Twenty- five Seven

Crime and Punishment

March 23, 2013
Ever since Sanjay Dutt has been sentenced to jail for a 5 year tern our TV anchors have been hosting debates on whether he should be pardoned or not.

Many people feel that Sanjay Dutt should be pardoned because
- The case is 20 years old and he has already “suffered” the fear of being arrested any time
- During the last 20 years he has had to ask for Court permission any time he wanted to travel abroad
- He has already spent 2 years in jail
- He is not convicted of being a terrorist – only of holding weapons
- He had not intended to misuse the weapons
- He has since his jail term been an exemplary citizen
- He was a misguided youth who didn’t know the antecedents or intention of the people he was keeping company with
- His parents have been good citizens and known social workers
- He has spread the message of Gandhi through his film “Munnabhai“
- He is married with three young children and this will upset his family
Many people feel Sanjay Dutt shouldn’t be pardoned because:
- A 33 year old is no Spring Chick and should be fully aware of the consequences of his action
- No one keeps AK 47s in his house just for fun. Especially in a country which requires a gun licence and bearing fire arms is a cognizable offence
- Sanjay Dutt is a celebrity but he is still accused of an offence and should be treated like any other ordinary citizen
Crime & Punishment are concepts that have many areas of grey. Offences in the past like drinking have now become legal. Similarly with changing social mores child marriage has become illegal while widow marriage is allowed. In our society abortions are legal while in others they are not. So morality, crime and punishment are entirely societal and subjective.

Who then is liable to punishment and who should go off scot free?
If a man is responsible for his actions and is willing to take the credit for his success, shouldn’t he also be able to take the punishment for his wrong doing?
If an 18 year old is fit enough to vote and get married is a 30 year old too young to know the error of his ways?

Personally speaking it was wrong of Sanjay Dutt to keep guns in his house. He was running around with the wrong crowd. He was a spoilt brat.

He may have become a successful film star but that does not exonerate him from his crime and if the court has deemed it fit that he got to jail he should.

Consider the following Jailable offences in India :
- The simple act of pulling the chain of a running train can land you in jail for 3 months
- Exploiting tribals from the Andamans can land you in jail for upto 7 years
- A Facebook “like” can land you in jail
- Disturbing a gathering engaged in religious worship can get you into jail for a year
- Spreading false rumours with the intention to disturb peace can get you into jail for upto 3 years
These are just some of the offences that are recognised as punishable. If possessing an illegal firearm is a punishable offence, why should Sanjay Dutt not get justice?
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Towers of Gold

March 22, 2013

http://skyley.blogspot.in/Last evening as the sun went down a flash of light caught my eye. I went behind and found my city bathed in a golden glow of dying sun, a sign of hope as thoughts of sadness crossed my mind. At the very moment that I was clicking these photos, a friend of mine was holding a prayer meeting for the soul of her young son who had passed away in a fatal accident.

There was a time when we were close, meeting each other every other day. But that was really a long time ago when both our girls were very little. Today both the girls have grown up as have we and somewhere along the way we lost touch. So while it is customary to offer condolences to the bereaved family, I felt that at times like this when death comes so unexpectedly and cruelly to fell a young man in his prime, my attending the prayer meeting would be akin to gawking. So I preferred to offer my prayers and sympathy in spirit rather than in person.

I pray his soul rests in peace and his family can find the strength to carry on.

Each passing day will be filled with pain, each moment will remind them of his passing on…….

They will remember him in all they see, they feel they touch and think of what he might have said or done…….

He was a spark that spread the light, a tower of gold ,
snuffed out before he could really shine on….

My favourite towers bathed in golden sunlight
No Monkey Business

March 18, 2013

It seems Mumbaikars are not the only ones feeling the heat these days. A few weeks ago I heard this story from a friend who is a member of Mumbai‘s tony Willingdon Club a veritable haven with lovely old trees and a grassy golf course bang in the middle of the city. She told me that she had received a strange SMS from her friend ” Hey there’s a monkey in the pool!” It seems the weather had become too hot for a family of monkeys living in nearby Mahalaxmi so one of them decided to do something about it. Jumping from tree to tree, he came across a number of swimmers enjoying the cool waters of the Willingdon Swimming Pool. So he decided to join them and jumped into the swimming pool . Naturally the members were upset and amid screams, scampered out of the water and asked the Custodian to chase the monkey away. The monkey did leave the pool but not before walking upto a member, snatching his sandwich and giving him a friendly whack on the back before sauntering off into the trees from whence he came………

And just when we thought that this was a freak summer incident, we heard that this time round, the monkey decided to take his chances else where. Having been banned from entering the Willingdon Sports Club, the monkey wandered down to Breach Candy. This time he entered in a more gentlemanly fashion and actually walked in through the Member’s gate. Then he slid down the slide and followed a German lady round the pool and tried to do a pull up on a bar like she did. But, unable to manage it, he left the premises happy with his dip in the water instead!

So the next time someone SMS’s you with ” Hey there’s a monkey in the pool” don’t dismiss it as a hoax: it could well be the same monkey who has decided to have a dip in another pool.

Cheers and Happy Swimming!