Spoorthi march 2013 - women

As a whole this edition of ‘Spoorthi’ had been marvelous, a pleasant treat for readers. The content though serious has been dealt with in depth. From the cover story till the conclusion, all piece of work have been in place and each of these complements the other. The topics are diverse. The emotions of love and hope and strength have been delicately balanced and shown throughout ‘Spoorthi’.

Jayeeta Ghose

Guys Just an Awesome Initiative, Am sure it would inspire many people like me... Positive energy is all we need for our every day’s work.am sure u guys and Spoorthi will go places!!!

Maha Rajah

LIFESTYLE

09 People next door 1 Of Swati, and Strength by Tanushree Raha Sarkar

11 People next door 2 Wish, Desire, Life by Neeraj Upadhyay

12 Fullfilling art Mother India Film Review by Tanushree Raha Sarkar

CREATIVE - OPEN FOR READERS

13 Heaty tales Professor’s Smile by Raghav Gautam 14 Ageless verses Sonnet 1 by Aman Arora

Empower Yourself (Sketch) by Sakshi Goynar

READERS

We-Men by Tauseef Ahmed

Are rapes a mere extension of eve teasing and molestation? People’s Opinion.

CONTENTSMARCH 2013

FEATURES

03 Cover Story Despite the System: India’s Sporting Heroines by

Raghav Gautam

05 Topping the troop Missionary of education Sister Cyril by Mandavi Surya Ghose

06 Invincibles Mahadevi Varma: Writer, Educationalist, Reformist and a Visionary by Raghav Gautam

07 Achievers Kiran Bedi: Woman of Steel by Aman Arora

Spoorthi Magazine www. spoorthimag.com1

15 Smile please

16 Guest Section

18 The burning question

Spoorthi Team

LETTER FROMTHE EDITORInvalid, impossible, was all I could think when the theme was being discussed, and women came up as an idea. Almost half the popu-

lation of the world can’t come under theme. Yet, the idea intrigued me. Except for news about the activities of the state CMs and a

few sportswomen, much of what is reporte d in the media concerns violence against women, mainly rape.

A months old baby raped by a relative, a little girl raped by a servant, a young girl raped in a bus, schoolgirls harassed by teachers, a

middle-aged woman raped by her husband’s friend, an old lady raped. The day after International Women’s Day, I was shocked to see

as many as five different incidents of rape in the news, with some pending cases. Amazing women’s day we celebrated.

Being a trophy wife or a dancing and smiling doll in films, vamp or saree-clad housewives in serials, the reason why a hero becomes

a hero after avenging the rape of heroine in countless films, the image of women is not improved by the entertainment industry or

the media.

There’s much going against them and with this issue we not only wish to create awareness on what women are capable of, but also to

ask ourselves through some heart-warming but true stories what is our responsibility in ensuring equal rights for women. Women are

beautiful, with beautiful hearts and souls. As a society we must try to make our women happy by recognizing their contributions, by

educating them, by supporting their endeavours, by loving and respecting them.

To women, I’d say just read on, be proud that we’ve had women who’ve struggled a lot in the past to make some achievements. It’s a

constant struggle, and you need to say ‘I Object’ to everything unjust to improve not just yourself but other women, young girls, and

also the men in your lives.

Hope the right message reaches.

Editing Team • Fazeela Mollick and Raghav Gautam [email protected] Content and Concept Team• Aman Arora and Neeraj [email protected]

Sakshi Goynar: Empower [email protected]://sakshigoynar.blogspot.in/

Tauseef Ahmed: We-men [email protected]

Mandavi Surya Ghose: Missionary of education Sister [email protected]

Tanushree Raha Sarkar: Of Swati, and Strength and Mother India Movie [email protected]

Cover Photographer: Aman [email protected]://www.facebook.com/Amanaphotography?ref=ts&fref=ts

COVER STORY: Despite the System: India’s Heroines

magazineSpoorthi

Spoorthi Magazine www. spoorthimag.com 2

COVER STORY

DESPITE THE SYSTEMS:

INDIA’S HEROINES “ We have to give impor tance at grass-root level. We should have 10 year planning

to win big tournaments, and at grass-root level according to their age we should

give all the facilities – accommodation, food, training, equipment everything – then

we will be able to win Olympic medals in all events, not just athletics. We should

have good system, especially at grass-root level.”

PT Usha

In India, cricket is a religion and

cricketers are revered as Gods.

There are, sadly, no Goddesses.

Hockey players too, had a stat-

ure, which has slowly diminished but at

least positive attempts are being made

at revival. Unfortunately, we ignore the

48.45% of our population , the women.

A blockbuster film , titled Chak De!India,

about female hockey players with Shah

Rukh Khan as the lead, received good

response. Ironically, none of the female

stars from the cas, are remembered Shah

Rukh Khan is known today from the cast,

and the title song, very-catchy, Chak De!

India is predominantly used as the men’s

Cricket Team anthem. (at least so I’ve

observed).

In the land of PT Usha, no Olympic medal-

list before the 21st century was a woman.

India in itself is a nation which thinks any

sport other than cricket is not worth the

risk. Add to that, the plight of women.

And while it is fortunate that women

are not prevented from getting quality

education these days, in the villages the

numbers are not good.

We put studies before sports, boys before

girls. I was fortunate to see cricket being

played in Nepal, which is considered a

rarity, but not that fortunate to see girls

playing as professionals in the capital

city of India, or in any other place for

that matter. In school, they were allowed

to play after boys. And some sports were

only for boys.

In this country it’s not hard to see why

women aren’t involved in sports as much

as men. Yet, we do have stories of some

beautiful ladies, beautiful souls, souls

that are not bounded by limits. They’ve

been aided in some ways and have had

support but not by the system. This is

baffling.

The Payolli Express, Queen of Indian Track

and Field, P T Usha now runs the Usha

School of Athletics in Kerala. Although she

was prone to illness in early childhood, at

12, PT Usha was among 40 girls selected

to train as an athlete by the Kerala State

Government. Success is never an acci-

dent, she says, though 1/100th second

of the difference between her and an

Olympic medal could’ve made anyone

Spoorthi Magazine www.spoorthimag.com 3

think otherwise. She is a four-time Gold

medallist at the Asian Games claiming the

title of Asia’s Sprint Queen.

After her, it took a long time to really get a

reasonable chance at a medal, and it

came finally with the weightlifter,Karnam

Malleswari in 2000, where her bronze was

India’s only achievement at the Sydney

Olympics . Karnam, meaning fame, dignity

and pride, lived up to her name from the

very beginning, when at the age of 13

she began a medal winning spree, setting

new records at various places. She regrets

missing on Gold in Sydney. She mentions a

couple of things, one: a miscalculation

on the part of the coaching team

when they told her to go for 137.5

kg while she could’ve got gold

with 132.5, and second most

important, which she keeps and

imparts as a lesson: a momen-

tary lapse at an important time

could be costly. She’s proud, but

sad. This medal came after she’d been

married, rejecting the myth of

housewives not being able to participate

in sports.

Another woman who’s married and has a

twins but won an Olympic bronze medal

is Mary Kom on whom a film is being made

with Priyanka Chopra in the lead role.

Although Mary Kom rose to stardom with

her Olympic medal, the fact remains even

without an Olympic medal, she was a win-

ner. The only competition where she didn’t

manage a medal, she eventually quali-

fied to the Olympics through that perfor-

mance. The amazing thing is that her father

got to know that she was a boxer only

through newspaper photographs, when she

acquired a certain level of fame, after win-

ning Manipur State Women’s Championship

in 2000. Boxing isn’t considered a ‘decent’

sport for women. A picture of humility, she

apologized to the Indian public for not get-

ting a Gold medal at the London Olympics.

Frankly, people who didn’t think that it was

decent for her to box do not deserve such

an apology.

People now want to know more about our

state, which is a good sign.” ~Mary Kom

An athlete who had the support of her parents was Saina Nehwal. Her fatherm Harvir

Singh used to take his daughter at 4 in the morning in a two-wheeler 25 km away from

her home to be coached in badminton by Nani Prasad. And because she used to fall

asleep, mother Usha Nehwal used to accompany her too. Her potential was recognized

at the age of eight by her coach and parents, themselves former Haryana Badminton

players. Her message, if she can do it, everyone can do it. Obviously it took an effort

from her parents, who took loans and also withdrew savings and PFs. They sacrificed a

lot so that their daughter could excel at her sport. Support also came from P Gopichand,

an eminent player himself who has an academy and coached her during later years. Mr

Gopichand’s academy provided a space for girls to train.

Individual woman athletes have still found a way, have clung

to whatever support they’ve had and shown some excellent

results. But team sports have suffered. The Indian Women’s

cricket team, for example, was taken under the admin-

istration of BCCI in 2006 because ICC wanted women’s

cricket to be taken more seriously. 2006 was also the last

time they played Test cricket. In a 14 year career, Mithali

Raj has managed to play only 8 Tests, and 145 ODIs.

Between this World Cup and the last one, the team has

played only 26 ODIs. Before this World Cup, they’d almost

always finished in top 4. Are BCCI concerned? Is women’s

cricket profitable enough? Who will support our women

and encourage our cricketers?

While taking into account someone’s contribution we do include one important factor.

That factor is their legacy. While writing this, I was wondering what to write, anything

she does makes news. But Sania Mirza isn’t about herself, she’s a legacy like the other

athletes covered in this feature. This young lady is only the third Indian to win a Grand

Slam, after Mahesh Bhupathy and Leander Paes and the first Indian woman to have

$1 million in career earnings. Sania Mirza is an inspiration for young girls wishing to

make tennis their career. Her life is full of controversies not unlike some male cricketers

butthey say when people are talking about you, you’re doing something right. In the

years to come, the success of some Indian tennis players won’t be theirs alone. Sania

will be a part of it.

About the female hockey team, the less said, the better. Finally, male hockey is attempt-

ing to grow and move forward thanks to Hockey Premiere League and the support of

sportsmen like Virender Sehwag and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathor and with corporate

backing from Hero. But this is not the case with women’s hockey.

It’s not only a question of sports. It’s a reflection of our society, and when we start man-

aging our systems better, changing our mindset and mentality, then everything will

eventually improve, and probably no girl will have to hide from her family that she’s a

professional sportwoman. Author: Raghav Gautam

Spoorthi Magazine www.spoorthimag.com 4

It might seem incorrect but it couldn’t be more than correct,

when I say of of an almost 77 year old Sister Cyril Mooney

that this lady is ahead of her time,

An education model, that government ministers for decades

couldn’t muster, has been created and operates successfully for

everyone to see. This legendary woman transformed Loreto Day

School in Kolkata, a school which the elite attended, to an edu-

cation model that is probably very unique, unbelievable and yet

practical.

Mahatma Gandhi was only one man, she’d say. She did every-

thing to break the clutches of the vicious circle of the privileged

classes getting educated, and the poor continuing to suffer. She

arrived here in India at the age of 20, and after doing her M.Sc.

and teaching at Loreto College, she was appointed the principal

of Loreto Day School, Sealdah and that’s when magic began to

happen.

Half of the population of this once elite English medium school

now constitutes the poor. All Class V and above students also act

as teachers for the Rainbow program and Rural Child-to-Child

Education Program (RC2CEP). Two hundred fifty ‘Rainbows’ or

previously street-dwellers and a hundred more special cases

‘Rainbows’ are given food and shelter along with necessary

preliminary education by class V and above

students to help them join

the mainstream as quickly

as possible. This is the

Rainbow program.

In RC2CEP, the senior

students travel every

Thursday to villages and

provide a more interper-

sonal education to govern-

ment school students where

MISSIONARY

When ten-twelve year olds ask the employers for taking the

child out, even the heartless can’t refuse, there’s that innocent

steel. In worst cases they are even rescued. And Sister Cyril says

nobody, not the parents, nor the employers, have ever come back

to challenge them.

The best part is that the rich are getting an education far greater

than that contained in books and perhaps more than the poor

will receive. The poor will always thank their benefactors, their

student-teachers, for everything they did because ultimately it

was through these children that Sister Cyril’s creatve programme

came to life. Also, true education lies beyond problems and

solutions, it lies in reality, and what the elite learns is far more

than what the poor will. The poor already know how hard life

is but they lack the classroom education. The rich have the

classroom education but their lives are ones of ease and com-

fort. More than anything this programme makes children better

human beings, more humble, more thankful. She only has the

ideas, Sister Cyril says.

While receiving an Honorary Doctorate at the University of

Manitoba, her strong personality, when opened up, spoke of

warmth, in more ways than one. She’s this solid personality, who

has the courage and conviction to carry out her ideas of warmth,

at least everywhere she could. Mahatma Gandhi is only one man,

it’s a sad statement. Same goes with Sister Cyril.

Author: Mandavi Surya Ghose

OF EDUCATIONSISTER CYRIL

TOPPING THE TROOPS

“Sister Cyril: I am simply a puller of strings, a puppeteer. I simply have ideas. And I encourage peo-ple to go ahead and do something about it.”


MAHADEVIVARMA

Principal and then later Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad (Prayag)

Mahila Vidyapeeth proved her love. To fight for her education,

and then become principal of an educational institution seems

amazing and awe-inspiring. This in pre-independence times, she

being born in 1907, makes it all the more a sparkling achieve-

ment.

From her prose we can get an even greater sense of Mahadevi’s

thoughts. She’s been immensely touched by devotion, the devo-

tion of girls and women, who, despite their plight, keep serving

their menfolk without question. The story of Gheesa, who says

her mother is the most beautiful woman despite her being ordi-

nary, conveys to readers that Mahadevi sees the depth of a per-

son and goes beyond the superficial. In one story, after reflecting

on the case of various domesticated animals and her own life,

she forms the opinion that taking care of children is what makes

the world run and mothers are the guardians appointed to make

sure the world ran fine! The same story, Binda, reveals other evils

of society against women.

Her interest in animals is also profound. When she

describes how a deer’s child is nurtured, the reader is

taken into the world of the fawn and its mother. In

another story she tells the tale of Gullu, a squirrel,

about to be eaten by crows but is rescued and taken

care of and when she writes of its playfulness and its

busy days the reader can imagine having fun with Gullu.

The tale of a domesticated cow and the heartlessness of a

milk-vendor may move anyone to tears.

Probably what shaped Mahadevi Varma was her innocence, her

purity of thought. It was an innocence born out of being in con-

tact with nature and animals, girls and women. When she turned

a revolutionary and visionary, using her limited means, she used

that innocence, which was evident in her first fight for education,

in running away from her husband and in-laws for the sake of

education.

Any girl from our country who feels she doesn’t have equal

means, doesn’t have equal rights, and therefore will be reduced

to a life of suffering, whatever she does, must read about and

be inspired by this woman whose journey appears simple and

perhaps unbelievable except you know that it’s true!

t is hard to write about a woman born among us, married

at the age of 7 and who could’ve ended up exactly like

our grandmothers, telling stories, taking care of children,

which is a big role in itself, but she chose to change

society in whatever way she could. Mahadevi Varma ran away

from her in-laws home where she couldn’t study because her

father-in-law disapproved. She came back to her father’s home

and did her Masters in Sanskrit. Mahadevi refused to follow the

customs of society. At that age, in that era, she took a bold and

courageous step for education that women, even now, must still

contemplate taking.

Today one of the problems in India is the increase in crimes

against women. New Delhi is known as the Rape Capital.

Mahadevi was asked whether it was due to women becoming

more educated, because such wasn’t the case in the past. She

very smartly answered that education gives awareness, and when

awareness grows there will be struggle. As long

as men give freedom and rights to women as

charity and on their own terms, it all goes fine.

The problems will occur when women demand

their equal rights.

Sadly, that’s the case. Women are demanding

their rights and the devils are being unleashed

on them, such as more divorces because men don’t

want to have a share in the homemaking if women

decide to work out of the home.

Ms Varma talks about balance and in a speech in the Legislative

Assembly of Uttar Pradesh she mentions the importance of writ-

ers and artists as custodians of language and culture. She says

that growth is all encompassing, and one part of the body can’t

be ignored while the other is given more importance. This is not

a surprise considering that her life has been spent fighting for

the rights of women and animals and also supporting freedom

movements through her writing. To reinforce her point, the role

of writers in freedom movements can’t be ignored,therefore to

create that balance there must be a place for art and culture.

She had a pure love affair with education. Just as lovers run away

from home for each other, she left her in-laws at the age of eight

for education. She was madly in love and her role as the first

I

INVINCIBLES

Author: Raghav Gautam

“WE WOMEN

HAVE TO SNATCH

INDEPENDENCE.

NO ONE WILL GIVE

IT ON ASKING.”

MAHADEVI VARMA


“Women must refuse to continue to be victims.”

KIRAN BEDI

Policing has the power to correct, the power to do and the power to get things done.

he ageless, unwrinkled face of Kiran Bedi would

shut down the businesses of face cream sellers. Her

unshaken powerful voice is an assertion to the male-

dominated world.

A few months ago, I attended ‘Aap ki Adalat’ (a light-hearted inter-

view show on Indian TV) and for the first time witnessed Kiran

Bedi’s aura from a distance of five meters. Her first address to

the audience (which was off camera) was ‘Please clap your hands

if you appreciate anything. Do not whistle. Being a lady, I have

heard many such whistles in my life.” Over the next hour, we saw

her and Rajat Sharma, cutting each other with a smile. Her wits

and oratory skills were on display.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, in a family of four daughters Bedi was

bright academically and good at sports. Yes, only few people

know that she played tennis, pairing up with her younger sister

or that she worked as a lecturer of political science in 1970-72.

But she was destined to do something even better and bigger.

July 16, 1972 was the historic day when this great lady became

the first woman to join the Indian Police Service. To work in a

male oriented profession and to leave a deep legacy are two

remarkable achievements. It took the daring, the strength, the

determined headstrong self of Mrs Bedi to accomplish what she

did. It was not easy. She had tough assignments. She was referred

as ‘that girl’ even after becoming an officer. One day an incident

occurred. There was a riot and she had the task of rescuing some

family members trapped in a room in their house. She drenched

herself with water using a hand pump, went into the house,

broke down the door and got one person out. Her team followed

her steps. ‘That girl’ became a ‘Madam’ after this. She held a vari-

ety of posts in her long and outstanding career. A Traffic posting

THE WOMAN OF STEEL

ACHIEVERS

Spoorthi Magazine www. spoorthimag.com

T

7

What advise would you give to women that encounter harassment in the workplace or sex-

ual harassment?

For women staff, I believe the most important thing is to empower themselves,

not just as a woman but also as an individual. We need to understand fear,

how to confront it and overcome it. You must ask yourself: if I don’t accept this

treatment, what can happen to me? The thought of “I would get exposed, lose

my job”, may be valid, but women cannot stop there. Women must refuse to

continue to be victims. Keep the initiative with you and strategize, col-

lect evidence, so that evidence speaks for itself, seek counselling, take

guidance and prepare yourself to win your self-esteem. Let me

stress how important it is, to seek counselling, so you are

not taking everything upon yourself.

in Delhi, Inspector General in Mizoram, Advisor to the Lieutenant

Governor of Chandigarh, Director General of Narcotics Control

Bureau to a United Nations delegation and by her retirement in

2007 she was Director General of India’s Bureau of Police Research

and Development.

One of the highlights includes her work as inspector General of

Tihar Jail, bringing reforms that earned her the Ramon Magsaysay

Award. In her words “As Inspector-General of the largest prison in

any liberal democracy-Tihar prison, I supervised 11,000 people.

Normally, prisons are used as dumping grounds for human beings.

We turned it around in two years, into a reformatory actually.”

Dr Kiran Bedi did her research on drug abuse and domestic

violence. Perhaps this became a foundation for her two NGOs:

the Indian Vision Foundation for prison reformation, drug abuse

prevention and child welfare, increased literacy and the empower-

ment of women and the Navjyoti India Foundation for welfare

and preventative policing. In popular culture, her TV show ‘Aap

ki kachehri’ (2009-2010) dealt with resolving civil disputes

in a dignified manner. Her involvement with ‘India Against

Corruption’ and Lokpal movement is well known.

Kiran Bedi for all her work is now an institution and in the past

two decades, this remarkable woman has become an inspiration

to many women struggling to find their voice and make their

mark in their chosen professions and vocations.

Author: Aman Arora


OF SWATI AND

One famous writer used to say, let’s start from the

start. Keep the story simple. The beginning in the

beginning, the middle in the middle, and the climax

at the climax. For this story, and countless others,

the beginning is undefined. We don’t know when we started

treating girl children as burdens, and women as mere objects.

Even if parents love a girl beyond any limits, they can’t keep her

with them and protect her all her life. And an even bigger prob-

lem for these parents is being poor.

Swati is one such girl. Intelligent, lovely, petite with long, flow-

ing hair and an engaging smile. A true beauty and a girl who

lived on her own terms. Having attained her first degree through

much effort and sacrifice, Swati was not satisfied and enrolled

in a one-year B Ed course. But then came marriage and more

sacrifice. Although she was her parents’ favourite child, coming

from a lower-middle class family, and being second of four sib-

lings, as conditions dictated, her parents didn’t have much of an

option but to arrange a marriage for their daughter. Swati gave

up writing the final exam for her B Ed course as it clashed with

her wedding. Her desire to attain her B Ed fell by the wayside.

Marriage to Ratan, the man her parents selected for her, now

became the focus of her life

Every Indian girl is taught to keep her husband happy, no-matter

what. Even within the restrictions of arranged marriage every

girl dreams of finding the perfect man in her husband for whom

doing anything won’t seem bad.

The early days of marriage proved to her that it was all worth

the sacrifice. They used to roam like love birds, live well, and had

loads of time for each other. However, Swati was more sociable

than Ratan. She received compliments and invitations to occa-

sions and events more than her husband did. This irked Ratan,

Obut he ignored it for a while. Nevertheless, seeds of doubt were

sown and in his mind he questioned her fidelity.

One day, when Ratan returned home a crumpled bed sheet

caused him to beat his wife in an insane manner. Since then,

Swati, who was taught to obey her husband like a slave, was

confined in her house. Even the windows were locked because

her husband didn’t trust her. As a wife, she had to submit to her

husband’s wishes.

Later on, Swati became pregnant. She hoped the news would

soften Ratan’s heart. It didn’t. Due to the doctor’s error during

the birth process the forceps nipped a nerve of their beautiful

PEOPLE NEXT DOOR-I

STRENGTH


of her husband’s monstrous acts.

This baby, healthy and beautiful arrived. She was the apple of her father’s eyes, a man

who cared about no one else. Swati’s pleadings for peace went unheeded and were

drowned under her screams from the beatings she received. Five years later, one fine

day, they all went to Swati’s mother’s home, where Ratan told her to stay until he

decided she should return to their home. While Swati, an Indian wife, was dreaming of

reconciliation and of a better tomorrow, Ratan had plans for divorce and all he wanted

was Nanu, his daughter.

But Swati didn’t want Ratan to have Nanu. She fought six long years for her daughter’s

custody and finally won. In spite of all her problems Swati looked after her daughter

in the best possible way, ensuring she had a good education. Nanu grew into a beauti-

ful young woman of fine character.

Ratan remarried soon enough. Swati didn’t want to. Instead she worked hard to repay

loans owed by her brother, who committed suicide after some losses and inability to

pay loans. She joined the family business and also took care of her father who had

cancer and eventually died of the disease.

When Ratan was ill and wanted to meet Nanu, instead of stopping her, Swati tried to

convince her to visit her father. Nanu wouldn’t listen to her mother’s entreaties. Her

mother was a successful businessperson, someone she admired and loved and yet she

disobeyed her. Ratan died without Nanu ever meeting her father again.

Today Nanu’s a married woman and hopefully she is happy in her relationship.

We all must learn from this woman, Swati, who despite her suffering continued to

struggle for a better life for herself and her children. These qualities of strength, cour-

age and determination have been examples to her daughter from birth. And although

the attitude and condition of women has not changed much, the wish and the hope

is that Nanu’s husband treats her with the love, respect and kindness that Swati never

received from Ratan.Author: Tanushree Raha Sarkar

baby boy. The child would be not be able

to talk, eat, and walk without help all his

life. Human errors happen, but in Swati’s

case, it brought more stress and anxiety

to her already troubled married life. Ratan

refused to acknowledge the boy as his son

and irrationally blamed Swati’s parents for

the mishap.

Three years went by with continued

physical and verbal abuse. And in that

time Swati became pregnant again. She

wanted to abort the foetus. her mother

convinced her that the baby will take care

of its elder brother and hence must be

saved. There was still hope that she’ll able

to win back her husband, through her new

baby. Though signs of him changing were

few. She nearly had a miscarriage because

“MARRIAGES IN INDIA WOULD

WORK MUCH BETTER IF BOYS

ARE TAUGHT TO BE GOOD

HUSBANDS HALF AS MUCH AS

GIRLS ARE TAUGHT TO BE GOOD

WIVES”


~ AmanArora

M

WISH,DESIRE, LIFE

Parent’s Wish, Husband’s Affair, and Her LifeWhat is the value of a woman’s life? Let’s examine this question

y friend got married in accordance with her parents

wish. Like all other girls she knew she’d have to

adjust; she’ll have to treat her husband as everything

in life. She’d come to terms with the marriage, slowly

and steadily.

However, it was going to be difficult. You can’t clap with

one hand without slapping yourself or someone else. Her

husband wasn’t interested in her. He was having an affair

with his own sister-in-law. While many girls are taught to do

everything for their husband, suffer anything, even if they are

having affairs or are going to prostitutes, especially in this

landlord and the king culture, my friend wasn’t prepared to

do that. She wanted out of such a marriage.

The worst thing that happened was that her parents

told her not to file for a divorce. Again she obeyed them.

Nevertheless, she separated from her husband and began

living in a hostel. She even struggled in her search for a job

because her parents thought her marriage was more impor-

tant than completing her education.

On her résumé her status reads “separated” and in one of her

interviews all the questions focused on this issue ultimately

leading to rejection. I honestly feel the worst part was her

emotional state while undergoing that interrogation. I

believe it was good she didn’t get that job, the people were

a couple of classes higher than a first class.

Eventually, living alone in hostels, aided by some good

people, she got a job. In spite of not completely ignoring her

parents’ wish and staying ‘separated’ rather than ‘divorced’

she’s already shown enough fighting spirit and survival

instincts. She defied the customs that state that without a

man, a woman is nothing. Women have immense power. They

only need to say ‘I object’, and start carving their own life

paths, until men start behaving like men and treat women as

equals and partners.

PEOPLE NEXT DOOR II

Author: Neeraj Upadhyay

“If you act like a victim, you will be

treated as one” Paulo Coehlo


ehboob Khan’s Mother India

holds a special place among

the all time great and mem-

orable Indian films. It was

also nominated for an Academy Award in

1958 for Best Foreign Film, the first such

nomination for a Bollywood film.

Mother India tells the tale of a woman,

Radha, who survives hardship and poverty

and remains true to her ideals, her self

respect and honour. Her story begins with

her marriage to Shamu, a marriage that

was funded by a moneylender. To repay

the loan Shamu began working to bring

their land into greater use but a boulder

smashes his arm thus making him help-

less. He abandons his family after endur-

ing humiliation from his fellow villagers,

never to be seen again. Radha,left with

two sons, Ramu and Birju, is determined

to raise her children properly. She works

hard on

her farm

and reso-

l u t e l y

resists the

moneylender’s marriage proposal. Her

younger son Birju whom his mother loves

dearly becomes a bandit and seeks ven-

geance on the man who brought poverty

to his family, the moneylender, Sukhilala.

Birju kills Sukhilala and kidnaps his

daughter but is killed by his mother, Radha

M

MOTHER INDIAFILM REVIEW

MOTHER INDIA WAS NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD IN THE BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM CATEGORY. IT WAS INDIA’S FIRST OSCAR NOMINATION.

who through her

sense of right

action and dig-

nity could not

allow harm to come to an innocent girl.

sagittis laoreet mattis at, pellentesque

The opening and closing scenes of the

movie show Radha in her latter years

given the honour of opening a water

canal to her village.

I like the ending in which Radha real-

ized that one’s dignity, self respect and

honour is priceless and should never be

sacrificed.

Regardless of any cultural, traditional,

social, or ethnic background, Mother India

stands as one of the greatest films ever

made.

The movie stars Nargis, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar.

FULLFILLING ART

Author: Tanushree Raha Sarkar


professor, appointed only last year, spoiled his

reputation. He gave a hint of a smile. Professor

Shashank Sharma smiled on his way from the

Confidential office to the main academic office of

the CCS University, Meerut

For the next ten minutes or so everybody from the nearby college

and hostel who knew Professor Shashank Sharma was shocked.

They wanted to know how it could be possible. For a year, he had

not showed a glimpse of curve down his lips at all. It was as if a

smile eluded him. A strict lecturer he was, a tough disciplinarian,

and a strong teacher. Everyone had a hypothesis to explain this

rare phenomenon of nature.

One of the girls in the campus, who had just bent to pick up her

pen, took it as he appreciated what he saw. She felt embarrassed.

Some of the others who saw that happen, both the events simul-

taneously, thought he was making a pass at her.

A boy, who was standing outside a classroom as punishment

from Professor Sharma, thought he was smiling at him, a smile

that was devilish to the core. He had lately been thinking the

Professor hated him. Add to that his low practical scores and the

Professor’s frequent letters to his home. He did not know the

Professor treated everyone in the same manner. For the moment,

he thought the devilish smile was because of him.

And a clerk, who got really pissed off at the sight of the Professor,

also imagined the smile was directed at him. The Professor

never gave any tips and he had reduced the possibilities of

unfair means of income for the clerk to zero. Why? Because he

checked whether everything was being done honestly or not. It

was one of his duties to oversee the clerical work. The college

had become very fair when the Professor joined its faculty. As

he could no longer afford eating at the nearby dhaba, the clerk

thought Professor Sharma was smiling at his plight - his wife

daily bringing him the food.

Some of the people preparing a Christmas tree had a different

view. They thought he was mocking their Westernization as

usual. He had always blamed youths for becoming Westernized.

He blamed them for almost everything.

Everybody had some theory or other until they actually saw the

reason for the smile. It was his daughter who, with her husband,

had come to celebrate Christmas with her father. He was not

home so she came to the campus and met him as he was heading

to the Teachers’ Rooms. And Professor Sharma smiled!


A

PROFESOR’S SMILE

HEARTY TALES

“To be able to laugh and to be merciful are the only things that make man better than the beast”

Ruskin Bond


Grey Livingston

from the mind as from


AGELESS VERSES

The gleam on her face was so divine and rare.

I tried to escape, could not help but stare.

Assured of her substance, yet cautious,

Of presenting her best to her audience.

The thrill in her eyes and a subtle smile,

Token of her patent youth, charm and guile.

I am quite sure of her commanding bows.

From every one and at every place she goes.

But the naughty angel teased her admirers

Disregarding their furnace of fires.

She pays no heed to their love and affection.

Too boastful of her beauty and attraction.

While most lose their gleam when life offers grey,

I pray yellow for you, [for] this blush must stay.

SONNET 1

Author: Aman Arora

“Beauty comes as much

the eye”


SMILE PLEASE

ARTIST: SAKSHI GOYNAR

EMPOWER YOURSELF


hat is it that makes us a ‘Human

Being’? In an informal way, one

can say that we are born as

one, thus we are called ‘Human

Beings’. On the contrary the basic ethics of

behaving like a human being is what defines

us as being one but we are far away from that

in the 21st century.

An important aspect of that behavior is how

we treat our opposite gender. The recent inci-

dents against our female counterparts clearly

tell where our cultural mindset has gone. The

demeaning behavior of the male counterparts

towards the opposite gender is a serious matter

of concern, especially for the young generation.

Our culture is unique. It is a culture where

people, despite complex and slowly evolving

social systems, always strive to reach a higher

level of kindness and gentleness in times of

adversity and social pain.

There is no denying the fact that there have

occurred serious lapses in our culture at dif-

ferent times, in different periods of our history.

Not a day passes by when you don’t hear or

read about a rape case or Eve-teasing or some

negative incident against a female.Is the youth

of today so misguided that he doesn’t know or

realize as to what is right or wrong? We are

from a country where we have female god-

desses, people worship them and on the other

hand the same gender is treated so badly. It’s

high time to take a step and put forward some

quantitative measures before our very own

mothers and sisters find it even difficult to

breathe freely.

W

WE-MEN

GUEST SECTION

As such they already have so much to bear, from being the way

they are treated socially, to getting married, bringing up a family,

managing a household and coping with all the negatives that

the male counterparts so very often burdens them with. All our

archaic thoughts have to be buried and we have to look through

a new pair of glasses for the betterment of our own selves; for

the survival of a male is so much dependent on a female in the

form of mothers, wives, sisters and so on. What they teach is

something that cannot be learned from any other source.

The biggest irony with India is that the same people who orga-

nize candle marches protesting any incident against females will

do the same demeaning things against their female counterparts

in some way or the other.

In the present scenario, the culture has been suffused with

unwanted stuff so attractively presented to the youth that ignor-

ing it would not be possible for them, especially in large urban

areas and not so much in remote habitations. In remote habita-

tions, the demise in the culture may be attributed to lack of

education where as in urban areas it is the socio-economic and

political factors, including influences of other countries.

Any short-term remedy to improve the mindset of the youth

may be ineffective because of the kind of democratic system

that exists in our country. We have to therefore rely on long

term remedies. The most important remedy would be education,

both formal and informal. Talking of formal education, the study

of history, culture etc. can play a crucial role and bring in rich

dividends. Sport is an activity that seems to be missing from

the agenda of our youth. With so many options available due to

modernization, the younger generation seems to have forgotten

that if one is involved in sports and other physical activities, the

mind would be much more stable and balanced.

Simultaneously with formal education, informal education is

also important. It is informal in the sense that it’s received from

parents, families, elders and the society in general. It is through

these nurturers that good values and the basic rituals of our

culture can be imparted

to, and hopefully

imbibed by

the children

and young

a d u l t s

u n d e r

t h e i r

care.

We don’t

have to go

ahead and

m a k e big plans to

c h a n g e the society. Every

individual should try to bring about the

change in his thought process about the way the females should

be valued in our society. If we all just practise simple things like

how to mind our gazes when a female passes by or how not to

pass a lewd comment on seeing a female alone this will be much

more effective than those expressive comments on face book

opposing an incident.

The journey will not be easy with so much of dirt already settled

in, thanks to the West and the internet, but an honest effort to

ensure that the right character is instilled from the childhood

days will at least give us some hope in the long run.

Author: Tauseef Ahmed“BEING A WOMAN IS A TERRIBLY DIFFICULT TASK, SINCE IT CONSISTS PRIN-CIPALLY IN DEALING WITH MEN” JOSEPH CONRAD


Saahil MenghaniIn a way, yes. It’s the mindset that makes men tease a girl. A

more horrifying face of that mindset results in a rape. Both

men-the ones who eve tease and the ones who rap- think

that they are superior to women and women are made for

their fun/satisfaction and that they could get away with

anything.

ARE RAPES A MERE EXTENSION OF EVE TEASING AND MOLESTATION? PEOPLE’S OPINION

$49

Purandhi MittalRape is not mere extension of eve teasing and molestation. It is something

which doesn’t only disparage dignity of a girl but also left her traumatized

& terrified for her whole life. Eve teasing and molestation have become the

part of daily routine of every girl’s life. Had no sooner adequate steps shall

be taken, God forbid that day doesn’t seem so far when rape happens to be a

daily affair for a girl. It doesn’t matter whether it is expansion of molestation

or not, what matters is that it will not be tolerable at any cost.

Vaibhav BahlNo, eeve teasing is usually done to impress

peers, whereas rapists are frustrated people

and rape is one thing where they think they

can show their dominance and vent their ire.

Purnank KaulYes rapes are extension of eve teasing and molestation and i will not use

the word ‘mere’. Eve teasing, road side romeos etc are now such casual

terms that we don’t realize the extent of its seriousness. When a girl/

lady avoid the ‘casual ‘acts of these hooligans, it only motivate them to

go one step father. One should protest at the first whistle and comment

passed by roadside romeos only then there will be one less rapist.

Fazeela Mollick“Mere”? There’s nothing “mere” about rape!

Sexual harassment or eve teasing can lead

to rape if the man (or men) involved sees an

opportunity.

Kaushik PaulCan say that from a bird’s eye perspective. But

IMO, the real crime is hatched in the mind.

Irrespective of the action taken by the crimi-

nal. Hence, to curb crime, one should curb the

thoughts that provoke such actions.

Tanushree Sarkar RahaRape is a physical harassment of a girl

and eve teasing is a verbal harassment.

Udita SinghYes completely. rapes are the result of our culture

which made our moms largely housewives. Rapes are

the result of having an ever unsafe society for girls.

Rapes are the result of we indians thinking highly of

our culture and not approving of the western culture

in a way. We are so content that we don’t even discuss

the loopholes of our culture

Raghav GautamUltimately it comes to one word, respect.

Do we respect women? Cliche but what

if your family’s women go through same?

Stop saying its cliche, start thinking, start

respecting.

Aman AroraThe fact is that all three are exten-

sion of one mindset that women are

a lesser gender and do not deserve

a respect as their counterparts. This

mindset must change.

BURNING QUESTION

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