Ghrrrrr.... Ghrrrrrr.....
My cell vibrated as i struggled with excel and it's messy formula's. This must be Naman irritating me by calling again and again. He was in Delhi and staying and having free booze at my place for few days. In frustration i pulled my phone out. But in God's green earth, it wasn't Naman. An unknown number was flashing in the screen.

"Hello" , i blabbered in frustration.
"Hello, yes, who is this?", A firm yet sweet voice of a girl hit me.
I took a moment to digest the sweetness on the other side and recall if i know this tone, but having no luck i replied: "ummm, who are you? You called me."
"No, i had a miscall from your number. That's why i am calling you."
" What , i did not call you or anyone. Please check it must be a wrong number."
"UFFFF" , sighed, making me feel like a moron. All the sweetness was fading from my mind.
"I will check in my call list, and will respond to you , if someone called you" i said knowing that i had no balance in my cell hence i was gonna win the argument. If it wasn't have been for that moment i might have felt romantic with that "UFFF" but That "UFFF" was making me angry. I decided to move further and teach her a lesson. I hunged up the phone.

My laptop gave me an alert "battery is running out" but i was high on energy at that moment. I quickly scrolled through my call log and "boom". Her number was not there. Now it was a show time. I texted her "hey, i did not call you.check your logs carefully" and left the room to grab some coffee.

With Coffee in one hand, i stepped out. Weather was beautiful, well let me rephrase it for Delhi, weather was incredibly beautiful that day for Delhi and it's summers. The wind was sighing and thrashing in the tree tops and the boughs moaned.This morning was cold and wet with a brisk wind sweeping the rain across the land. Thoughts of having some pegs in this weather crossed my mind. Lets call someone and have some drinks. I returned to fetch my cell from the room.

As i opened the lock, i saw 3 missed calls. All with the same number, that same number of that same arrogant girl. Until i decide what to day..once again phone started vibrating.

"Hello"
"Yes, you are saying that you did not call me. Why are you lying" again that sweet voice.. which was turning sour slowly came up.
" What the fuck. Are you out of your mind? Being a girl doesn't give you the right to shout on anybody. I can shout very well on you. Don't let me get started and shut-up." I said furiously.
" I have screenshots that you called me".
Now she is making me look like a liar too. Wasn't me being a moron enough for her? She just called for a war. I knew that i did not called her. So there are no chances of her having screenshots.

"Yeah yeah, send me screenshots right now".
"I am sending them. Is this your Whats App number as well?"
"Yeah, now send it" i hung up the call.

For some people, waiting might lead to something beautiful, something romantic, while for many others it is something that never seems to end. And as painful as it sounds, waiting has also got many of the happy ending for many people. But for me this waiting of every moment was making me moron, liar, and god knows what. I was just desperately waiting for her text.

2 minutes later, i received few pictures from an unknown number. I clicked download but what, airtel decides to play games with me. 3G wasn't working (well it was months before uncle ambani provided free 4G). Downloading was getting failed again and again. Seconds later, a text popped up.
"Dekh liye screenshots. Ab kuch ni bolna".

What's the matter with this dumb. First moron, then liar and now she is trying to call me a coward as well. "Dear god, why nice guys have to suffer this much?" I said this in my mouth. And notification of "photos downloaded" popped up.

I was more eager to open the screenshots than the employees waiting for bonus in month of march. That sourness of her "UFFF" was constantly floating in my ears. As soon as i opened the screenshots, i felt earth slipping under my feet. My number, yes my number was there in the screenshots. It seemed like those that storm wasn't actually an storm but clouds laughing at me. Moron, coward, liar words started booming in my ears. I was completely stumpified.

All my confidence was falling apart. The most horrifying thing to worry about was what to reply that horrifying lady with sweet voice(yes SWEET, sweet and firm, i kind of have a thing for such antiques). But wait.. wait.. Wait.. that is my number but not my number i currently have in this cell. It was my reliance number, which i gave to Naman this Morning.

A storm outside was nothing if compared with the storm rising inside. All of what i was thinking about her was wrong. We have heard often that first impression is the last impression. That was becoming true at the moment. She was a sweet yet firm girl, who knew how to respond and take her stand instead of being shut up. She was someone who would not hesitate to fight if someone violated her terroratory. She was someone who is not scared of sharing her number.she was a bold person in all her steps. She was not showoff. She was what she was with even an stranger. This was her first impression and those were true. All the second thoughts of her being an arrogant and god knows what and what just disappeared from my mind. I entered in the world of whats app once again. Opened her profile picture and got trapped again. There were two girls with almost same face-cut but with a bit of age difference. I was continuously gazing on the picture to figure out which one's the lady at other end. Trust me solving rubric's cube was much more easier than this task. I was fiddling with all the probabilities but the vibration of phone broke my chain of thoughts.

"Hello, yes, have u seen the screenshots?"
"Yeah yeeah, are you a friend of Naman?"
"No"
What... I am ruined again..
She spoke again.. "But i am his distant relative. Why , how do u know him?"
"Ha ha, are actually he is good friend of mine. He is staying with me here. He must have called you. I didn't know about it."
Now i was being a bit arrogant by not saying Sorry.
"Oh tabhi i thought ki itna jhuth kyu bologe. I am so sorry."
"Oh my god. Please please stop stop!" I told myself.Don't be so nice and make me fall in love right now.
The way she was behaving now after being so firm. How can someone be cold as ice and warm as a blanket at same time. How can some one be so firm and bossy but also understanding at the same time. How can she be someone, who i can hate and adore dame time.

Hiding all these thoughts, i replied " it's okay. We both misunderstood each other. I hope we are clear now."
" Yes we are, and just know that , i am really sorry for accusing you of something you didn't do. Anyways i must be wasting your time. Bye. "
"Bye."

Oh shit ! Yes i was busy. I almost forgot that. I again sat and started my laptop. But all my mind could work on was all the probabilities of spotting her in that pictures of two ladies."
The mystery was yet to be solved....

- Ashish Baboo

A long day at college or work. You come back home exhausted. Yesterday's leftovers for dinner. Turn on laptop and scroll through your newsfeed. Look at happy, shiny couples. Wonder when you will be part of one. Scroll some more. More happy, shiny couples.Friends and colleagues on fancy holidays in exotic locations. A couple of wedding photographs and happily-ever-afters later, you don't feel like going any further. It's the same story every day.

You shut down Facebook. Check your phone, hoping for some messages. No new notifications. No hellos, no good nights. Even that person who kept pestering you with messages, doesn't seem to be doing it anymore. Feeling weird and lonely, you put your self to sleep. Because no one else will, right?

Wrong.

Why does one message matter that much anyway? When did a WhatsApp message become that important? Isn't it stupid to look forward to them? No. The truth is that a message has become much more than just a form of communication. It is a reminder that someone, somewhere is thinking about you. A reassurance. A reminder that no matter how exhausting the day was, it's going to be a good night. And it's okay to want that.

So this is for the one who cry themselves to sleep thinking that no one cares, for the night crawlers who yearn to talk to someone special who tells them how much they mean to them, and for the hopeless romantics. It's okay to be needy. It is perfectly normal to expect.

You should know that even though it has been a rough day (or days), tomorrow will be a new day. The dawn will bring with it the sound of chirping  birds and endless laughter, the fragrance of the early morning air and that special someone, the amazing feeling of the dew drop and his/her hand on yours. Know that it is just the day which is over, not your life.

You might have to wait a little longer for that person who sends you the last message you read before going to sleep, but you will not have to wait for the message today.

Good night, you beautiful, beautiful person!

You have been strong and I am proud of you.

-Ashish Baboo

The bastards like u make such comments and every male is measured with the standard of yours.

By the way,
This man is so right. It's a girl's fault if she gets raped.

Come on! It was Nirbhaya's fault that she went out with her friend late at night? No "good girl" roams on the roads late at night and if she does, then she's not good. Wow! We Indians always talk logic, don't we?

Had she not "protested", she would have been alive. Till today, I used to think- had she not been raped, she would have been alive. Thanks for clarifying my doubts!

A girl should not enjoy in pubs and clubs or booze with her friends 'cause these are not the ettiqates of a "good" girl. Claps! Slaps, actually.

A girl should not go out at nights to avoid rapes. Can you please take the pains to explain the rapes that happen during days?

Girls are made to stay and work inside their houses. If she steps out, she's inviting men to rape her. As if rapes don't happen inside houses!

A girl invites rapists if she's wearing a western dress. "Innocent" boys fail to put a check on their nerves and get "aroused" after seeing a girl in "provoking" clothes. As one of our honorable ministers puts in- "Ladke hain, galti hojati hai". Now How about shooting  boys? The girls can say they get "provoked" and can't "control" when they see our (boy's) cheap faces and can say "Ladki hun, galti gayi"

Anyway, I've found a solution. Parents should KILL a girl as soon as she's born. This is the only way to stop this evil from our "respected" society.

ELIMINATE GIRLS, ELIMINATE RAPES.

As a hindi proverb says- "Na rahega baans, na bajegi bansuri".

P.S.: If you're wondering why sudden outburst. Here's the reason- http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150302/nation-current-affairs/article/girls-more-responsible-rape-boys-says-convict-2012-delhi

-- आशीष (जो लिखता है दिल से )

‪

It is the world’s oldest profession, but it is constantly looked down upon by society. Not always preferred by choice, but sometimes the only option. Prostitution is the profession which is battling the fight for legality right now. Should Prostitution be Legalised in India? Where exactly do we stand?

Why Prostitution Should Not Be Legalised

#1. People will stop learning, and resort to prostitution because it is easy money. 

For population that belongs to the group that earns less, is less educated and less skilled, prostitution becomes an easy money making option. This will enable people to simply avoid putting in efforts and these people will resort to prostitution. This will lead to unrecognised potential and forte.

For a country where a considerable amount of population belongs to poor backgrounds, this can become a huge problem. Take the example of economically weak Venezuela that has 119 prostitutes for a population of 10,000 people. Venezuela, of course, tops that list.

#2. Hazardous fallback option for people fed up with their jobs. 

Consider people who fail to prove their mettle in their respective jobs or are not satisfied by their jobs, they will be encouraged to turn to prostitution in stead of improving their abilities and skills. This could not only boom the number of prostitutes, it will also create a lack of supply in other important careers on which the country’s economics depend.

#3. It will affect education at all levels. 

As prostitution will serve as a source of easy money and facilitate as a fall back option, it can be assumed that certain sections of students will drop out after receiving primary education or even before, and prefer to provide services as sex workers, in order to get rid of further expenditure incurred on education and add to their savings by initiating work at an earlier age which will result into decreased desire for secondary education and the education conditions of the country will worsen along with an increase in unskilled labour.

#4. Morally wrong, demeaning, degrading & objectifying women. 

There is an almost universally prevailing belief that prostitution is wrong at all moral levels. Members of many religions and cultures consider prostitution to be wrong, portraying it as a disrespect of the body and term prostitution as ‘impurification’ of the sacredness of the body. A solid majority of people also believe that prostitution promotes the act of objectifying women, thus treating them as merchandise.

“Based on information from the women themselves, women in prostitution are observed to be prostituted through choices precluded, options restricted and possibilities denied. Prostitution in this view is observed to a product of lack of choice, the resort of those with the fewest choices or none at all, when all else fails, as it often does. – Catherine MacKinnon, American Feminist.

#5. Prostitution is often forced, not always voluntary. 

Although it is argued that a person’s body is his/her personal property, prostitution is not always voluntary. The report published by the ILO [International Labour Organisation] makes it quite clear that most women choose prostitution for economic reasons.

#6. Prostitutes can have a horrifying old-age. 

What sells in prostitution is quite self-evident. The human body is subjected to uncontrollable forces of nature, one of them being the ageing process. As they say, time is the worst beautician one can ever have, the demand of those employed in prostitution decreases as they grow older, leaving them unemployed and unprotected in their old age without any social security programmes like pension to depend upon.

#7. No job security or guarantee. 

This profession offers no job security whatsoever. Also, the number of customers per day cannot be guaranteed thus making it difficult for the workers to estimate their monthly income and determine their budgetary expenditure.

#8. Will legalising stop assaults on prostitutes? 

Legalisation of prostitution does not necessarily reduce the violence suffered by various sex workers. For example, in spite of prostitution being legalised and regulated in Amsterdam, almost 60% of women report of being physically assaulted during work hours. According to a research, women engaged in prostitution possess the likelihood of being raped on an average once a week.

#9. The society might become unstable, our culture might head down the drain. 

Legalising prostitution will increase the casualness of people towards sex and perhaps, even women. The guilt factor will fade, increasing the possibility of more people cheating on their spouses causing social instability in the long run. It will create a culture in which women can be bought and sold, and it is in such a culture that instances of assault done to women will increase.

Reasons why prostitution should be legalised 

#1. Legalising will protect minors. 

According to suggestions of various researches carried out globally, it can be estimated that as many as 10 million children are engaged in prostitution worldwide. Child prostitution exists in all the countries, irrespective of their level of economic development; the problem is observed in its severity in Asia and South America. By legalising prostitution and taking strict measures to regulate it, we can ensure removal of minors from the profession, thus protecting their rights and confirming their safety.

#2. Regular medical checkups will reduce the spread of STDs.

Regulation of prostitution would include conducting regular medical checks ups of sex workers and provision of adequate birth control tools, which will reduce the risk of sexual diseases being transmitted from workers to customers and vice-verse. It will promote cleaner working conditions and the process will thus become healthier and safer, which will be beneficial to both parties involved, as well as the society.

In 1998, a study carried out in Australia highlighted the fact that the prevalence of sexually transmitted bacterial infections was 80 times greater in 63 illegal street prostitutes as compared to 753 prostitutes working in legal brothels.

In the brothels of Singapore, every customer is provided with condoms as well as the facility to shower before and after the session. The prostitutes are required to maintain health cards which should be up-to-date. When a prostitute is tested positive with any sexually transmitted disease or infection, she is immediately required to stop providing services. The brothels have also implemented various measures to ensure the security of both parties.

#3. It will reduce the number of rapes and other sexual assaults. 

With a legal and easier alternative available, people who wish to satisfy their sexual urges will resort to prostitutes rather than committing heinous crimes such as rapes for the same purpose. With closure of brothels in 1959, Queensland experienced a 149% increase in rate of rape.

“…necessary step [to prevent rape] is to legalise prostitution — carried out in brothels or by call-girls — provided the sex workers are adults and have not been forced into the trade. The more you try to put down prostitution, the higher will be the incidence of crime against innocent women. You may find the idea repulsive but ponder over it and you will realise there is substance in the argument.” – Khushwant Singh

#4. Removal of pimps and middlemen.

Legalisation of prostitution will lead to a systematic upgradation of the industry. The service of pimps and middlemen will no longer be required, leading to a decrease in criminal behaviour and an increase in the wages of the sex workers.

#5. Elimination of forced prostitution.

Once decriminalised, the entire industry will come under the sphere of legal control which will enable law upholders to detect instances of forced prostitution and help victims of the same. Not all ‘johns’ who visit sex workers hold criminal records or have the tendency to assault them, most of them are normal men with no criminal record and they wouldn’t want to indulge in the act with someone who they know or suspect isn’t willing to do it.

As far as the question of recognising the ones who are forced into the flesh trade and those who aren’t goes, the current hapless system makes it impossible to determine willingness. A legal system in place will check criminal behaviour and significantly reduce the smuggling and slavery of women and children.

#6. Taxation.

Prostitution in India is approximately an $8.4 billion industry. Legalising it and taxing the proceeds like any other business will provide an incentive for the government, and facilitate it in providing regular medical check-ups, and protecting the rights of people engaged in the profession.

#7. Right to Use Body according to free will.

Every person has the right to use his or her body according to their will. Portraying it as morally wrong does now depict anything but a skewed value system. If a person finds prostitution wrong, it is perfectly acceptable for them to stay away from it. Nobody has the right to force a person to adhere to somebody else’s moral standards. It can be said that prostitution is not oppressive, it is how it is practiced by some people that makes it oppressive.

#8. Police can do better work then. 

If prostitution is legalised and regulated, government will save excess expenditure incurred on police, prison etc. and this will facilitate redirection of police resources to bigger problems.

#9. No downsides.

Alcohol, drugs, weed etc are prohibited because they impose serious threats to the health of a person. But unlike them, prostitution does not harm a person either physically or mentally, which is why placing a prohibition on it does not stand justified.

#10. Rights of workers will be protected.

Regulated prostitution protects the rights of sex workers. When a sex worker is sexually assaulted or not paid the agreed dues, he/she will have the right complain about the same and get it redressed.

Issues like human trafficking – something directly related to prostitution – are hard to analyse keeping in mind the both sides of prostitution. Even so, a good number of countries today allow prostitution legally. Countries like Netherlands, New Zealand, Venezuela, Indonesia, Greece, Germany, Ecuador, Canada, Nicaragua, ten counties of Nevada in the United States etc. allow prostitution along with pimping and brothel owning.

Countries like Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland etc. allow prostitution but do not allow brothel owning and pimping.

Bangaladesh allows female prostitution but male prostitution is prohibited.

If we look at it, prostitution, if done willingly by both parties, is a ‘victim-less’ crime. Prostitution when done voluntarily by adults, in-door, in a legal way, has no reasons to be unacceptable. So, can its practice be considered exercising human rights?

Let us know your thoughts and reviews at ashishbaboo007@gmail.com .

Name - Ashish Baboo

course - B.Sc (Hons) Mathematics - 3rd year

Hansraj college (University of Delhi )

बेनाम सा ये दर्द, ठहर क्यूँ नही जाता,

जो बीत गया है वो , गुज़र क्यूँ नही जाता,

वो एक ही चेहरा तो नही सारे जहाँ में,

जो दूर है वो दिल से उतर क्यूँ नही जाता,

मैं अपनी ही उलझी हुई राहों का तमाशा,

जाते हैं जिधर सब, मैं उधर क्यूँ नही जाता,

वो नाम है बरसों से, न चेहरा न बदन है,

वो ख्वाब अगर है तो, बिखर क्यूँ नही जाता 

                                                                                                   --   आशीष (जो लिखता है दिल से )

अन्य कविताओं के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें |

आसमान पर शाम लगा दो

इस माथे पर बाम लगा दो

चार ही दीवारें हैं घर में

आ कर चारो धाम लगा दो

आईने के बाजारों में

मेरे अक्स का दाम लगा दो

चाँद भाग रहा है तेज़ी से

तुम रस्ते में जाम लगा दो

आशीष  इक सूना साहिल है

आंच..!यहाँ इक पाम लगा दो

                                                                                                   --   आशीष (जो लिखता है दिल से )

अन्य कविताओं के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें |