She was 23 when FBI agents surrounded her - while she was having lunch with a colleague in Washington DC - in January 1998. She was unaware that the lunch was a trap. What followed was a scandal that shook the world. She was caught having an affair with her boss, a married man at 49, who also happened to be one of the most powerful men in the world. Tabloids had a field day. She was intimidated, threatened, bullied, and pushed to the extremes of humiliation - in an ugly political storm that raged for months.
She was branded a tramp, tart, slut, whore, and a bimbo. The world stood around, stoning her virtually to death. Her cry for mercy went unheeded.
"Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one worldwide", she said in a speech years later. In the following years, she tried returning to normal life, occasionally appearing on TV shows, but life was anything but normal. She was always identified as "that woman".
In 2005, she left everything behind and went to UK, where she graduated with a master's degree in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics. A small circle of friends were her support. Yet the bitter memories continued to haunt her. She was constantly hyper-aware of how others were perceiving her. Her friends even suggested that she change her name, but she refused.
After more than a decade of living in silence, she decided to come out in the open in 2014, and help young people who were bullied, shamed, and intimidated, for mistakes they did or did not do. She became a social activist and an anti-bullying advocate. She joined hands with organizations like Bystander Revolution to help kids fight cyber bullying.
In March 2015, she gave a TED talk about the shame that stuck to her like tar. "Not a day goes by, that I'm not reminded of my mistake", she said, narrating her story, choking at times and holding back tears. In a world of hypocrites, where many still hasten to stone her, she stands out as a wonderful human being, who has learnt from the mistakes of her youth, turned her life around, and is making a difference in the society today. She still goes by her real name - Monica Lewinsky.
In an unforgiving world, few get a second chance; very few make a difference with it.
JUST when news channels were worried over the shortage of sensational news, Gary Kirsten comes to their rescue. When I was a cricket fan in the late 1980s (yeah, I lost interest later), the ban on South Africa was lifted and they started playing international cricket. That's when we (me and my cousins, who were all kids and crazy cricket fans) came to know of Kirsten. None of us were his fans because he was bald. We hated him because he was a pretty good opener and that brought trouble to India.
Today, I am surprised to see Kirsten take on a new avatar. The media says he has a "Sex Mantra" for the Indian cricket team. "What? Kirsten? That old man ?", I wonder. I've only heard Late Dr. Mathrubootham talk of these stuff. So, what does this guy Kirsten actually say? In short, he says, good sex gives good cricket. No jokes here. This guy is serious.
"Are you sure it is Kirsten? Is it not someone else... like... err... Kushwant Singh.. or Shobha De... or... maybe Bill Clinton?"
"No, no! It is Kirsten ! How the heck would these others know about cricket!"
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot we're talking of cricket also".
English and Australian players say they envy the Indian team for getting such a nice coach. As expected, the media is very happy, now they have something to talk 24X7. There are forums discussing if it is good to have sex before or after or during a match. Sexologists are in sudden demand. They are invited to various group discussions to explain the science behind all this. They are happy that their profession is somehow getting linked with cricket, and that gives them bright hopes for a great future. I am sure everyone, other than the cricketers, is watching these discussions. Who knows what the cricketers are doing (hmm...) !
Now, hold on - Kirsten refuted all these claims the next day. He says he never said any of these stuff. Poor guy, no one even bothered to listen now. The media reported it, but well, it was quickly overshadowed by the "Sex and Cricket" discussions which were already in full swing. There were more and more panel discussions, forum debates, sexologist interviews, and no one even heard Kirsten refuting these allegations. The damage was already done. Nobody wanted the hot discussions to end just 'coz Kirsten never told it in the first place. It was a good topic that could go on for another couple of months, so why would anyone even think of ending it. It was "gala" time for all Talk-time hosts.
Kirsten would have been scratching his already-bald-head wondering "Is this all a bad dream?".
There are a few things he can do to capitalize this situation. Now, this is what you should do, Mr. Kirsten:
First of all, stop refuting these. No one is gonna believe you, 'coz no one bothers if it is true. Just go with the flow and enjoy the hungama. The media loves you now. You are more popular now than ever in your life.
Tell that you read about this sex mantra somewhere in Kamasutra. That's it. You have quoted from a book of ancient India, and no one will dare to question you. Kamasutra book sales will double or triple, and publishers would just love you. Now, don't worry if anyone would cross verify your claim. Once they start reading the book, they will forget about what you said. There is enough stuff in that book to keep them occupied for another 2 years.
Next, you can write a book yourself. Didn't you know that writing a book was the fastest way to become a celebrity in India! Look what happened to Jaswant Singh. No one bothered calling him for interviews before. Now, he is the busiest person on town. But, make sure you write something about stuff like culture, pre-marital sex, or morality - even if these are not linked to cricket. Be assured that one of these would explode into a nation-wide discussion, and you can ride the tide happily.
Next, you can start a Talk Show. What? Are you thinking of what to talk? That's the last thing you should worry about. Just talk something that appears to be complex. You can invent something called "Cricket Therapy" for sex problems, or "Sex Therapy" for cricket problems. Whatever. Who cares! Just keep talking. At any cost, don't allow others to talk, then they will ask questions and you will be in trouble. Invite them, but you keep talking.
Meanwhile, during this time, if India wins matches, tell that your mantra works. If they lose, tell that the players didn't follow it "effectively". In any case, you win. All the best, Mr. Kirsten.
Girls and boys who were hanging out in a pub in Mangalore were brutally assaulted by a Sena party. The video on NDTV site showed girls being beaten, dragged and humiliated. So, let's all understand one thing clearly. Pub culture is indecent. It is from Western countries. So, we should all oppose it.
Right ? Understood ? Ok wait, listen further.
Dragging girls by their salwar, beating them, pushing them around, standing around them & slapping them - are all ancient Indian culture - and we should all uplift and save it. Wow, what a great eye-opener ! For all those confused people who were trying to understand the difference between Western culture and Indian culture - the Sena party has given a clear definition.
I started wondering how Sena would react in another situation. In Tamil Nadu, illicit liquor production happens here and there. I have a doubt if that is ancient Indian culture or Western or Latin or whatever. In any case, I am sure the Sena party of Mangalore incident would take strong action against these men also. They might run into such illicit liquor areas, and pull off the dhoti from all men there. Unfortunately, girls are not present in such areas. So, the Sena party may not be able to prove their ancient Indian culture on girls. But, I am sure, they will strip men of their dhotis and enforce their party's principle. (Hopefully NDTV will upload that video too)
