Stop Rape. Fight Back.

Finally, the much speculated date, 21^st December 2012 is here. As I speak of this day, I can only imagine Mayans staring back at us with a mocking grin that they were correct after all. Humanity has indeed been evaded from the face of the Earth. The recent act of barbarism in Delhi is an unfortunate yet shameless evidence of this.  Surely the issue is disturbing but more so I find myself in a state of anger. As I write this piece, I feel as if I am walking alone on an isolated road at night, scared as to what beastly situation I might run into.

Shocking and evil as it is, I am amazed that this incident caught such a raging fire in the media and society. Log in to a Facebook page and that is all you can see. Enraged and agitated comments all over, even the news channels have been actively updating the status. But it puzzles me, why now? Why this case? Surely this is not the first or the last gang-rape case in Delhi or in the country. Please note that I am not belittling the gravity of this case, but I only wonder if the media would have been generous enough to oblige this case with uninterrupted attention had Pentagon been bombed on the same day (God forbid!) or that a Chief Minister was shot dead? Would the victim’s scream be this loud then or muffled in a page 12 of a newspaper, like the several reported and unreported rape cases that take place in the country every day, unfortunately even as I write about it right now. 

A simple question. How do you think can we prevent these morbid incidents in our society? Unlike the popular belief, a Rang De Basanti inspired candle march might not be the solution for all this. While it did help expedite few cases in the past, but could it really bring an end to this inhumanity? From a gory Jessica Lal murder case, we now have come to discuss a demonic Delhi gang-rape case. I hear you regarding castration and death penalty as punishments for such barbarism, but I doubt if it will make much of a difference. And well, for a country who pondered over almost a year to find an appropriate punishment for Kasab, Hail Mary till it reaches a decision for this one!

Oh! I now see you debating over different ways of penalising the rascals (believe me, I searched an entire dictionary to find officially decent words to describe those men, but all seemed too subtle). But castration or death penalty (however much they deserve it) only signifies that we are unable to provide our women a safe society. Rape is not a crime, it’s a grave disease with the initial symptoms of lechery, eve teasing, molestation and subjugating women as objects of sexual desire and lust. Why are we so shocked at the abysmal act of the rapists? Aren’t we the ones who have kindled the fire in the first place? This is the same society who croons to Honey Singh’s songs where he openly glorifies the act of forced sex. Are we not the ones to whistle when a Rowdy Rathore pinches a girls’ waist, a Chulbul Pandey takes pride after making an obscene remark to a girl or an idiot amongst the 3 Idiots laugh out loud at rape jokes? We are the creators and the products of the administration that arbitrates rape cases as a result of wearing short skirts and consuming chowmein!

Severe offenses like eve teasing and lechery have become so frequent in the society that it is now treated as normal and something left better as ignored. The severity of the situation that there might not be a girl in the country who has not been teased before has almost fizzled out to be ordinary. Incidentally, after being teased by one such man, I was ‘consoled’ that “a man after 3 pegs becomes a MAN”. Since men clearly fail to understand, every woman must, that drunk or sober, in a relationship or even a marriage, a teacher or a prostitute, if a man thinks he can get away with forced sex, he is gravely mistaken.

We must realise that it’s high time we change our ideologies.  Sons must now be taught to behave and respect women, than daughters being instructed to dress properly. The judiciary and the law and order system need to become more stringent and reinforce our faith in them. Rapes don’t happen in some abstract world, they are a part of our society, our neighbourhood, our family that preaches that while women can’t wear short dresses, can’t go out in the night, can’t make male friends, men can rape however, wherever, whenever!

It’s time to call for a change. Take your first step against rape and sign this petition because YOU have the power to make a difference!

Disclaimer: The opinions shared here are the author’s own. MakeMyTrip condemns this heinous crime against dignity and freedom.

Surabhi Shikha: Some people just get wet, others feel the rain… I dance in it in ecstacy and then write about it.

Fashion Calling At MakeMyTrip

At MakeMyTrip’s Gurgaon office, it is indeed a delight to see a sea of well-dressed folks each day, always up-to-date with the latest fashion trends. So we know now that we’re not just good at making trips here but have a keen sense of fashion too! And this fact was further endorsed when Zovi.com, the one-stop shopping destination for premium designed, quality fashion apparel and accessories, came calling at MakeMyTrip on December 11, for a garment fit study.

Now, now, don’t be fooled by the word ‘study’ here. The event was not boring like you might think. In fact it was far from boring! And how could it be when there was an incredible collection of clothes, discounts, subsidized merchandise and even free stuff! Yes, that’s right!

Around 70 fashion buffs signed up for the event and tried on some of the best pieces from Zovi’s winter collection. Trippers who participated in the fit study got to keep the clothes they tried on, for free! Smart move, I must say! Some of the dressed-up Trippers happily posed for the Zovi camera. Considering modelling, are we?

Ten selected photos were also posted online on Zovi.com’s official Facebook page. And what’s more? The lovely Tripper whose picture gets the maximum ‘likes’ wins an amazing gift hamper from Zovi!

Come back for more exciting updates from our very own Tripper Villa, we’ll have a bagful of them in the coming days!

Stepathalon Relay Races

Run, walk, leap (like a frog), jump! Now, you wouldn’t think all this would happen in an office space, would you? Well, think again, because this is MakeMyTrip and that’s how we roll here!

On December 5^th, we had our very own version of Stepathlon with wacky relay races that were a challenge for some and amusement for others. The sporty Trippers who participated in the races pushed themselves (and quite literally so!) to take their teams to victory while others (including myself), who are born spectators, cheered on, laughed and enjoyed the spectacle.

WE walked around, blowing their whistles and shouting out the rules of the game as eager Trippers huddled around them, listening intently while trying to decide whether or not to participate.

The first round of races included a tip toe race, frog leap race, backward race, fast run race and single legged race. Don’t believe us? Check out the picture below! The awesome ‘athletes’ (or should I say whacky-letes!) who hopped their way to the second round competed in a twin race and a double frog leap race. Yes, that’s right! A double frog leap race!

The incredible winning teams not only get exciting shopping vouchers but will henceforth be hailed as the ‘MMT Stepathlon Relay Kings’! Kudos to all the winners!

And like always, the fun doesn’t stop here. There is more excitement and awesomeness in store over the next couple days. Till then, keep watching this space for more!

Diwali Fun Continues...

The week before Diwali was not enough merriment for us Trippers. After our fill of rangoli, mithai, karaoke, and Gangnam Style, the Monday of Diwali Week was celebrated the way everyone celebrates Diwali; with a fete or mela or simply, celebrations galore! The cafeteria on the fourth floor was bedecked with various stalls.

There were games, of strength, of skill and of luck. Throwing darts at your bosses pinned on a board, getting clicked in a Superman outfit, trying the real version of Angry Birds, raising a brick for a minute, sharpening a pencil in a minute, potting the ball and desi bowling were some show stealers. The Infamous "Boss" Dartboard Then there was food. The dhokla chat, bhelpuri, momos, carrot cake, pancakes and brownies at various stalls were like honeycombs with foodies hovering around them! From the Airlines’ team to HR, the cooking and baking talents were on full display.  The fete that lasted for about three hours left some richer, few poorer and everyone fuller.

Perfect Couple: Cinderella & Superman The week following Diwali, Trippers returned to work in full force, only to find another delight awaiting them, the Diwali Raffle! The Diwali Raffle is an old MakeMyTrip tradition wherein all gifts sent to various Trippers for Diwali are put in to a common pool for a luck draw for an exclusive club – Sr. Executives and Executives only! This year, gifts ranged from candles, dry fruits and varieties of tea to electric appliances, silverware and even watches!  More than a 100 hopeful Trippers gathered together in hopes of getting lucky by putting in folded pieces of paper in a jar. Some even gave “beating the system” a shot with putting in multiple chits.  Needless to say, the cheering and hooting every time a name was called was loud enough for the entire building to hear!

The Techies were perhaps the luckiest out of the lot (given their sheer majority!) with quite a lot of them walking away with exciting goodies. Trippers from other locations like Mumbai and Kolkata were also among the many lucky winners.

With such superbly prolonged Diwali celebrations, I wonder how eventful New Year’s Eve is going to be. Let’s see...

Be Happy, It's Diwali!

Back from an awesome offsite, acquired another awesome company and now, we Trippers are all set to indulge in some awesome Diwali celebrations. Like each year, this year’s Diwali celebrations at MakeMyTrip are better than before! The games and activities spread across the week gone by engaged, entertained and excited everyone.

The week before:

My peaceful Thursday morning was somewhat disrupted by all the girls in the team discussing the style and texture of their mehndi, the one they’d get applied at the stall in the office! Not only was Friday a great day, it also ended on a musical note with a Karaoke evening.

Trippers crooned to old and new numbers, turning hummable melodies into chorus cacophonies and enjoying every word and every beat, living up to the festive spirit. And although some new singing talents were discovered that day, I’m glad that the hall had soundproof walls!

And Monday came. ..

Like last year, those conventional mithai boxes were vetoed by shopping vouchers from Lifestyle. Just the perfect gift for any urbanite during festive season, isn’t it? The latest edition of Trippers Buzz (our high-on-entertainment internal magazine) looked after us for the rest of Monday.

Tuesday was colourful, just like rangoli! And like with anything else, Trippers did an excellent job of this too! The reception floor was decked up with a Ganesha, a peacock and bright symmetrical designs, including the rangoli of the MakeMyTrip Logo. Not just Trippers, but visitors and interview candidates at reception area too praised the vivid designs. Talk about all the talent in the company!

And then came the sweet, sweet Thursday! Yes, there was a mithai making competition and as I recall it, my mouth is flooding! Our ‘sweet’ Trippers donned their aprons to make some divine desserts. Almond soufflé, apple crumble, stuffed rasgulla with rabri, mouse-shaped laddoos and rich kheer were casting gastronomic spells on the judges, and later on everyone else. Thankfully we had no casualties, for each of them was worth killing for!

And the memories of this Friday are fresher in my knees than in my mind! As the clocks struck 5:00 PM, all work stop. Everyone stood up and then the music started in style, Gangnam Style! The volume was pumping and everyone was dancing. Reckon over 600 people dancing at their workstations, doing the same moves with different levels of proficiency. A sight to behold!

The fun and celebrations certainly don’t end here! There’s a lot more in store. Watch this space…