Two Different Worlds

NH 10 is certainly a sadist thriller that takes you on highway to hell called Jatland, howbeit it also takes you wandering to the desi culture of ‘soul of India’ which resides in villages. The movie distinctly brings out gross differences between city life and village life, which one cannot possibly ignore, in fact, it illustrates the reality of living in another India. While urban India glares with its high-rise buildings, twinkling malls, luxurious hotels, night life, busy streets and glitzy houses making its presence felt; rural India sits in nook and corner around these cities lying quiet low with single-rise houses mostly made of bamboo or mud, haats or village bazaars blooming under lowlights of lanterns, quiet streets, consolidated land holdings and zero night life. The movie points out that the countryside is not just about lush green paddy fields and peaceful life because its calm and quietness is often marred with heinous crimes, manslaughter, honour killing, Khap panchayats, casteism, witchcraft, rapes etc, but like the ripples agitated by breeze are limited to ponds, they occur, stay and die in confines of village area (very very rarely noticed by watchdog media).

While metro cities claim the glory of being ethnically diversified and have cross cultural populace, rural India is still tied up in shackles of casteism or gotrism (gotra) wherein Brahmin village can be distinguished from Rajput village which in turn can be distinguished from Jat village which are further divided as per sub-gotra or sub-tribe. These villages are best examples of primitive times where the men are bread earners and work outside in fields while women role is confined to the walls of the courtyard, doing all the household chores. Women are murdered here for falling in love with a human outside their caste or with same gotra, illegal abortion of female foetuses is common, western clothes if adorned by females can lead to murders, kids go to school not to learn but to avail service of Mid-day meal, honour killing is matter of pride, a man’s machismo is pronounced by number of rapes committed by him and justice is not the prerogative of police or courts but of ruthless khap panchayats having their own rule of thumb.

I am not saying that our cities are crime free, highways to heaven and not to mention Delhi being the rape capital of India but at least voices are being raised, protests are being made, media comes out in support of the victims, women are conscious of their rights, social activists and human rights activist lend a support. Metro girls feel proud to exude confidence while describing themselves as woman of the house and proud to be born as female and on other hand ladies in these hamlets find themselves as damsels in deep distress, constantly weeping in consternation and cursing the moment they were born. Crimes, rapes and murders are hardly reported, if reported they are hardly prosecuted.  Just think of these women residing in the villages who are constantly raped in name of marriages, domestic violence is like handling daily chores, are subjected to dogmatic and bizarre customs to ensure they remain in their aukats, hardly access any education and spend their entire life serving under the veil of darkness without expecting any hopeless hope. #WomanEmancipation #RespectWoman #BetiBachao #BetiPadhao #NariShakti may be just a few cuss word for them prescribed by Federation of Males. And still we talk about inclusive growth, development, woman safety and woman emancipation in India. Is that possible in this mundane scenario? Will things ever change for them while me are still awaiting justice for city women? #NirbhayaRapeCase #UberRapeCase #MathuraRapeCase and many more. While for city lads and ladies justice is still in prenatal stage, for ladies in villages justice has bot been even conceived. Anyone listening? Hope so.........

Certainly, city and village is two different worlds humming to each other

“They say we are so far apart and that we have not the right to change our destiny.”