A fetish or a secret love... but it's not what you think!

(Thankyou http://primitive-art.deviantart.com)


I'm guilty of  a secret double romance. And their names are  Flipkart & Uread.

True, as is the nature of human beings, I did get pissed off with both my loves especially since they had this annoying habit of sending me my purchases one after the other and not as a single package as I had instructed. However, after a few words went flying about and I threatened both of them that I would find another website that knew how to follow a customer's precise instructions ( How I love the Internet!!), somehow everything just fell into place! So, in case you felt that customer service was long gone and buried 12 feet under, let me tell you that putting down your actual thoughts in a feedback form may just be the lacking magical touch.

Anyways. I used to wonder what people loved about sitting like dorks at their laptops and purchasing anything and everything from underwear to upholstery. Till, I painfully admitted to myself that even though I love book-stores, the soaring rates of books on the whole was making it just too difficult for a bookworm like me who loves to read and is on a mission to own the largest library (atleast in my colony!), to make this dream a reality. And that dangerous thought entered my brain- ' Could it be possible, that maybe I just may find the books I want at a discounted rate?' And that's how Uread.com came into my life.

There's something even more mesmerizing about surfing the site. I feel like a little girl lost in an actual world of books. One click and you can add a title to your wishlist, another click and it's in your purchase cart, a final click and it's on its way to your doorstep. What's there not to love? And since I have a problem of staying loyal to brands, I decided to check out Flipkart for myself. Yes, the fact that they had such cute ads on TV featuring little kids won my heart! And if Uread.com was Disney World, then Flipkart was half of America. Yes, hypocrite that I am, I used to giggle at the thought of people buying creams and hair- dryers and belts and bags and laptops on this site till I realized that the day was coming, when I too would be guilty of the same.

What is it about the power of online shopping that's such a magnetic force? Is it that one gets to be lazy and shop at the same time? Is it because Uread doesnt care if I haven't brushed my teeth or that I'm looking at new releases in my last night's nightie? Or is that one actually gets to look at so many brands all under one roof without having to shop at multiple places? I think it's probably a weird sense of power in a way, at least for me.

And as with all things that secretly radiate a spell of power, I find that of late I spend almost every day with both these loves of mine. I simply enjoy going through all the titles on display and adding them to my wishlists. And I have more than 40 titles in each wishlist that I would love to add to my library someday. No, I can't afford to buy them right now, but someday if I do win the lottery or find a treasure chest of green notes, at least I won't have any trouble thinking about where I should spend it !! Seeing my wishlist gives me something higher to aim for, and I'm thinking of what I can do to earn a bit more so that I still have my eye-sight when my library becomes a reality. But for now, online book surfing is a secret love that doesn't look like it's going to go away anytime soon. After all, it would be termed cruel on my part to dump both my new loves, wouldn't it?

An Overdue Blog Post

My last post was in October 2012, and I've been asked time and again by loved ones as to what exactly was the point of making a promise to write at least 3 times a month, if I just can't keep my promise. Valid question, I reply. And profuse apologies to your my dear reader for not having invaded your thoughts (with your permission, of course!) for over three months now.  Yes, I had a chance to bore you with the usual New Year Resolution list (with impossible to keep resolutions!) and with almost the whole nation lighting candles in the memory of a soldier called Nirbhaya, I could have seized the moment and written another feminist specked blog post. I chose not to.

Not because I didnt have anything to say (Hell! THAT's impossible!) and not because I did not want to discuss the topic, but simply because I felt mentally weary. Weary of being a part of a hypocritic nation that worships Goddesses and which has 100's of mythological stories about 'Sthree Shakthi' but one which does not feel that an ordinary woman is worth fighting for. Weary of the age old debate of Men vs Women; why a man is entitled to everything life and society can offer and exactly why a woman isn't. Weary of the simple fact that it takes ordinary citizens to hold vigils, light candles and to march in unison just to send a message to the government that it's time it sits up and takes notice. Weary of the nagging 6th sense telling me that Nirbhaya was going to be the headlines for maybe a month, till the next scam came along. And yes, that is just what happened. Weary, just knowing that I may not have anyone to actually protect me should anything happen to me and that yes, it makes sense to be tough enough to fight my own battles. Weary, because rape/abuse/assault is a traumatic enough experience without the added humiliation we subject every woman who is brave enough to open her mouth and to fight to. In a simple sentence- I stayed away from writing anything about that brave girl because I had nothing to add, I had nothing new to say, no radical opinion to offer and all I could do was sit in front of this laptop and hang my head in sadness.

Today, I have tears thinking about how one of the main accused is going to walk away scot-free because he is a 'minor'. Yes, he was adult enough to rape, torture and strip a woman of her clothes, but the confusion with regard to his age is his saving grace. And the others have all pleaded not guilty to the charges as well. Where is her story going to end? I don't know but I hope for the sake of her soul, that this country will give her the justice she rightfully deserves.

I liked a banner I saw once on the news- ' Don't tell us what to wear. Teach your son to be a gentleman.' As a mother to a 4 year old, who will someday become a man in his own right, teaching him the importance of showing respect to women is one of the first lessons I have begun teaching him. Someday, I would be proud if he has the guts to stand up for a girl, to do what was right irrespective of what is considered' cool' or 'uncool' by his generation. And as my mom says- 'Being a parent is a life-long process. It never really ends.' She should know. She's been an awesome one for the past 30 years.