We had this weeklong conference on Child Rights. We examined the UN Convention on Child Rights, the history of how it all started, the Millennium Development Goals and all that jazz. I felt like I was back in my M.A. class. But the most exciting bit was a workshop on Child Sexual Abuse. We had this NGO called Tulir coming to work with us.

They gave us this exercise as part of the workshop. It was amazing how people thought! Anyways, here’s the story:

There was a girl called Rani who was deeply in love with a boy called Ravi, who lived in the neighboring village. They’d been seeing each other for sometime now and since it was his birthday, Rani decides to go over to the village and surprise him with her gifts. So, she dresses up and looking extremely attractive, sets out to meet Ravi.

She has to cross a bridge to get over to the other side. But the previous night, it has rained really hard. As a result, the bridge has fallen. This leaves Rani with two options-- Either she decides not to go or she asks the boatman, Setu to row her across because the water was reputedly infested with crocodiles.

Now, since she was madly in love, the idea of not going wasn’t even an option. So, Rani decides to ask Setu. Setu agrees to take her across but Rani sees something in his eyes that makes her hesitate, something that makes her uncomfortable. So, she goes to her friend Vinod and asks him to accompany her.

“I feel uncomfortable being alone with Setu,” she says.

But Vinod refuses saying that he’s really busy and if she so desperately wants to see HER boyfriend, she just needs to muster the courage to go herself. So, Rani decides that she’ll just take the risk.

She gets in to the boat and asks Setu to row her across. Halfway through Setu stops the boat and asks her to have sex with him. He tells her that if she does not, he is simply gonna toss her into the crocodile infested water. So, she agrees and has sex with Setu.

Reaching Ravi’s village, she runs to him and tells him the whole story. Ravi is furious. Calling her a slut and a whore, he tells her that the relationship is over, because he so does not wanna be with a woman, who simply has sex with whomever she wants.

Heartbroken, Rani rushes to her friend Dilip and tells him what’s happened. Dilip rushes across to Ravi and pummels him black and blue. Rani is now very happy.

Ok, so here’s the deal. Tell me who YOU think is the most immoral and who the most moral is. Rank the most immoral as “1” and the most moral as “5”.

PPS: OH!!!! And don't forget to mention why you are ranking them the way you do.

Nothing adds up. The loose ends are too many. They trail all over the place. One day, someone will step on one and trip you up. You’ll fall face down flat and lie there for a while. Then get up, wipe your mud-smeared, tear-stained face and carry on. Why won’t you just cut off the loose ends? Why won’t you just make sure that there won’t be anymore tripping? Haven’t you had enough?

I’ve learnt that people can’t make you happy. Things can’t make you happy. A job can make you only just so much happy and no more. Happiness is not about what happens around you. It’s something else…it’s something inside of you. It’s an attitude, it’s an effort, and… it takes practice.

Oh and before I forget, yes, hormones do have something to do with it too. But attitude is bigger, better and more effective than hormones. With a happy attitude, hormones can be quelled rather than vice versa.

J told me about A and S. A cheated on S. The same old stupid story. Sucks. No originality even. Just different means of being warped. It’s a fallen world. That’s the only answer I have. Fallen. And how fallen.

But you know what, J? I wish you hadn’t told me that…I really hate hearing that kinda crap. Don’t even TELL me about it. I don’t wanna know.

And the stupidest bit is I don’t even know A and S. Why the heck should I care? But every time, you hear a nonsensical story like this, you realize that everything you hear about love is a lie. Cos when I heard of A and S, I dared to believe again. I dared to hope. But now, they’re a done deal, and all that belief and hope and faith has been so unwarranted, so undeserved.

Love is over rated, isn’t it? It’s all about manufacturing consent. They make you believe that it’s gonna be an awesome deal. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t end up expecting quite so much.

Better not to have loved, than loved and lost. Better not to have hoped than hope and find that you were just another fool.

Who wants to believe in love? If you do, ask yourself also, if you can afford the luxury of a heartbreak. And if the answer is no, I’d ask you to think twice.

(This is a rather depressing post. Please don’t drop in condolences though. Tomorrow is another day and I’ll be ok. For now, I just need to get this outta my system and go sleep. )

Tagged!

Sanity Starved had me tagged when I was away. Most of you have probably already caught up with this particular on the blogging circuit, but anyways, here goes the deal. Am s'posed to say 8 characteristics I LIKE in a guy. Or rather, what I'd like in my "perfect lover". In turn, I am s'posed to tag 8 bloggers, who will have to talk about their "perfect lover."

Now, since my modus operandi while making any decision has always been "selection by elimination", I think it’d be easier for me to just say what I am sure I don’t want in a guy. Pardonez moi, Sanity. The tagged are free to twist the rules as well ;-)

So! Here goes!

1) God is the most important person to me. If you don’t get that, you don’t get me.

2) Drifting. While you may have caught my fancy in younger and stupider days, I've outgrown you--no "free-spirited" drifter for me please. Please know where you want to be tomorrow and where you want to be ten years from now. Sure if it don’t quite work out that way, I MIGHT nag you, but then that’s just an occupational hazard : )

3) Playing. Of any sort. Mind games. Hard to get games. In case,that ain’t clear, it’s as simple as "I HATE players". I don’t find it exciting anymore. I’ll just slam the door shut in your face. And as for mind games, they leave me weary. So, somewhere down the line, probably in a few months or weeks (exact time frame dependant on emotional investment) I am bound to say enough and leave.

Smooth talkers/charmers also come in this league. Nice, but no thanks. If you’re smooth talking me, chances are you’re smooth talking someone else.

4) “Let’s see” syndrome. Better known as commitment phobia. Don’t gimme that “Le’ts see where it goes” line. It’s either yes or no. If you don’t say yes, I’ll take that as a no and focus my attention elsewhere. I don’t wanna be left dangling, only to fall and realise there were no arms waiting on the other end, just the hard, cold earth.

5) Cool dude. They are just so frigging fake! “Yo dude, what’s up?” I hear you say that and you are OUT!

6) Abusive Language/rudeness. I simply CANNOT stick men who use abusive language and/or are rude. Please grow up enough to make your point without calling people demeaning names or making humiliating accusations. Note: An occasional outburst while driving is permissible, but that’s as far as it goes.

7) Lying. I don’t care what the lie is about. But once I find out that you lied, I’d really think of it as the beginning of the end.

8) Porn. Yes, I know that most guys will come at me with the line that watching porn is a guy thing and that all guys do it. But then, I might have gone in for all guys. Since you are not all guys and just MY guy, I’d rather that you didn’t fantasise over some photoshopped chick. I expect higher levels of intelligence than that.

I could go on and on, only I have a strange feeling, I just might eliminate the entire male species, so this is where I stop. Thank you!

And I tag:

Grey Shades
Shain
Hyde
Methinks (but methinks, she is already in smug married mode;-))
First Rain
Sinusoidally
Austy
Whoever else wants to, since I'm outta singles visiting my blog.