Incredible Opinions

"Would you come downstairs for dinner?", mom asked her son via text.

The son replied, "I am busy mom, would you mind sending me the dinner upstairs."

The mother takes the dinner upstairs for her son. Since her hands were full, she couldn't knock at the door and just barged in. The son got angry when his mother didn't bother to knock at the door only to find him super busy...... but on facebook.

If it is happening around you when everyone in the family needs to make an appointment to meet at dinner, it is not weird at all. If you are meeting with your friends at lunch in a restaurant but everyone is busy checking their phones rather than having a conversation, it is not weird at all. If you have more facebook friends than real friends, it is not weird at all. The only thing weird will be - not having social media accounts in 2017.

alone in the digital crowd 2 - incredible opinions

We humans have forgotten that technology never created the man. In fact, the man has created it for his own benefit and should be able to control it. We have been using technology to that extreme, it is not appropriate to say that we have been abusing the real meaning of human relationships.

Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships. - David Alston

It is like choosing your friends who do you want to share your emotions with, have conversations with and spend time with. We are making a big mistake by prioritizing people who exist in our life digitally than physically. Face to face conversations have ended. The term "socializing" has been narrowed down meeting and hanging out with people online. Social media serves us what the real world lacks for us on a personal level. If a person gets served better on social media, he/she is likely to get addicted to it.

Thankfully, I belong to a generation whose childhood was spent playing outdoors than on computer games. We don't get jealous of people, relationships, and lifestyles which may never exist. Let's concentrate on how our relationships feel than how they look when being posted online. Life is short and beautiful, let's just not waste it by clicking the mouse button unnecessarily!

Alone in the digital crowd

Zero - A Beginning

Before I blame anyone - incredible opinions

How often have you blamed Government for not implementing a proper law and order? How often have you said that you are not satisfied with your current Government and want a change? Have you ever compared your country with the more developed ones and blamed it all on the Government for not having all the facilities?

Have we ever pondered what we have done for our country before blaming it on other resources? Blaming someone for not having the best in the country is, probably, the easiest thing to do. A common man is, somehow, the greatest power of any country. As they say, "Union is strength" when all the common men unite together, they don't need any other resource to depend on and wait for their expectations to come true.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Duties of a common man

Compassion, cleanliness, service, and truthfulness are some of the qualities a civilized human should possess in a society. In order to help a country grow and develop economically and socially, a common man should possess the following responsibilities:

Peace & Brotherhood

We can do a lot to make our country come forward. The first and foremost being the maintenance of peace amongst all the religions. India has, by far, maintained a lot of peace in the diversity. A country where people from 6 different main religions speaking 1,652 different mother tongues reside together, has been a great example of unity in diversity.

A Good Citizen

A good citizen should ensure that he/she know his/her rights and use them properly. If a citizen does not use his right to cast a vote, he loses the right to condemn the corrupted administrators in the power. Corruption, bureaucracy, greasing palms - all evolve from a common man when he accepts to practice it to make things easier for him. We should not need our politicians to come and tell us that we need to practice cleanliness.

Feminism

We all should ensure that women in our society are treated equally as men. Charity begins at home so let us ensure that we treat our wives, sisters, and mothers no different than their male counterparts. Our society has been an age old patriarchal society. Time has changed and so should be the outlook of our society towards the women. Let's make sure that women are given equal rights as men at work, home and everywhere around you.

Helpful

Humanity is above all. We should help each other irrespective of color, caste, religion and language. If someone is in the need of dire help, let's not think of our priorities first. When someone is in a medical emergency on the road, let us not take selfies with the wounded and wait for someone else to take the initiative first.

Before comparing our country with other countries we need to ask ourselves if we obey all the rules and regulations as strictly as their citizens do. Ignoring the red traffic lights, overspeeding, throwing garbage on the roads, and "chalta hai" attitude will never make any law and order work.

We, as citizens and also common people of our country, have the power to choose the best Government for us who can administer the changes needed for our society under the law. There is a reason, why we are called the largest democracy of the world.

Before I Blame Anyone

Unforgettable Memories - incredible opinions

Nathan Hope. Does anyone know who this person is?

Well, all the selfie lovers must thank him because Nathan Hope, an Australian, is believed to have used the word "selfie" for the first time by sharing an image of his busted lip. In the year 2016, when all the leading phone companies are launching their best mobile phones enhanced with the best cameras, we are so busy documenting our life and cannot afford a moment to be lost.

A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.
- Eudora Welty

In the good old days, when taking a photograph was not a daily affair and the limited photo collection we had was very precious to us. Be it a childhood photograph or a wedding photograph, it is always so close to one's heart which reminds us of our special time spans in our life. In the age when no facebook, instagram, or pinterest existed and the development of photographs took more than extra effort, we always ensured that we should make memories of our special occasions.

According to some memory researchers, photographs have an impact on the memory. Although this impact is not always encouraging, it helps in improving memory. If it is a family photograph, it helps in reviving the relationships.

Having thought about any such photograph which I cherish forever is my childhood picture with my father when I was a few months old. This picture brings back the memories of my childhood. This picture has been so close to my heart because my father and I shot a similar picture 29 years later and we were totally unaware of the fact that we were creating another version of it. In all those years, smiles haven't changed and so is the bond between father and daughter, the only thing that has changed is our geographic location.

1984 (Punjab, India):

2013 (Toronto, Canada):

It is the wonder of the old photographs which makes me think that how much I miss being a child. I am sure that the photographs I take today will also make a memory which I can cherish with my next generation.

Unforgettable Memories

India won 6 medals in 2016 Olympics held in Brazil. Out of these 6 medals, 4 came from Paralympics. India's Paralympic athletes won 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze at Rio. Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu, the only ladies who won medals in 2016 Olympics received so much love and blessings from all the Indians living in India and abroad. Do they know about Deepa Malik who is also a woman athlete who won silver for India in Paralympics? How many of them know about the Paralympic athletes who won laurels for India? Did you hear any news or advertising campaigns where all these athletes are featured?

India sent 19 Paralympic athletes to Rio to compete in 5 sports. It is India's best ever performance in Paralympics winning 4 medals (2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze). India's national anthem was played twice in 2016 Paralympics when Devendra Jhajharia and Mariyappan Thangavelu won gold in their respective games which India couldn't get it played in Olympics 2016.

Devendra Jhajharia, 35, who won gold in Javelin throw, becomes the only Indian Paralympic athlete to win 2 gold medals for his country in 2 Paralympics (2004 Athens and 2016 Rio). He also did better than his last throw and set the new Olympic record in Javelin throw.

Mariyappan Thangavelu, 21, won gold for India in high jump competition. He received 2 crores ($US 300,000) from Tamil Nadu government. He donated 30 lacs out of this prize money to the government school in which he studied to improve the facilities.

Deepa Malik, 45, the silver medalist for India in 2016 Paralympics, is the first Indian woman to win any medal for India in Paralympics. Her silver medal in shot put is no less shiny than PV Sindhu's silver medal, yet her name is not so much popular in media.

Varun Singh Bhati, 21, is another high jumper from India who won bronze and stood on the podium with Mariyappan in Rio 2016 Paralympics. He made us proud as much as Sakshi Malik did while winning the bronze for the country. Sadly, I haven't heard any news or media mentions about him receiving any awards or prizes.

All the above-mentioned athletes are more brave and courageous because it takes a lot to deal with the physical challenges and come out as a winner in sports especially in a country fantasized with cricket. Nobody has gifted any BMWs to them (rather they have the heart to donate their prize as Mariyappan did) but they will always be our true heroes who will continue to inspire many other able-bodied people in our country.

Who is more disabled?

An open book called My Life

redefining relationships - incredible opinions

An average person checks his/her phone 116 times a day and smartphone users check facebook 14 times a day. If these statistics don't shock you, then you must know that almost 79% of the smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up and the rest of the day follows with facebook, whatsapp messaging, tweeting, skyping, facetiming and instagramming.

When I moved to a new country 9 years ago, social media was a bliss for me which helped me overcoming my homesickness to an extent by keeping me connected with my family and friends in India. I could see them in real time and could participate in any family activity even by sitting 50,000 miles away.

USE and ABUSE

There is always a fine line between using and abusing the technology. It should only be used to access what is inaccessible, not to make us slackers and dependent on it. If it has connected the world and narrowed the geographical boundaries, it has also created a sense of disconnection.

Do you think your number of facebook friends determine your real friends in life? Do you have time for all of them? Do you really cherish your friendship with all of them?

The quality of relationships has changed over the years due to the impact of technology. Since I have seen the time before smartphones ruined the relationships, I think people were more considerate towards each other and relationships used to have personal touch. Instead of just interacting online via social media platforms, people would actually meet and conversed happily more often. They would put time and energy in building long lasting relationships. Relationships back then would not end just by unfriending someone on facebook, unfollowing someone on twitter or blocking someone on instagram.

Photo credit: scoop.it

Conversations have nearly died at the dinner table when everyone is paying attention to their smartphones and not to their family. An emoticon of hug, smile and surprise is never going to justify your emotions than if they are expressed in person. Also, misunderstandings are easily created during online conversations because non-verbal communications never justify the arguments and claims.

The video embedded below is a lesson for all of us to not indulge our coming generations into this black hole of technology. Instead of regretting it later that our children lack empathy and don't have time for us, let us nip this evil in the bud and let them not be emotionless. The least we can do to not let them turn into emotionless robots, is to keep them away from technological gadgets as long as we can unless they really need them.

Undoubtedly, the technology has shrunk the world but it has widened the distances in the relationships. The onus is again on us to make a fair judgement on when and how to use it and to always keep it in mind that "Man has created a machine and not machine created a man". Let's just remain human instead of robots keeping our personal touch and sentiments alive.

Redefining Relationships

Young Girls are NOT Brides - incredible opinions

Image source: www.atlantic.com

Imagine, one day your daughter's best friend does not show up at school and you find out that she is being forced into a marriage at a tender age of 14. What will you do?

Well, you'll be surprised to know that someone's friend is forced into such marriage every 2 seconds in the world, if not your daughter's.

CHILD MARRIAGE - A global problem too long ignored

A marriage is considered as a "child marriage" if it takes place before the age of 18. This practice is more common in girls than boys. A practice which robs the girl of an opportunity to get education, a better health and a choice of whom and when to marry.

The alarming statistics from UN (United Nations) show that around 39,000 young girls are married every day before the age of 18. By the end of the year 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides, out of those 50 million will be under the age of 15.

1 in 3 girls in the developing countries are married before they reach the age of 18 and 1 in 9 girls are married before hitting the age of 15. There are almost 400 million women in the world aged 20-49 who were married before the age of 18.

While countries with the highest prevalence of child marriages are concentrated in Western and Sub-Saharan Africa, due to increase in population size, the most number of child brides reside in South Asia.

Child marriage is the 'socially licensed sexual abuse and exploitation of a child'.
Forum on the Marriage and the Rights of Women and Girls

child marriage statistics-unicef-incredible-opinions

image source: www.unicef.org

REASONS OF CHILD MARRIAGE

When young girls are forced into early marriage, it is their time to enjoy their childhood and get the basic education. Here are the basic reasons of child marriage across the world:

Poverty: More than half of the girls in the poorest families of the developing world are married as children. Marriage is seen as their security option when the poverty is acute. The parents also believe that marrying off their daughter early will also leave them one less person to feed in the family. Moreover, if the girl is very young and uneducated, they end up paying less dowry for her.
Genetic: Most of the early marriages happen in some parts of the world because they have been happening in their families from generations. It is a part of their culture and tradition. In some communities, a girl is considered a woman as soon as she has her first periods. She is then forced into another phase of womanhood by becoming someone's wife and then mother. In some cultures, a young girl is married presuming she is a virgin which is a big credit for her family's honour, robbing of her own dignity and honour.
Inequality: Gender inequality is another major reason for child marriages. Most of the families involved in child marriages prefer boy child to their girl child. They prefer to spend money and resources on the upbringing of their boys while girls are considered just an economic burden. They try to get rid of them by marrying them off early so that this economic burden can be further shifted to her husband. Most of the time, girls don't have a say in this because she is not the decision maker in the family. It is the father, the male member, who takes all the decisions.
Insecurity: Another reason for child marriage is girl's insecurity. In order to prevent girls from being physically and sexually harassed or assaulted in the vulnerable neighbourhood, parents tend to marry them off as soon as possible so that they can secure their married life irrespective of their age. They tend to think that it is in her best interest. Sometimes, a girl also thinks that marriage is the only way to escape the challenges of her current life and she agrees to get married at a young age.
Inadequate laws: It is not true that there are no laws against child marriages. The laws are just not enforced properly. In India, the laws against child marriages have been placed since 1929 but India has the most number of child brides in the world due to its population. About 47% of the girls in India are married before their 18th birthday.

EFFECTS OF CHILD MARRIAGE

Child marriage is a fundamental violation of human rights. It puts the child bride under certain risks and those risks involve her physical health as well as psychological well-being.

Poverty: Child marriage means end of the childhood, forcing the child into a matured life which is full of violence, deprived of education and her economic growth. The girl cannot contribute towards her own and her family's economic development. She is more likely to be poor and remains poverty stricken all her life.
Poor health: Child brides face high risk of injury or death. The girls who give birth before the age of 15 are 5 times more likely to die in their childbirth than the girls in their 20s. Also, their children are less likely to live beyond their 1st birthday. Child brides also face more risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases because their husbands are generally old and they have more sexual experience. Girls between the age of 15 to 19 are 2 to 6 times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than boys of the same age in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Domestic Violence: Child brides are more likely to experience domestic violence than their peers who marry later. It has been reported that child brides are slapped, threatened, and beaten by their husbands. They are more likely to describe their first sexual experience as forced. They are also more likely to show the symptoms of sexual abuse and posttraumatic stress such as feelings of depression and hopelessness.

WHO CAN DO WHAT?

Parents: Parents can refuse to marry their children off at any cost. They should deny any dowry practice which lays the foundation of the greed for marrying their children off. Also, they can practise gender equality amongst their children so that the girl children should not feel deprived of any opportunities and do not think themselves as an economic burden on the family.
Male Partners: Boys and the older men marrying a young bride can speak up against their marriage. They can refuse to marry a child bride. Being a male member of the family, their consent will more likely to be heard than the girls whom they are marrying to.
Government: The local government bodies can enforce stricter laws and policies which cannot let any child marriages happen in the neighbourhood. They should enforce laws which make it mandatory to check ages of the bride and the groom before their marriage.
Girls: Although girls don't have much to say in these matters when they are married off young, they can support each other and can take a collective action if such marriages are happening to their friends. They can educate themselves by staying in the school and let nobody be anybody's child bride.

Young girls are NOT brides

Why the Kapil Sharma Show is so popular - Incredible Opinions

India comes to a halt for an hour on the weekends from 9pm to 10pm. Ask someone who lives in a foreign country and tried calling the family on the weekends got an answer, "Call us after 10, we are watching the Kapil Sharma show." Seriously???

Why is 'The Kapil Sharma Show' so popular?

According to Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), there are 832 channels in India. These 832 channels have unlimited number of shows which run 24x7 on the screen. There was an era of saas-bahu where everyone would (specially ladies) stick to their television sets for the tear-jerking dramas between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Even though, this era hasn't diminished completely but the taste of the audience has definitely changed. With 356 million youths (the most number of 10-24 year-olds in the world, even more than China) India is in the need of quick witted humour and fast entertainer which is undoubtedly filled by Kapil Sharma.

The Kapil Sharma show is very popular and is probably liked for following reasons:

No derogatory or double meaning jokes: Kapil Sharma's comedy is better than most of the comedy series we see on other channels. His comedy is mostly neat and is free from double meaning jokes.
For all age groups: Kapil's show offers entertainment to all the age groups. Children love to watch his comedy too. His jokes are mostly family oriented which we all can laugh at while sitting with the whole family.
Personable: Kapil's show has a format of interacting with audience which connects the host and the celebrity guests to the common man. He also has the skill to do it in common man's way that the audience feel themselves connected to the family portrayed on the stage.
Celebrities: The concept of bringing celebrities or rather celebrities coming to promote their movies keeps the audience glued to their TV sets. Connecting celebrities to the audience with their conversations make audience believe that the celebrities are also approachable and they get to know more about their favourites celebrities.
Navjot Singh Sidhu: His witty jokes, "thoko taali" and above all his perfectly timed shayari make Navjot Singh Sidhu a much desirable part of the Kapil Sharma show. His laughter which is often on not-so-funny jokes induces laughter.

I, personally, love this show. I do not like slapstick comedy which causes physical hurt but is a laughter for some people. In a country where people look for entertainment in anything when they are tired after a long day's work, they do not care if the comedy is even making sense or not. All they want is entertainment before the hectic start of the weekdays and the Kapil Sharma show seems to be doing it.

Why the Kapil Sharma Show is a hit ?

When thought of writing and researching about a country I knew the least about, I couldn't resist thinking about India. The country where I was born and to whom I owe my heritage is full of paradoxical mysteries. The land of linguistic, cultural, racial and culinary diversity often seems to be generalised and stereotyped. I seem to know a lot yet feel ignorant when it comes to facts about India.

Sharing some facts about India which I researched about:

If you are a non-Indian:It is illegal to keep Indian passport if you acquired citizenship of another country. Also, it is illegal for foreigners or non-Indians to take Indian currency (₹) out of India.
The most expensive home: Mukesh Ambani's "Antilia" is the most expensive private home on this planet constructed with whopping $689 million and the cost of the land contributing together towards $ 1 billion . It has 27 floors, 3 helipads, 6-floor car park, 4-storey hanging garden, a cinema and around 600 staff members working in it 24x7.

Source
The largest civilian evacuation operation in the history of mankind: Only after watching Airlift, a recent bollywood movie of Akshay Kumar, I found out about the civilian evacuation operation which was successfully completed by Indian Government with the help of Air India . It was indeed the largest civilian evacuation operation done ever in the world which saved the lives of 1,70,000 Indians stranded in Kuwait during Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Indians living in Kuwait had nowhere to go and were scared of their lives. Over the course of 59 days, it took 488 Air India flights to evacuate all the stranded Indians from Kuwait to India for which Air India still holds the Guinness Book of World Record.
Dolphins cannot be kept captive: India is fourth and the largest country to put a ban on captivating dolphins. According to the scientists who researched on dolphins stated that dolphins have high intelligence and sensitivity closer to humans and thus can be regarded as "non-human persons". They should also have their own rights and it is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment reasons.
Unbeaten Kabaddi world cup winners: India has never been beaten in any of the Kabaddi world cups ever held till date. Both in men's and women's category, India has been invincible in any of the league games of Kabaddi and has always won the world cup for the country.

Source
Stark financial inequality: According to the Asia-Pacific 2016 Wealth Report by New World Wealth, India is amongst the top 5 nations in Asia Pacific with her total numbers of individuals whose net worth is $1 million or more. India ranks 4th on the list with 2,36,000 such high net worth individuals. In correlation to the above achievement, India is also at the bottom of per capita income. Even though the World Bank's data shows that India's gross national income per person has increased from previous years but it is solely due to the addition of new millionaires into the list rather than the overall increase in income levels. Sadly, to buy a big mac from McDonald's in India, an average person has to work 6 hours.
The largest free kitchen inside Golden Temple: Everyone knows that Golden Temple is Mecca of Sikhs but this is not entirely true. Golden Temple, also known as Shri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar city of Punjab, feeds more than 100,000 people every day irrespective of their religion, race and class. The food is entirely free and never runs out at this holy shrine. The langar or free kitchen service is practised in the temple everyday where everyone, sits cross-legged, row upon row and enjoys the food without paying anything for the food.

Source
Pollution - a silent killer: According to a report by Global Burden of Disease (GBD), outdoor air pollution is 5th largest killer in India. Nearly 100,000 premature deaths happen in India due to air pollution. World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Delhi as the most polluted city in the world surpassing Beijing which puts residents of Delhi at a high risk of respiratory diseases and lung cancer. The air that school children in Delhi breathe is 4 times more toxic than the required safety limit. Similarly, breathing the air in Mumbai for just one day is equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes. Approximately 30 million people in India including children suffer from Asthma.
More mobiles than toilets: The world's second most populous country has surprisingly more mobiles than toilets. A report by Water Aid shows that approximately 774,222,300 people in India alone out of 2.3 billion people of the world, do not have access to a safe and private toilet. This means that more than 60% of India's population does not have access to sanitation and it invites diarrhoea and other diseases due to the lack of sanitation in children. On the other hand, there are 1,017,968,757 mobile connections in India which means 80% of the population has mobile connections.
Banned alcohol consumption: Alcohol consumption is banned in 5 Indian states namely Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur and Lakshadweep (Union Territory). Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu had previously imposed the ban but were forced to withdraw the ban. Drinking age also varies in different states from 18 years to 25 years. 30% of Indian population consumes alcohol on regular basis where 11% of them are moderate to heavy drinkers. An average rural Indian consumes more alcohol than an urban Indian. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Sikkim and Puducherry are among the highest consumers of alcohol and spirits in the country.

If you know some more facts about India, please share.
Writing for In^dispire topic116.

The country I know the most and the least about

10 public transport etiquettes one must follow - incredible opinions

Public transport is a bliss for those who travel everyday. I travel 78 kilometres to work everyday using public train. I prefer public transport to driving for myself because of its advantages over driving by myself. It takes you from one place to another without worrying about driving when you are tired, no parking problem, cheaper option than spending money on petrol and it is environment friendly as well. Since public transport is shared by so many people, it comes with some common etiquettes and rules which we all should practice with respect and courtesy.

I have compiled a list of some of the public transport etiquettes, based on personal experience and shared by friends, which can be practised to ensure a positive experience for everyone using the public transport.

Wait in a line: When you are waiting for the bus/train to arrive, it is courteous to stand in a proper queue. When the bus/train arrives, it is respectful if you let people who are in the queue ahead of you board the bus/train first. Do not push anyone and wait for your turn.
Let passengers exit first: Do not try to board the bus/train when there are other passengers who are ready to get off the bus/train. Let them exit first so that there is enough room for everyone to get in the bus/train rather than stuffing the bus/train and making it difficult for the exiting passengers.
Do not block seats: If you have paid for one seat then use only one seat in the bus/train. Do not block other seats with your bag, luggage or your legs. Other passengers have the same right to use the seats in the bus/train as you.
Do not lean against the pole: If you don't get a seat in a crowded bus/train and you are standing, you should be considerate about the other standing passengers. The poles in the bus/train are there to hold while standing and to avoid any fall off. Do not lean against them so that there is no space for other passengers to grab it while standing and consequently, causing inconvenience to them. Always stand parallel in the direction of the moving bus/train to avoid falling off.
Make space for everyone: If you are sitting on the outer seat and your adjacent seat is vacant in the bus/train, let other people use it. Make a way for them to pass through nicely rather than frowning at them as if they have disturbed you. Also, remove your backpacks or heavy bags while standing and place them near your feet so that you can make more space for other passengers.
Do not talk loud: Another courteous behaviour we all should practice in the public transport is to control the level of noise. Do not talk with your friends or anyone in the bus/train loudly. Avoid talking on the phone loudly as well and put your phone on vibration mode so that it does not ring loudly in the bus/train making other passengers uncomfortable. Make conversations quietly as you are in a library, respecting the fellow passengers. Others may be reading a book or taking a nap after a long working day.
Respect the seating priorities: If certain seats are reserved for disabled, elderly or pregnant ladies, respect the priority seating. If you are not disabled, elderly or pregnant and are sitting on one of the designated priority seats, it is respectful and required to give up your seat for a person who needs it more than you.
Keep the volume down: It has been so common these days that people have their earphones banging with such a loud music that it is audible to everyone in the bus/train. Keep your music to yourself only and turn down the volume so that it is only audible to you. It is not only bad for your own ear drums to listen to loud music but also causing inconvenience to other fellow passengers.
Avoid eating food with pungent smell: It is always advisable to avoid food and drinks in the public transport and be considerate about the fellow passengers. A bottle of water is acceptable but eating food with pungent smell makes the fellow passengers so inconvenient. This malpractice not only can cause litter or spills in the bus/train but also makes fellow passengers disgusted at what or how you are eating.
Respect transit time: When your stop is about to approach, try moving closer to the doors of the bus/train so that you do not waste any more time to get off. Respect the transit time as well because they also respect you and your time making you reach your destination on time safe and sound.

If you can think of any other public transport etiquette, please share in the comments.

10 Public Transport Etiquettes one must follow

when IPL becomes more important than thirsty Maharashtra

Once again the IPL season is here. For a country where cricket is considered a religion, IPL is treated as a religious festival where people celebrate their favourite teams and players. Needless to mention that IPL stands for Indian Premier League which is the most attended cricket league in the world and contributed US $182 million to the GDP of Indian economy in 2015.

The winner of 2015 IPL season was Mumbai Indians team who has Mumbai as its home ground. Mumbai Cricket Association was recently in the news after Bombay High court thrashed BCCI and cricket associations for wasting so much of water in the state for making cricket grounds look lush green and better for cameras where the same state is suffering from the worst hit drought in a century.

An NGO called Loksatta Movement filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and Bombay High Court acting strictly on it called water wastage in IPL matches "a criminal activity". About 60 lakhs litres of water is going to be wasted in three cricket grounds for 20 matches in Maharashtra state where people are dying due to the shortage of potable water.

Marathwada and Latur areas are worst hit by drought. Amravati division have many cases of farmers committing suicides. The situation is worsening but it could have been controlled a bit if our governing bodies would have acted little earlier. Since court has asked BCCI to shift their remaining matches from Maharashtra to other states, BCCI is worried about financial loss since all the tickets have been sold already. Changing venues and refunding tickets would incur a big financial loss.

Mumbai Cricket Association claimed that they have used only non-potable water for cricket fields. Their argument did not satisfied the court as this water could also be used for farming which also needs water.

Being a cricket fan myself, I cannot deny my own love for IPL but when it comes to priorities, a source of entertainment cannot take priority over someone's life. More youth should come forward and support the cause so that no more water is wasted where people are dying to buy 10 litres of water for Rs. 150.

Let us make thirsty people of Maharashtra win IPL this season!

When IPL becomes more important than thirsty Maharashtra

Sidharth Sharma - age 32.

Have you heard this name anywhere in the news recently?

Sidharth Sharma, 32, a marketing consultant, was killed by a speeding Mercedes on April 4 in Delhi's Civil Lines area. The driver of the Mercedes was a rich spoilt brat who took his father's car out to celebrate his time after board exams with his friends and ultimately causing grief to another family for whom Sidharth was the only breadwinner son.

The CCTV footage is all over the internet which clearly shows how the speeding Mercedes flung Sidharth about 15-20 metres in the air and he landed about 10 metres away from where he was standing initially. According to some eye witnesses, 5-6 boys, who are later claimed as teenagers, spilled out of the car and fled the scene.

The driver of the car was identified later and charged under Juvenile Justice Act. Since he is juvenile, his name can't be released. If found guilty, he will be charged with maximum fine of Rs.1000 and/or probably 3 months in juvenile custody. His father will be charged with rash and negligent driving and will probably be spending 2 years in imprisonment (if found guilty).

Coming from a family who lost their oldest son 12 years ago in the same kind of hit and run case when a rich spoilt brat was responsible for putting my whole family into the grief, I could not resist writing about it. Since the accused was juvenile and rich, it was easy for him to get away with it so easily not even considering the victim who was also 21 at the time of his last breath and just started his modelling career.

This most recent incident of hit and run in Delhi is yet another accident in which a rich will get away with their money and the victim's family will keep on fighting for the justice. Who do you think is the real criminal?

In my humble opinion, the real criminals are the parents who let their kids go and drive in busy streets and never strictly tell them the consequences of rash driving. How did the juvenile get the driving license? In a recent police report, it is found that the same juvenile who killed Sidharth was earlier penalised thrice by traffic police in April and June last year along with wrong parking in February. If the parents didn't find all these penalties against their son as eye openers, what else were they waiting for? How come juvenile has a driving license but he cannot be charged as an adult in the accident case.

The law must take its course and we do have strong faith in our country's law. The parents should be stricter towards their children and should decide if they are mature enough to be behind the wheels. They may not be dangerous to themselves but how about other people on the roads?

Not sure how long the legal battle is going to be between Sidharth's family and the accused, the former has definitely lost their son whose loss is irreparable. I wish people who flee from the accident spot have little emotional space in their hearts and they can take the victim to the nearby hospital rather than fleeing away? If this could have happened, my brother and Sidharth would have been alive today!

#justiceforsidharth

Hit and Run and then a long battle of justice

When Virat Kohli defended Anushka Sharma

Love food and hate waste - say no to the food waste

My friends love Indian food. None of them belongs to India but they crave for butter chicken, curry, chai tea (as foreigners call it). Of course, it is our food that makes us special in the world. Indian food, famous for its spices which contribute to 70% of the total world spices, are famous and widely used by people worldwide.

Do you know that 195 million people of the same country sleep hungry every day?

This number is alarmingly increasing everyday. The world produces enough food to feed its whole population twice but still we have so many people going hungry every day. About one-third of the total food produced in the world is wasted which costs around $750 billion (according to Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation Report). Food production is not the main issue for chronic food insecurity in India. It produces enough food to feed the growing population.

The shocking thing is, the high proportion of the food produced sometimes doesn't reach the consumers.

India, alone, wastes as much food as the whole of United Kingdom consumes. If this statistic is not shocking enough, another one which says that India wastes more food than China in Asia, cannot be ignored at all.

An estimated 21 million tons of wheat is wasted in India in one year which is the same amount of wheat produced by Australia in a year.

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures and tracks hunger globally, regionally and by country. The higher the score, the hunger situation is worse and lower the rank. India ranks 55 out of 76 countries which is still better than the last rank of 63. The neighbouring countries like SriLanka (39), Nepal (44) and Bangladesh (49) still rank better than India where hunger is considered a curse too.

Another infographic by Rick Westhead showing major food wastage in India:

Reasons of food waste

The main reasons of food wastage in India are poor storage, poor transportation and poor management. The poor storage facilities account for food to be eaten by insects or it rots in the open grounds in the worst weather conditions which makes it inedible. There are only a few cold-storages in India which can store only 10% of the perishable food leaving 370 million tons of perishable food at stake. Lack of electricity which also doesn't let food items to refrigerate properly also accounts for that food to be wasted. Poor management and ever growing corruption in the food departments make it worse.

India's large Grain Drain
Source

Effects of food waste

The amount of fresh water needed to cook food every year in India, which is ultimately wasted, is about 230 cubic kilometres. This is over the quarter of the global total. Coming from a country where many people do not have access to the fresh drinking water, these figures are deeply heart breaking.
In a country where food worth Rs 58,000 crore is wasted every year (40% of the total production), 3000 children die everyday because of hunger and malnutrition.
37%-80% of rice is wasted in Southeast Asia every year. The rice crop emits methane which is a global warming gas. Therefore, the more the wastage, the bigger is the environmental impact.
A large part of land in India is used to grow food crops. The farmers end up taking loans to grow better quality crops with better techniques and fertilizers in their fields. Some even commit suicide when they are unable to pay it back. It is unfortunate that the food produced by them is ultimately wasted on a large scale and they didn't even live up to feed their families.

Solutions on a personal level

Charity begins at home. Before asking other people or blaming governments for not taking proper measures to control the food waste, we must control the food wastage at our homes.
Some steps we can take to avoid food waste on our ends:

Make a shopping list of grocery items and plan your meals for the week. Most of the times we do not end up eating everything we buy which ultimately, is thrown away.
Try to make small plate for yourself instead of filling it to the brim. You can always have more but there is no other solution to the filled plate when you can't eat more except dumping the rest of the food in the dustbin. If you are going to weddings, functions, social parties etc, this trick works a lot.
In the smart world with smart phones or gadgets, have a smart app to remind you of the expiry dates of the food items so that you don't have to throw it away when it is expired and you can consume it before it expires.
It never hurts to eat the leftover food the next day.
If you have a wedding or any other function at home, you'll definitely have a lot of leftover food. Instead of throwing it away, try finding a place nearby where you can deliver food to the poor and the needy. Some organisations like Feeding India works towards rescuing excess food and utilizing it for efficiently.
There is a solution to leftovers, you can always freeze them and reuse them later. Bruised fruits can be blended in smoothies.
There is nothing better than cooking at home and if you cook not in excess, that makes you waste less.
The best habit to practice - don't leave leftover in your plate.

The governments in the recent years have tried to increase the total production of the food to look better on the overall ranking of Global Hunger Index but there is no such decrease in food wastage happening around the whole country.

In a few years, when India will not have enough arable land for farming, how would she feed her children?

Love food and hate waste - say no to the food waste

Do you love your hair like everyone else?
Do you love it when someone compliments you for your beautiful hair?

Of course! right?
I do too and like every other woman, I blush too when someone compliments my hair.
Wouldn't it be nice if share my beautiful hair with someone else too? The idea of donating my hair rang in my head a few months ago and I started researching more about it.

I must admit that it was not easy for me to get my 14" of hair chopped specially when I have been very possessive about them. It did take me a while to land up at the door of salon to ask the lady to chop it off. It was the first haircut for me in 18 years (it stopped growing any longer after sometime) and the result was amazing!

Locks of love - hair donation - incredible opinions

It takes 6 ponytails to make a wig. Donated hair is used in making wigs or hair extensions for the people who suffer from hair loss due to chemotherapy in cancer treatment. There are other medical conditions as well which result in permanent hair loss. Losing hair for cancer patients is the one of the biggest social stigmas and they worry about their appearances and people's perception towards them. Wigs help them to conceal their illness and they embrace their appearance with positive attitude.

Wigs are not cheap at all and not everyone is financially blessed to afford wigs. The patients must be paying hefty sum of money for their treatment already. Real-hair wigs which look more natural do cost a lot. Someone who is going through physical and emotional pain, it is very difficult to pay for a wig.

REQUIREMENTS

Even though it is a nice gesture to donate your hair for a cause but there are certain requirements that your hair must fulfill in order for it to be used in a wig.

Must be minimum of 10" long.
Should not be dyed, bleached or chemically treated.
Should not be more than 5% gray.

The dyed, bleached or chemically treated hair is not accepted as a donation because when 6 or more ponytails from different people are dyed together to give natural look to the wig, they do not absorb the dye at the same rate and the result will not look natural. Another reason for not accepting chemically treated hair for donation is also its fragility which makes it very to be woven into a wig.

HOW TO DONATE

While researching for hair donations, I found many people who want to donate their hair but they don't how to do it. Here is a little try from me to illustrate it.

After you ensure that your hair meet the requirements for the donation, you can go to the salon or follow the instructions yourself.

steps of hair donation - incredible opinions

Image source

Wash and clean your hair without using any additional hair styling products like hairspray.
Gather your hair from the nape of your neck.
Create a ponytail or a braid with an elastic band. It should be tight enough to hold the hair because if hair comes out of it, the lose hair can't be used in donation.
At the bottom of the ponytail or the braid, tie another elastic band to hold the ponytail from the bottom.
Measure the ponytail if it is minimum 10" long. You can donate as much as you want but it is a minimum requirement for the donation.
Cut the ponytail just above the top elastic band so that the elastic band is included in the ponytail.
Put the ponytail in the plastic bag and seal it properly.
Just drop it off in person or mail it to the organisation near you who accepts hair donation.

It is a highly labour intensive process to weave a wig of real-hair and it takes almost 40-100 hours to make one. So, while following the above process, one should ensure that nobody's efforts are wasted.

In India, there are many organisations who work towards making free wigs for patients who bear the hair loss due to medical conditions. One of them is famous non-profit NGO Hair Aid. Another being Hair for hope.

I donated mine to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, Canada. Sharing a beautiful letter that I received after they decided to use my hair in making a wig.

pantene beautiful lengths - incredible opinions

Wigs of real-hair make patients feel more socially normal. To boost the confidence in them that they can fight the disease, they need to fight the anomalies first which make them look different than others. The appearance of a strong and healthy hair is a first sign of healthy mind and we can definitely make someone feel the same too. You can always grow your hair later after the donation but the joy and the strength you are giving to somebody is inexplicable.

So next time, do give it a thought when going for a haircut, can your hair be used for a donation instead of just throwing it away?

Locks Of Love - Donating hair for a cause

Love thy neighbour - incredible opinions

God forbid if there is an emergency at your home, whom will you approach first?
Relatives?
Friends?
Neighbours?
Yes! You are absolutely right. Neighbours!

You cannot deny the existence of a neighbour as everyone in the world has at least one neighbour but in the rat race of fame and success these days, we are probably ignoring their importance.

I thank my stars for being born and brought up in India where neighbours are still considered the vital part of our social life. They are the first to be approached in times of sorrow, happiness or any emergency situation due to their proximity. Neighbours, if you are blessed with the good ones, can make your life smooth in the neighbourhood and if you are cursed with the bad ones, you might have to be patient with them or just try to ignore their existence which is quite arduous.

I have neighbour's bliss in Toronto as well. Last year, when we moved to our new house, the ‘desi’ instinct in me was inquisitive to know who would be our new neighbours. We were excited to know that our neighbours were from Pakistan and they were equally excited to know it too. Our attitude towards our neighbours should not change irrespective of their background and this wisdom has been bestowed upon us by our very own multi-cultural and diverse country, India.

A good neighbour is a priceless treasure. Chinese Proverb

From cricket match practices to hitting gym, my husband prefers next door Bhaiya’s company where Bhabhiji tries to make unsuccessful attempts to teach me how to cook properly. We celebrate Eid with them and they celebrate Diwali with us. Their little girl of 3 years is always on lookout for her favourite uncle and auntie when she gets the glimpse of us from her glass window. We chat hours about Bollywood movies and soap operas.Watching India-Pakistan cricket matches together is the best part of our neighbourhood friendship when Bhabhiji displays the best of her cooking skills and I tend to babysit her younger daughter of 3 months.

In general, neighbours are always inspirational. In today’s world, where we have nuclear families, children get opportunities to learn from neighbours. We learn from each other’s experiences.There are lots of misconceptions about different faiths. Living together in the same neighbourhood erases the cultural barriers and opens the path of building a better community around us which is free of prejudices and hatred.

I read an article the other day by Aarefa Johari, a Mumbai-based journalist where she described her hospitality by Pakistanis while she was at a conference in Islamabad. You can read the article here.

There is so much hype and animosity against Pakistani people perpetuated by media and government agencies that has poisoned our minds. Every society has good and bad people. Let’s not generalize group of people and just like a good neighbour live in peace and harmony. Let’s forget about appearances, backgrounds and any other prejudices which affect our relationship with people living close to us. It does not take a big effort from all of us in creating such a harmonious and peaceful environment around us.

Love Thy Neighbour

Think forward not backward - birth never decides worth

Once again, the beautiful state of Haryana who has produced legends like Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag, Vijender Singh and Saina Nehwal, is gripped by riots. It has been more than 10 days and the state of Haryana is bursting with protests, anger and violation.

Jats are demanding themselves to be included in Backward Class (BC) quota so that they can get reservation in jobs and education. In order to convince the Government and to make their voices heard, they are causing violent disturbances in the state due to which 19 people have already lost their lives. Army has been deployed to clear the blockades caused by the protesters which were affecting the communication network and water supply to the areas needing them the most.

Hardik Patel from Gujarat and now Jat community in Haryana - same demand, same social ruckus. How justified are they for their demands by causing such an upheaval?

Jats in Haryana are considered quite well off and acquire huge land mass. They are basically from a farming community but they have good economic status in Haryana, Punjab and some parts of UP. Why, on earth, are they demanding such an uncorroborated reservation in jobs and asking themselves to be included in Backward Class. Their protests have already cost the damage of Rs. 34,000 crore to North Indian states. (source:NDTV).

In India most of the scholarships or student aid is available only for OBC's, SC, ST, BC, Women, Minorities & Muslims. Around only 0.7% of scholarships or student aid in India is based on merit. Source

'Secular' and democratic India has been ironically shackled by the reservation system in place based on 'castes'. Reservations were introduced in India only to uplift the lower strata of the society so that they could have equal opportunities in jobs and education. The situation has changed after 68 years of independence. The lower strata of the society cannot be calculated merely on the caste system. Economic factors play major role. A poor is a poor irrespective of his caste, so why caste is the main component for providing opportunities? Why a (BC) backward class person having basic luxuries of life and education should be given more opportunities than a poor person whose caste is probably not among the BC or OBC category? Either reservation system should be abolished completely or should be applicable only to the economically weak strata.

In 2016, where people leave no stone unturned to move forward, we Indians are still convincing our Government to include us in backward categories to avail ourselves of the opportunities which we don't deserve otherwise.

Government of India should take relevant steps in solving this unjustified reservation demands by Jat community. If Jats are holding the whole Northern India at ransom to convince governments to meet their demands, do they really deserve reservation? If somehow, government accepts their demands, they should better be ready for the storm of agitation in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.