‘School desk graffiti’ is what children use for expression during disengaging classes. It is not a new development but steadily over the years the innocent stars, caricatures and the occasional doodling have been replaced by expletives, distasteful juvenile art.It dangerously borders on pornography, information on drugs and derogatory comments about teachers and fellow students. Parents are feeling uneasy and insecure as this new trend is stealing the innocence of their child.

“ My daughter who is a pre-teen returns home with a vocabulary enriched by the abusive language on display on the desks, rest-room walls and corners of the school not frequented by the authorities. If her classmates comprehend all that’s written, it is difficult to turn her away or answer her perplexing questions,” says Ankita, a very concerned and upset parent. She adds, “ The kids are getting it from the Internet and the television. Our Censor Board has managed well to curtail the visual content but when it comes to language a lot seems to be falling on deaf ears. Raunchy songs, dialogues laced with swear-words and the trendy new reality shows make loud statements of obscenity with clothes, words, gestures and the odd ‘beep’ that fails to cover the obvious four letter word that can be lip read.”

A gallery of visuals on various MMS scandals involving unsuspecting teenaged girls are on the Internet. Schools are struggling to check adolescents indulging in sexual activities. A couple of seventh grade students embarrassed their teacher who left the class on discovering their misdemeanor; she was too shellshocked to say anything.

“ My 14 year old returned from an evening tuition scandalized by her classmate smooching a boy outside the professor’s house and a week earlier she told me about a girl and a boy from class 10 who were expelled for spending a night at a hotel,” Neha Tandon, a visibly disturbed mother shares her disbelief. The schools are managing to keep these incidents under wraps with immaculate PR.

North Indian youth are a most prone to fall prey to drug abuse. Affluence and abundant supply of money from fathers toiling overseas; lack of supervision has led to widespread abuse rampant in schools for the uber-hip. The Xylography on school desks announces ‘ LSD comes to campus’ and is guiding the uninitiated into the dangerous world of ‘Ecstasy’ and ‘Yaba’, the modern routes to escapism from reality.

“ Hacked Facebook accounts and lots of trash on FaceBook walls is adding to the woes of sensitive teens. They are driven to depression and disorders once their virtual public mage has been hijacked and shattered. A girl I know had her account hacked and the wall read, ‘I am available for 100 bucks!’ It destroyed her confidence and social image, says Randeep Ahuja and adds, “The webcam and the phone camera are another source of damaging privacy evasion. Everyday we hear of vengeful acts of personal videos uploaded by scorned boyfriends. The girls are equally at fault for putting up sleazy strip shows to please their boyfriends.”

The great story of upwardly mobile prospering Indians is full of heartaches and mistakes that are plaguing a generation in the making. It deserves introspection and a conscious effort to resort to some of the old value systems that have kept the Indian middle-class going in the past decades. Midst the talk of liberalization and some reckless experimentation by our adventurous youth, a calming influence and a balancing act is required.

We seem to be making strong headway toward an Americanized social fabric where in relationships are secondary to the individual and divorce rates, single families and abandoned parents are a byproduct; wherein faltering is a mendable option with contraceptives, abortions and moral judgement is passe`; where in innocence ends at age 10 or even before and drugs and guns deliver instant nirvana and justice.

At these difficult crossroads choices weigh heavy upon the urban Indians and etched deep into the desks of our children, the graffiti deserves closer scrutiny.We must read between the lines carefully, for they are more than squiggling and rants; they are signs of the future…words of the Oracle!

“Ahoy Matey! it is ITLAPD”.

Does it sounds like gibberish or a language spoken by the blue Na’vi creatures in Avatar? It is neither of the two. It is in fact how pirates say ‘hello’ to each other and today on 19th September we are celebrating the ‘International Talk Like A Pirate Day!’ (ITLAPD)

The mysterious ‘Golden Era’ of piracy has been a favourite with the dream merchants of the celluloid and ever since the release of movies like ‘Treasure Island’, pirate-lingo has gained immense popularity in the west. Recently pirate ships have returned in vogue to haunt the high seas around the world.

Captain Hook and the charismatic Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Caribbean have their own cult following; tales of romance, treasures and battles wash ashore a wave of adventure that thrills and intrigues the young.  The one-eyed or the one-armed sinister pirate holds more than a trick up his sleeve as the dreaded skull and bone flag is hoisted on conquered ships!

The traditional view of a pirate is dark and one of negativity as Peter Pan puts it~

“Avast belay, yo ho, heave to,

A-pirating we go

And if we’re parted by a shot

We’re sure to meet below!”

Donning the pirate’s hat, in a nation marred by music and video piracy, what would our good samaritans like to hijack if they were pirates for a day?

Anoop Jain delivers his pirate-talk with zeal.“ I would emulate the act of ‘Captain Jack Sparrow‘ but would hijack the political ‘un-will’ that is so rampant in India, this widespread desire to just talk and deliver zilch. The hue and cry over paying the already over-paid extortionate MPs gets me worked up. So if I am a pirate for a day, I would hijack their VIP cavalcades, complete with their screaming and screeching escort cars that invariably cause traffic jams and are a major hazard on the road. I would hoist my pirate flag over the government provided residences they encroach upon for generations after their retirement. Given a chance I would hijack their rigged ballots and sponsored campaigns  to deny them the privilege of returning to haunt us.”

Anshika Manchanda, a student of journalism swings her rapier wit and comes up with an original piracy statement. “I would be a pirate with an NGO ship under my command that is on a mission to burst bubbles of inflated egos, corruption, greed, lust. Since I am no saint, playing pirate for a day I would claim a license to prick with a razor sharp rapier and go on a ‘clear the air’ spree.On a more serious note, I feel piracy of character is plaguing our nation and this impediment needs to be dumped into the ‘Marina Trench’ for good!”

Sanjeet adds more imagination and satire to his pirate-mission, “The need of the hour is to smuggle all the potholes that have mushroomed after the monsoons like a rash on our sensitive roads. In the wee hours of the night when the stolen and broken street lights play my alibi, I will inflict this crime upon the city and become an immortal pirate. Outnumbering the dengue cases, these potholes are a scattered silver currency in moonlight.Since the road development boards are acquiring millions of dollars from the UN I will have to act swiftly and siphon off the potholes to save them from the elusive promise of new roads. Hijacking the potholes, ripped open roads and dangerously strewn construction equipment from project sites will earn me the dubious distinction as the pirate who stole the thrill from driving, leaving it prone to boredom.”

Mehar Malhotra has a grander piracy plan, “ I would strike an off-shore deal with the scam-legends who have plummeted Indian sports to new depths. Assuring them of secrecy and security, I will take all the loot they have reaped from fixed matches and unfixed stadia; from the fracture of sports infrastructure and the import of invisible yet astronomically priced equipment. As I annex the CWG ( Common Wealth Garnered) to my treasures and disappear into the horizon, the offenders will be left high and dry on the shore with assurances. ( The same currency they like to deal in.)”

It is surprising how an unheard of ‘parodic holiday‘ can invite such extreme response from very vocal Indians. Given an opportunity we all can do some pirate-talk laced with sarcasm and filled with criticism for the system over a cup of tea. But the unchartered sea of problems beckon the pirates with true resolve; they throw wave after wave of challenge to the brave-hearted and the question remains afloat…how many have the courage to pick up the cudgels and swing the mast to be A Pirate of the Utopian…India!

Krishna the charismatic Master Flautist remains an enigma to those who have attempted to comprehend him. What better time than Janamashthmi to return to the enchanting tunes of His ‘Divine Leela’?

Theological belief addresses Krishna as the Supreme Being, a reincarnation of Vishnu-The Protector. But what intrigues most about this Avtaar is that Krishna’s life embodies all imaginable facets of human existence. His life serves as a perfect example to follow in  modern times where suspicion and treachery are rampant, and shadows of war always loom large.

References, stories and legends of Krishna are available in The Mahabharata, The Gita, Vishnu and Bhagvat Puran. In many religions of the world too, Krishna finds a unique position through allusions. Be it Jainism, Buddhism, Bahai faith or Ahmediyya Islam. The ISKCON and similar movements accord him a high pedestal and Krishna is revered universally.

As a child, he was an innocent prankster who would steal maakhan and attract his mother’s attention. He grew up to be a carefree adolescent who danced and rejoiced with his consorts (the Gopis). He would mesmerize with his flute and charm with his smile. Gopala-the herder and protector of cows was in fact herding the world.

‘Krishna-the slayer of evil’ even as a child revealed his true purpose on Earth by killing Putna and Kansa. The timeless principle was at play- ‘The Protector’ arrives to restore the balance of a flawed human world whenever evil tilts the scale.’

The harbinger of peace and love enacted the ‘Raas Leela’ of divine spiritual love with Radha, his favourite consort. She is often referred too as Shakti- the strength, guide and the other half of Krishna, her name has become an eternal prefix to Krishna’s. She was not among his wives, yet rarely Krishna appears without her. The Supreme Being places the communion of spirit above worldly bonds and Radha claims her rightful place beside him. The yearning spirit triumphs over all physical bonds. The tradition of Raas Leela is well preserved and Krishna’s epic lives in Kathak and other dance forms practiced across the country.

From Radha to Draupadi and his several wives, Krishna’s life represents a glowing tribute to women. He married destitute women whom he had rescued from the clutches of evil Asuras. These women were usually regarded as impure and unworthy of marriage. A much mis-interpreted act among the ill-informed, it represented that Krishna led an exemplary life whose lessons are most apt and relevant in modern India where women continue to struggle for equality.

But his greatest gift to the world was ‘The Bhagwad Gita’- the timeless lessons of Karma, delivered on the battleground to Arjuna. War against one’s kin brings its own dilemmas and the conscious soul wavers as did Arjuna’s. Krishna explained the relevance of Karma sans reward; and the ephemeral nature of the universe to Arjuna by revealing his True Form’ as the Creator, Keeper and Destroyer. Arjuna learnt his lesson and remained in awe thereafter. But the irony is that we all see and believe ‘The Master Weaver’s’ maya- this transient world and it continues to consume us. But we fail to acknowledge the glimpse of ‘The Permanent True Form’.

The epic of Mahabharata sees Krishna as the mediator, who attempts to prevent the great war; the accomplice, who allows the good Pandavas to chose Him to fight by their side against the erring Kauravas and the destroyer, who uses deceit and tactics to bring about the downfall of the Kauravas.

Krishna is the much criticized anti-hero of the war who is condemned for using unfair means but he upholds his argument that ‘good has to prevail over evil’ and it is the end that matters.

Even in the imperfect human form that resorts to foul play and endures critique, the Almighty teaches the unshakeable truth that human life is about living with imperfections and bearing the cross of shortcomings. Krishna dies a death neither befitting God nor a Prince to demonstrate the futility of human existence.

Krishna’s true legacy is also grace, beauty and aesthetics.From the peacock feather to the glittering adornments; the mystical dance on Holi, to the forever youthful look; the unfazed expression in times of war and peace; Krishna’s life epitomizes and demonstrates how to live in the Kalyug, in an exalted state of detachment from this world of illusions.

The Supreme Being watches His Divine Leela unfold and plays along the notes of music on his flute gently and the detractors argue why? The perfection of His Scheme eludes them and they remain focussed on all that is apparently unfair and unjust in this world.

But the haunting elusive ‘Why’ is what keeps the Dark Blue Lord beyond comprehension!

Meera, a rajput princess and the most devout Krishna-bhakt ever says,

I seek only to dissolve into the dusk (dusky Krishna)

in the true spirit of worship and reverence for The Fathomless Blue!