Blog@GraceJunction

Some of Antonio James’ classmates laugh when they learn the 15-year-old has pledged not to have sex until he marries. It’s not just male bravado that puts pressure on the 6-foot-1, 219-pound football player to be sexually active. “There’s so much temptation around here with girls,” he said.

It is just after 5 p.m. in what was once one of Latin America’s most sexually conservative countries, and the youth of Chile are bumping and grinding to a reggaeton beat. At the Bar Urbano disco, boys and girls ages 14 to 18 are stripping off their shirts, revealing bras, tattoos and nipple rings. (more…)

Dear Sis,

Am writing this letter at a time in life, where I have been overwhelmed by a sudden turn of events. Somethings which I never expected in my life, things that I thought were innocent have come back to haunt me. I need help.

I know, you would say ‘I told you’ but it is now too late to dwell on those issues. I am ready to take your counsel. All my life, you were the one who guided me and I was the one who always spurned the good advice thinking you were from the old school of thought, narrow minded.

Remember, Raj who used to be my research partner. Yes, one of the many boyfriends I used to date and the one you hated the most. Well, I liked the guy for his lavish spending and deep pockets. The relationship was just a way for me to enjoy life, the added advantage that he was a good student just helped. I always knew that none of these guys would be my life partner, I knew that marriage needed somebody who was more dependable, mature and understanding. (more…)

Every other Saturday, Joshua Haedelt leaves his home in Westchester County, NY, and makes the hour-long drive to Shotsie’s tattoo studio in Haledon, NJ. There, Joshua, a 28-year-old record executive, prostrates himself on a table for three hours while tattooist Juno Vassi pricks his back thousands of times with inky needles. For the next week, Joshua is miserable, bandaged, and sore. He won’t fully heal for two weeks and then it’s back to the drawing board.

It’s the most painful trend since whalebone corsets. Tattooing, the art of the primitive and the outlaw, has been moving steadily into mainstream. No longer are tattoos for the exclusive decoration of sailors, marines, and bikers. Tattoos are leaving a permanent mark on arms, legs, chests and other body parts of a growing number of celebrities and even normal people. (more…)

” ‘VIBGYOR’- this is how you will remember the color pattern of the rainbow, OKAY??”

” Yes, ma’am” said everyone in a uniform chorus.

“Gud”- smiled she.

“Ma’am when do we find the rainbow in the sky?” asked one.

“Oh, the rainbow appears during the rainy season or during the last days of the rainy season”

Everyone’s eyes still fixed on the teacher and wondering if she was telling us the truth or was she introducing us to some imaginary fairytale thingy.

“Ma’am, can you show us the rainbow during the rainy days?” asked another one. (more…)

If a stranger asks for direction in most places of Gujarat, India, he is likely to encounter some strange words, especially English words. Two of these words strangely occur together-‘Round Circle’. I mean, what’s a ‘Round Circle’!? People here, usually use it to define a Round-about ahead on the road! But isn’t it a almost redundant usage of words. A circle is round and a round can be defined as a circle! However, be it right or wrong, it does serve the purpose. People won’t remain lost on the roads in Gujarat.

Now I was reminded of this odd usage when I read about the ‘Tobias’ family in the USA. For Keith and Tracy Tobias, the parents of three teenagers in La Quinta, California, turning an old workshop behind their house into a movie theater for their children was an obvious move. In fact, the couple’s reasons had to do with more than their love of fun. The Tobiases were looking for a way to keep their children at home! For parents determined to stay on top of their children’s social lives, a rec room, fitted out with a movie theater, a Ping-Pong table and a video game area, seemed an ideal solution. (more…)

On 30 June the TOI Ahmedabad on its front page flashed “Treat LIVE IN AS MARRIAGE”.

The news highlighted that the National Commission for Women has said that, a woman in a live-in relationship should be entitled to maintenance if she is deserted by the man. In far-reaching recommendations to the ministry of women and child development, the Commission has sought a change in the definition of “wife’’ — as described in section 125 of CrPC which deals with maintenance — and suggested that it include women involved in a live-in relationship.

Now what the commission desires seems right at a glance however it protects the wrong woman, the commission in making this recommendation is providing a legal status to an illicit act. Think about it!! (more…)

Out of the total arrests made in the country, 44.6% belonged to the 18-30 year age group. Many of them are novices and are not hardcore criminals. Most of them engage in crime for easy money, money they use to fulfill the aspirations raised in them by the “glamour” they see around.

The police and experts feel that these should be given “a second chance“, and they are sure that most of them will reform. Well, might be.

Many youngsters are increasingly being attracted to the word ‘hack’. They sleep during the day, chat with the world at night and make money too! Using ‘keywords’ and ‘codes’ and help from others across the world, they hack into servers of multinationals and payment gateways and make money through online fraud. It has changed their social life, made them happening and cool and also equipped them with the right gadgets! Another chance? (more…)

“Dr. I am mad, I don’t have a brain”, were the first sentence I heard during my internship period in a clinical psychologist’s clinic. Next patient softly utters, “Nobody loves me.” Sitting in the room, I realize how many irrational thoughts encompass us: God is angry with me so I am depressed, or I am worthless or I am a failure, I don’t get anything right….

As I sit back and think about the patients and all that they spoke about during the session, I wonder what made them think the way they did. These patients didn’t have evidence to form basis for their thought.

Did they perceive things the way they wanted to? Yes to some extent. (more…)

Poison kills!!??
There is no need to add “kills” behind the word “Poison”. The word “Poison” itself is enough for even a small child to understand, what it does. However, I still chose to title this blog that way, because, sometimes, despite knowing many things, many people under-estimate or misinterpret the effect of the various kinds of poison that they consume or absorb. It is poison, and yet they almost relish it. Its time to shout, “Poison kills, Poison kills!!”

I will talk about “Bitterness“, a big time killer. It sprouts from “Unforgiveness“. How difficult it is to sometimes forgive someone for the way they hurt us? The tendency to not forgive is at times directly proportional to the intensity of the relationship and also to the intensity of the hurt. It becomes more difficult when our own people hurt us. We all, sometime or the other, suffer with this emotion of being hurt and of nurturing unforgiveness and slowly growing bitter inside. (more…)

A very strange trend, definitely looking like a trend, can now be seen in our land. People are becoming very famous in a day. So much that most people know them and about them in a just one day! Every newspaper and news channel covers them, many times for hours together!

Till that day happens, they move about, almost invisible to society, and many times even to kith and kin. They do umpteen things, but these are hardly noticed or even if they are, they are not worth a news. It doesn’t discourage them, and they go about their narcissistic lives with an almost unswerving dedication till the skeletons tumble out of the closet or the time bomb stops ticking and explodes.

What happens is so startling that people discuss it for days and weeks together! Even the judiciary and the investigators get busy and our sensation thirsty media men are kept on their toes. But most often than not, our subject under discussion is not alive any more to respond to the applause and attention! A case of Posthumous fame!! And even if they are alive, then they are either in hiding or in a place, where a lot of attention is also coming from khaki clad body guards (if we can call them so!) and more famous inmates! (more…)