Skip to main content

It's Time To Not Just Keep Talking.

Been a while since the idea of this blog and desire hit me and my friends. Time lapses kept pushing this idea far and beyond. But, something made me feel that it was worthless to just keep pushing it beyond without any reason. That something is the movie V For Vendetta.

Made me question myself. Why am I here? Why did I ever even begin this blog if I wasn't going to do something of it just because of some silly, stupid reasons? I don't care enough to be even bothered about them! Those reasons don't make me wanna opt out of the desire to make a difference to the society and world I live in. Those reasons don't make me wanna be 'just' a part of the crowd. I know I'm different. I know I'm not one of the herd. And if you think I am, I'm here to tell you and prove to you that I'm NOT.

I'm done staying silent. I'm done being suffocated. I'm done feeling sorry for the dead and terrorized. I'm done showing solidarity for those in pain. I'm done feeling frustrated with the reality that exists. I'm done feeling tired of the way things are. I'm done accepting this bullshit. Now, I'm here to change. To be a part of it. To initiate it. And to at least try, if not succeed.
If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
I read this a few days back on a profile named Quotegarden I actively follow on Twitter. Made me smile the first thing I read it. Went on to send it to a few of my friends who acknowledged how true it is... And right then, I knew, that change, has to begin. It has to, sometime. Then, why not that 'sometime' be right now?

So, then and there it was... Through the last 2-3 months, the idea that has found a place in my head, has finally materialised in the form of what you now see as Not Just The Talks.
To keep it real, I have no clue of how long and how much this will sustain. I hope it will be long enough to achieve something substantial. But, hope is not just enough. Just as, talking isn't enough.

I don't promise anything more than opinions here. I seriously, don't. But, again, this is the internet! What else can you do? Make a few causes on Facebook which people perceive as spam? Tweet about it? Digg about it? Create it an internet  sensation? Whoa! I'm stunned! Not a bit.

Yes, I will act. I promise to. Whenever needed, I will. I won't just give my opinions here. I will be there whenever there is an event, an opportunity, a desire, a need to change expressed. Somewhere, anywhere. That's the grit, that's the desperation, that's the lust with which I want change to happen. I may have my head well in the sky when I say I dream of a world devoid of most of its present problems, but let me tell you, what my eyes see from up here, is rather beautiful and I choose to make this the real world, over going back to the filthy (compared to the view from up here) way of life. Period.

Cynicism with hope rules me. Completely. Utterly. And that's what this is about... Hitting the issues at hand, real hard. And then getting into the system to find the solution which may possibly get us through... Let's try! Let's give it a shot!

I repeat. I don't promise results. I don't promise change. I am not God. I am a simple 18-year-old from Mumbai dreaming to live in a better Mumbai, a better India and finally, a better world. A world where sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment can be reduced by humans, for oneself and for another.

Truly speaking, it hurts to see when elders around me, even those in powerful positions, act as if nothing can be changed and give up hope so easily, on this world that is our very own. I'm sorry to say this, may be it's even disrespectful, but, I can't sit hand-in-hand with my friends 20 years down the line, sipping tea on the porch, and talk about how the situation has just gotten worse from right now. I would rather talk to him/her about how we tried and how much worse it could have been had we not tried...

I have crossed and already shouted out loud "Enough is enough." If you have too, jump in. If you think you will soon, jump in. If you think you can still be patient and take this for a lot more time, or you think this effort will fail like most others have till today, don't jump in.

Finally, being or not being a part of NJTT (acronym for 'Not Just The Talks.') depends on you. Your discretion, completely. I'm here. I'm trying. I will keep trying.

Will you join us?

If you do decide to join us, surely do inform us in either of the following ways:
  1. By commenting below here.
  2. By emailing us at not.just.the.talks@gmail.com.
  3. By posting it on our Facebook page.
  4. By mentioning us on Twitter (@NotJustTheTalks).
  5. Or by texting or calling me.
Until next post then... Adios :-)!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

May The Light Shine.

I have respected the need for 'Freedom of Speech' ever since I first understood what it meant, sometime during a Civics class in school. It is the necessity for a society to grow. Ideas and opinions need to flow from one side of the table to the other. As a proponent of free speech, this freedom is something I take very personally and seriously. But, today, almost 18 months after one of the most hallmark decisions taken by the Indian electorate, I wonder if such a freedom exists anymore. It does exist in the Constitution, technically, but on the ground? I'm skeptical. A democracy like ours is very complex for me to explain, but a few things that I believe are underlying to the very fabric of our country are the need for rules and laws that are common to everybody. That all people, all religions, all languages must be treated equally. Yes, the Constitution of India doesn't recognize a national religion or national language. Hinduism isn't the national religion...

Individuality.

Until a couple of years ago, my short temper was one of my biggest regrets and an understood weakness. A lot of times when I got angry over a difference of opinion, my mother would share with me a metaphor: "When the 5 fingers on our hands are different, why do we expect others in the world to be just like us?" That, or the daily recitation of the Indian National Pledge in school that reminded me how India's diversity is its strength and pride, instilled in me the value of every person's individuality, and the respect for the same. For quite a while now, I have seen people (and Indians in particular) struggle with their identities. Especially since a single opinion you have can come to define your identity among a group of people. Support a particular political outfit, and you get branded with a name that is supposed to be an insult. Support a particular idea, and the you will be labelled with an associated leader and interrogated about their mistakes. A lot of th...

Opinions Matter.

I have strong opinions.  But I also have weak opinions, and at times, no opinion. These opinions have defined actions I have taken at different times of life. Some pleasant, some terrible. The beauty, though, of these actions has been that they have been mine and I have lived with them, learnt from them and course-corrected. I have abandoned beliefs I have held for decades within minutes, and I have been reaffirmed of my opinions despite days of disagreements. Our lives may be the results of our actions, but our actions are certainly a result of our opinions. These opinions stem from a variety of places. They include things we have learnt while growing up, things we fear, things we have read, things we have heard, things we have endorsed to fit in, and things that we adopt to rebel. More often than not, these things are fleeting, but the opinions that form from them, are not. What bothers me the most, though, is the reluctance w...