Politically Incorrect

 Disclaimer: The following is a purely personal view and is not intended to hurt or distress. 

Once upon a time, hypersensitivity used to be something related to allergens. It was also something that one felt in the formative ages with regard to what others thought about you which had a direct link to nascent self-perception. The first one could be cured with medicines while the second one usually cured itself as one grew up. However, the latter does not seem true any more as emotional/psychological hypersensitivity seems to be on the rise, and moreover as fodder for what now trends as 'cancel culture'.

 Gender is one of the areas where usage of words/pronouns has become so problematic. While an ever-widening gender spectrum is often pitched as inclusiveness, isn't it also somewhat aggravating intolerance? Calling a female by the pronoun 'she' can be offensive since that person could well be 'non-binary'. Moreover, if one so much as mentions how absurd this is, one qualifies as '-phobic'. 

What I still don't understand is the notion of non-binary. There is male and female, which are terms that indicate biological sex. The 'other' is a sociological construct. Well, feminists claim gender (feminine, masculine) itself to be a construct. A quick look at the Wikipedia entry on gender transition is quite baffling due to the sheer number of terms mentioned to refer to people of various orientations. 

Be that as it may, what exactly is gender spectrum other than suggesting a possibility of transitioning from male to female or vice versa? Even in queer relationships, isn't there a male-female equation, where one of the partners is termed as 'husband'?  If this is so, how exactly is a person non-binary?

Even more problematic is the question of transgender. They are often called the 'third gender' and so non-binary, again. But then doesn't a transgender attempt to transition from man to woman or vice versa? This seems to be a volatile issue since beloved JKR has been a recurrent victim of transphobia, which now has alienated her from her friends as well.

So, what exactly is the problem here? If one is so confident and at home with whatever gender/sexuality one chooses, why should a mere pronoun affect them?  

 Oh well! Nowadays it feels that to be normal (oops, potentially offensive again), no, wait, there is a term for that too -- cisgender -- is becoming stale. And by the way, cisgenders are entitled to being offended as well. A lot of people simply assume that being a single woman (that too in the wrong age group) is equivalent to being a lesbian. 

I'm mightily offended !

On the Move

 "Why don't you travel?" "Go for a trip, you'd feel better" -- and other permutations of these have been thrown at me time and again. So much so that I feel traveling is pretty overrated, and rather tedious. For someone who is a daily commuter, travelling may not always be appealing, and I don't think I'm deep enough to feel the transformative experience that journeys are supposed to bring. Anyway, what I've come to understand is, being on the move is much enjoyable than having to get down or flit from destination to destination; provided, there is a window seat.

Even though clueless about wanderlust, I have always been fascinated by trains, Indian Railway to be specific. Railway station has been an important part of my formative years since every weekend I'd be at the railway station with dad, waiting for mom to arrive from her workplace. Equally indispensable part of this trip were the poori masala from railway canteen and the chilled HPMC apple juice, and a comic book or magazine from Higginbotham's.

Spotting the slow moving engine from afar was one of the most exciting feelings and even today when a train is spotted I feel the same. The walk from one end of the platform to another, was yet another interesting part of the weekend visits, along with peeping into the Station Master's room to see the board that showed train positions. 

Coming to think of it, trains are a kind of portal to different lives/worlds. Just observing a family/individual with luggage, waiting to board a long distance train can trigger the imagination to build up a narrative. In my imagination, I've arrived at New Delhi in Rajadhani Express (perhaps the poshest train then); or gone to Mumbai in Jayanti Janta, or thought about the distance covered by Himasagar Express as it traversed the entire length of the country, from Kanyakumari to Jammu Tawi/Katra ! 

How many times have I pretended to be one of the travellers rather than a local !

At a phase when 'favourites' are becoming vague and non-existent, I'm truly glad I have retrieved my love for trains. And I still long to board a long-distance train !

Many ask what I plan to do with my money and life. I guess I now have an answer to that -- I will take tickets for the many trains I've seen leaving the platform; and I'd be inside the train rather than looking at it and imagining its journey.

"safar khoobsurat se manzil se bhi"