http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2012/01/as-gender-abuse-grew-economics-gave-god-the-solution/

This little short story dawned in my mind when I was reading one of the travel books on ancient India. The exact lines stated were ‘cattle and women were the movable properties that men could carry as they moved from one land to the other.’ I felt a surge of temper and my head could sense the tightening of veins. We women feel so deprived and disrespected even now, then what would these cattle equivalent women must have felt? Unfortunately, even education fails to change many mindsets for women. Then what is the solution… Economics, and believe me, God has discovered the solution!

Here’s the narrative

Once upon a time, millions of years ago, when God was creating the Earth, he was very clear that the existence of both man and woman was imperative for sustenance of the world. He made his replicas in form of man – Intelligent, strong, driven. He knew that he could not imagine his life without his wife – Devi, persona of beauty, compassion and mental and emotional strength and thus created Woman .

The civilization grew, but in some pockets on the Earth, as in India, conceit ruled the mind of men and physical power overruled the brain power. Man worshiped God’s wife Devi in temples but downgraded her facsimiles on Earth. Arrogance and pride wrought Man’s mind and he created systems and rituals to domesticate the women, as he tamed his cattle. Dowry was introduced, a system skewed absolutely to the pleasures of the Man. He got the woman and even the money to keep the women.

When Devi saw this nonsense on the Earth, she blamed God, after all men were his replicas. God was traumatized, his most beautiful creation, women, were in an awful condition. He rattled his mind for a solution and thought his heart was filled with compassion from the day his daughter was born, so he gave Man daughters to instill compassion and fatherly love in him. But Man was corrupted by then, he killed the daughter as the child was born, before even enjoying the pleasure of being a father.

Devi was furious and so was God. He tried justifying “I made women only physically delicate, but mentally and emotionally strong. Why can they not fight for their respect like you?” Our Gods had no answer! Some enlightened Men and Women did take up his cause and fought against the in justice, but in vain.

Both Devi and God traveled for centuries to find a solution! Education did improve the situation somewhat, but each century presented a new challenge for bringing the respect for women. The ladies who aged, aged with bitterness and penalized the younger lot with ritualistic conservatism that they once faced. God and Devi had not anticipated this world. Then one day as they were crossing a building where a professor was teaching Economics, God was tempted to eavesdrop.

The Professor was narrating “When demand is more and supply is less, the price rises”. Devi was new to the terminology Price and innocently questioned God “What is Price?” God replied with the Divine Halo “The value of anything. I think I made a mistake. But I have a solution .I will not give the world daughters. I gave Man daughters and he killed them. Now let them pray and pine but I am not going to give them. Let centuries to come witness the decline till there would be no woman.”

And in years to come, the girl child would be a priced possession!

In the recent Census, the child sex ratio in India has dropped to 914 females against 1,000 males the ratio has declined from 927 females against 1,000 males in 2001 to 914, which was described as a “matter of grave concern” by Census Commissioner of India, C Chandramauli.

Unfortunately, where compassion failed, simple Economics might work! Give it some thought!
Read more at http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2012/01/as-gender-abuse-grew-economics-gave-god-the-solution/#ejkYYCY7rOF5CqOO.99

I completed my Masters in International Business (MBA) from Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune and after a successful stint of over six years in the banking and financial sector,working in companies like GE Consumer Finance and Citibank, persuaded my passion for travel and now run the company Pundareek, specialising in experiential tourism.

Puppet on the Fast Track is my first fiction book as an book author. While I had been writing articles for various magazines, my journey as an author began from here

The way forward would be an attempt to write a fantasy book
.
Travel is a passion and now also a vocation. ………surely I am on an incessant journey.

Please feel free to write to me on ilika.ranjan@gmail.com

I recently read an article published by a reputed author stating children have stopped reading books and therefore the market for children fiction in India is diminishing.

I just wanted to laugh at the statement. The sad story is the publishing houses in India are doing nothing to attract our young impressionable readers. Why are they not thinking of enticing the young readers with a hip and happening positioning?

Unfortunately the old age image of young authors and readers is that of someone like a bookworm, less fun and more study. The young children fiction market is dying for a new positioning. Something like The brain power’, ‘Mr Creative’, ‘Mr Out of box thinker’. There are hardly any contests run by any publishing houses in India trying to bring out the writing talent. Why creative debates can’t be held in schools like the war or words, or height of imagination.

Today if you search online for best short story ideas for children, there is hardly any information. These days, the Internet is easily accessible by children. We need to catch their eyeball by making the existing web pages of best children books more contemporary and engaging and definitely more interesting and appealing. There is hardly any excitement for pushing the young readers to read and flaunt their knowledge. Launch a short story contest online and link the keyword with an existing children fiction book. The criterion should be to first read the book and then take part in a writing contest. Encourage parents to enroll their children and then let’s wait to see how many children short story idea pop out from these young talents.

We are doing nothing to impress the impressionable.

Tags: – children books online, children short story ideas, short story ideas for children, short story children book ideas

The News headlines reads :

Nobel Peace Prize : The $1.5 million award was split three ways among Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women’s rights activist Leymah Gbowee, also of Liberia, and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen

Africa’s first democratically elected female President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Liberian campaigner against rape and a woman who stood up to autocratic regime have won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the importance of women’s rights in the spread of global peace.

Gbowee has long campaigned for the rights of women and against rape. In 2003, she led hundreds of female protesters through Monrovia to demand swift disarmament of fighters who preyed on women throughout Liberia during 14 years of near-constant civil war.

MY VIEWS : DELHI THE RAPE CAPITAL OF INDIA.

There is hardly a day when the newspaper does not feature a Rape case against women in Delhi, NCR regions and now other parts of India. Where the Chief Minister is herself a lady, Madam Shiela dikshit and where there is a huge hope with youth leader Rahul Gandhi.There are women as mentioned above who have championed the cause against Rape and have won a Noble prize and here are we women in Delhi and NCR, who keep commenting in the editorials, blogs, trying to reach out to someone who would ensure we are safe in Delhi. NO use, no- one listens ! All one needs to do is lock up oneself in our houses or walk with a pepper spray or dare to take a rally out for rape against woman and mentally continue hoping that we would not be molested in the rally.

Staying in Gurgaon I have begun to regret being a woman, a feeling that never before transpired in my mind when I worked in Hyderabad and Bombay. But Delhi NCR region is different. All I can say is everyday I thank God for coming back home , safe and sound.

We need women leaders like Sirleaf and Gbowee, because unfortunately though we have women President , Mam Patil and woman chief minister, Ms Dikshit…..NO ONE IS LISTENING……………………….

29th Dec 2012

I don’t know her name but media calls her Nirbhaya, Daughter of India…..Alas! She died today. This young girl has silently aroused a sleeping nation.

I cannot express my feelings…. I am angry, grieved, traumatized ….
Don’t know what to tell God. Should I pray for her departed soul or Thank God that he has kept me safe from the evil perverts of our country and has given me a longer life.

For Nirbhaya’s demise I blame such criminals, the laws of our country , the government AND MYSELF

Even after Nirbhaya’s traumatic debacle, rapes still continue in our Nation. Despite the angry protest the perverts have the audacity to do it again to another girl. What is the message – you protest and we criminals will do it more. SHAME ON THE POLICE AND SHAME ON THE GOVERNMENT for letting this continue even now.

As a woman I have been tolerating eveteasing, demeaning remarks, dirty glances and even sometimes chase back home. ( I work in Gurgaon). I hope I could have marched and protested much before today. Could I have saved so many innocent daughters of India?

My first book Puppet on the Fast Track, the closest to my heart: Somewhere my journey as an author and an entrepreneur began from here.

A lot has been said and written about corporate culture. My seven years of working in MNCs has made me realize that the real problem of corporate world is the lack of adept leaders. The book is a satire on the leadership of today and a wake up call for all young management students/ professionals, that despite their outstanding educational qualification, they blindly follow what is brought to their table at work place. Very few question the relevance and in turn become PUPPET TO THE FAST TRACKERS !!

Glimpse of the book : The Introduction : Puppet on the Fast Track. (Published by Leadstart Publishing)

Welcome to the gang of thinkers; the gang that strategizes, focuses, creates, directs and innovates – the Product Management Group in the ‘Haute bank’. Mission of the bank – ‘To Excel and Sell’. ‘Sell’ is the keyword. We shall talk about the theory of strategy, innovation and direction, and the ‘subtle linkages to sales’ later. I am Pulak or as people in the bank call me ‘Holier than thou’ (I am a sharp, successful, straightforward and hardworking guy). After a very successful stint in sales at Haute Bank, I decided to join the gang of thinkers.
Today is the first day in my Product Management role.My boss, Anurag or, as people call him, ‘Love me all’, has handed me my goal sheet. ‘Love me all’ has recently been made the Product Head.Actually my ‘should have been’ boss could not join due to unforeseen circumstances and the only suitable and available – candidate was ‘Love me all’. My little past interaction with him had been decent. He is a good guy, no necessary or unnecessary aggression.Enough of digression. I should focus on my goal sheet. Wow the role sounds ‘very interesting’, ‘challenging’,‘huge scope of learning’ –‘big enough for my next promotion’. I am passionate about numbers. Post going through my Goal sheet, I hungrily and promptly walk to my boss, the captain of the ship. Some questions were dancing in my head, eager to get their answers:
Acquire… how?
Retain… what and how?
Train… Whom, about what?
When will I get the training myself?
Enhance customer relationship? Hmm?
While some questions had obvious answers, but the enthusiastic me wanted specific guidance to deliver the best results.
My boss ‘Love me all’, lovingly smiled and opened an excel sheet named ‘The handover note’. My predecessor had left a note and his phone number. “The 30 point sheet and the phone number will give you clarity on all that you need to do,” smirked Anurag, the ‘Love me all’. I called my predecessor who surprisingly was very excited receiving my call. We had met in one of the training sessions. His only feedback for me was that it was the worst possible job that he had done and that had he not moved to another role, he would have quit the bank. He cribbed about the role, about Anurag and about people I was yet to get introduced to. Anurag apparently was his contemporary who had no clue about products
and systems. He also took the credit of nicknaming Anurag as the ‘Love me all’. His last sentence before I disconnected was, “You must check out the way he letches at women.”
Negativity kills me and I detested the inputs that he gave. My mind was like a clean slate ready to colour the product role through my breakthrough creativity. I am an extremely positive person. I liked my boss’ hands-off attitude. Learning by yourself is the best way
to learn through ‘the trial and error method’

Publishers: Leadstart Publishing. Frog Books.

The book is available at Flipkart, Infibeam and all major online portals and Retail outlets.