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In India, cinema is almost revered and is the most popular form of entertainment as it is beautiful and much-loved, and has somehow become intrinsic to everybody’s lives, particularly considering the economic viability of a movie. But in the process of showcasing fictional tales, the stories are still not good enough as far as women are concerned. They still treat as one dimensional and only see women in reference to the male lead. Unless there is a female lead, women are largely ignored in the Indian cinema across all languages in which the movies are made. Sometimes even in a movie with a female lead, women are not portrayed correctly. This is not in reference to women playing flawed characters, but rather just showing women in a completely male perspective. Women playing the lead in films is still rare to the point where if such a movie is made, then that becomes the selling point of the movie. In other movies, where the story is built on the male lead the role of women has largely been one sided. This is particularly true for Rajinikanth movies, the largest name in Tamil cinema. Women are always defined with Rajinikanth’s role in mind (such as mother, sister, love interest, and what not), and little to no characterisation is provided to these roles. But one small hope is that the love interest generally has a slightly better characterisation as compared to that of the other women in the movie. This article seeks to analyse the women in Rajinikanth movies along with that of his character. Rajinikanth debuted in Apoorva Raagangal (1975) with a small role. The movie itself dealt with age gaps in relationships, but Rajinikanth’s role in the movie did not contribute much to the story. His first enormous success was Moondru Mudichu (1976) where he played the role of the hero’s (Balaji) best friend and had fallen in love with the same girl (Selvi) as that of Balaji. His character (Prasad) is questionable for he seduces an innocent girl, all the while creeping Selvi out by leering and stalking her and most importantly letting Balaji die. Due to circumstances, Selvi ends up marrying Prasad’s father, and gives back every bit of torture that she had to endure at his hands. While, the depiction is flawed that Selvi had to marry Prasad’s father in order to extract revenge on Prasad, the fact that she found a way to stand up for herself was something that was beyond the time when the movie released and must be lauded. Rajinikanth as Ramanathan truly portrayed a possessive and downright sadistic husband of Anu in his next famous movie Avargal (1977). When after marriage, Anu realised the characteristic of Ramanathan and divorced him, he ends following her to Madras from Bangalore and shows his repentance. Eventually when Anu decides to marry Ramanathan again, turning down the love of her colleague and ignoring her past lover, she sees Ramanathan’s true colours once again, who states that he had to stop his ex-wife’s happiness, as he could not bear to see it. Wow. How wonderful! In 16 Vayathinile (1977), Rajinikanth’s character takes misogyny up a notch from Avargal and actually attempts to rape the heroine (Mayil), after she insults him by spitting on him. This is all after him stalking and leering after her for almost the entire duration of the movie, because why not? Gayathri (1977) had Rajinikanth play a truly despicable role, for he would record his love life and sell in the black market. Why did Rajinikanth even agree to play such a role? Bairavi (1978) showcased the regressive and absurd mentality that the rapist must marry the victim, which Rajinikanth propagated when his sister gets raped. Rajinikanth went back to essaying the role of a chauvinistic and misogynistic person in Aval Appadithan (1978), where his character (Thyagu) even goes to the extent of taking advantage of the heroine (Manju). She, however, does slap him in retaliation (silver lining). The next decade started off with the roaring success of Billa (1980). While the movie itself was not necessarily sexist, it did show scantily clad women being there for men’s pleasure alone. Until then women had come scantily clad just in songs, but not in the flow of the movie as such. This trend has struck with the audiences even now and there always seems to be at least few scenes of this nature. In Netrikkan (1981), Rajinikanth plays a dual role of father and son, the father (Chakravarthy) being a womanizer and the son (Santosh) seeking to make his father realise the error of his ways. Chakravarthy rapes a woman while on vacation, and when he returns to his company, he witnesses tremendous changes all caused by the victim and Santosh. It is shown, that after the series of events, that Chakravarthy does turn a new leaf in the end, which is better for the society, although he is not punished for his crimes against women. When Rajinikanth is not playing a sexist role, the woman herself succumbs to stereotypes, which is what was depicted in Puthukavithai (1982), where the woman is rich and snobbish and Rajinikanth is poor. In Moondru Mugam (1982), Rajinikanth had three roles, and one such character (Arun) had attained sainthood. His father, unable to accept this concocts a plan with a woman (Rekha) to make him give up sainthood. These elaborate incidents have humiliating and unbearable incidents for Rekha, which she somehow willingly does, which is extremely cringy to witness. In Kai Kodukkum Kai (1994), Rajinikanth’s character “forgives” his wife for being raped. Mannan (1992) is an extremely out of place movie, with Rajinikanth’s character (Krishnan) seemingly going against the main lead Shanthidevi, his boss. Krishnan even slaps Shanthidevi multiple times in one scene and tells her to not reveal it to anyone else, for it would put her reputation at stake. The entire movie is unnecessary, filled with toxic masculinity, and has incorrect messaging all throughout that a woman cannot be a good boss. They make matters even worse by finally making Shantidevi a homemaker, because clearly, that is where a woman ought to be. In Annamalai (1992), although the movie is not sexist, the scenes where Rajinikanth’s role (Annamalai) interacts with Subbulakshmi are extremely problematic. There is a scene where Annamalai sees Subbulakshmi naked, and hence she decides that the two of them ought to get married. The other scenes where these two interact are nothing but a cringe fest throughout. What Veera (1994) ultimately boils down to is that Rajinikanth (Muthuveerapan) is married to a woman but is unwilling to tell his past amnesiac lover (who has gotten her memories back) the same and so marries her too. When the first wife finds out about the marriage, he pretends that there was a look alike of him. Moreover, the elaborate way planned for the ex-lover to fall in love with Muthuveerapan is downright sexist. If there is one movie that has been analysed by many for its anti-feminist ideologies, it is Padayappa (1999). In this movie, there is constant tiff between Rajinikanth’s character (Padayappa) and the villain, Neelambari. The pivotal dialogue of Rajinikanth describing how a woman must be is extremely patriarchal in nature. What makes it worse was the fact that that dialogue received the loudest cheers and claps. The fun fact is that Neelambari is actually a completely unapologetic woman who communicated her intentions directly to Padayappa, but the fact that she had the guts to do that was what made her a perceived villain in the movie. True, she did take her obsession to different lengths in the movie, but the problem is that if it had been a man in her role, then that man would have been the hero and not the villain. He would have also gotten the girl in the movie, unlike Neelambari who dies. This problematic double standards are a great problem which is showcased through this movie. Chandramukhi (2005) is the next movie in the list. When Jyotika’s character explains the story of Chandramukhi to Rajinikanth’s character (Saravanan) and says that she was killed by the king, he replies that no one would have wanted to lose a woman as beautiful as she was to another person, and hence the king was justified in killing her. This just reinforces the idea that women do not have autonomy over themselves and that men have the authority to take decisions about them. Kaala (2018) has its anti-feminist moments, such as the tattoo of the name of Rajinikanth’s ex-lover on his arm, but it is called out in the movie itself by Rajinikanth’s wife, where she asks about what would have happened if she had had such a tattoo, for which he has no answer. There might arise a question as to why Rajinikanth. The answer is because of his extensive filmography and immense popularity, which is almost devotion like in Tamil Nadu. When a star has such a huge reach into the hearts and minds of people, he has the capacity to bring about a social change for the betterment of women. But placing the entire responsibility on Rajinikanth’s shoulders alone is not a solution to the depiction of women in cinema. The problem is that of a mindset in the society that women are different, and that has translated to the depiction of women in Indian cinema as we see now. Moreover, it is also a question of economic viability. The movies with a male lead, particularly the so called “masala movies” make so much more money than the realistic movies where women are depicted the way they are. This is again because of the economic standpoint – there are lesser women who visit theatres than the men. Thus, what is visually appealing to the men gets priority over what should be the correct way to depict women, for that is clearly what makes the money. Why would producers then opt for showing women accurately when there is a possibility of making more money otherwise? Another point to note here is that there are much fewer women who take the reins in Indian cinema. With hardly any female directors, writers, producers, and the rest of the people involved to make a movie, what is ultimately depicted on screen is through the eyes of men and it is almost as if the movies are made only for men. Men have not rid themselves of the patriarchal and sexist views completely as well. This has translated to showing career-oriented women, but the housework is still the responsibility of a woman, for example. The silver-lining now is that things are changing. Women are stepping into directorial roles and are also becoming producers. Sudha Kongura’s debut into filmmaking was with the massive blockbuster of Soorarai Pottru, that had brilliant characterisation for both the mother and love interest of Suriya, the main lead. The audience also do not want to watch unrealistic movies and prefer to watch movies that are backed by “content.” This content that is being demanded is that which reflects equality and proves better for women. What this means is for women to showcase characters that can stand on their own, rather than constantly being in reference to that of the male lead. The success of movies such as Thappad, Pink, Kolamavu Kokila, and others are all a result of the movie makers satisfying this clamour for content. Even if the female characters might not have much screen time, many actresses have made their point clear that they would prefer to play such roles rather than the unidirectional roles. Surekha Sikri in Badhaai Ho, Maya Sarao in Thappad, Farrukh Jaffer in Gulabo Sitabo all play minor roles, but with brilliant characterisation. These roles are indeed a breath of fresh air and are all set to pave the way for the days to come. Submitted by: Aparna Venkataraman

Sex is a fundamental desire that all people possess. The urge is so intense that it is governed by a number of social forces such as law, religion, and morality. But are these forces and laws the same for both sexes - male and female? The law is new, but the concept of adultery is centuries old and thus it important to find out what was the law related to adultery then, finding which we will also prove that the religious perspective and laws on adultery had been evolved centuries ago form a basis for the societal perspective even today, which is also reflected in the current adultery laws. To start with we will take up the oldest religion which is the Hindu religion then Christianity, Islam, and then a brief overview of other religions too. AULTERY AS PER HINDUISM In the Hindu religion a huge emphasis is laid n marriages and its sanctity and to make a marriage pure and give it a legal effect saptpadi is performed around a sacred fire. Adultery is considered a major violation of dharma in Hindu shastras. Marriage is viewed as a holy and strongly sanctified relationship in Hinduism. Marriage, according to Hinduism, is a holy union that lasts for many lives and is not limited to one birth. Maintaining the integrity of marriage and upholding matrimonial vows are important. Breaking the consecrated vow and the recognized union of marriage with deities as witnesses is a profanity and terrible karma. The purity of blood in the Hindu religion is of foremost importance it is for this reason that eve marriages outside the caste were forbidden and when a woman enters an adulterous relation the purity of the blood is sabotaged and a legit title is not given to offspring born out of such relation. For Indians, it has always been Sanatan dharma, an immortal faith for Hinduism. Manu smriti was the ancient Indians' eternal code of ethics, and the general population adhered to it faithfully. According to the Hinduism dictionary, “Adultery is sexual intercourse between a married man and a woman not his wife, or between a married woman and a man, not her husband.” Adultery can cause caste uncertainty, degradation of family values, and social disarray. Bhagwat Gita 1.43 too states that: "The intermixture of castes leads the destroyers of the family and also the family to hell. The ancestors (in heaven) also fall, as they do not receive the ritualistic offerings of food and water due to them.” The Vishnu Purana 3.11 thus states punishment for adultery as- “A man should not think incontinently of another's wife, much less address her to that end; for such a man will be reborn in a future life as a creeping insect. He who commits adultery is punished both here and hereafter; for his days in this world are cut short, and when dead he falls into hell.” Other than Vishnu Puram the Mau smriti was a like a code of conduct for Hindus and for adultery was considered as a sin. It stated that, “Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control.” “Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is never fit for independence.” While the Manu smriti objectified the woman as something which is of her parents till marriage, after marriage the chattel is handed over to the husband and then in old age finally handed over to her children for protecting her. This, objectification of women in the Hindu religion is also reflected in the patriarchal structure of Hindu society where she has with the death of her husband, she has to face various widowhood-related rituals and a widower goes free. The same is the case when it comes to adultery. Though the Hindu religion does not support extra marital relationships of any kind by any gender still the punishments and social retribution in the case of a woman are harsher because of the existing lower status of wife than her husband and her inferior value in the family. Adultery was actually a married woman getting involved with a man other than her spouse. Adulterous relations or extramarital affairs involving a married woman attract more severe punishments than ones involving an unmarried woman. Manu was highly critical of women's actions and recommended rigorous codes of conduct for men to follow in order to keep an eye on their women and prevent them from engaging in evil behavior that would bring them and their families into disrepute. In case of women the results of adultery are much worse and such actions not easily forgiven or forgotten. This is evident from, “Day and night woman must be kept in dependence by the males of their families, and, if they attach themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one’s control.” From the discussion of Manu smriti it can be understood that there was more of objectification of woman in the man smriti and punishments were even stated for man for adultery in its Chapter 8 based on caste and status of the man and the woman. It stipulated a variety of punishment for adultery, ranging from plain repentance to the horrific act of burning the accused. The aim of making "adultery" a crime and limiting it to "Man" was to prohibit "Man" from exploiting women who are denied of their husband's love and attention, as well as to prevent Man from having sexual intercourse with the wife of another man. But when we look historically, we see adulterous relationships drew more criticism and ostracization towards Hindu women. In their situation, the sentences were also harsh. Patita was the name given to an adulterous woman, which meant a fallen or abandoned woman, an outcast, or a woman who had fallen from her husband's grace (pati), example of which can be the famous incident of Ahalya. Indra deceived her and drew her into an illicit engagement, which she bore the brunt of it. In ancient India, women cheating behind their husbands' backs and husbands having extramarital affairs with other women were not uncommon. Indian folklore includes stories revolving around the topic. To sum it up it can be said that the laws in Hindu religion are same as that stated in section 497 or it can be said that the section 497 is the reflection of the Hindu practices which include the punishments for the 3rd person that is the man and also objectification of woman is same in both the cases. Though the Hindu religion has stated punishments for any man seducing the wife of another man, the punishments for woman are not written but it can be assumed that the punishments for woman are driven more by social forces and customary practices one of which being “Patita was the name given to an adulterous woman, which meant a fallen or unwanted woman, an outcast, or a woman who had fallen from her husband's grace (pati). Another epithet was kulata, which meant unchaste woman or a woman who degraded the family's (kula) and husband's good name.” AULTERY AS PER CHRITIANITY: Like in Hinduism, Christianity too gives a very high position to the marriages and considers it as a sacred bond between two peoples of god and the majority of Christians believe that sexual affairs can only take place in marriage. One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus confirms this: You shall not commit adultery. 20:14 (Exodus). And the definition of adultery as per the Christian law is any sexual relationship outside marriage i.e., having sex with someone who you are not married to, attracts adultery in Christian personal law. But the difference between the Hindu religion and Christian religion is that while the Hindu religion considers harsher punishment for a woman (customary) and man (codified) the Christianity as per Bible only considers the extramarital affair of a married woman as adultery. If a married man sleeps with an unmarried woman, it is not considered a felony according to the Biblical meaning. A married man who engages in extramarital relationships with unmarried women is not an adulterer, and the unmarried women with whom he is engaged are not adulteresses. “Adultery is only practiced when a man sleeps with a married woman, whether he is married or not. And if he is not married, the man is considered an adulterer, and the woman is considered an adulterous in this situation. Adultery is described as any illegal sexual conduct involving a married woman. A married man's extramarital affair is not considered a sin in the Bible.” There are double standards in adultery when it comes to a woman’s sin and a man’s sin is condoned easily. Leviticus 20:10 subsequently prescribes capital punishment for adultery but only in those cases which involve a married woman: "`If a man commits adultery with another man's wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” Thus, double standards of adultery are evident from the literatures of this particular religion as the biblical punishment for sex does not apply if the woman is unmarried; otherwise, it applies regardless of the man's marital status. Within these passages, if the man was married but the woman was not, there would be no death sentence for adultery. These double standards on adultery are even reflected today in Catholic Christian countries and until after decades ago the no. of Christian countries considering it as a criminal offence was even higher. The Gulathin Old Christian Law illustrates Christianity's stance toward adulteresses by a related provision that specifies that "a woman had to pay fines to the king for the first three occasions she had lain with a man." If a woman had more than three affairs, she was not required to pay the king's fine because she was deemed a prostitute, a puta. A woman's legal value was also limited if she was deemed a prostitute. The day a woman was declared a prostitute, she was no longer subject to punishment. Along with adultery being a crime committed only by a married woman and not by a married man, there are evidences which show that in Christian law to the woman was considered as an object or property of her husband evident from the: “We only find proof that one of the parties involved was prosecuted in the vast majority of cases involving adultery from the period 1300–1600. This was normally the male. Adultery is especially important from a gender-differentiating perspective because it stands out so distinctly as a male offence, despite its gender-neutral laws.” As adultery was only a crime committed on married woman and thus the prosecution included less woman as affair with an unmarried woman was not considered as adultery. Riisøy, A. I. (2009) thus stated that: “The farmer or husband was the household's head. It was his duty to provide and defend, as well as to rule over family members and servants, within this patriarchal family system. The husband or farmer had greater control over what he did or did not do, and he was more likely to indulge in whoring. As a result, Telste contends that the numbers represent fact, arguing that married men are more likely than married women to be unfaithful, a viewpoint held by Sogner, Lindstedt Cronberg, and Sandvik.” The above examples show that the religion had a biased approach towards adultery in which only female adultery was a more severe sin as per the bible, due to which the women were as objects by the husbands and society thus reflecting the ideology of patriarchy. Several states practiced Biblical traditions prohibiting adultery, which eventually led to the use of adultery as a divorce ground. The connection was clear in certain ways; since adultery is arguably the least likely marital sin to be forgiven, it is more likely than anything else to end a marriage. Owing to its illegal intent, it necessitates a high standard of evidence in divorce case. The stance in the Christian religion that the adultery is a sin for a married woman has seen a softened approach from Jesus, which is evident from the “Jesus and the woman taken in adultery a passage found in the Gospel of John 7:53–8:11”. This shoes how Jesus saved a woman from the societal retribution and gave the idea that every seen is forgivable to benefit everyone who realizes they’re sick with sin and wants healing. AULTERY AS PER ISLAM: People are forced to follow moral rules because they choose to survive in society for reasons other than ethical or physical coercion. Societal beliefs of culture not only control human behavior, but they also have implications on those who violate them. Thus, Islamic law adopted a normative approach to prevent this deviance through adultery for both man and woman. Adultery, as well as fornication and infidelity, are called unforgivable and reprehensible offences, according to the Prophet , “When adultery and promiscuous behavior becomes rampant in a nation, Allah will expose them to His chastisement and He will send upon them such (strange) diseases that their own ancestors never heard of.” Adultery is one of the most heinous and severe sins in Islam. The heinousness can be gauged by the fact that it has been compared to the most evil of offences in the Quran. That is completely clarified in the above-mentioned statement. Men and women who indulge in the sinful act of zina are sentenced to harsh punishments. According to Islamic law, the punishment for premarital sex is 100 lashes, whereas adultery is punishable by stoning to death, also known as Rajm or extreme flogging. Stoning as a punishment for extramarital sex, on the other hand, is not listed in the Quran but is recommended in Hadith. (Hadith are the verbal mores connecting to the words and conduct of the Islamic prophet Mohammad). While men are exceptions in this situation, and a married man sleeping with an unmarried woman is not considered adultery, it is a crime if the woman is married and engages in extramarital affairs. In this scenario, the sentence imposed on her is no less than execution by stoning. Thus, the contradiction to the affirmations made that Muslim law is gender neutral is seen by the claims made in above stances. But the Qur'an, Sura 24 (An-Nur), Ayat 2 states that: "The woman and the man guilty of zināʾ (for fornication or adultery),- flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment." Fornication and adultery are both punishable by public lashing and lethal stoning, as recommended in Hadiths, Islam's most trusted books after the Quran, especially in Kitab Al-Hudud. This punishment includes 100 lashes and stoning to death but only if the act of adultery is testified by 4 witnesses of good character, but the irony here is that no man of good character would look at such and act and if he will not see or witness such act that the testimony will be false and thus, he will have to face repercussions of giving false statement. The statement to support our claim that the laws of adultery in Islam are male biased we find that the harshest treatment of adultery, which sometimes allows punishment by stoning, occurs in nations governed by Sharia law, and prosecutions tend to be of women rather than men. For e.g., Adultery is prohibited in Pakistan, according to the Hudood Ordinance, which was enacted in 1979. The ultimate punishment under the Ordinance is death. The Ordinance has ignited controversy because it allows a woman who makes a rape allegation to have exceptionally clear evidence in order to prevent being charged with adultery. A rape conviction can only be obtained with the testimony of at least four witnesses. High-profile rape incidents in Pakistan have earned the Ordinance more attention in recent years than comparable legislation in other countries. Other Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Brunei, have similar rules. Also the Hadith includes, Abu Hurairah which states that: “the Prophet, in a case of intercourse between a young man and a married woman, sentenced the woman to stoning and the young man to flogging and banishment for a year.” The Hadith also includes that: “Allah has ordained a way for those women. When an unmarried male commits adultery with an unmarried female, they should receive one hundred lashes and banishment for one year. And in case of married male committing adultery with a married female, they shall receive one hundred lashes and be stoned to death.” Thus, the common thing observed is the there is no as such special mention of a married man having sexual intercourse outside marriage except for the case in which the sexual intercourse is with a married man. Rather the biasness towards male in cases of adultery is not much visible when we see the texts related to it but as we know that the Muslim law allows a man to marry four woman i.e.polygamy is permitted in Islam for man but for woman. Amina Wadud, leading feminist Muslim scholar, cites three reasons why polygamy is appropriate in the Quran “if the husband is sexually unhappy, he can take another wife rather than return to prostitutes or an affair; if the first wife is unable to conceive or another woman with a child needs to be cared for; and if the husband is financially secure enough to care for another woman in the Muslim community.” Thus, the actual reason why a married man doesn’t need to turn to adultery is that they are provided with and option of marring three more times if they are not satisfied with their first marriage but the same is not there in the case of a wife and her satisfaction does not matter and thus would lead to a deviance from societal norms. When it comes to adultery, some of the laws are same for both man and woman in Islam , also both the adulterer and the 3rd party are punished in equal proportions but adultery as it has evolved through customary practices and different interpretations is mostly seen as the one which includes a married woman in it and also the exclusive right of four marriages given to a man creates and unequal playing field for females as marrying another woman when the first one is alive is considered as a crime in many religions and even today many states consider it as a criminal offences, thus the approach of Islamic society in relation to rights of woman is different from that of a man. Thus, a biased perspective indirectly is evident. Submitted by: Hardik Gupta NMIMS, NAVI MUMBAI

Vaidehi was rushing back home from her work. It was a typical winter evening in the city of Patna. As a result it got dark by the time clock hit 6. Vaidehi was an advocate who lived in Patna with her younger brother and parents. Her brother Vivian was in standard 12th and was about to appear in board exam in a few months’ time. As a result she was very much concerned about him and his studies. By the time Vaidehi reached home it was 6:30. After completing household chores she started working upon the cases which were listed next day. Post dinner, Vaidehi went into Vivian’s room for discussing how was his day in school and how are his preparations going on. When she entered Vivian’s room she found a small statue lying on his table. Vaidehi inquired about the statue to which Vivian replied that he found it lying outside his school gate. He found the statue very attractive therefore he picked it up and brought it home. Vaidehi lifted the statue in her hand and started looking at the statue. However, all of a sudden smoke came out of the statue. Both Vivian and Vaidehi got scared by seeing the same. In no time the statue turns into a beautiful boy. Vaidehi asked the boy who he is. The Boy replied that he is a spirit which resides inside this statue. As the clock hits 11:11 in the night, his spirit comes out the statue. However as the sun will rise his spirit will go back into the statue. Vaidehi further inquires what he wants from both of them. The spirit replies he wants nothing from them. He then replies that he was created by his master to spread happiness in as many faces as possible. After listening to the Spirit, Vivian asks him what he can do to make people happy. Is he like the genie of Aladin who can fulfill their wishes. The Spirit replied to him that he has no such powers like the genie of Aladin. But, yes he with his words can make any individual happy and satisfied. After listening to the Spirit, Vaidehi tells him that she is an advocate and every day she has to act as cold as possible. After all, Advocates cannot afford to be emotional and sophisticated. If the Spirit is able to touch her inner chords then she will admit that the Spirit actually has some powers. Furthermore the Spirit needs to do it by 12:00 A.M. Or else the Spirit will fail in his mission of making the people happy. The Spirit says that she is quite an interesting personality. It is because her complexion reminds him of Snow-White. Her hair reminds him of Rapunzel. The portrait of her in his brother’s room reminds him of Jasmine. But, the time constraint under which the spirit is working reminds him of Cinderella. On listening to this, both Vaidehi and Vivian burst into laughter. After talking to the spirit for couple of hours, Vaidehi reminds Vivian that it’s already very late now and therefore they should sleep now. Vaidehi then asks the spirit that what he will do now. The spirit replies that he will enter into their dreams to make their dreams a happy dream and by the time sun will rise he will go back into the statue. The siblings refused to accept this. However to their surprise the spirit even entered into their respective dreams to make their dream a good one. From next day both the siblings used to work the entire day and used to wait for the spirit in the night. As the clock struck 11:11 p.m. the spirit used to come out of the statue and made siblings happy by his words. The same continued for months and the spirit became an integral part of their lives. In the meantime Vivian appeared in his board exams and other competitive examination. To everyone’s delight Vivian came out with flying colors. Vaidehi was happy and so were her parents. To celebrate Vivian’s success, Vaidehi throws a party in home in which she invites her family members and friends. During the party, Vaidehi plays party music and everyone starts dancing to the tune. However while dancing she slips and hits herself to the table nearby. In anger she pushes the table to the other side of the room. But, when she pushes the table to the other side of the room the spirited statue falls from the table and breaks into pieces. On seeing this, both Vaidehi and Vivian rush to the spot to collect the broken pieces. They try to fix it. But, alas they fail to do it. The siblings were still hopeful of a miracle. But, this night at 11:11 p.m., the spirit did not come out of the statue. Both Vaidehi and Vivian were sad because in a few months’ time the spirit became an integral part of their lives. Now his absence was haunting both of them. In grief, Vaidehi picked up the broken pieces and started crying. However as the tears of Vaidehi felt over the broken statue, the spirit came out of the broken pieces. Both Vaidehi and Vivian were happy as well as surprised to see the spirit which came out of the broken pieces. The spirit replied that as the statue broke, the spirit went into a dormant state and would have vanished forever as the sun would have risen the next day. However the tears of Vaidehi brought her back to existence. Vaidehi’s tears were as powerful as that of the Phoenix whose tears can heal any injury. Furthermore Vaidehi has not cried for years. As a result her tears had so much power and emotions in it that not only that he came out of the dead, but now he is more powerful than he was before. Now he doesn’t need that small statue during the daytime. He can be with them at any place at any time. Furthermore since the statue is no longer there, he can now enter anyone’s body as per his wish and can leave the same as per his wish. Your tears Vaidehi, has unleashed a new power in him. On listening this, both Vaidehi and Vivian were excited because something very exciting awaits for them. By Raj Krishna, National Law Institute University, Bhopal

I was already a graduate by the end of May, 2020, thinking about how to unfold my life in future amidst the COVID-19 induced lockdown. The lockdown had not only taken a toll on lives, but also on minds of people. Time and Lockdown slowly passed. It was in September, I had my mains paper of Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services. Before the dreams of becoming a Judge could take off, my dream of going solo around the country crept in. Frustrated and burned-out, I decided to leave my papers to undertake a solo journey. Around the world in 80 days by Jules Verne where Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on wager of £20,000 set by his friends motivated me enough to travel few exquisite places in India. The only difference in my story is that I put my career on wager. (Not really, you will get to know later in this story) Courageous to undertake a solo trip for the first time in life, Jaisalmer was on the top of the list, partly for the reason that I had watched Sarfarosh days ago (thousand times before that) where a magnificent and artistically carved yellow sandstone archway lake drew my attention to the point of unrestraint desire to visit the place. Little did I know that someday I would be sitting along the perch of this beautiful lake. (Power of Manifestation). I was all set to go to Golden City (Jaisalmer). I encountered by first set of problem without which any journey remains incomplete. (As in life, as in other things) My tickets were not booked. Desirous to undertake the journey, I booked the bus tickets at the eleventh hour to Jaipur (Gateway to Rajasthan) as there were no direct buses available from Lucknow to Jaisalmer. After landing in the Pink City (Jaipur), it was the time to use the Hostel app on my smartphone to book an economical hostel in the vicinity. I booked the Gypsy Monkey Hostel though the app in an economical price of just over ₹ 300 for a night stay. The hostel had a terrace where they served me à la carte breakfast which looked sumptuous. The hostel had a tiny swimming pool with no swimmers, as the wanderlusts were not wandering due to COVID restrictions still in place in many cities. As sun sets in Jaipur, the city turned all beautiful. It wasn’t pink anymore in evening, but my heart was. It was shiny gold. In no time, I was on my way to Jaisalmer on a train. The first glimmer of Jaisalmer was brought on train in no time. A folk artist carrying kamaicha (a string instrument) started playing a beautiful Hindi song ‘Udein Jab Jab Zulfen Teri’ from the classic movie ‘Naya Daur’. It was indeed a Naya Daur for me, since it was a beginning of a new journey in my life with new dreams in my head. I was greeted by a stunning sunrise with cool breeze in Jaisalmer, which I still vividly feel in my face. A fast transition from dark to light happened; from dull to life happened. (As in life, as in other things). As I embarked in the parking spot, I met few musafirs who were also travelling solo. We hopped on to a Tuktuk which would take us to our hostels. Co-incidentally, we had booked the same hostel ‘the hosteller’. It was located 1.2 kilometers inside from the city center. The hostel in which we were staying had a dorm with 8 beds, equipped with a washroom and café and a music room. Mr. Suraj, the owner greeted all of us with utmost sincerity. (In 1968, Satyajit Ray, noted Bengali film director, shot his fantasy adventure movie, Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, at Jaisalmer. The climax of the story, in which several hundred extras and camels were needed to recreate a medieval war, was provided by the Jaisalmer royal family. On this first visit, Ray was deeply impressed by the hospitality). I realized that instantly. After a power nap in comfort, I left my abode to explore Jaisalmer in extreme heat, which was still pleasant in September. The first place on my list was Jaisalmer Fort, popularly known as ‘Sonar Quila’. Built by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD, this UNESCO World Heritage site is the pride of the Thar Desert and is a symbol of strength of the Royal’s Rajput. The Mughals also controlled this marvelous architecture for a brief time. The Fort is, therefore a blend of Rajput and Mughal architecture. The State of Rajasthan always invoked images of dry land, Thar deserts, and spectacular royal places. All these elements come together at Jaisalmer, the largest district in Rajasthan. As I entered inside the fort which had a 60 feet tall gate carved from Indian rosewood, three concentric rings of sandstone walls opened onto homes, stables and palaces that once housed Rajput kings. There were old shops to the left and modern cafe to the right side for modern connoisseurs. Sun rays embellished the whole fort and it brimmed with shine and shimmer. The pathway to visit the center of this stunning walled city passed through an archaic underpass, where people sit to enjoy the folk music played by local artists. The path, thereafter was steep up till the center of the fort, where the sight of children playing cricket brought a tinge of nostalgia. The people flocking to shops to buy their choice of T-shirt imprinted with ‘I love Rajasthan’ with a camel in center was a happy sight for a traveler like me. A labyrinth of corridors led me to an unexplored nook of the fort, which had a steep climb to a café on the top of the fort. I glanced through the menu of the café but my eyes held onto only one item, the sweet lassi. It tasted like an elixir in the middle of desert. From the café, the whole city could be seen radiating energy and shining, as if they had been ornamented with gold. The fort housed 2000 residents, which makes it India’s last “living fort”. After passing through the same set of pathways, I exited the fort and set for Patwon ki Haveli. After crossing through crowded corridors of the city housing sweet shops (‘Mithai ki dukaan’), a narrow alleyway led me to Patwon ki Haveli. If it wasn’t for the signboard printed on a wall, I would have been a visitor to every Haveli in Jaisalmer. Patwon ki Haveli is in a cluster of five Havelis each with a distinct quality of its own. It was constructed by Guman Chand Patwa who was a Brocade merchant. After paying an entry fee of ₹ 100, I secured my entrance into the Haveli. On the first floor through snaky stairs, a mural work was filigreed on to a glass in which Lord Buddha could be seen sitting in the middle under the sacred fig tree (Enlightenment Tree), while his followers are paying reverence to him. A craft of the bygone era was embedded with a picture of a priest performing rituals on woman on a white simmering translucent glass. In the next section of the Haveli, equipment used by the Patwas during their time were on display, which included a Ky-Ko Non-Electric Fan whose motto was printed on the information board “it is not necessary to eat, drink and sleep with flies and Mosquitoes, or to be without a cooling breeze in the hottest weather”. Another room had a simulation setting to provide a real time experience to visitors of how the five families of Patwas used to live during their times. It had a mirror glass, clothes of families, a cushion to seat the merchants, a music instrument and glasses for brews. I could smell the site. I still vividly remember the rustic smell originating from the cushions and instrument of the past. By the time I came out of the Haveli, sun had already set. I was famished and looked out for a place where I could eat to the fullest of Rajasthani delicacy. In a flicker of seconds, my eyes hooked to a restaurant whose name was ‘The Beatles’ for obvious reason nestled on the right side of the fort. I was once again welcomed by the set of people with generosity. I was served with a delicious local cuisine ‘Dal Baati Churma’ by the owner of the restaurant Mr. Bhawani Singh with buttermilk over the top. The restaurant was palatial and had a perch with a local Rajasthani cushions setting, from where the fort could be seen brimming with lights in evening. It looked exquisite and unbelievable to be sitting in front of a marvelous piece of architecture. I mingled up easily with Mr. Bhawani as his generosity had a charm of enticing anyone. During our parlance, he confided in me that his one of the worker had been arrested on the same morning by the police on the charges of theft by his neighbor and was kept in police custody. He asked for my help as I disclosed that I was an advocate. I talked to the police officer and brought to his notice Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 where a Police Officer need not arrest a person if the offence under which he has been arrested prescribes punishment for less than 7 years. Theft, in fact entailed maximum punishment of only 3 years. I also brought to his notice that the Supreme Court in In Re: Contagion of Covid-19 Virus in prison case ordered the decongestion of jails and arrest could only be made in serious offences. The Police Officer showed deference and assured that the worker would be released and a notice would be issued to him under the relevant provisions. The lack of information on part of the police machinery very often deprives citizen’s their cherished right to liberty. (My work was done and I was ready to leave with ample amount of food, love and good wishes). After a high yielding day, I decided to spend the last hours of the day by the side of Gadisar Lake in a peaceful surrounding. It was built by Gadsi Singh in the year around 1367 AD. This lake is an artificial lake. It once provided water to the entire city. The deafening peace shrouded the entire place with no one around to enjoy it, except me. I sat in the silence, with crickets chirping in the background, helping me to introspect my life. The silence also helped me realize that I have been courageous enough to undertake such a journey and that we always need courage to embark on a new journey (as in life, as in other things). The day could not have been better. The next day I had a train to Gokarna, Karnataka as I did not want to stop my Safarnama here. I wanted to continue it in perpetuity, only if I could. I knew I would never get the same amount of extended time in my life to undertake such a long journey. Once, we are adults and employed in a profession, taking out time for you becomes a luxury. The cost was my abstention in judicial service examination. Not everyone can afford that. You must be wondering if I actually put my career on wager. Not Really. I received a call from the Supreme Court of India directing me to join the Chamber of a Judge as a Judicial Law Clerk-cum-Research Assistant. Life always takes you to places, professionally, and spiritually. I have not told the half of what I saw. Au Revoir! By Deepak Singh, National Law University, Odisha

Greetings from the Literary & Debating Committee of NLUJAA. ‘The Lost Stories’, the annual literary magazine of NLUJAA is inviting submissions for its third edition. About NLUJA, Assam National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam is a premier law institute located in the gateway city of North-East that is Guwahati, Assam. It was established in 2009 through an Act passed by the State Legislature of Assam as a public university dedicated to the field of legal education. About the Literary and Debating Committee NLUJA, Assam The Literary and Debating Committee NLUJA, Assam is established to provide students with the opportunity to express their thoughts and act as a platform to voice their opinions and sharpen their oratory skills. Literature is necessary to keep culture, art, heritage, tradition, and most importantly imagination, alive. This committee aspires to create an environment to celebrate, discuss and promote literature. It is actively engaged in providing a substantial and unrestricted foundation for students to explore the world beyond textbooks where the freedom of speech, dissent, and discussion of significant social issues are vital for change and well-being of the society. It is keenly focused on providing all the necessary opportunities to the students of NLUJAA to gain more confidence and promote interest in the debating culture. The Literary and Debating Committee thereby acts as a model platform for students to promote their interest in Literature, Quizzing, and Debating. About The Lost Stories The Lost Stories is the annual literary magazine of the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam under the aegis of the Literary and Debating Committee. The magazine seeks to provide a platform for the students to look beyond the pages of their mundane academic lives and showcase their creative skills and talents. Call for Submissions The Lost Stories is accepting all kinds of unpublished and original entries, be it poetry, prose, articles (opinion pieces, essays, book reviews, movie reviews etc.), artworks (photography, paintings, comedy sketches, digital art etc.), travelogues and any piece of self-expression and creativity. Theme The submissions need not be restricted to any theme. We publish entries related to both, one’s lifestyle, and the ones related to general issues aimed towards sensitizing the readers. We do not publish articles which are purely legal or academic in nature. Who can Submit? Students, academicians, research scholars, and activists can contribute to the magazine. Submission Guidelines ●All submissions to the magazine should be original and should not be simultaneously considered by any other publication. Plagiarized submissions will be rejected. ● The language of the submissions should be in English. ● Citations should be in the form of hyperlink. ● Co-authorship is allowed to a maximum of two authors. ● All written submissions should be in the form of word document. ● Articles: The entries can be on any contemporary topic of your interest with a word limit of 2000-3000 words excluding footnotes. Longer posts might be considered depending on their quality. ● Poetry: Haikus, sonnets, limericks, or the good old free verse, your poem can be of any kind or topic in the universe. While there is no such limit on words, it is preferable to have one-page entries. ●Prose: Entries can include stories (fictional or non-fictional), opinion pieces, essays, travelogues, book reviews, and movie reviews with a word limit of 1500 words. ●Photograph/Artwork: Entries can include painting, sketch, digital art, photograph (only acceptable in .jpeg format), hand-drawn comics, manga strips, etc. Photographs. ● The deadline for submission is 29th April, 2023. ● Submissions must be uploaded at https://forms.gle/5vQAMEUQ1NT8gx3i7 Contact Information If any contributor has any query or would like to discuss a proposal, please email us at loststories@nluassam.ac.in • Abhishek Srivastava (Editor-in-chief, ‘The Lost Stories’) +917596095804 • Kunal Kalita (Managing Editor, ‘The Lost Stories’) +918011148228 • Tejashwini Mallick (Editor, ‘The Lost Stories’) +917781054053 • Pranav Gandhi (Editor, ‘The Lost Stories’) +91821064214 • Swarna (Editor, ‘The Lost Stories’) +919521409450