GoldfishJane

  "When you rape, beat, maim, kill a woman, you are not just harming one woman. You are ripping apart the fabric of society." – Arundhati Roy In my country, nothing truly belongs to a woman, not even her body. When a woman is raped, society often blames her instead of holding the rapist accountable. People first ask, “What was she wearing?” or “Why was she out at night?” instead of questioning the rapist.  "A rapist is not born, but nurtured by a society that excuses him while questioning the woman’s character." - Manasi Prasad I still remember the words of one of the Nirbhaya rapists. He said that he raped her because she was out at night, so she "deserved" it. When did nights become exclusive for men? How does a woman being outside at night mean she is asking to be raped?  This mentality is actually created by society, our parents, and ourselves. Every girl in India grows up hearing comments like - “Girls shouldn’t stay out at night.” “Your brother is a ...

Recently, I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Now, whenever someone mentions Afghanistan, I only remember Hassan. The Kite Runner is a story about two young boys, Amir and Hassan, who grew up together in Afghanistan. Amir was born to a wealthy man, whereas Hassan was the servant's son. “Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. Under the same roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name.” These lines foreshadow the tragic lives of Amir and Hassan. Amir’s lifelong desire was to gain his father’s approval, while Hassan’s only desire was to gain Amir’s friendship. For Amir, his father was everything. For Hassan, Amir was everything. “For you, a thousand times over,” was Hassan’s famous line to Amir, which shows how Hassan would choose Amir over and over again in any situation. The two opposite characters, Hassan and Amir, contrast each other perfectly. Amir hides secrets he can’t say aloud, while Hassan means everything he says. Amir is a coward who o...

"In matters of the conscience, the law of majority has no place." This quote from the movie 'Jana Gana Mana' summarizes the whole movie.  In Jana Gana Mana, the public believes the suspects are guilty of Sabha's rape and death. The suspects are then shot by the police without even conducting a trail in court. When the hero questions the police officer in the courtroom, the truth is revealed that the real criminal is the police officer himself. This movie shows how important it is for us to follow what is morally right (waiting for the verdict of court to determine who's guilty) rather than blindly believing public opinion. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and even the accused deserve a fair trial.  Atticus Finch, in "To Kill a Mockingbird", said,  "But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal - there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstei...

  “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Some of us love taking the center stage, while some of us love standing in the corner, playing a minor role. We are always told to "shine like the sun". That is to become the brightest, the boldest, the best in the crowd. To be the main character. To own the center of the stage. People forget that not everyone wants to be the sun. And honestly, not everyone needs to be. Being the sun is exhausting. Every move you make will be watched, and your mistakes will be counted. There's a saying that the one who wears the crown must bear its weight. Not everyone wants to wear the crown nor bear its weight. What if we don’t want to shine all the time? What if we prefer to be a smaller light—like a firefly—that shines in its own way, freely, at its own pace? Isn't there beauty in that? Why is it that society only celebrates the brightest lights (the sun)? Isn’t a streetlight, quietly standing on the road, just...

This is a story that happened on my street. A mother gave birth to two children right on the roadside sidewalk, beside a flower shop, opposite a temple. That pavement was their only home. They ate, slept, and played there. Life was harsh, but they had each other. One day, while the mother was out searching for food, a car came speeding down the road. People near the temple shouted, "Stop! There are children there!" But the driver didn’t care. He ran them over. One child was crushed, bones broken, bleeding, crying for his mother. The other was slightly injured but still in pain, crying out for help. The flower shop lady confronted the driver, demanding to know why he did it despite the warnings. His response? "The flower shop was blocking the way to the temple." As if that justified his cruelty. Without remorse, he left. A neighbor rushed the severely injured puppy to a veterinary hospital, keeping him for a day before sending him to an overcrowded animal shelter. Me...

Sometimes, at 3 AM, I wonder: What is real? Is anything truly real? Or is reality just an illusion? Our perception infact becomes our reality. But if perceptions vary, can reality be absolute? Take Julius Caesar for example. To Brutus, he was ambitious. To Antony, he was not. "Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?" asked Antony. The same Caesar, yet two different men. Two different realities. Whose Caesar was real- Brutus's or Antony's? I think truth or r eality is subjective. You may be a hero to some, a villain to other- who you are depends on who tells the story. God is real to some. God is the ultimate truth to others. But to some, God is merely politics. For non-believers, God cannot be seen, so He is not real. Believers, on the other hand, do not need to see God to believe in Him. "You don’t believe what you see. You see what you believe." So, is reality just a mirage? A movie is brilliant to some, terrible to others. A mother is selfless...