why feeling like such a fool??

coz when u realize that what you always thought to be the answer, is really not the correct answer, infact you were nowhere near the correct answer, you generally tend to feel foolish. and in this case, i not only felt foolish, but also very uninformed, amazed and appalled at the same time.

what actually led me to feel all of the above goes like this:
last weekend i attended CRY's volunteer program..(now dont start with my reasons and interests in attending it...lets say this is my last ditch effort to be like the super super rich types..angelina jolie kinds...social work and all that jazz..:P) ok enough about that.

coming back to the meeting..the presenter was going over the statistics of how children in India are malnourished and uneducated and stuff...there was this very normal statistic..that 54% (or 80%..i dont recall) of girl students drop out of school after VIII standard. this was nothing that shocked us or anything..its like common knowledge..everyone knows that lesser number of girls join school in the first place and if they do, compared to boys more number of girls drop out. yeah so you know it, i know it. big deal.

then the presenter asked us, if we could figure out why this was happening?
what do you think is the answer? why do 54% of girls drop out of school after VIII std?
think.....

the answers from our group went something like....

• parents dont want to invest in their daughter's education.
• parents feel that a girl who has to marry and ultimately take care of her house and bear children doesnt benefit from higher education. basic education is like okay..but she is not really going to become a scientist, is she?
• financial constraints
• lack of awareness, illiteracy of parents
• and blah blah

so what do you think was the answer to the question.

The real reason turns out to be quite unlike any of the above. The real reason is that in rural India, there are very few high schools, probably 1 among 2-3 villages. So these girls who are like 12-15 years old have to travel more than 8kms to reach school. and obviously parents feel its not very safe. we really cant blame them, can we? moreover most of these schools dont have proper toilets which makes the matters worse.

I, for one, never was aware of this. To think that girls want to study, parents are ready to send them to school but there are no viable options for them. pretty bad, huh?

enter angelina jolie.....
nah! we all can do something...our bit...after all system/government/state is only as bad as the people...

best driver award goes to.......

whats up with me?? the kind of things i struggle with..my latest problem is that if im in a vehicle..2-wheeler, 4-wheeler, whatever (planes not included)..i have to be in the driver's seat...yeah exactly, thats my problem...if im not driving, the other person is just not good enough...they are either too fast, too slow, too close to the other vehicle, too inexperienced to judge if the car in front of us is slowing down, too late in applying brakes, blah blah....

i always feel i could do better and if they are not driving my way, then they are wrong...i cant relax..my reflexes keep acting up...have you ever brought your right leg to slam on the brakes when you are sitting NEXT to the driver? I have...

its always been my problem...i have always had a list of people with whom ive not had to worry if they are driving/riding...maggi, abs, bug, cao, jat, taxi drivers, auto drivers (they drive everyday through the same lanes, they are pros at this thing..afterall they are drivers)...

but lately it has worsened beyond a point and i just cant overlook it now..what really bothered me was when the other day i was not comfortable when abs was driving...now, come on..he used to drive before i learnt to drive and he has never been involved in an accident..not so much as even a scratch on his car...and there i am feeling, "ooooops..why is he so close to this car?" "why cant he apply brakes?" "why is he trying to overtake the bus?"...really, the guy deserves better than this!!

and bikes are an entirely different story...i just dont feel safe on a bike...no matter who is riding...it was not the case earlier..for 2 years i have scanned every street of mumbai from one end to the other on a bike...as recently as 6 months back, i have gone with jat from powai to nerul on his bike and i was quite okay...but here? now? no way...there's no way i can sit on a bike...sitting on a bike makes my adrenaline rush, my heart starts beating faster, i keep my eyes shut tightly and pray to God i am safe...wierd, isnt it?

so it all boils down to me driving (i dont know how to ride bikes) every time i am going somewhere...i reason its better to be in-charge and take a little more effort than to sit doing nothing without having peace of mind..because when im driving im very confident, i feel in-control and safe...i drive extremely well. period.

too much self-belief or too less faith in other people????