April's A-Z Challenge

I have signed up for the April A-Z Blog Challenge, and looking forward to doing a post a day in the next month. The challenge is to write about a topic from a letter each day, starting from A and going all the way to Z, on all days except Sundays.

It took me some time to decide what I will be writing, especially haunted by letters Q, X and Z. But what do you know, an idea just dawned to me this dawn!

I will be writing short stories highlighting the lives of 26 fictional characters.

Apart from writing, I am eager to read blog posts from some other participants of this challenge!

Battle of the Seasons

After freezing temperatures all winter long,

There comes a hope to drive away the gloom.

A sprinkle of sunshine, a shower of rain,

perfect to bring out the pretty blooms.

The flowers have planned a grand show,

The fragrance sends a message very clear.

The birds fly with mates and insects march in a row,

Only to find a sudden change in the atmosphere.

The flowers stand exposed, as the wind blows,

The sun takes cover behind the clouds.

A sheet of white covers the ground.

"Did you think it's spring already?", the skies think aloud.

With the stubborn cold not willing to leave,

And the eager warmth determined to stay.

Are the seasons in a battle these days,

mimicking the image we humans portray?

Will this Story Have an End?

Everybody likes a good story, especially ones filled with mystery, suspense and thrill, in which they can be a part of it as it develops and grows, and wait eagerly to know what happens next. This description sounds good for a movie or television series, but becomes a sad reality when it is a real life event involving people, their safety and their lives.

I have been obsessed with the missing Malaysian Airlines Plane story, to put it lightly. I have grasped every bit of proven fact, drifting rumor, passing thoughts, theoretical data, posed questions, probable answers, within hours of its release. So much so that if I wake up in the middle of the night, I check online to see if the search conducted by the waking countries at that hour, has found anything. I think it is among the biggest stories there have been in terms of the number of unknown elements involved. The media with its reputation of taking a "headlines story" and playing and replaying it for days, over analyzing things and beating it to death, is doing its part well. They have gathered "expert comments" on every small detail there can possibly be. And I am sure it is doing wonders their viewership ratings.

But what I am avoiding reading/watching is the reactions of the families of the passengers on that plane. It feels too sad to look at their lost faces and hear their pleas and cries. To go through a tragedy is one thing, but to remain void for days, with the speculators swinging your emotions between the stories of the plane being landed, to the plane being crashed is another! For me the news and reports is like unraveling a mystery that I really want to know about. For them it might be the end of the hope they have clutched on to for the past 14 days.

The curiosity led to digging some news from the past and reading about various air crashes, watching a documentary about the myths of the Bermuda Triangle exposed, watching the movie Flight. And recalling the gripping series Lost that starts with a wrecked plane on a Lost Island.

These kind of stories are best enjoyed when they don't involve playing with emotions of people. In stories, it is fun when you can twist the plot, speculate about who the villain is, introduce unprecedented characters, make it into a science fiction, introduce some tragedy, add comedy, finish it off with action. But when it involves the lives of 239 people and their families, the story becomes highly sensitive, and it is important to only broadcast/publish accurate information. Just being practical, I am not sure what to hope for all these people, just hope things are brought to a closure for them!

Celebrating Women

A day to celebrate Women! My earliest memory of this day is from school. We were taken to a nearby church where they would speak about empowering women, and experiences of women around the world. It was the first exposure to the world of underprivileged women.

And then there were subtle inferences made from occurrences around me. It just got more and more obvious as I entered adulthood. To make an understatement, the way most of the world treated a woman, was different from what she would like. If she dared being a little different and outspoken, she was branded.

Some of us have come a long way from all that, but unfortunately the whole world did not move ahead with us at the same pace. We still encounter that "sick" man, that suppressing husband, that jealous colleague, that nagging relative, that competing friend, that questioning acquaintance, that crazy community, that biased nation.

But we have made progress! Along with celebrating the many inspiring stories, I hope today many more women muster the courage to fight their own battles. And till all these battles are fought and won, many of us will be branded. Yes I am proud to be branded a Feminist! Happy Women's Day!