Peshawar Mourns it's Innocent

The world came to a stand-still when the most inhuman, dastardly and cruel act was carried out on the Army Public School in Peshawar on Tuesday. 16^th December 2014, will be remembered as a Black Tuesday, for not only a HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE humans were brutally murdered, it was innocent lives that were claimed- those who went to school to learn and teach, to gain and give knowledge and to give wings to their dreams. Little did they know the morning, when they were leaving for school, that it was the last time they would do so. That they would never be able to come home, throw aside their bags and watch TV, never play their favorite games and sports with their friends, never hug their parents again!

Fathers who proudly carried their children on their shoulders, mothers who gave birth to them, and took care of them, families who watched their brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and grandchildren grow, were seen running barefoot on the streets of Peshawar that day, in constant prayer and hope, that this was all a bad dream, a cruel lie that was being displayed in front of them, that their children were safe and sound, and would return to their beloved homes soon.

What has humanity come to?

Is this all that was left? A cowardly retaliation and that too, on little innocent children whose only fault was that they studied in an Army Public School? That they dared to be just helpless children who could do nothing about what was happening to them at that moment? That they were the apple of their parents’ eyes?

Nations showed their solidarity and to Pakistan in their moment of grief, people sent out messages of support. But will that help return those lost lives? Will it prevent the massacres from continuing to occur? Will it prevent those heartless terrorists from carrying out their vile and dastardly activities?

This is not something that happened in some corner of the world, this can be us tomorrow! It will make us exist, rather than LIVE, in constant fear, to protect our loved ones.

A few parents in Peshawar, who were able to speak out their grief, were proud of their children who were snatched away from them, are a constant inspiration to the rest of us.

“I’m proud that my child became a martyr. He gave his life to save his friends.”

“My elder son was taken away from me today. But I will still keep sending my other children to school.”

“They took his life, they were never able to take his soul.”

All those little souls will forever be a constant reminder to us that the only way out of this, is to fight terrorism and uproot it completely. Else, such acts which are ugly blots on the face of humanity, will continue to prevail and haunt our lives.

May your souls Rest in Peace.

A toilet for Babli

Hi All,

I am Babli- a 6 year old girl from the village of Junapani.

My daily routine consists of waking up at 6 in the morning, going about with nature's call in the field that my Baba owns - Amma tells me that I have to be very careful in finding the perfect spot so no one can see me.After that, I get fresh, and help Amma draw water from the local pond located on the outskirts of the village and then after reaching home, I have the rotis Amma makes for breakfast. After that, Amma sends me to school, even though I really don't enjoy Masterji's lessons. But the best part about going to school is meeting my friends, and playing with them during the breaks and after school.

I have a lot of friends from school- Chunni, Lalu, Dabbu, Rajjo, Chintu, Pinky..

But now, Pinky is no longer with us..

I asked Amma where she went after she was admitted to the hospital. She tells me, Pinky went to God's home. She was my best friend! We used to play many games after school, and walk home together after that, we are neighbors - her family and mine. But now I have to walk to home by myself..

Pinky was not keeping well much before she left for God's home. She used to complain of tummy aches frequently. I asked her what was wrong, but she never knew exactly why she was not well.

Once I heard Amma speaking to Pinky's mother about her. Aunty was crying that the doctors at the big hospital said that since we did not have toilets, and went to answer nature's call in the fields, Pinky had contracted some infection, that they were unable to cure. They said it was important to build toilets and keep our surroundings clean, so that we could avoid getting such infections. He said something about a big term, I couldn't pronounce it properly, but I think it was something like sani-station. I don't know which station this is, as I've been to the only railway station of our village when we go to Nanima's home. That evening, I asked Baba whether I will also go to God's home if I get an infection like Pinky. I don't know why, but Baba was shocked and he did not reply for my question, but a few days after that, he built a closed small room a little away from our field, and inside the room, there is a white pit and two foot-rests on either side of it. When I asked Baba about it, he told me it was called a "Toilet", and we were to answer nature's call only inside that room, and not out in the field, as we did until now. I was so happy when he said- "Now you won't have to go to God's home. Because now, There is a TOILET for Babli"!

Toilet For Babli

I felt proud the next day at school, when Masterji told everyone in class that our family had got a toilet, and how everyone else also should use one, like us. I just wish all the families in our village get a toilet soon! You can also help us by clicking the link below!

This post is written for the "Toilet For Babli" IndiBlogger Happy Hours contest.
 
You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on http://www.domex.in/ and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

Healthy is Happy

"Mom.. Mom.. Where are you?!! See what I got from school today, Mom!!"
Roared my little brother - Kishan, and thundered past me in his eager search for mom, as I saw a blur of brown rush by, and a glint of gold in his hands as I moved past, to give way to the whirlwind that just swept past me.
Finally when our mother appeared out of the kitchen after she had made evening tea for the family and milk for us- she believes growing children need milk to gain strength (although she won't hear a word when I say my growing up years have long by gone and I now have a job in an MNC after graduating as an engineer), did the hullaballoo in the house die down. In his hands was a golden trophy (the size of an average mug) but for him it was "This huge trophy" (he's in the fourth grade) that he had won in the inter-house competition at his school. Apart from the joy that erupted from our grandparents who were so proud to have such a champ of a grandson, and dad who would come back home after work and say how his little boy was following his footsteps, mom was more observant of the brown mud stains covering his white uniform, which would be a botheration to her later. On further inquiry, he sheepishly agreed to have imitated his favorite foot ball star who does the knee-skate on the ground after scoring a goal, but in his case, he ended up skating on freshly wet earth as a result of the drizzle during the race. (Hero-worshiping does effect mothers in a very troublesome sort of way, I agree!) He flopped down on the sofa to elaborately explain his moments of victory- how close he came to nearly slipping down on the wet ground, how close his competitor-cum-best friend- Sahil nearly beat him to the finishing line, but had started sneezing towards the end of the race because of the rain, and thus he lost speed and how he- my brother, put on his full effort and ran and finally how he gained sweet victory. At the end, he dedicated his "amazing" victory to mom and added - "Thanks mom, it's because of you that I won. It's good you make me eat Dabur Chyawanprash everyday, and because of that, I did not sneeze during the race, or I would not have won!

Thus, a big Thank You DABUR CHYAWANPRASH from our whole family, for giving us such moments of joy to cherish in the victory of our loved little ones! :)

This post is written for the "A healthy child makes a happy Home" IndiBlogger Happy Hours contest. For more information, check https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/ .

Love- a life worth living for

They walked together, on the wet street, lit with the street lights that were glowing as the sun sank low. It was a beautiful evening, the sky was painted with streaks of orange and red, across a growing dark blue, which would slowly turn into black, with the little shimmers of silver spread across the blanket of night. A slight drizzle started and she pulled out her umbrella- a blue with floral pattern across it. He immediately took it from her and held it so as to cover them from the oncoming pellets of water- he did his best to cover her properly and both of them walked beneath the sole umbrella. A slight breeze swept by them and she felt a shiver- her hands were visibly covered with goose bumps. A slight pause- he put an arm around her and brought her closer to him to try and make her feel warm. He looked at her face, a smile covering it was the only response he got- which meant the world to him, and they started walking again, she with her hand slipping into his, slowly as they passed various stores with their multicolored, beautiful clothes on display.

More than the colors they saw around them, her heart was filled with possibly every color from the rainbow one could make up. She wanted the world to know how lucky she felt, right there, right then, walking beside the man she truly loved and who cared for her so much. Never in her life had she even remotely thought of anything like this happening to her, but happen it did, and she was really thankful to God for him being a part of her life. It was through mutual friends that they met, slowly started up a conversation- she was shy, he was funny- a slight comment about something she didn’t even remember now, and he made her feel at ease at once, and that was the beginning, which later turned into many conversations, and before they knew it, they were in love!

The road is forever

They crossed a family- a little girl hardly a year old in the arms of her mother, cheerfully making her first attempts at coherent speech, looking at her father who was holding out balloons of various colors, in front of her. She looked at them and a nostalgia sunk in- how her life had flashed by- the wedding, settling into the new family, arguments- yes, they had had their fair share of arguments, but neither held it for long, quickly getting over it with a hug and that settled matters for them. The greater part of their lives had gone by in parenting! She remembered how they had been- a nervous couple of first timers- who didn’t know what to expect- it was hard for her to digest the fact that they were about to have a baby! She still felt like a child herself- pampered by her loving hubby. Before long, he was walking nervously up and down the length of the hospital wing, with both their families waiting outside, when the nurse had come out and congratulated him. He immediately rushed in the room, and kissed her on her forehead, for gifting him a lovely baby boy and from then on, life had passed by so quickly, she didn’t even realize the time fly by- it was sleepless nights, cerelac bowls, his first faltering steps, playschool, graduation, and one fine day, it was time for THEM to be grandparents!

There had always been ups and downs on the way, it was not a bed of roses always, but he was always there with her, holding her hand in every aspect of life, always there to support her. He was her everything and the best gift that life had given her. She looked up at him and smiled, silently thanking him for just being there. He looked back at her and reciprocated, and they slowly moved on, towards their destination, hand in hand, walking down the street, both of them cherishing the moment they were living in.