What would you do if you were asked to “see” sounds inside your head? Resist vociferously and say that sounds can only be heard and not be seen? Well then, if you are new to the concept of creating more

India Rocks! A phrase I come across quite often. A phrase people use when a person is happy . A happy satisfied person . Happy and satisfied with India. But again there are many a time when there is quite a lot of India bashing happening too.What is the general picture? Satisfied or Dissatisfied? On this independence day We at fried eye decided to conduct a poll to see what exactly do people think? India Rocks? Or India in a rocky ground? This is here what India thinks. The question- what does independence and indipendence day mean to you? Evoked the following responses from our responders picked up from among different strata and age group of people.

Dr Jayati – Independence day? What does a single day of celebration mean when there is a static thought through out the year- India is the most independent country which follows independence to the T. Everywhere you look people peeing, spitting , abusing … Independence to break all rules , all norms, Independence to trash everything- from movies books sports politics- without giving a thought to consequences. Independence to be heard whenever you feel like speaking. Independence to criticise even if you don’t have the capability to produce tenth of that result yourself. Am I being sarcastic? I don’t know about that, but yes I am behaving independently and I will be lying if I say I don’t enjoy this freedom.
Srajan- ( Tenth standard student)- Independence? You are asking a teenager what Independence means? An Indian teenager? In Indian tradition, a teenager has to imagine the meaning of Independence after reading it in Wikipedia. We are called the future of our country , but at home or schools or public places, how much of our opinion is being asked for. It is only in isolated polls as yours do they bother to voice our thoughts. As for the significance of Independence day , well its more commercialization in the name of celebrations and awareness. Look at the Malls, Complexes shamelessly promoting their products in the name of Independence day without even bothering to instill an iota of Patriotism. Do you really see any Patriotism these days? We just come to hear about it in movies and books.

Rupali – A BE student- Independence and Independence day – though I am not much into demonstration , but deep in my heart this as an Ideology was very dear to me, very important to me. It told me about the struggles and fight of those people who dared to be different and had the heart to fight for what they believed and wanted for themselves and for the next generation. Over and above a fight for Independence It was a fight against the power system which was not only corrupt but also unfair, unjust and cruel too. ( mind you, if they had been a just and a fair system, I don’t think people would have bothered much about freedom) But sadly , now the power system has again shifted to such a state even after being that of an Independent country

Ganga –(maid) (smilingly shyly) There is a parade. They fly kites. Yes they drove away the Angrez on this day. Aur bas kya bolu!
Het raam Rickshaw wala- Hamare liye koi Azaadi nahin hai .. . ( there is no freedom for us We still struggle. We still suffer. We are still neglected)

Leo – A techie from Bangalore and an Avid blogger who blogs at http://leonnyes.wordpress.com had this to say.
Independence, that word says we’re self reliant.. but still, no one is completely independent I feel. We all rely on someone else for something or the other in life.. be it our parents, or our better half, or our friends.. sometimes even strangers.. that word means we try our best to depend on ourselves more than we depend on these people.. We try to make our own decisions.. make our own way in life… like, we can take care of ourselves.. yet not being alone in that care.

Independence Day, well, firstly it means a holiday to me. Used to be from school, then from college, now from work. But on a wider perspective if you see, India is not really independent, or free. We can’t really take our own decisions, some decisions are forced on us, and the echo of silence goes unheard. There are people out there who aren’t free.. women who are abused, and killed in the name of honor.. farmers who kill themselves because the “governments” decision are forced on them, the common man who is held captive to the rising economy.. babies which die without even seeing the first light.. cruel murders which weren’t even the victim’s fault.. a hefty fine for us breaking the smallest rule whereas the “government” authorities can break it and they escape scot-free.. Independence Day is not yet true in all respects.. we’re just free of the British ruling us.. only who rules has changed, the ruling has not… and if a blind eye continues to be cast on such notions, India will not be truly independent in the sense of the word.

Gyanban- A blogger from Singapore shared his thoughts with us. He blogs in www.gyanban.com

It started as a holiday,then changed to a dry day, moved on swiftly to a long weekend plan,then a family outing…

Independence day is an uncomfortable reminder to me – of how little I am doing for my country,and how much I’ve grown to extract from it. Being in a foreign land,I realise every bit of freedom that my country offered and how little I valued it when I was in India.

As a principle I have stopped questioning how my country is being run…I will question again, when I am doing something about it.

Till then I am thankful and will be eternally grateful to those who chose to take responsibility.
And Again as I said-What was once a single dream for thousands of years is a harsh reality now of 63 years.

The idea is to find a balance.No form of extremism is good for any one in this planet – whether it is about a thought,action or culture.Not once dare I say it is easy.But it is the right direction…..at least till the current mass consensus lasts.!

I happened to come across Sumanta Baruah’s name during a chance conversation with a friend of mine. more

I remember how as kids we would look forward to summer vacations as the only time we got to watch TV for more than an hour a day; when books on the table became something to be dusted once a week and more

© Ankit Atreja

When Pramathesh first sent me the contact number of Jim Ankan Deka, asking me to meet him and talk to him while I was in Bangalore, my first feeling was that of nervousness. The reason being that I had fallen in more

I don’t know it for sure when I was introduced to Mouchak, but it happened very early in my childhood. It was a conscious decision by both my parents to ensure that more

Hi, I am Sripng. Yup, you got it and I did na fumble. I never met sumone so far in life who could pronounce ma name correctly. I don’t know what was in ma parents’ mind when they named me such.
The only memory I have about ma parents is the bloody name I have. I was dumped in the church with a note sayin ma name. Church guys thought they may have a hard time callin me, but Father John stuck to the name. He loved me very much. more

It is Holi and (ahem! ) to make matters better it is an extended weekend too. So what do all men do in such a scenario? Well, almost all men at such times – I think, raid the wine shops, not all mind you, but almost all. Just curious , but what exactly do they buy? Of course I know alcohol, what else ! But what? What sells most? I mean, is it more

Air, water, earth -three elements of nature- How naturally they coexist. Each in perfect harmony with the other. If only it would have been this easy among us humans…to coexist…. without complications…without threatening the essence of each other… more

The Vaishnavite Bhauna tradition of Assam has evolved and adapted since its beginnings during the fifteenth century. One of the most written upon folk forms of Assamese culture today, the Bhauna (from the Sanskrit Bhavana meaning “display of/production”) risks being categorised as a homogeneous blanket form, However the differences in the presentation and performance of Bhaonas is subtle and hard to grasp by a layman unless he sees the different types in full action in first person. In one of my rambles among the nooks and corners of Kenduguri ,Jorhat, I got a chance to enjoy a Bhauna in progress at Charingiya Suk, No. 2 Brahmin Gaon. The Bhaona was occasioned by the reinstitution of the Manikut in the Naamghar and was based on the Bhagavata story of Bhakta Prahlad. The bar-sabah (congregation) was already hooked to the riveting tales of the sutradhar(narrator) at the time of our arrival. It took a while adjusting our eyes to the smoke and incense filled ambiance even though the age old gacha (large earthen chandeliers of multiple earthen lamps) and the ariya (torches) were overpowered by new age electric lights. The dialogues were riveting and the boy-actors (especially the ones in female roles or charitas) were both delicate and entertaining in their act. Needless to say, I was soon caught in the magic of the presentation and the innovative techniques used to produce the special effects left me very impressed. I managed to capture some moments of the humor-riddled narrative performed by the natuwas and bhaoriyas (performers), hope you have an enriching experience browsing through the same.

On 10th to 13th of this month, annual Pre-Bhogali mela was organized in NEDFi Haat, Guwahati. 70 self-help groups of women and NGOs from different parts of Assam set up stalls for selling different delicacies by different tribes. It was a very innovative step by NEDFi. The fair was very well organized and people enjoyed it very well. Bhogali Bihu shoppers from all over Guwahati and nearby areas thronged to NEDFi haat.
The fair not only had stalls selling Bihu delicacies but also a village like environment was created where different people were seen preparing the delicacies. This was very educational for the city kids as well. This was a major attraction of the fair and many people visited to the fair only because of this. As Dilip Dutta says, “I never buy pithas from the market. This is my first time. I came here for some fun and could not resist buying.”
Everything in the mela looked very well planned and the organizers have done a good job. “Bihu Gift Hampers” were a big hit. It is a package which has loskora (coconut laddoo), pitha, gur, til laddoo, malbhuk chira and maakhorai. Apart from the Assamese dishes, Nepali and Bengali delicacies were also seen, of which Seal Pitha and Akhoi Laddoo were the most popular.
As the melodious strains of Bihu songs fill the air, one can sit down and have a plate of sizzling hot tekeli pitha and a laddoo made from coconut and gur (jaggery) with a refreshing cup of tea.
On an overall, the fair was a major success with sales over 20 lakh and a very good customer experience. Each year, the fair is getting better and better and we hope to see more and more innovations in the forthcoming years.
more