In lighter vein....

The mention of word surgery - be it minor or major - is enough to give anyone jitters - especially if a person is a weak hearted one. The unfortunate part is that more than often surgery is unavoidable, if advised by an expert. So, whether courageous or chicken, one has to undergo the long ordeal and the linked trauma, post operative pain, precautions and so on.

However, now I feel that a person can cope with all the mental agony, anxiousness and physical pain or discomfort. What is most difficult to cope with is the later part when one is recovering.

It is alright if the surgery was of head or limbs or any such important but non-interesting part of the body. But what if the surgery is of a woman's breast? Then it becomes a real trouble!!!

People ask with genuine concern, ``Oh, what had happened?'' and she simply explains that she got a surgery done on her breast for fibroids. Suddenly the expression changes. Curiosity takes over concern. The gaze shifts a meter below the eye level. It seems as if the person is trying to examine the operated organ through his x-ray vision. The inquirer starts measuring the difference this surgery must have made to poor woman's assets.

Now what a woman is supposed to do? Should she coyly avoid the question? Or should she mention a general health problem? Or should she boldly and casually tell the friends and acquaintances about the surgery, if asked?

A suggestion came from someone that the woman should frankly satiate the query and then depending on the gaze of the inquirer, she can also explain that the surgery was a simple process of removing a malignant or benign tumour known as fibroids and it does not cause any cosmetic harm to her breasts. The only difference this surgery has made to her is to lessen her mental stress and improved her chances of living a healthier life.

will someone please check what TV is serving our children

Facebook is an easy way to stay connected with friends. It also sometimes inform us about things which normally we are unaware of.

I am talking of a post by one of my friends which did not enlighten me though, but it did open my eyes to a new era and new generation of Indians, which I am not aware of.

The post introduced me to a different league of Indian youth, which I was totally unaware of. I had no idea that such a generation exists in this nation that talks so high of its culture and heritage.

The post was about a Rodies show on MTV, in which the channel tests the endurance of boys and girls and the one with true grit wins the contest.

I am not fond of such reality shows as I feel they spoil the innocence of children. I prefer not to waste my time watching such programmes, which according to me, are made for TV addicts with non-functional thinking faculties.

However, the comment of my friend on the post forced me to go through it.

And it left me aghast!!!

Although it did not affect the anchors of the show, who appeared cool and calm throughout.

I have no guts to repeat what I heard there - atrocious and objectionable language, obscene gestures and all that by two girls in their early twenties!!!

What I wonder is - Is there any censor board for television in India?

If there is, what are its members doing? Where are they? Don't they check what is being served to the audience?

The censor board for Hindi movies is so strict that they do not allow a love making scene in any movie, even today.

But here the words these girls used and the gestures they made, were not only obscene and shameful but was also a blot to Indian culture.

The sad part is that the target audience for these programmes is our future generation, which will grow watching and learning this crude and filthy way of talking.

The post said ``uncensored part of rodies' show''.

Fine, the MTV producers can say that it was the unedited version. But then they should know that in today's technologically advanced world everything comes on the internet - edited and unedited versions, both.

I again ask the MTV producers to answer as to why their anchors did not they ask the girls to leave the show immediately when they started using that foul language? Why did the anchors wait and let the girls continue belching filth out of their mouths?

It is an unpardonable decision by the anchors of the MTV Rodies show as well as the programme producers of MTV, to let that obscenity and vulgarity.

Just wonder is there anyone who would have taken notice of such a degradation of our culture and would stand up and take an action in this regard???

Right to Education - a long wait in Uttar Pradesh

When in Hazratganj - the posh shopping area of Lucknow city - people gathered in support of Right to Education Act, I spotted a kid (6-7 years old). His clothes were tattered and face was full of dust and grime. He was unaware of the event and its importance. He was there only because he saw a crowd there, which he found useful for him.

The kid was begging - lost in the crowd of grown ups.

He came to me also and I fired my curiosity at him, `hey, do you know what is happening here?' the kid looked at me with blank eyes and shook his head in negative. My curiosity was now reached its boiling stage. I asked another question, `do you have any idea about Right to Education?' The kid gave me a strange look and apparently taking me as a waste of time, he walked into the crowd - may be to a better client.

I stood there for a while shell-shocked - thinking.

The congregation was to gather support in favour of the Right to Education Act.

In 2002 the Indian government declared education a constitutional right after making an amendment in the constitution. This amendment was followed by Right to Education Act which was brought in 2010 and which made education compulsory for children between the age of 6-14.

The Indian government also made budgetary provisions for the implementation of the Act. Each state was asked to make its rules as per its requirements, so that the law could be enacted. The states were also asked to share a small portion of the financial burden only to make them committed to the cause.

A year has passed since then but the government in Uttar Pradesh is yet to formulate the rules to implement the law. Presently the state is basking in the glory of current census which has established the fact that the literacy rate in the state has gone up from 56 percent in 2001 census to almost 70 percent in the 2011 census.

Lost in my thoughts, I spotted the young boy again. Standing in the middle of the crowd scratching his unkempt hair with one hand while holding the begging bowl in the other.

I started wondering -- if this is the attitude of our governments, what would happen to children like him.

His presence in the elite crowd, demanding the government to implement the Right to Education law, was conspicuous. I wondered at the apathy of this government in Uttar Pradesh, which can easily spend billions of rupees in erecting monuments and statues but feels so tightfisted when it comes to investing on education of our children - the future of this nation.