Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (VI)

Continuing my Soldier for Women campaign blogposts, here I am going to mention an incident that occured with one of my friends, Sumit.

Once while travelling in Delhi Metro from Gurgaon (where he resides) to some place in Delhi, he noticed a younger guy playing a song 'Kya khoob lagti ho' on his china mobile and cocking & making eyes at a group of two girls standing together. This incident is before Delhi Metro used to have the front coach as the Ladies Special. The train used to be rarely filled on that route that time of the day and there was only one elderly couple more sitting besides that guy and those girls and my friend, Sumit.

Sumit noticed and unnoticed that guy's (with china mobile) actions (he deeemed it to be harmless in his mind basically) and continued in his own world. But the elderly couple, who was sitting just a few seats behind that guy and the girls, raised their objection to the indecent actions of that guy. He ignored them that time and the couple also didn't say anything after. But as at the last station all were deboarding, the younger guy again made a passing comment to the girls. The elder male was also just behind him and was much physically stronger than him even though he seemed to be in his 60s.

He held that guy and slapped him hard on his face. The metro security personnel at the platform also came rushing through and asked me what happened but himself understood the situation once he observed the scene. The girls thanked the couple by nodding their heads smilingly and acknowledging their help. And the guy teasing the girls earlier went in the opposite direction after the bout he got. But Sumit directly went to the elderly couple and supported them vocally in doing the right thing. They too smiled and left the station thereafter.

Sumit while narrating this to me had said it was HIS moral duty also to have confronted that eve-teaser before the elderly couple had to. Atleast he is now clear in his mind and heart. Therefore, I hold that elderly couple as well as Sumit for their action and belief, in the brigade of Soldier for Women. This post is a tribute to all three of them.

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (V)

This is as inputted by another friend of mine, Navdeep, my best friend from college.

He currently works for Tata Telecom in Lucknow and usually commutes to his office daily by passenger auto. Once so happened that there were two Lucknow Univ. girls already travelling along with a middle aged person in the auto he boarded. After a few minutes, it came to his observation while the auto sped up that the middle-aged guy was intentionally colliding his legs with one of the girls inside the auto as they were sitting face to face against each other. The girl, it seemed, was habitual of such harmless things that used to happen in the crowded autos on the daily basis. But as that uncle also tried to move his right hand on her knees, she shouted back confronting him what the hell did he think he was doing. Her friend also joined and both of them gave him their piece of mind about his age and for acting so cheap.

Navdeep was witnessing the same but did not say anything till now. But when he saw that uncle springing up from his seat to slap the girl while counter-shouting that they were wrongly accusing him and to shut them up. It was then that he clasped his shoulder strongly and made him push back to his seat forcefully and then confronted him with a sharp intensity. Seeing such strong opposition from everyone, the guy asked autowallah to stop the auto and tried to get out. But Navdeep didn't let him go so easy and asked the auto-driver to continue driving till the nearest police station.

Hearing to that, the guy literally jumped out while the auto was trying to speed up after getting slow (to stop) just a few seconds ago.

The incident let Navdeep show his character. He made a difference to the society via his reacting that day. And I write of him here because he too is a Soldier for Women in his own right.

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (IV)

My cousin Dheeraj has got a story too which I am sharing here.

During his Biotech. Engg. days, sometimes he had to stay back at his friends' rooms at college hostel for assignments, exams, practicals or so. (He used to commute from his uncle's place located at a distance a bit far from the college campus). It was then when he confronted a group of his classmates randomly calling campus/GH girls' numbers from their mobile phones and either talking to them cheaply, or hurling bad language at them, which he found unjustifiable and upsetting. He directly went to the hostel Chief Warden next day and complained to him about the incident he witnessed without leaking the names of anybody.

It was due to him that an urgent notice was put up at designated places inside the campus addressing all the girls and asking them to report the mobile numbers from whom they get any uncomfortable calls from then on to the college authority (Girls' Hostel warden). It was mentioned in the notice that the owners of the reported numbers will be found out and confirmed from the Sim Registration Form xerox kept in store at the only mobile subscribing/recharging shop at the campus, and the guilty will be made to publicly say sorry for their misbehaviour and punished suitably before all. That clearly sent a clear message to all about the seriousness of the issue regarding such unscrupulous incidents.

Dheeraj! You took a welcome step as a gentlemen and a Soldier for Women. Keep up the good work.

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (III)

This post is about another friend of mine, Sandeep. He shared his story for this movement with me yesterday.

While he was doing engineering, he used to reside in the college hostel dormitory. The guy who was his roommate became his friend over the course of their fresher year together; he had a gf at his hometown whom he normally used to talk to in the evening hours almost daily. Once so happened while he was talking from the room's balcony to her on mobile, that Sandeep (from inside the room) heard some cuss words spoken in a loud pitch. It didn't take him much time to understand that his roommate was literally spitting abusive language to his gf on the grounds of her secretly meeting with another guy for quite some time. 

The drama continued for about 5 minutes, and when Sandeep couldn't listen such dirty language anymore, he came out in the balcony and asked his friend to mind his language first of all since it is no way to talk to anybody, more importantly not to a girl. He continued scolding him calmly that if she has betrayed him, then don't talk to her or ask her the reason. And if she still doesn't want to continue with you, then she is on the losing side, not him. But if you talk to her in this bullshit manner, then she is justified in ditching him, and that it may cost him his friendship. Sandeep tried to convince him that whatever she had done, it was obviously wrong. But that shouldn't become the reason to disgrace his own personality; that it's okay to curse her face-to-face or on phone but should not use derogatory words directed towards the other gender because he too has ladies at his home and it's a disgrace more to them than his gf.

He seemed to understand but somewhere under the fallacy of his break-up, he became a girl-hater and became a free abuser of the fairer sex anywhere anytime. Due to this the friendship between Sandeep and him also took a negative push and both changed the rooms while entering their sophomore year.

But persoanlly, I feel whatever Sandeep did was not at all bad. He stood up for the integrity of womenfolk on the improper grounds of cuss and swearing words which almost everybody uses frequently in India and which is definitely wrong. I stand by him and I strongly vote him as a Soldier for Women.

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (II)

This story goes below as is directly narrated by a friend of mine:

I was in 11th standard that time, returning home after a normal school day in the summers on my bicycle. Since it is so hot during summers in Delhi-NCR, atleast 50% of my way back seems to be a deserted area in the afternoon hours. I was only 200 m away from home when I noticed a girl pacing hastily and 2 guys alongside on a bike apparently teasing her. As I drew closer to them on the kachcha road, my ears could make out one sentence which they threw at her atleast twice - 'Apna naam to bata de / bataati ja' => Tell us your name atleast.

At that point of time, I was reminded of the situation if somebody starts eve-teasing my sister, then how embarrassed she would feel herself. But since I was physically weaker being in school and the eve-teasers were two in number, I just stopped my cycle in front of her and asked her - 'Didi, tuition jaa rahe ho?' She looked up at me and sensing my help, she answered in positive and added 'Ghar jaake bade bhaiya se kehna ke police station se ABC uncle ko unke tuition house lekar aa jayein' 

This much she said and the guys on bike who were seeing me with a disconcerted look sped up and disappeared in a few seconds from the scene. The girl obviously older than me smiled, 'Thank you, bhai!' I said, 'No problem'. I accompanied her till the starting of market area about 250 m from there and came back home feeling proud of myself being an honorable person.

That's what Sahil, my friend, told me about his being a spirited Soldier for Women. I feel proud of him too. :)

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com

Book Review: Tantra by Adi

Well.. first of all, a big thanks again to Blogadda for providing me this opportunity to review the recently launched book Tantra by Adi.

Background:

As the back cover of the novel proclaims -- Anu is a leather wearing, no-nonsense professional guardian with a reputation for killing the most dangerous vampires in New York City. But when her enemies murder the one person she truly cared about, all she wants is vengeance. The only clue points to New Delhi, so Anu puts in for a job transfer.

In India, she finds more than she expected. For one thing, her fellow operatives have made a truce with the vampires. For another, it’s way too hot to wear leather.

At first, it seems Anu’s biggest challenge will be evading the nice boys her aunt wants her to marry. But when children start disappearing, she discovers forces older and darker than anything she’s faced before. All of Delhi is in danger, especially the sexy stranger who sets Anu’s pulse racing.

To prepare for the coming battle, Anu must overcome her personal demons and put aside years of training. This time, her most powerful weapon will come from her mind, not her weapons belt.

The front cover is nice and appealing with shades of indigo-blue and royal-blue. Girl with a big knife, lightning, face (spirit) in dark clouds protruding downwards from the sky, with the city backdrop to it, the book cover serves its purpose of presenting a mystery-adventure soup to the first time picker.

Characters:

The main protagonist is Anu Aggarwal, a from-NY-to-Delhi vampire hunter who has come to India in the search of her lover Brian's killer vampire. She is really a badass character when it comes to hunting her targets. Her Delhi counterpart is Amit, always flirting with her and reassessing his role as a guardian for the rest of his life. Despite his increasing disinterest in his regular job being a vampire hunter, he performs his duties well with his conscience.

Then come Anu's cousin Smiti, her aunt Nina, her lust-interest Gaurav, who all play important parts in taking the story forward and also shaping Anu's social life which used to be almost non-existent earlier. Dr. Sharma and Pandit Grover become her mentor in solving out the Tantra puzzle to fight the most evil man in the city, tantric Senaka aka Babaji, whose character mostly evolves indirectly rather than direct presence in the story until it goes climaxing towards the end.

Vampire city king Chandra is inserted as a grayish character, an element of surprise most of the times.

Story: 

The story starts with a NRI vampire hunter, Anu, returned to Delhi to avenge her lover's killer traced to a Delhi vampire. But sooner than later, she is forced to look into other supernatural matters enveloping the city, teaching her that vampires aren't the only bad things she would have to fight in the future here. Along with Amit, she first comes across child disappearances (mainly from slums) in the city and trace it back to Baba Senaka, the evil tantric who is hellbent on using children's spirits to establish his connection with the spiritual world and amass great power to achieve his enlightenment (the tantric way).

On the other hand, Suresh, their Delhi centre's head is always convincing Anu that vampires aren't a big concern in Delhi, which she finds annoying as her main motive being present there is to search for Brian's killer into vampire's 'mostly-incomplete' database. She doubts Dr. Sharma initially as well who introduces her to the knowledge of ancient Indian supernatural power Tantra, but believes and agrees to take his help once confrontation with the odd truth of being nearly killed by Senaka's acolytes on her surprise attack visit to the ashram compound where she witnesses him using children's spirits for his own deeds.

In between come her cousin Smiti, her situational face-offs with Gaurav, and her aunt Nina with whom she is staying for now. Of these, she discovers Nina to be already looking out prospects for her marriage; develops lusty feelings for Gaurav; wants to keep Smiti out of trouble, more when Amit develops interest in her later. All this and her confrontation with Pandit Grover, a sattvic priest, who helps her to discover what is maya, with Chandra, the vampire head called Panch in the city, whom she wants to kill herself being a vampire hunter, but finds unable to do so, firstly because of her sheer lack of powerlessness before him, and later when she finds out that he could play a major role in her fight against Senaka; with all those vampires who have turned over to Senaka's side due to his tantric power making them vulnerable, and fighting them alongside Amit.... 

All of these forms the crux of the story. Does she finds a way to defeat the evil within time who is growing dangerously in power? Is she able to form side with vampires despite herself born and trained to kill them unhesitatingly? Does she discovers the path of maya and Tantra in positive manner or does she have to follow the unstable path of Tantra herself for the righteous cause? Will it all be acceptable to her? What are the motivations of Chandra, Pandit Grover, Karta, and even Dr. Sharma in choosing her to be the only one possible when it comes to defeat Senaka?! 

To discover all this and much much more, delve into the extra-ordinary and India's first supernatural action thriller, and get surprised every now and then. You won't mind reading India's very much ancient mysterious powers so deeply rooted in earlier times like Mahabharata and else, and still today, weaved so fearlessly into this book by the author.

Likes:

Everything is likable about this book, well not everything, but still almost everything.

The writing style is so smooth and the action scenes are described so flawlessly with greatly balanced details.

The surprise locking and unlocking of horns among several major characters at times.

Coolness and vibrancy felt throughout the whole book, no narrative lost anywhere.

Adventure, mystery, ancient 'magical?' powers at work and their satisfying working details and usage inserted at appropriate places in the story.

Natural but unpredicatable twists and turns building up in this story about super-natural.

Dislikes:

Romance and Love presented only in the form of lusty dialogues/descriptions spread across here and there throughout the book got a disgusting look from me whenever I came across such everytime.

Overall, I would only say that Tantry by Adi is a riveting supernatural action thriller in its truest sense. Despite author's debut work, he has done a commanding job in this novel. Don't you miss it, Indian vampire and supernatural genre readers!

Overall, 4.5 out of 5 stars :)

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

Soldier for Women: Blade of Honour (I)

This is my younger brother's story, happened around 3-4 years ago. He was asked by an elder cousin of ours to accompany his wife (our sister-in-law in relation) to her native home (maayaka). Reaching the destined bus station just before dark, he was supposed to take an auto-rickshaw to the final destination. Since it was getting dark he booked a full auto, the only passengers being him and his bhabhi, for being safe and secure from any fellow eve-teasing passenger(s).

The whole journey had to take some 20 minutes. But it was only few minutes onto the road, that two guys forcefully attempted to enter the auto, not understanding the meaning of a 'booked auto', saying "auto mein koi bhi ja sakta hai" and started eyeing his sis-in-law with indecent expressions. So my brother came out of the auto with his bhabhi into the middle of the road with auto just by their side, and started talking with those guys in a louder-than-normal voice

Being in the middle of a narrow road, other people commuting over stopped to see what's happening. A few of them came to the scene so as to ask them to clear the road. As soon as they get to know about the foul language of the culprits towards my bro and his sis-in-law, they took our side and one actually raised his right hand to slap and started pushing them over to the side of the road. That's when both of the eve-teasers fled as the situation got too heavy for them to handle. My brother thanked the fellow guys who helped him get out of the difficult situation at that time of the night (around 8 pm).

And now here I am narrating his story as an honourable brave soldier who stood up for his respected s-i-l when the time asked for it to test his courage and integrity. I salute you, my brother, Ashish Gahlaut! :)

This post is a part of #Soldierforwomen in association with BlogAdda.com