IAm16ICanRape ~ Kirtida Gautam

"Rape" a term which is an eye catcher for each one of us. The moment we open our newspaper, we come across this word, and it's not as if we ain't aware of it's meaning but each one of us holds a different picture of this word in our head. In fact, the dictionary holds a definition of this word, it is the crime, typically committed by a man, of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with the offender against their will in other words it is the abduction of an individual especially to form a sexual alliance with the person. 

I wonder how many of us actually think about a rape case in our day to day lives, specially now, most of us have this one statement on our lips, "It's a common phenomena now, it's exactly like having a meal. That's how the census of rape is rising our country. What can we do in it?"

Hah! That's our mentality, I guess. Most of us even think that,

"Oh! I can go out, I won't be raped." That's where we go wrong. 

A rapists never rationalise things in his mind. He victimise someone who's always weak in her knees, someone who can give up on herself too easily, someone who can make his fantasies come true and yes, that can be you without a doubt. I wonder how many of us will pick up this book with the actual intention of reading it, because most of us will be attracted to the title itself, we'll get attracted to the word 'RAPE' because that's how humans are programmed. (That's something good at Kirtida's part, *wink*)

Not denying the fact, even I got an inclination to this title but not because of the word, but because it had 16 and yes, I am 16. Before actually approaching Kirtida, I had this turmoil in me that whether I should be reading it or not, a question which hovered over me was, 'How will I look while holding such a title in a public place, or at school, that too when I am actually 16?'

But then, a factor like age cannot stop me from reading and I guess I made the best decision ever to go ahead and read this intellectual, psychological thriller which changed a lot of perspectives of life for me.

About The Book

I Am 16 I Can Rape, a title which can either be a question or a statement, title which has the ability to make us that rape is not something as easy as it seems to, it can happen with anyone and at any point of time. The different perception of the people and the changing protagonist made my interest going. 

• Aarush Kashyap ~ A highly intelligent guy with a genius IQ level, someone who has the ability to manipulate people around him without them knowing it. He is someone who can make you fall in love with himself and yet won't let you know that he's the wrong one in the end. He won't let you believe that he's the villain and not the people around him, someone who thinks that the planets of love revolve around him and he's the shining Sun for all forces of affection which diverts towards him, only if he would have understood himself, his life would have been better.
• Rudransh Kashyap ~ Aarush's grandfather, Aarush's Bob, Aarush's godfather, RK-ji. That's how he's known in the book. Rudransh had always believed in his grandson, his Champ, he knew that he won't harm anyone, he thought that his Champ was not capable of committing such a horrendous crime but only to his horror, he had to face the truth, the truth which he denied this the end but something which made him fight his own demons away. He knew that he had failed as a parent, a guardian and a masculine figure of Champ's life but he had no clue that his failure would come back to him at a stage where there would be nothing left to look forward to, yet he lives, yet he breathes to get the wrong punished. He keeps up with his principles and reached a stage of enlightenment where he couldn't be manipulated anymore, where he knew the best for his Champ. He finally understood that the myth created by our societies and his own mind can make an angel into a devil, a Rama into a Ravana. 
• Subhangi Tyagi ~ A girl who fell into a trap which wasn't for her yet it was for her. A girl who fought against the odds of life and yet couldn't save herself. A girl who stood strong till her last breath and yet couldn't achieve the impossible because our legal system actually made it impossible for her. She couldn't feel more helpless than she did while she sat in court for the hearings. She knew nothing would change but still she fought because staying shut can never be a solution. A brave soul who knew a battle fought is more important than losing a battle without looking out for the enemies. She knew that nothing would change yet she fought against the juvenile of our country, juvenile called our legal system.
• Gayatri Kashyap ~ Aarush's grandmother, Aarush's mother, Aarush's budhiya. A lady who always protected him with love and care, who nurtured him not like a grandson but like his own son. She loved his Babu more than she could ever love someone yet the circumstances took a twist in such a way that this bond got weaker. Though Aarush never cared yet he knew that she'll come back to see him one day, who knew that the one day he hoped for will never come, who knew that she won't remain to be Aarush's budhiya forever. The bitter reality of this relation made me cry in the end not because something beautiful was lost but because the most beautiful relation was not nurtured at all for Aarush. 
• Ananya ~ Aarush's biological mother. A lady which was always hated by Aarush because she made him see the mirror of reality and Aarush never felt the need to know the reality coz the world created around him by his Bob was enough for him to live an eternity. At an instance, she wanted to abort Aarush because he was conceived before she married Aarush's father and this one factor made Aarush hate her a bit more. Ananya was someone who he could never manipulate, of course, he got his smart genes from somewhere. ;)
• Mrigank Kashyap ~ Aarush's biological father. A man who never had a say in any of the decisions in his life. He always lived up for the people around him and yet he couldn't satisfy anyone in his entire life. According to RK-ji, the best thing he could do was to marry Ananya. Though in the tough times, Mrigank stood by Aarush but he was just another pawn in Aarush's game of chess, yet he couldn't realize that he was being a good father in his eyes. For Aarush, Mrigank was a hero when he succeeded taking Aarush out of the rehab, he wasn't that dumb but was unique in his own way.
• Pihu ~ A girl who solely loved Aarush no matter how he was. An intelligent girl who dreamed to be with Aarush till the end of his life, but who knew that she won't be there to live that forever, who knew that she was just being a part of Aarush's pile of lies. She was someone who could be easily manipulated and won over, though at the end she realised that life is not what it seems like and can be changed in the most horrendous way at any point, she realised that who she worshiped as the Lord was the Demon of her nightmares. She couldn't accept her ill fate and the truth, and ended it once and for all.
• Meghana Pathak ~ Aarush's lawyer. A lady who was high on her ambitions. Someone who knew that what she's doing in her life when this one case made her life go upside down. The tigress was feeling stupidiot when she realized that she was fooled. She felt as if she was the joke played by Aarush. She couldn't save him but she knew that she wasn't told the truth and was manipulated in his own way. 

Conclusion ~ Manipulation was the game played by Aarush but at the end he knew that he had lost the battle called life because when we lose the shoulder who supports us, there is nothing much left to look forward to. Why Aarush did it and what made him do it was rationalised by the end of the book but the question remains, I Am 16, I Can Rape? 

The law of this country doesn't make the juvenile scared  because he knows, eventually he'll get away with it without being touched. He knows that the justice will never be served, he knows that the evil will remain to be the evil and the good remains to be the good till the end of the days. Aarush had Rudransh to teach him a lesson but I wonder how many parents does so? I wonder if a juvenile rape accused, ever knows the pain of being in a terrible state of being the victim, because when Aarush tasted his own blood, he knew that it wasn't sweet, it was poisonous.

A very well work done Kirtida. The way you express every emotion and turmoil faced by different protagonist is something which cannot be described in words. The book is an adventurous journey of one's inner mind and the stages of spirituality one lives yet it makes someone realise the bitterness and leniency of our system for the juvenile culprit.
Hats Off girl! :)

~ Maisha :)