. Moreover, that's their private moments. You know, they are soft-hearted and the gentlest of all creatures. They both are a lovely sight to behold when they are playing, doing all sorts of things upon the balcony railings outside the window.

I don't know why, but wherever I stay, or move to a new building, these homely birds always follow me -- or, I don't know whether they are following me, or me following them. But they just come and visit my dwelling place anyway. In my previous apartment building too, where I stayed few years on rent, there were two couple pigeons -- lovelier and sweetier than this two couple. Theirs story is a bit different. I may tell about them some day.

I think it was last month. I rarely open my window panes because I don't want to give any chance to mosquitoes to enter my room. Honestly speaking, I hate mosquitoes the most of all creatures that I have seen or heard. I don't know why, but I hate these little, tiny creatures the most. Forgive me for hating them so much.

It was raining heavily that day. And I opened my window panes wide open. I wanted to feel the rain and watch it falling down on the earth in full view. Suddenly, the fairer and littler of the two couple pigeons, accidentally flew inside my room. But unfortunately, she couldn't fly away outside. After much try and failed attempts, she couldn't fly outside the window. Instead, she was flying to and fro across the length and breadth of my room. And outside the window, the fatter one, presumably her lover boy, was frantically kicking legs and hissing in helplessness. Maybe he was afraid that I would do something bad to his sweetheart. It was a sad sight to behold, because I seem to have a heart that knows what is love.

So I stepped in and joined the drama of the two little couple. I tried to catch hold of the fairer one who was frantically flying from corner to corner of my room. After a while, she had no other option but to land on my hands. I felt the heat and utter fear running all over her veins and body.

And now, outside the window, her lover boy's kicking legs and hissing sounds began more intense. And I knew it was time to let her go through the window. Sooner the better, lest he might do something stupid. Or he might get a heart attack!

Truth to be told: I ate pigeons in the past. They are soft and delicious. But this time I can't -- I can't break a lover's heart. And so I let her go through the window. At last, I felt happy to see both of them reunited again, kissing and talking in their unknown language. At that moment, I realized I had so much to learn from these little creatures.

But today, I am a bit sad that these two little birds haven't come back to my balcony railings for the past few days. As always, birds do come and go, just like we humans do. But I had to learn a lot from these two little couple pigeons. And I am glad I did.

Aye Khuda Mujhako Bata....(Tell me O God!....)

Aye Khuda Mujhako Bata...(Lyrics...in English)

Tell me O God, where do you live? What is your address?
We are travelers here searching for our own destinations
Your memory comes back to me and takes my life away
I get lost in loneliness and keep talking to me every moment that...
Why did you break my heart? Why did you leave me like this?
Why is my heart still waiting for you?
Why do the memories keep coming back? Why are they teasing me?
Why am I still restless?


Tell me O God, where do you live? What is your address?
We are travelers here searching for our own destinations.


Distances are far, but you are not away from me
I agree I am, but you are not helpless
Every moment it teases me and takes my life away
I get lost in loneliness and keep talking to me every moment that...
Why did you break my heart? Why did you leave me like this?
Why is my heart still waiting for you?
Why do the memories keep coming back? Why are they teasing me?
Why am I still restless?


Tell me O God, where do you live? What is your address?
We are travelers here searching for our own destinations
Your memory comes back to me and takes my life away.
I get lost in loneliness and keep talking to me every moment that... 
Why did you break my heart? Why did you leave me like this?
Why is my heart still waiting for you?
Why do the memories keep coming back? Why are they teasing me?
Why am I still restless?


Tell me O God, where do you live? What is your address?
We are travelers here searching for our own destinations.
Why did you break my heart? Why did you leave me like this?
Why is my heart still waiting for you?
Why do the memories keep coming back? Why are they teasing me?
Why am I still restless?

8 Again! (Contd.)

"If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older." (Tom Stoppard)

As a kid, the world was a playing field. As a teen, the world was a stage. And now as a grown-up adult, the world is a work-field. 

As a kid, all we thought was the world was a playground and we were all players. And we came into this world just to play. Only just to play. Nothing else. Studies and schools were just a time pass. Our main purpose in this world was to play and have fun. Well, it may be true metaphorically also to a grown-up, but we never thought about it metaphorically, we always thought everything literally. We thought everything in simple terms. And far from any complications, simplicity was the way of life. But as a grown-up, we tend to complicate things. 

Those days, life was all about playing and having fun. Yes, we grown-ups do play and have fun too... now we play in the computer or mobile or playing machines. Everything is becoming digital now. But as a kid, life was full, alive and vibrant like the seas. 

Happiness curve is U-shaped

Happiness Curve (Courtesy: Daily Telegraph)

Studies have shown that life begins to recede in the late 20's and doesn't recover up until 65 and it hits rock bottom at 44. It also supports Victor Hugo's viewpoint of 40 as the old age of youth and 50 the youth of old age. All I want to say here is that childhood days are the happiest and funnest. And we tend to keep going back to those days again and again. Sadly, 40s are the grimmest. Even worse if you happen to get a bad wife. Socrates once said that if you got a bad wife, you would become a philosopher. But for good or worse, I don't know, I have become one already. Hmm, wife? Yet to find one.

In fact, a kid will never understand fully the mind of a grown-up. But sadly, a grown-up easily forgets that he was once a kid too, long time back. As a matter of fact, both belongs to the different worlds but within the same world. But above all, I still cherish those childhood days most -- in fact, mucher more than my teens days. Because I was living my life in full. But now as a grown-up, it's hard to live a life that way -- like the one I once used to as a kid. Now I am busy chasing after my dreams and money. Like chasing after the wind.

In many ways, being innocent and foolish like a kid is a great gain. In doing so, the life will become simpler free of tensions, free of strife, and free of heart failures. And the world will become a peaceful place to live. And there won't be any sleep disorders anymore. And we all will be able to sleep peacefully. Like a child again. 

Stanley Ka Dabba effect

Drizzling rain, I am half wet with a half pant, and about to be dipped in the sea 

Too much of a good stuff is a bad stuff, courtesy, The Karate Kid

I read, a few years back, the importance of observing some kind of a ritual called ME TIME. Since then whenever I can, I have been observing this ritual. Let me tell you it's been quite helpful, health wise, soul-wise, and heart wise. I call myself a busy person, though I don't know exactly what I am busy at actually. When I work, I work as if the world is going to end tomorrow. But when I sleep, you can say, I sleep no less than the old-time Kumbakarna. In fact, few of my friends do know this. So a difficult to understand person you will ever come across in your life.

And at the end of the day, being busy makes me drained out all the time without me noticing it myself. But the last three or four months have been a heck of a time for me, doing good stuffs only, not bad stuff though, but it was becoming too much for me. So I thought I would have this Me Time. A long one this time. Only 'Me' Time. No one else. Um, too selfish, nah, huh? But I have found this ritual to be soul-enriching and soul-rejuvenating. Every time I have this ritual, I come out as a renewed soul. So you will know today how renewed I am after all this.

But in essence, we are all like rechargeable batteries. We are never constant. We change all the time even though we hardly notice it ourselves. We go down and we go up. We lose and we gain. We drain out ourselves and we need to get those back again to 'soar like eagles against the wind'. It's as simple as 'in giving that we receive' equation and vice versa. But sometimes we need to receive too.

Just one month back, it was, oh, my God, unbearable. In Mumbai, the mercury soared to 40 or something. Oh, my... Yes, as it is always, the sun is splendidly generous and warm-hearted fellow, umm, like me, hmm, but when it is too generous, it is unbearable. It was too hot to bear. Poor me, I don't have ACs installed in my room. But fortunately very recently the rescuer came for us poor people from these too generous sunbeams. The Mumbai Rain. The unpredictable Mumbai rain came earlier than usual this time. Now I got a clear respite from the blazing heat. And not the least, I got myself wet in the rain. Being wet in the rain is a different feeling altogether. Wow, I didn't fall sick. Sometimes try it and see it for yourself. But please don't blame me if you get sick after doing it, though.

Stanley Ka Dabba effect     

Lately some strange things are happening in my life. But I will be writing only the good, bad... but not the ugly part. I have to keep some secret too.

I have been having this strange idea, or you can say bizarre idea, lately. Oh, I want to become an eight-year old boy all over again. If God were to give me a chance. Like they do in Project Makeover wherein a lady was given a chance to go back to her past. But unlike the movie here, I won't want to be a grown-up. I would request to God that I would want to remain a child... forever kid... and die as a kid. Somewhere like in the age of Stanley in the Stanley ka Dabba. I don't think I would be bored of being a forever child. And forever is not always forever anyway. And yes, for sure, on the other hand, you will be bored of being a forever grown-up sooner. Because both the worlds of a kid and a grown-up are entirely different things.    

As a kid, and ironically, our hearts were as huge as the ocean and as wide-open like the sky. But as a grown-up, our hearts are like dome. It has a roof now. I don't know from where this roof came from. As a kid, we never had one. Our eyes were as pure as the morning dew without a dirt. As a grown up, now we see everything through a 'stained-glass' eyes.

Those days, it was easier to make friends. All it needed was just your name. That's it. It didn't matter much how many marks you scored in Maths or Science. Or whether your parents were Doctor, or Engineer or a Carpenter. Or whether your house was beautiful made of bricks or a thatched one. Friends were all around. Now no worries for friends. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg, we have Facebook now.

Oh, we sometimes, too, fought over some petty things. But it never lasted long. Umm, I don't know whether I should tell you this or not. All right. I am going to write this anyway because you're not going to believe this. Till my II grade, I had involved myself in fights that involved fist, kicks and what not. All kids at that age do that by the way. I was not spared from it despite being an innocent-looking chap. But since starting my III grade, I have never involved in fights with anyone till date.

It was in my grade I. Just like the Stanley and his bench-mate started the fight in the movie, it did too on that day, though we had a slightly different issue. There were five of us sitting in a bench. The problem was, I didn't want to sit in the corner against the wall. That guy too didn't want either. And because it was the last class of the day, we all wanted to run out of the class and reach home first. Sitting in the corner would mean that you would be the last person to leave the class. And I didn't want to be the last person to leave either. So we both started verbal first. Then he seemed out of control, he first punched me out of nowhere. I still don't know why he punched me on my teeth. Oooh!!! And in return, amidst the other classmates trying to dissuade us both from fighting, I managed to give a nice punch on his face. Wow. By that time, the Headmaster... not like the 'how are my kids today?' kind of Rosie teacher in the movie... came running with his famous cane-stick. [I respect this Headmaster a lot till this day]. And we both got a nice beating from him and were made to stand out of the class for the whole period. Oh, so bad! Surprisingly, I have never seen him since my grade II till this day.

Bad boy, huh?


[To be continued....]

     
   

I love you Ma!

Ma!, you're my greatest treasure
I ever received from Heavens above;
As generous and splendid as the Sun
As tireless and strong as the Wind
As friendly and faithfulness as the Trees
As kind and gentle as the Rain Drops 
As enchanting and magnificent as the Rainbow after the rain
As melodious and comforting as the Songbirds at Dawn
As vivacious and charming as the Sunrise
And as beautiful and loving as you are
And I know these few words of mine 
Are like tiny drops compared to Ocean
Even then, for all that you have been and 
for all that you are to me, I proudly say:
"All that I am, or hope to be,
I owe to you...my angel Mother"
I love you Ma!

Ma!, I pray for your good health and pray to God to add many more years to live!

Here's wishing to all moms out there a Happy Mother's Day!