And I am proud of myself.

Saturday. Around 10:20 a.m. Sion railway station.

My friend Roh and I got tickets from the counter and were climbing the bridge to go to the platform. She was walking a little ahead of me. As I climbed the last step, I felt someone touch me from behind, where he shouldn't have. Sensing something odd, instinctively, I turned to look who that was. This man, definitely atleast 45 yrs. old, looks at me, gives a sly triumphant smile as a mark of having derived cheap pleasure, makes a lewd gesture and 'happily' strides away with the spring-in-his-step! For a moment, I just stared at him in disgust. But the look in his eyes, when he made that gesture, had already infuriated me. I was mad at him, wildly furious. I didn't stop to think further and yelled and screamed after him " kya be saale, sharam nahi aati kya? ....... " (now I feel i should use some gaalis in everyday language, just so I get used to saying them and they may flow out of my mouth with ease when required! maybe I'll write on 'the importance of gaalis' sometime.) So, I was fuming with rage and yelling at him. He started walking faster. I immediately turned around and found a policeman standing there, looking at me. I called him, pointed towards the wrong-doer from atop the bridge as 'there, the white shirt and black pants wala' and told him to run and catch him. Mr. policeman ran... and I was catching up... By this time, this @$$^*!& had reached the platform and was already on his way out through the gate. But Mr. policeman turned out to be efficient enough and paced faster and caught him outside and came with him, to where I was standing.

Now! I gave him a piercing look and said, "Bohot masti chadhi thi na tabhi?" and he was like " Maine kya kiya? Aap hi bataaiye maine kya kiya?" I was shaking with anger. I know why he asked that question. saale ko abhi bhi shaayad utri nahi thi. I'm sure he thought that I won't be able to say it, because there were so many people around by then. I said, I know what you did, you know what you did and you also know that what you did was wrong. Then he says, "Woh toh chalte-chalte dhakka lag gaya" to which i retorted "Aur gande ishaare bhi apne-aap hi ban gaye na?" He tried everything he could, to escape. Even asked the policeman that how can he be arrested just because I am saying something, to which, the policeman told him that she says so, you have to come along. I turned and told Mr. policeman that I'm ready to file a complaint against him, so why talk to him anyway? As I was heading forward, it suddenly struck me - how will my parents react to it? They may not approve. I didn't know. Behind me, he was still pleading to be let off. I turned. I said, " Theek hai, maafi maango, abhi." His immediate reaction was as if I'd hurt his male ego. I said, either you apologize publicly, for what you did, or I'm filing a complaint. The next moment, he folded his hands and said "Sorry madam". I watched his ego crumble into a thousand pieces. And he apologized twice, thrice, five times over. I motioned to Mr. policeman and he let him go. I thanked Mr. policeman; first, for being there at the right moment and second, for doing what he did.

As I walked upstairs, to the bridge, I saw all the people there staring at me. I was still hot-headed. There was anger in my eyes. Roh was standing there, clueless, waiting for me. I then told her everything. We got into the train. My face was so hot! A thermometer would've burst with the heat due to my anger! It was only after an hour or so, that my anger-level lowered a bit. At the end of the day, I felt drained. Naturally so.

But then, there was also this satisfaction inside me. He would've done that to many other women before and they must not have reacted this way, which is why, he did it to me. I can't say whether he will or will not repeat this with someone else, but atleast, I can be sure that he will think twice. And he'll probably never forget me. Moreover, from the crowd of more than a hundred people there who witnessed the incident, the men saw. And the women saw. I don't know whether having seen this will change their attitude. However, I sincerely hope that it does.

Next, I will talk to my mom about it and get to know as to how she'd react if I file a police complaint against someone. Also, I'd like to read the law a bit and know what comes under sexual harassment, what action can be taken, etc.

For now, I feel like a superstar - confident about my confidence.

I salute Abhinav. Now...

The entire nation is talking about this guy, Abhinav Bindra. And why not, he’s done what no other Indian has, ever. The newspapers yesterday had around five pages filled with his pictures, articles about him, quotes from his parents, teachers, the who’s who of the nation and even the general public. But what really attracted my attention was the list of cash awards competitively announced by the government, some sports associations, etc. The total, it seems, comes to Rs.2 cr. Why award him with cash, I ask. Where were these people all this while? How has the government been instrumental in shaping this talented boy’s career? He is here today, due to the support and encouragement of his parents, both moral and financial; plus his own determination and drive to make it. Had his father not provided him with all that was required for his training in terms of infrastructure, coaching and world-class gear; despite being talented, would he have made it so far? I doubt it. Would the government have stepped-in to help him then? This, I say because other forms of sport apart from cricket are almost invisible in our country, no? And we know of a lot of talented people into athletics, etc. who cannot realize their dreams of making it big in the world of sports mainly due to the lack of financial support. Money-wise, just think, to someone who’s been gifted a hotel worth Rs.200 cr. by his dad, does this sum of Rs.2 cr. matter as much as it would to some other deprived sportsperson? Come on, let’s not insult him.

Just because he’s won, there is a whole crowd of people trying to grab credit for his success. (Déjà vu? Of course, basking in reflected glory is a national hobby!)

Honestly, how many sports enthusiasts even knew that he was going to the Olympics to represent India? But yeah, of course, the same people would know the names of all the eleven players and the coach and the extras of even one of those stupid IPL teams. Abhinav, on his win, said that he hopes this will help change the attitude of Indians towards the Olympics. I hope I live to see a day like that. ‘Hum honge kaamyaab ek din?’

Here’s a ‘mast’ quote from the ‘golden-eyed man’ himself: When asked by a foreign reporter, “What do you do for a living?”, Abhinav is reported to have said, “Drilling holes in black paper for 10 years. That’s what I do for a living.” Whoa!!!

State of the Nation

Terrorists plan a series of blasts across the nation ...first 8 now 17 !!?!!!! And nobody knew it beforehand? Nobody? If only the country's politicians were less obsessed with holding their positions of power by playing dirty politics ... And what happens next? "The matter is being looked into and a committee has been set up." Committees and more committees ! Sitting over cups of 'chai-paani' and deciding the date of the next meeting, while some other blasts are being planned. Yeah, of course, the 'spirit of the city' in getting back on track is surely lauded. Spirit?? Crap. Even now, they're busy blaming one another. The alarm has gone off... when do you decide to wake up is the question. Around 15 bombs defused today in Surat ... so the total is 17 + 4 def. + 14 def. = 35 !?!!! Bomb-blasts may not be as rare as they were before, but they're just as grave. Ignoring them means inviting more.