tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10020933173772899402024-03-13T20:18:54.865-04:00Cultural Critic in the MakingPhD student in English at University of Western Ontarioshnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-85075772676089865612016-10-03T14:12:00.000-04:002016-10-03T14:12:37.343-04:00Pink: A Commentary on India's Rape Problem <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>"No Means NO, whether it be a family, friend, girlfriend, sex worker, or even a wife - no means no" - Deepak Sehgal </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ3t0bijIgA/V_EvBj1WrXI/AAAAAAAADt8/mXnq16IKdQA_pMc-Pwz3GMgVLTxtMqV2QCK4B/s1600/NoMeansNO.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ3t0bijIgA/V_EvBj1WrXI/AAAAAAAADt8/mXnq16IKdQA_pMc-Pwz3GMgVLTxtMqV2QCK4B/s400/NoMeansNO.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheFilmPink/photos/a.575789155921131.1073741827.575735889259791/660306114136101/?type=3&theater">Facebook</a></td></tr>
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Directed by Aniruddho Roy Chowdhury, Rashmi Sharma's <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheFilmPink/" target="_blank">Pink</a></i> (2016) is an eye-opener and a social commentary on the gender politics that are apparent in India. We had recently watched <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3263904/" target="_blank">Sully</a></i> (2016) and were anticipating a gripping thriller with Pink. Though the theatre we had seen the film at had only about fifteen audiences, the film itself managed to gain the attention of everyone who participated in the life journeys of three independent, young women: Delhiite Minal Arora, Indian Muslim Falak Ali, and North-eastern Indian Andrea Tariang. The film starts on a serious note. Three men are rushing to the hospital as Rajveer (Angad Bedi) is gravely injured. He has glass shards on top of his eyes. His friends and cousins are angered and swear to take revenge on the girls, responsible for the injury. They launch an attack on them over the next few weeks targeting their landlord, stalking their every move, and threatening to teach Minal, the young woman responsible for Rajveer's injury "a lesson."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Rajveer, Dumpy, Vishwa, and Ankit during the trial </span></td></tr>
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As the story unfolds, the audiences meet a quirky, intelligent, and slightly aged former lawyer, Deepak Sehgal (<a href="https://twitter.com/SrBachchan?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Amitabh Bachchan</a>). His wife, Sara (Mamta Shankar) is hospitalised with an ailing disease. As he takes care of his sick wife, he is painted as a complicated man who is dealing with manic-depression and perhaps, bipolar disorder. Despite all the troubling issues in his life, he observes the three women who live together in his neighbourhood. Three women living together in Delhi is not a new concept. Many single and profession women do live together although the idea of their independence is viewed with scepticism and doubt. Their neighbours view them with suspicion and at times, doubt their "decent" behaviour. The conflict at the heart of the film centres on the questions that have been plaguing India since women started to gain opportunities to become independent, professional women in metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore.<br />
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"NO means NO. Whether it be a family member, friend, girlfriend, sex worker, or even wife, " Sehgal repeats, "NO means NO." This powerful message invokes the sentiments that have been present in India ever since the horrifying 2012 Delhi Rape Case, which shook the world. Here, he extends that women including sex workers are worthy of respect. If they say no, it means that is NO. This message is at the heart of the film. Interestingly enough, the rape case and the actual events associated with the violent act are not revealed until the very end of the movie but perhaps, what makes the film unique in its nature that it is not the attackers or rapists on trial, but rather the women who are raped and beaten. Rajveer Singh is a man of power; his uncle is an imminent politician.<br />
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For the women, the word <i>Pink</i> reflects courage to stand up against the violence that they face on a daily basis. Growing up in India, many women are faced with eves teasing and molestation. Interestingly enough, the film does not use the word "rape" at all throughout the movie rather uses the word "molestation," which in many ways reduces the intensity of Rajveer's crime. As the women are standing trial, the prosecuting attorney, Prashant Mehra (Piyush Mishra) argues that Minal and the other girls were soliciting and prostituting themselves to the men. They had drunk alcohol with the boys whom they had met a rock concert. Trouble began as the people started to get frisky and flirtatious with them. Finally, the women escape. As audiences you are left puzzled and confused, the women do not immediately launch a rape FIR. When they eventually do get to launching the report, the policemen don't take their cases seriously and discourage them. They are also harassed by Ranveer's goons. At one point, Minal is kidnapped, raped, and then dumped out of the car. These are all allusions to the 2012 Delhi Rape Case.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxvOOn9pDNg/V_Ev1zLgTwI/AAAAAAAADuU/uUdOMayTm5sy82zn6hiDGXyMVGSI9x--QCK4B/s1600/Pink4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pxvOOn9pDNg/V_Ev1zLgTwI/AAAAAAAADuU/uUdOMayTm5sy82zn6hiDGXyMVGSI9x--QCK4B/s320/Pink4.jpg" width="320" /></a>In India, sexual purity and honor are intertwined. When women challenge these norms, they are viewed as "indecent" and impure. According to the interesting character, Rajveer, whose values are steeped in conservative and traditional Indian values, decent girls do not drink or party with men. They remain at home after dark and do not engage in "un-Indian" values. This is the philosophical conflict that is at the heart of the film - how do you find a balance between one's "traditional" values and modern expectations? <a href="https://twitter.com/lesleeudwin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Leslee </a><a href="https://twitter.com/lesleeudwin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Udwin</a>'s <i><a href="http://indiasdaughter.com/home/">India's Daughter </a></i>(2009) and <a href="https://twitter.com/NishaPahuja">Nisha Pahuja</a>'s <a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/">T<i>he World Before Her</i> </a>(2012), both powerful and influential documentaries, contribute to the discourse, addressing the tensions that exist in India. Young girls are often forced to choose between the ability to remain traditional or to become "modernised." Because women and girls continue to project the honour of their community and nation, their behaviour, especially if a woman has chosen to become independent, professional, working class women is constantly questioned by the society especially if the women are single. Furthermore, the women engage in drinking, going out with young men, and partying - behaviours that are considered "foreign" and risky. As a result, the prosecutor and the men accuse the women of prostitution. The girls are shamed throughout the trial especially in the beginning when corruption becomes apparent when a female police officer gives false testimony to admonish their claims further. </div>
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The turning point of the film and perhaps the most unforgettable moment is when Deepak questions if Minal is a virgin. Struck by his question, Minal hesitates afraid that her responses will further shame her in front of the court. She finally admits that she is not a virgin and lost her virginity at the age of nineteen. Deepak continues the questions - he asks if she had asked him to pay her boyfriend for sex or if she was forced into it. Minal defends her decision and says it was a consensual decision. Her response gives Deepak enough information to support her decision. With a loud thunder-like voice, he notes that this was a case of sexual assault and rape because Minal felt uncomfortable and was not interested in having sex with Rajveer. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X6blx8IBppQ/V_Evz94qahI/AAAAAAAADuM/L9w50eY6A38yQBRLGI6bJkfYcnciPUzrwCK4B/s1600/Pink2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X6blx8IBppQ/V_Evz94qahI/AAAAAAAADuM/L9w50eY6A38yQBRLGI6bJkfYcnciPUzrwCK4B/s320/Pink2.jpg" width="320" /></a>The film ends on another high note - Deepak Sehgal addresses the court stating that a woman's response NO should be taken seriously. This is also the first time the issue of marital rape is also brought forward in the cinema. While there are examples of commercial films such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agni_Sakshi_(1996_film)"><i>Agni Sakshi </i>(</a>1996) and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daraar">Daraar</a> </i>(1996), which do mention marital rape, these films have been forgotten in the national memory. Deepak's closing speech draws attention to an important reality - women's consent is determined by the impression they gave to the men - by their clothes they wear, their choices to drink or not, or even to a great extent - their career choices or even decision to work and become an independent woman. </div>
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To sum up, the film is a powerful reproduction that is an ongoing conflict in the Indian society - the fear that one's traditional values will be lost if anyone - men or women - adopt "modern" values. Secondly, it addresses a vital point - when a woman is raped or molested, it is not her rapist or molester that is put on trial in the eyes of the society - it is the <b><i>rape victim </i></b>herself. Therefore, even though the women are innocent, their decision to long to become indepedent, professional, working women is seen as a threat. As a result, they are two key things that the film addresses in its message. </div>
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The first thing is that we need stronger laws to punish the rapists. According to<a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/1098241/indonesian-sentenced-to-death-in-fatal-gang-rape-case"> <i>Bangkok Post</i></a>, the leader of the gang rape in Indonesia has been sentenced to death. The case of a fatal death of a fourteen-year-old has to lead the government to increase the punishment for rapists and child sex offenders. While the decision of capital punishment is perhaps a harsh solution, but it does instill fear in the minds of the offenders, which may lead to a reduction of such crimes. But that being said the film notes that law and order are indeed corrupt in India to a great extent. Police officers readily discourage the rape victims from coming forward and lodging an FIR report. While I do not want to make a generalization, I do think that is a salient issue that needs to be addressed if we want to control the numbers of rapes and molestation cases in India. </div>
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The second and last point that I want to discuss the ways in which the society targets the rape victim. In the name of honour and shame, women and men are scared to come forward and lodge victim reports. They fear that they will be mocked, humiliated, harassed, or even lose face in the eyes of the society. </div>
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Overall, an excellent film that is influential, thought-provoking, and well worth a watch. The drama and thrill of the movie are not bad either. </div>
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Stars: 5/5 </div>
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I<span style="font-size: x-small;">mages: Facebook page of </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pin</span>k</i> </div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-43685721052736440992015-07-08T10:46:00.003-04:002015-07-08T10:46:59.383-04:00Meet The New Kid On The Blog:Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Pritha Chakraborty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A couple of months back, Zana Haque with whom I had worked with for promoting and writing about the Kickstarter project for <i>The World Before Her</i> (2012) introduced me to <a href="https://twitter.com/Prithahere" target="_blank">Pritha Chakraborty</a>, an emerging documentary filmmaker in her own right. Since the last few months, I have gotten a chance to learn more about the mechanics and art of film-making especially as a young woman in India.<br />
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Her most recent venture, <i>Silent Voices </i>(2015), was produced by Film Division of India and documents the lives of the women in her family who have unrequited dreams and whose lives revolve around familial responsibilities and burdens of motherhood. Chakraborty explores the complexities and nuances of middle class India. Marriage, of course, certainly plays a salient role in devising the roles for the women in the family. Though a short film, the film is riveting and showcases that even though economically, India has entered the 21st century, there is much work that needs to be done to underline women's issues that continue to remain unresolved. The documentary was recently shown at 2015 Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Here is the trailer for the film:<br />
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I got a chance to interview her and learn more about her upcoming projects.<br />
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<b>Nidhi Shrivastava: What was your inspiration to become a filmmaker? </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Pritha Chakraborty: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It's actually been a very strange journey. I was born and brought up in a very small town where film-making was never considered to be a career option especially when you are a girl. But I have supportive parents who always thought I should be the master of my destiny. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But honestly it was never a conscious choice I made, it's more of an organic metamorphosis I had over the years through exploring the power of this medium. I could join anything like Mass Communication in St. Xaviers college Kolkata just to run away from Mathematics, but as days went by I started loving this path. I enjoyed the editing part most. I believe it's my internal urge to tell a story which inspired me to join the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Film Editing specialization. The more I liked the process of editing, more fiction/non-fiction I edited, more confidence I got to be able to tell a story. Then I decided that I should also tell a story of mine and hence the birth of "Silent Voices".</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S.: How did you write <i>Silent Voices</i>? </b><br />
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P.C: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> Silent Voices </i>also developed on it's own. I always believed that film is such a transparent medium, if you aren't honest you can't get away with it. So when I thought of making one I asked myself what is that one thing which makes me question, angry, tells me I need to talk about this and I realized that it was the concept of "Silent Voices". I have written many drafts in different formats as I was skeptical telling this through my near and dear ones. I started shooting with lot of prohibition. I started observing my very closed ones through lens and it started taking shape of it's own. It was in the edit table the final draft is written which was independent of any draft I wrote so far.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S. What are the challenges that you have faced as an emerging filmmaker?</b><br />
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P.C:<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">To be very honest, I'm quite lucky to get commissioned by a prestigious body like Films Division India in the very first attempt. But the challenge was not external as much as internal. As this film was a personal one, when I started shooting I thought it would be easier as I have enormous access to my subjects. But gradually it became tougher as I was in inner-conflict being a daughter/sister and being a filmmaker. So the challenge was bringing out the truth with dignity and honesty.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S: What are the projects that are in development? </b><br />
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P.C:<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Currently I'm working on two projects, one will be a shorter one where a brilliant women photographer find herself with a disease called alopecia, where she has lost all her hairs. So it's her tale how being in a society where women's being is measured by lot of external factors. How a brave girl like her is dealing with the same being inside the system. Also working on a feature which deals with the concept of "Arranged Marriage in India". Again what are the parameters to be met before groom's family selects the prospective bride. I have a very interesting character who is still looking for a bride at the age of fifty. The film will be unfold with his journey to find out a suitable bride.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S: When you chose a creative field, did your family support your career aspirations? </b><br />
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P.C<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I said in I'm very fortunate that my immediate family has always been supportive of my decisions. My father always said that even if I stumble at some point, I will always know where did I go wrong and rise again. It's also true that at times they were comprehensive but they believed in my vision.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S: What are your favorite films? </b><br />
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P.C:<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It's very difficult to answer, I'm telling the first five names coming in my mind. In fiction, Mirror by Tarkovsky, Turtle can fly by Bahman Ghobadi, , Climate by Ceylan, Where is my friend's home by Kiarostami, About Elly by Asghar Farhadi, in documentary Gleaners and I by Agnes Verda, Position among the stars Trilogy by Leonard Retel Helmrich, Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman, Herzog's films.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S: Tell me more about your experience as film editor? </b><br />
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P.C: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Editing is the process which has always excited me. I found documentary editing is much more challenging than fiction though I have edited more of fictions including two feature films. Because in fictions I edited the choices/options were limited to experiment and most of it pre-structured. But in case of documentary you shape what you want to say by putting together piece by piece which can be anywhere in the footage. Once you are successful in doing that nothing can be more satisfactory than that. I had a challenging time while editing <i>Silent Voices </i>because bringing the objectivity of an editor in the project which you have directed is toughest.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><br />
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<b>N.S: What re the issues that inspire you to make the film? </b><br />
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P.C<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I made <i>Silent Voices </i>because I have seen how the lives of women around me has always been measured with some predetermined perception of how they should be. Mostly we are born and brought-up with some arbitrary measurement imposed by society and these notions are so popularly accepted that it's the only reality. I would say this film is not a women-right film but a human-right one, because when you deny some one's basic right for education it can't be something to do with women only it's the defeat of that society</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">. </span><br />
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Pritha (right) and Zana (left) at 2015 Hot Docs Film Festival</div>
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<b>N.S: As a filmmaker, what do you think about women's issues in India? </b><br />
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P.C: <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In a way I belong to an interesting time. Me being a part of the same society, coming out and telling my story, this itself is proof of that. But saying so I'm also alarmed as you see in the scene where my sister's 3 years old boy says cooking is women's job not for boys. I pray that when this child grows up to be a 'Man' he can look at it from a objective point of view, only then he can question. Because if you can't come out of the system this cycle will never end. Till then Women Empowerment will remain just as an issue in this country.</span></span><br />
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<b>N.S: Will you want to make a commercial feature film in the future? </b><br />
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P.C:<b> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, I would like to make a fiction film someday too. If there is any story which demands the format of fiction, I would definitely make one. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Feature Image and all Images courtsey of Pritha Chakraborty</i></span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-9804698825146772982015-06-18T12:20:00.000-04:002015-06-18T15:18:17.247-04:00Domestic Abuse and LGBTI Rights: India's Current Struggles in Saurav Dutt's The Butterfly Room (2015) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since the release of <i>India's Daughters (</i>2015) and its imminent ban in India, Bengali author <a href="https://twitter.com/sd_saurav" target="_blank">Saurav Dutt</a>'s <i>The Butterfly Room</i> (2015) also makes an intervention in women's rights and LGBTI rights in India. The novel is a must-read and deals with domestic abuse, LGBTI rights, interracial relationships, and divorce. Available now at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Room-Saurav-Dutt/dp/1511940808/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434641887&sr=8-1&keywords=the+butterfly+room+saurav" target="_blank">Amazon </a>in Kindle and Paperback, the novel explores and develops complex characters who are dealing with raw and gritty issues, which continue to happen but are silenced in lieu of sustaining the patriarchal status quo that has been ingrained within the Indian society.<br />
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According to his <a href="http://www.sauravdutt.com/bio" target="_blank">official </a>website, Saurav Dutt has written for<i> The Guardian</i>, <i>The Independent </i>and has written a wide range of books, which include film star biographies, contemporary fiction and horror, Manga, and graphic novels. His books have been short-listed and featured in London and Frankfurt Book fairs, MCM Comic Book convention, and Book Expo of America. The Butterfly Room was first unveiled in the prestigious<a href="http://www.sauravdutt.com/blog/120745" target="_blank"> Kolkata Book Fair </a>from Jan 25th to February 8th, 2015.<br />
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I got a chance to interview the author Saurav Dutt and engage in a discussion with him regarding the issues he has written about in his novel.<br />
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<b>Nidhi Shrivastava: <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Please speak more about the inspiration behind the novel in particular, the NO MORE campaign, domestic violence against women and LGBTI rights. </span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Saurav Dutt:</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 15.95pt;">I wanted to write a story that talked about how domestic violence against women and LGBTI discrimination within Asian culture is prevalent </span><span style="line-height: 21.2666664123535px;">among</span><span style="line-height: 15.95pt;"> those who really should know better. I wanted to explore the fact that such opinions have not necessarily evolved with time but have seemingly become entrenched in age old stereotypes and regressive mindsets which do not encourage dialogue but seek to eradicate it. ‘India’s Daughter’ was a good starting point. The denial and opaque nature of the ruling class to the programme and its determination to ban it made me wonder why they were so ashamed to talk about these issues head on; then I realised that these same fermented attitudes pervade dialogue of the above subjects and is not just limited to the hideous act of rape. This is not limited to India or Asian culture but seems to be particularly relevant to it due an unwillingness to encourage dialogue and admit to certain faults.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="color: #444444;">N.S: </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15.3333330154419px; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;">How was the experience interviewing survivors of abuse and discrimination? Were there any specific moments that were memorable during the interviews? What were some of the challenges that you faced during the research of your novel? </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3333330154419px; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;">S.D: </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;">This was both a troubling and inspirational experience. The media sometimes likes to stereotype those who have survived such abuse and discrimination as weak, ineffectual and even complicit in their own suffering. What if I were to tell you those I interviewed where as young as 19 and 20 and had settled for arranged marriages and marriages of convenience to preserve archetypes and a status quo that has pervaded certain cultures for decades upon decades? That they were not poor, uneducated but were extremely well read, articulate and struggled daily with whether they should accept their abuse and discrimination or fight to be heard. These were ordinary people: doctors, teachers, housewives; highly articulate, intelligent, independent and forceful people who were trapped because they were foolish enough to fall in love with an ideal in the 21<sup>st</sup> century: that they could love and be loved and not judged. However some seek to punish transgressions because they feel their stereotypes are reinforced by a culture which silently nods its head in agreement and that they will be met with unserving support throughout.</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;">However these talks were ultimately inspirational because those who were younger were determined not to be trapped in a vicious cycle in 20 years, they would rather take a stand now to earn freedom for later.</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">N.S: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">The novel is presented as an urgent response to the controversy behind Leslee Udwin's India's Daughters, please speak more about the two in relation to one another? </span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">S.D.: It disturbed me that the ruling class, the elite and its echo chambers seemed to revel in heaping scorn upon Leslee and her film; if it wasn’t one diversionary tactic it was another, all to obfuscate the real issues and to somehow shrug a shoulder or two and dismiss what happened as the product of evil lunatics hellbent on raping someone weaker than them. That’s only the tip of the iceberg. It exposed in its wake a primeval attitude that some women in society are still better seen than heard, that they should stop agitating and being a nuisance by advocating their rights. The same mindset seemingly applies to those from the LGBT community. You’d be surprised how entrenched this ideology is. At the same time this class elitism is directed against the LGBT community, that fighting for their rights in the 21<sup>st</sup> century is a sign of how allegedly sick minded they are and that they should shut up and let the legislature decide for them. I wanted to write a book that highlighted this class indifference; the family in my novel are a successful family in financial terms with status, power and prestige but who fall apart because they are unable to face and admit the kind of hidden realities a lot of Indians and Indian families experience and because they are not dealt with head on they tend to become hugely self destructive.<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333330154419px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">N.S: </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">In your novel, you write about Sunita's relationship with David, who is still viewed as a "foreigner". Lakshmi acknowledges that she understands the relationship but it is against their familial cultural beliefs. What was the reasoning behind the creation of the interracial relationship? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 15.95pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S.D: Interracial marriages are a wonderful thing and within a few generations from now there will be no resistance-implied or otherwise-from Indian parents if there children want to marry somebody who is not Indian or from an Indian background. Lakshmi is in a way the last of her kind, she is from the old guard but knows that there is no point in resisting change and the development of society. She knows her daughter has to be happy, whoever she chooses but it is a realisation she has come to because her older daughter was more or less blackmailed into settling for another well to do Indian boy simply because it was more convenient. This was the kind of evolution that I wanted to show in the relationship.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333330154419px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">N.S: </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">Divorce is another issue that is explored in the novel and it is important to acknowledge that both Sunita and Anita seem to be pariahs in their own families because they are choosing to transgress their "traditional" cultural values. Please elaborate more about the discussions of these issues in the novel. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S.D: Divorce is hugely frowned upon within Indian communities and families, particularly so amongst those ‘well to do’ families with perceived status, prestige and who feel they are on the higher scale of class privilege. It is deemed a badge of dishonour and must be fought and eradicated. At the same point even if a relationship has broken down, this almost arrogant mindset believes that a broken marriage must be preserved because others may talk and gossip. At the same time the bond between Indian families in this sense is preserved because the children must not suffer by having their parents break apart; I had to explore this because it underpins the relationships of many who are successful on the face of it but are tormented inside because of what society expects of them.<b style="font-weight: normal;"><u></u><u></u></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333330154419px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">N.S: </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">In the novel, Lakshmi and Foiza engage in a discussion where there is an important observation made by the women. Laksmi observes that where it is Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh, there is no open discussion about domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, child molestation, and so on. I think this is an important moment in the novel because it acknowledges the fact that these issues and the silences behind them remain unresolved. As an author who was also researching on these issues, what types of silences from the survivors and victims? Were they all vocal about their experiences? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S.D: Those who were younger were determined not to remain silent but when their community, their elders and even their own immediate family suggest it is better not to speak up, then they feel alienated and alone. Very few can fight the fight because it means ostracizing yourself and others instead seem to suffer in silence. I talk about the ‘wall of silence’ that seems to meet them and that is sometimes more harmful than being criticized outright. Again this mirrors the culture of denial pervading Asian society on these issues.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 15.3333330154419px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">N.S: </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">Rohan is the arch-patriarchal figure in the novel. He does come across as being narcissistic and believes that money will all of his children's issues including Vinesh's predicament with his homosexual desires. He also seems to have a Machiavellian edge to him. Vinesh even accuses him of thinking that he is the "society" and William calls him a living "anachronism", Please elaborate more on this moment. What was the reasoning behind the creation of Rohan as the patriarchal figure? </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S.D: Rohan represents the old guard and yes he loves his family so much he must hold them up to his values; they are puppets to orchestrate his vision and image of what the perfect successful Indian family should be as it exists within the Western world. As a result he himself feels alienated when he feels this is not given the gratitude and thanks he expects, he almost feels those who do not share this idealism are traitors in a sense.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;"><b>N.S: You use Hindi (Hinglish) phrases intermittently throughout the novel. Does the novel have a particular audience? </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S.D: <span style="line-height: 15.95pt;">The audience is for those who can identify with those who are voiceless needing a voice. The use of the Hindi is to lend the context credence because these families would speak in this sense and it provides a bridge between the two cultures. The novel is for anyone who wants to understand the deeper layers between these mindsets. Abuse and discrimination is never black and white, in fact the more deeply layered attitudes to it are almost as disturbing as the acts and words themselves</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;"><b>N.S: The Delhi rape case became an important turning point in India's history putting it on the international media map and violence against women has become a controversial and debatable issue since 2012. How do you feel about violence against women after writing the novel and interviewing the survivors? </b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">S.D: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;">I have always </span><span style="font-size: 15.3333330154419px; line-height: 21.2666664123535px;">condemned</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 15.95pt;"> this violence in the most vitriolic of terms but I feel it is how we handle its repercussions as a society that says everything about who we are. Speaking to those for the novel I was dismayed about how they felt their voices were not being heard and that there was no freedom in collating a collective voice when a huge media sponsored event occurred because after the media and hype dies down we almost seem to be waiting for another India’s Daughter to happen. We pray it never does.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><b>N.S: My final question is about the title and the significance of the Butterfly room. The room also reminds me of Virginia Woolf's essay called "The Room of Her Own." The room for Laxmi becomes a sanctuary but also a place for she contemplates suicide, which for me, was an allusion also to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and the way in which the main female protagonist was slowly mentally disintegrating. Please speak more about the creation of the room itself. </b><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">S.D: Yes the room is an allegory of self contained beauty put together with painstaking care, love and attention but only for show. What if those butterflies never wanted to be encased within a room? Who is to judge whether beauty should be imprisoned or what one’s ideal of beauty is? What about the butterflies, should they free as nature intended or contained and managed, their beauty on display for all to see as long as it can’t be set free to fly away…</span></span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-76911795020679645132014-09-25T12:34:00.004-04:002014-09-25T14:27:55.822-04:00Dawat-e-Ishq Speaks About Dowry-ism in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pic Credit:<a href="http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2014/01/353290,xcitefun-dawaat-e-ishq.jpg" target="_blank">xcitefun</a></div>
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Bollywood has been concerned with many of the women's issues that have put India on the map. This is one review I had been craving to write, perhaps more than even <i>Finding Fanny</i> (which was a great film- more Woody Allen style, but the critique of that film can wait, I think). As a huge Bollywood and <a href="https://twitter.com/AdityaRoyKapoor" target="_blank">Aditya Roy Kapoor</a> fan, I was keenly awaiting the release of <i>Dawat-e-Ishq</i> (Feast of Love, 2014). Thinking it was going to be the typical rosy-Bollywood love story, I had no idea that there would be a surprise of the social message that film aspired towards in its content.<br />
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Pic Credit: <a href="http://www.boxofficecapsule.com/imgsmall/DEIII.PNG" target="_blank">boxofficecapsule</a></div>
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Directed by Habib Faisal and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Chopra banner, right from the start, the film begins with a comical scene. Gullu (<a href="https://twitter.com/ParineetiChopra" target="_blank">Parineeti Chopra</a>), a motherless middle class Indian woman raised by her father (Anupam Kher), Gullu aspires to become someone. However, she constantly comes across dowry-seeking men who try to use marriage as an economic transaction to pursue their career and dreams. Gullu dreams of leaving Hyderabad and migrating to the United States so that she can become a well-known fashion designer.<br />
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The film speaks of the lives of Indian Muslims, which is a community least represented in Indian popular culture. Perhaps, the most endearing and poignant representation was in M.S. Sathyu's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZTvF_1AN8A" target="_blank"><i>Garam</i> <i>Hawa</i></a> (Hot Winds, 1973) who are trying to adjust living in post-Partition India. The film honors and respects their colorful culture.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLP-aRTjHlU/VCREDiVCcxI/AAAAAAAADFM/m8qWVxtFUgg/s1600/Dawat-e-ishq3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLP-aRTjHlU/VCREDiVCcxI/AAAAAAAADFM/m8qWVxtFUgg/s1600/Dawat-e-ishq3.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
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pic credit: <a href="http://images.indianexpress.com/2014/07/aditya-parineeti-1.jpg" target="_blank">Indianexpress</a></div>
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Now, lets focus on the crux of the issue that this film seeks to unpack. It speaks about the age-old problem that has plagued India for centuries - dowry! My late grandfather too used to write plays in Hindi about the issue writing about women who are empowered and stand for what they believe in. Here, too, Gullu does exactly that even for Amjad (Karan Wahi), a man she briefly sees before his family demand an atrocious amount of money for his further MBA studies in America. She walks out on him finally coming with a scheme to trick these dowry-hungry families and trick them into giving money and later accusing them using <a href="http://www.498a.org/498aexplained.htm" target="_blank">the Indian law 498a</a>, which punishes families for asking for dowry.<br />
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While I won't give away what happens during the course of the film, the film addresses many salient points that are relevant to India's modern reality for Indians. The issue of dowry coupled with the status of women whose lives are determined by the economic status of their families often limits them from becoming someone or pursuing their dreams. While Gullu (in a true Yash Chopra style) is of course lucky in love and meets a man, Tariq (Aditya Roy Kapoor) who wants to marry for love and even helps her with the dowry.<br />
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This film is worth watching for its songs especially Sonu Nigam's "Mannat" but also for the chemistry that Kapoor-Chopra bring to the table! Of course, let's not forget how this film speaks profoundly about dowry-ism within the Indian community, specifically the Indian Muslim community that inhabits India. </div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-13584370183620858122014-09-22T16:23:00.000-04:002014-09-22T17:39:10.736-04:00Fear No More: Easily Accesible Website Now Available To Domestic Abuse Victims<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: <a href="http://domesticshelters.org/">Domesticshelters.org</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October is the Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic abuse is a universal phenomenon much like the <a href="https://www.anokhimedia.com/blog/asia-s-emerging-rape-crisis" target="_blank">recent emerging rape crisis in Asia</a> especially in countries like India and Malaysia. Crimes such as domestic abuse, rape, and sexual violence are hush-hush within any community. In my past teaching experiences, as a teaching assistant to the "Introduction to Women's Studies Course" at University of Western Ontario, I was approached by a student who told me that because these issues are such taboos, society silences the voices of the victims due to stigmas and taboos that surround these particular issues. Her emotional words have stayed with me all these years. Honored to be approached by Chris McMurry, director of Theresa's Fund. We engaged in a fascinating discussion about the ways in which technology now plays a key role especially in the social sector.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6G4H7sFfla8/VCCDJtrTarI/AAAAAAAADEc/FNcQAgtsR9U/s1600/domesticsheltersorgbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6G4H7sFfla8/VCCDJtrTarI/AAAAAAAADEc/FNcQAgtsR9U/s1600/domesticsheltersorgbanner.jpg" height="113" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Recently launched, <a href="http://www.tgci.com/funding-sources/theresas-fund" target="_blank">Theresa's Funds </a>with partnership with the <a href="http://www.ncadv.org/" target="_blank">National Coalition of Domestic Violence (NCADV)</a>, <a href="http://domesticshelters.org/">domesticshelters.org</a> is the very first searchable online database of domestic violence and includes about 3,000 of the agencies in the US. When someone visits this mobile-friendly website, any one can find the near domestic shelter based on their location, services, and language preference. Easily accessible to anyone who is in desperate need to get out of the relationship, I found that as a young woman of twenty-eight years who is constantly engaged with social media for both social and intellectual purposes, I can truly attest to the value that this particular website offers especially within the South Asian community. McMurry informed me a surprising statistic that, "approximately half of the online searches nowadays take place through mobile phones." Because this particular search engine is mobile-friendly, victims have easy access to the three pillars of the services that it offers: "Find Help," "Be Safe," and "Get Smart." "Find Help" is a tool that allows you to get help in your language (available in international languages including sign language). "Be Safe" is a tool that allows you to escape detection by clearing your browsing history and clicking on "leave the site." Finally, "Get Smart" is an education tool to aid in making good decisions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sylvia Torralba, membership director of NCADV, says, "<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.25px; line-height: 24px;">The great news is that there are many good people, organizations and providers trying to help, and in fact, helping.”</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.25px; line-height: 24px;"> She further added, "</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.25px; line-height: 24px;">With some 36,000,000 million searches a year in just the U.S. on the topic of domestic violence, domesticshelters.org is an overdue and much-needed concept that may help more people than any other service ever offered in this space, and may help save lives because it will be so easy, accessible and fast to use."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.25px; line-height: 24px;">The organizers of the site worked endlessly for more than six months identifying 3,001 domestic violence provider organizations in the United States. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The origin of the website was born out of the need as McMurry noticed that on the first few pages of the Google search engine. There will be perhaps attorney websites, national organizations, state coalition, and maybe a shelter or an organization on the first page. As the director of Theresa's Fund, he realized that there was a prominent gaping hole as there was no single site that made finding services fast and easy. The younger generation, he said, barely calls on the phone but uses the phone for Facebook, Texting, and online searches. This website, in particular, is mobile-safe to avoid the abuser from gaining access as the victim can easily access on the phone's browser without getting caught. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To sum it up, as times are changing, technology is playing a vital role in the social sector. This mobile-friendly website indeed is <b>a turning point </b>especially when it comes to domestic violence - according to Google more than 3,000, 000 searches are conducted per month (a scary statistic!). </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Images courtesy: Chris McMurry</span></i></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-87699822131110835062014-09-18T12:53:00.002-04:002014-09-25T11:04:30.618-04:00Mary Kom: Can A Woman Indeed Have It All? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bollywood.celebden.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Mary-Kom-biopic.jpg" target="_blank"><b>Mary Kom/Celebden</b></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In recent times, Indian women are gradually coming into the limelight. For <i>Anokhi Media</i>, I have recently taken an interview with Asia's upcoming female comedienne and actress, <a href="https://twitter.com/SharulChanna" target="_blank">Sharul Channa </a>upcoming in the next month! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While<a href="http://anokhimedia.com/blog/deepika-padukones-controversial-tweet" target="_blank"> Deepika Padukone has recently made headlines </a>with the <i><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mary-kom-got-my-life-almost-right-mary-kom/" target="_blank">Times of India</a></i> recent photo gallery showcasing popular Bollywood actresses including Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan caused a controversy in Tinseltown drawing the issue of women's rights into the lime light once again. That being said, India's Film Industry has been attempting to make films, which raises awareness of women's rights in India. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although politically, I am a humanist and my heart feels compassion and empathy for all those who are suffering in need - men, women, child, and others who do not fit into one category or another. These are issues that do concern me because India continues to be remained with female infanticide, rape and sexual violence, child sexual abuse, and so on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bhansali Productions, known earlier for blockbuster hits such as <i>Ram Leela </i>(2013) and <i>Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam</i> (1998) released <i>Mary Kom</i> - a biopic starring Priyanka Chopra. The movie is about a young woman's dream to break boundaries and emerge as India's first woman boxer who has won several championships. What makes her dream possible is the support she receives from her family and life partner who encourage her to follow her dreams against all odds. Mary Kom goes on to win world championships. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awcV1v2ivp0/VBsNPfNqP_I/AAAAAAAADDk/fcyDlbpE1Po/s1600/MaryKomPriyankaChopra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awcV1v2ivp0/VBsNPfNqP_I/AAAAAAAADDk/fcyDlbpE1Po/s1600/MaryKomPriyankaChopra.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Priyanka Chopra With Mary Kom<a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/priyanka-chopra-comparison-with-mary-koms-earnings-bollywood/1/382981.html" target="_blank">/IndiaToday</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What perhaps make this film stand out among others is that it highlights the issue of racism that continues to run within India's nervous system especially when it comes to the people of North-east India commonly called "Chinkis" because they have many features that makes them look more Chinese supposedly and stereo typically than most Indians. Much like the North-South differences that continue to be apparent in India, there have been many attempts in media especially through advertisements (See <a href="http://anokhimedia.com/blog/indias-latest-trend-in-advertising" target="_blank">Amitabh Bachchan's <i>KBC </i>episode</a>). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout this film, we are able to see many experiences that the men and women from this part of the region experience on their daily lives. To have a woman fighter borne out of these circumstances is something that serves as a reminder that India's history and culture are much more richer than what meets the eye. Furthermore, this particular film is the perfect example of the power that popular culture has. If this film had not been made, we probably would have never heard or known about the success that Mary Kom had accomplished for her India! And as Indians, we should be proud and more accepting of those who are different from us! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Real Mary Kom exclaimed after watching the film to <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mary-kom-got-my-life-almost-right-mary-kom/" target="_blank"><i>Indian Express</i>,</a>“What makes me happy is that my story and whatever it may contain to inspire younger generations, would now be taken far. Now the story of my struggle has gone to every corner of India." Indeed, where this story makes the most mark for me is that Mary Kom is the living proof that women can have it all - a career and a happy home if she receives the right type of support from her family and life partner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While obviously it is hard to overlook that her life is somewhat romanticized as a biopic, what makes it hard-hitting is that it is based on a real life biography of a woman who overcame difficult circumstances to become a successful boxer bringing India's name to the forefront in international games all around the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This movie is a must-watch for all! </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-68913209503278742092014-09-10T14:11:00.001-04:002014-09-10T17:24:42.318-04:00An Interview with A Rising Star: Indian Idol 4 Star - Rajdeep Chatterjee <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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.....And I am back!<br />
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In the recent months, life has thrown many curve balls at my disposal in my personal life and at that moment, my priority was nothing more than my own family and personal life (as well as care for my own personal being). I have had to take a leave of absence this semester to remain at home. However, being a fan of challenges and fighting them through (thanks to the amazing support system I have and am grateful for), I am now back with a bang to continue to do what I do best - write, analyze, and critique cultural trends. I want to extend my thanks to both <a href="https://twitter.com/samita_nandy" target="_blank">Samita Nandy</a>, founder of <a href="http://cmc-centre.com/about/" target="_blank">Centre of Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS) </a>for introducing us and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rajdeep.idol?fref=ts" target="_blank">Indian Idol 4 star and Bollywood Playback Singer Rajdeep Chatterjee</a> for taking his time to answer my questions!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6u5WE-low6I/VBB-5vKZ9mI/AAAAAAAADCY/vjMO-3zStPU/s1600/Rajdeep3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6u5WE-low6I/VBB-5vKZ9mI/AAAAAAAADCY/vjMO-3zStPU/s1600/Rajdeep3.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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Teen Singing Sensation Rajdeep Chatterjee, 23, has been making waves in the Indian music industry winning the hearts of musical maestros like A.R. Rahman, Anu Mallick, Javed Akhtar, Kailash Kher, Sonali Bendre, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. Mallick even declared him as the best singer of the season while the Symbiosis Group referred to him as the Jharkand Icon. He has performed with fellow music celebrities including Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Ghosal, Shankar Ehsan Loy, Himesh Reshamiya, Mika Singh, and Abhijit Bhattacharya. The judges have referred to him fondly as Mr. Smiley of course for his infectious smile and mature voice. An alumnus of Loyola School, Chatterjee has performed in 450 shows as a professional singer all over the world including in countries such as the United States of America, Canada, Africa, and the Commonwealth Games. Furthermore, he is also the winner of reality show singing competition <i>Fankaar </i>and a finalist in <i>Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil' Champs</i>.<br />
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I caught up with him after his return to Bombay after his recent performance at the Bollywood Monster Mashup in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada this summer!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CnKtx7LQkkQ/VBB-3WOL3jI/AAAAAAAADCI/B2mP9ao9Ryk/s1600/Rajdeep5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CnKtx7LQkkQ/VBB-3WOL3jI/AAAAAAAADCI/B2mP9ao9Ryk/s1600/Rajdeep5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rajdeep Performing at the Bollywood Monster Mashup in Mississauga, Canada </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nidhi Shrivastava:<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Thank you for taking the time for the interview. It is an honour. Did you always want to be a singer? </span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rajdeep Chatterjee: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, music was always in my blood. My parents are musicians themselves (not professional) but they have learnt. So yes, I have been surrounded with music. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>NS: </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What were your first impressions of India's music industry?</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: The </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">music industry is a dream for all musicians/singers. In this era of intense competition,its actually difficult to say who is good and who is not ,but honestly,I feel there should be more unity and appreciation than politics and negativity in this industry. The rest is all good</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>NS: How was the experience in the Indian Idol 4 especially working with India's music industry giants such as Javed Akhtar, Anu Malick, and Kailash Kher? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indian Idol was the turning point in my life. I had done a couple of reality shows before but as a kid .Indian Idol brought about a lot of change in my life.It taught me how to perform,how to face the audience,how to accept defeats as well. It's because of the show that I got the popularity and got opportunities to sing for <i>Bodyguard</i>, <i>Khiladi 786</i>,and <i>Gunday </i>as well it helped get</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> my real self out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>NS: How was your experience singing for the films <i>Bodyguard </i>and <i>Khiladi 786</i>?</b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Bodyguard </i>and<i> Khiladi 786</i> experience was amazing. It was a treat working with Himesh ji (reshammiya).He is a gem of a person and an extremely talented music director. It was a blessing to work with him</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">NS: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What are the challenges that you have faced while being a part of India's music industry as a newcomer? </span></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all face challenges everyday so I won't say that there was a particular time when I had to face challenges or problems. But I believe,music comes from your soul and not everybody can be a musician. You need to have that connection with GOD and that emotion within you. So I always sing from my heart. For me, my stage is a Temple,and music is the Idol that I worship. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>NS: I have read that you had earlier sung for the Telegu and Tamil films as a playback singer, tell us more about your experience in these industries? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes,I had sung for a Tamil film long back after Idol. It was recorded in Ar Rahman sir's studio in Chennai.The experience was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for more.I have also tried singing in Marathi and Bengali languages.</span></span><br />
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<b>NS: In the more recent times, singers also have to be excellent performers and have to be better "groomed" than the singers of the yesteryears? How has your experience being regarding the performance element of your singing career? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: Yes ,its ABSOLUTELY right.Singers have to be performers.By performer, I mean,an entertainer who value the time that the audience has spent in coming down all the way to see his or her act. They should get the value for time and money that they have spent. It is our responsibility as artists to see to it that our audience enjoys and has a great time when they are with us. For that an artists needs to be versatile, charming, interesting along with his musical skills. The competition is fierce now.we have so many singers, but I wish our country discovers more performers as well! </span></span><br />
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<b>NS: Who are your favorite singers? your idols? </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">RC: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My favorite singers have been Manna Dey, Mohammad Rafi sahib and Kishore Kumar. In the newer Generations ,we have Sonu (Nigam) ji who is amazing .I love his feel.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you all enjoyed the interview with Rajdeep! Here is a clip of him performing for the Bollywood Monster Mashup this year in Mississauga, Ontario! </span></span></span><br />
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-7854329145153511122014-07-20T11:57:00.001-04:002014-07-20T11:57:39.914-04:002014 Bangalore Rape Case: A Troubling Reminder of Child Sexual Abuse and Rape <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Returning back from a long vacation and getting back into the groove of things, quite a few things have happened. <a href="https://twitter.com/NishaPahuja" target="_blank">Nisha Pahuja'</a>s<i> <a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/" target="_blank">The World Before Her </a></i><a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/" target="_blank">(2012) </a>has been nominated for a long deserved Emmy! I will be presenting a paper on it during the next South Asian Studies Conference in Madison, Wisconsin in mid-October! Due to the hectic travels and summer, I have not been as frequent as a blogger as I should be but now the time has come to draw attention to quite a few important issues that have gained my attention. </div>
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<a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/bangalore-school-rape-skating-instructor-arrested-says-police-561861" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QdKb-hRqKhY/U8vkGLWRqoI/AAAAAAAADAs/Cxv0ijCzO5s/s1600/bangalore-parents-protest-outside-school-PTI-360.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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A couple of days ago, my bhabhi (sister-in-law) messaged me on Facebook telling me about a shocking rape case of a six-year-old student in one of the most prominent schools in Bangalore. For the purposes of security, I will not highlight the name of the school. Until now, it seemed as if women and young girls were not safe in the streets, walking out late at night, going out on dates, and so on. But the recent rape of a six year old in Bangalore has raised more concerns about the safety of children in India and the necessity of sex education in India. Children (and adolescents) have the full rights to know about sex and its repercussions as it was highlighted in a very popular satire video ending with the statement - <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/blogs/post/Sex-Education-For-Schools-Sarkaar-Approved/3314/31" target="_blank">"Sex is not a stigma, but ignorance is!</a>" Indeed and more recently,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkY0xqtw6W8" target="_blank"> ChildLine </a>recently released the video on child sexual abuse! I will not speak more about it here as I will be discussing about it in my latest<a href="http://anokhimedia.com/" target="_blank"> Anokhi Media</a> article. However, the focus on this particular blog entry is on child sexual abuse and rape in particular.</div>
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Both intellectually and emotionally as an Indian and an American, I am in quite a shock that despite the media cry that took place in 2012, these rape cases seem to be increasing rather than decreasing. Truth be told, my passion to find the answers to these questions is growing more and more with it! As a scholar and as a woman who belongs to this country, I cannot help but overlook these continuing issues that make up India's social culture. Politically, I feel that it is the responsibility of us as individuals to make a change and rely much more on our power as civilians to make a difference within India. While I do trust our government and am willing to see what happens in the next 5 years, I am more concerned about the young, innocent, and marginalized who are left to the sidelines. </div>
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The image (above) is the photograph taken during the protests taken place for the six-year-old rape case that has taken place in Bangalore. Much more interesting than the image itself was what it meant for the people who understood and received it in social media forums such as Facebook and Twitter. Apparently, the issues of religion and race has also intersected and intervened in to this horrifying cauldron of lust, abuse, and crime.A rapist or someone who commits an act of sexual violence or molestation is a criminal. There are no two ways about it! Rape and child sexual abuse is a universal phenomenon. Perhaps, what makes me more passionate about this particular incident is that it happened in one of the most "safest spaces" for a child - his or her educational institution - but the sad reality is that most cases of child sexual abuse or even rape happen in places that the victim is familiar with. The rapist in the case was a Muslim skating instructor, whose laptop has also been confiscated from him. Before the rape case went public and became an international news, <a href="http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/karnataka-education-minister-kimmane-ratnakar-issue-directive-to-all-schools-in-bangalore-to-impose-security-measures-for-the-safety-of-children?share_id=vsxOmgvXWE&utm_campaign=share_button_action_box&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition" target="_blank">a petition was signed by more than 60,000 supporters to draw attention to its severity and directed towards the Karnataka Education Minister Kimmane Ratakar.</a> It is disheartening to hear that this is the first case in which an arrest has been made! </div>
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I am writing this blog both as a scholar and as someone who is concerned about taking responsibility and ownership for what has happened in India thus far I want to say this is a wake up call for those who are in India and outside of India to bear personal responsibility towards the issue of violence against women, children, and any other marginalized human being in the society! Its easy to have a comfortable life, to have a great materialistic wealth to accompany the life, but the true meaning of life is when one gives to those who need it! I think this particular incident is a strong reminder for us as human beings, first and foremost! I would encourage all and everyone to speak out, to become strong individuals who are not afraid of voicing out and taking a stand, and draw attention of those in power to make appropriate changes where they need to be - educate your child about sex (and sexual abuse), become strong men and women who accept and tolerate one another, and most of all respect one another as human beings. It all starts from one - pay it forward! </div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-34779547248684145312014-06-16T16:56:00.000-04:002014-06-16T17:09:00.239-04:00Unconventional Heroines: From Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) to Holiday (2014) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fVvvo6pp-M/U59Di2n8yHI/AAAAAAAAC-g/8OqHfkaP2-Y/s1600/Holiday4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fVvvo6pp-M/U59Di2n8yHI/AAAAAAAAC-g/8OqHfkaP2-Y/s1600/Holiday4.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As I enter the stages of achieving Ph.D. candidacy in this upcoming year, I had taken a little more than a month off to essentially vacation and spend time in Singapore. During this time, I didn't get a chance to update my blog sans the movie review of<a href="http://nidhishrivastava1407.blogspot.com/2014/05/modern-marriage-and-love-in-india-karan.html" target="_blank"> 2 States</a>. I did, however, publish a play review of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and another article that spoke about the fun night hot spots to party in Singapore. Now, that I am back and after taking a couple of days off to recover from the travel and climate change, I am back with vengeance and more than ready to take all you readers in the journey of India's popular culture, my observations, and discussions that I find important to our understanding of India as a country, nation, and a home to a population of 1.237 billion people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although initially I had planned to write a movie review of <i>Holiday </i>(2014), I came to a realization that the film industry is now exploring and creating characteristics of heroines that are unconventional. Each time the recent films have pushed the boundaries and has arguably represented characteristics in women that were earlier either unaccepted or viewed as immoral or perhaps even unfeminine. I will elaborate these examples through the examples of three films I recently watched this year: <i>Holiday </i>(2014),<i> Hassee to Phassee</i> (2014), and <i>Shuddh Desi Romance</i> (2013). In the string of films that have been challenging the stereotypical representations of Indian women, earlier films include <i>Dev D</i> (2009) and <i> Luv Ka The End </i>(2011). </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pVNnPzjZDhk/U59DW6V-6uI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/kuTc87JDqH8/s1600/Holiday3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pVNnPzjZDhk/U59DW6V-6uI/AAAAAAAAC-Y/kuTc87JDqH8/s1600/Holiday3.jpg" height="174" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film <i>Holiday </i>(2014)'s primary focus is on the army officers who dedicate their time to saving and protecting the nation against terrorism and other threat that seeks to destroy the lives of civilians. As one of the major themes in the film, the constant reminder that Virat Pratap (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/akshaykumarofficial" target="_blank">Akshay Kumar</a>)'s character reiterates is the notion that if a suicide bomber can give up his life for the passion he has for his faith or "revenge," why cannot a civilian also sacrifice his life to protect the lives of millions? While this was a troubling question that the film explores, the heroine (<a href="https://twitter.com/sonakshisinha" target="_blank">Sonakshi Sinha</a>)'s character could be deemed as unconventional. From the start, the media in the film industry has been pushing the idea that Sinha is unlike other heroines in the industry because she has had to cope with weight issues and s</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">o on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I liked about her characterization in this film in particular was that Virat initially rejects her because both him and Saiba (Sonakshi) because she is delicate, soft, and beautiful. Virat longs for a life partner who is physically strong like him and lo and behold, in the next frame we see him getting a pleasant surprise as Saiba transforms from a delicate flower to a strong boxer who wins the match. Hence, one could argue that the societal expectations for the unconventional heroines is gradually growing because as early as films in the early 2000s, such characterizations would have been viewed as tabooed and to a great extend unfeminine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While for a lot of audiences this moment goes unrecognized, I found this representation in particular to be a step forward in India's fight for violence against women. However, <i>Holiday </i>is not the only film that I would say that has pushed the boundaries of unconventional characterizations for the heroine of the film industry. Earlier this year, I had watched <i>Hasee to Phasee</i> (2014) and <i>Shuddh Desi Romance</i> (2013). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both starred the international star, Priyanka Chopra's cousin sister, Parineeti Chopra in two completely different roles that argued that girls did not have to shape themselves into the classic Miss India like characters who are traditional, delicate, and are represented as women who inhabited the domestic space, which is where their role is as nurturers and providers for their family and husbands. However, both these films challenged these notions and showed that the heroines in both these films wanted much more than just domestic bliss. Meeta (Parineeti Chopra) is intelligent, quirky, bold, and dares to risk her family and reputation to pursue the career of her dreams. Unlike her sister in the film, she is simple and tomboy-ish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout the film, her sister's boyfriend, Nikhil (Siddharth Malhotra) tries to get know her and eventually ends up falling for her. While it may seem initially quite surprising, the fact that the filmmaker, not surprisingly, Karan Johar presented us with unconventional heroines, she is accepted into the family and for once, she is shown as empowered. The earlier notions that a woman has to leave her career and aspirations when she gets married is left behind, instead, we see that the couple support each other in their careers, which enables for perhaps an even more successful marriage. Earlier, if I remember correctly, parallel cinema films represented women who were intelligent as ugly and nerdy who did not know how to have fun and enjoy life. This misconstrued notion also further suppresses a girl's desire to pursue education and become successful in her own way. This was perhaps one of my most favorite films after </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Highway </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2014) this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was not the first time, though, that Parineeti broke the conventions as a heroine. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shuddh Desi Romance</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (Pure Indian Romance, 2013). The film's particular focus was on commitment, marriage, live-in relationships, as well as, arranged marriages. Raghu Ram (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) both are involved in a relationship and eventually move in and start living together. Unlike many films, this particular film explored the idea that sometimes it is okay to be with someone without signing the dotted line. While personally, there are some traditional expectations such as marriage that I continue to agree with. I found this to be a film that spoke volumes about the cultural changes that are taking place in India and to be sure, not just in cosmopolitan Indian cities but indeed even in small towns and cities that exist in most of India. The film also shows Gayatri smoking, engaging in pre-marital sex, and being bold and independent. At the end of the film, both Raghu and Gayatri still end up living together but not signing the dotted line. Even though many may not necessarily agree with the conventions or their decision on many levels (morally, socially, and so on), I think again this is a step forward (albeit an uneasy one). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> To sum it up, this is the time when the Indian film industry, in particular, Bollywood is making strides in producing unconventional heroines in mainstream cinema. As the time continues, it will be interesting to see how these trends start reflecting within the Indian culture. Secondly, these type of representations also show that even though there is an overarching problem in India if a woman or girl child's life is valued, these type of representations do emphasize what <a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/worldbeforeher/interview.php" target="_blank">Nisha Pahuja has stated that there are multiple Indias a</a>nd indeed these representations become a lens through which we see a multi-layered and multidimensional India! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image Sources: pinkvilla.com, apne.tv, ecx.amazon.com, 1.bp.blogspot.com, intody.in</i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-50879950611591770072014-05-10T04:07:00.002-04:002014-05-10T04:34:55.846-04:00"Modern" Marriage and Love in India: Karan Johar's 2 States (2014) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala's adaptation of<i> 2 States: The Story of My Marriage</i> (2009) recently released in the theaters world-wide last week. After the end of the first year as an English PhD student, I was looking forward to this film. Although I have not read Chetan Bhaghat novels, his phenomena as an engineer-turned-writer enigma has made him a celebrity. Perhaps, because he is emblematic of the creative gap that exists among the youth in India. Science, mathematics, medical, and economics are among the valued subjects in India while subjects in humanities continue to remain undervalued as career prospects for future generations. That being said, I have noticed in the recent years that many Indians are pursuing successful careers in all types of fields including music, writing, and so on. Chetan Bhaghat's success and intervention into this particular issue is also symbolic of the growing acceptance of careers in Humanities. His novel, <i>Five Point Someone</i> (2004) was adapted into the famous Aamir Khan starrer, Rajkumar Hirani's <i>3 Idiots</i> (2009). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A selfie moment: Chetan Bhagat with his wife, Anusha (left) and Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor (right)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A semi-autobiography, the film stars Arjun Kapoor (Krishh) and Alia Bhatt (Ananya). The film depicts the journey of a couple from their college days when they meet each other to the time when they are able to win the hearts of their parents. Although the film is a romantic comedy, it addresses many issues that still remain apparent in modern India: dowry, skin colour, domestic violence, premarital sexual relations in modern India. In addition, it also speaks of inter-regional marriages that do indeed take place within India. While I will try my best not to discuss the plot in detail, please excuse me this time if there are spoiler alerts. I do recommend this film for any Bollywood-film lover or any one interested to see how the romantic films are depicted the various contemporary relationships through their films. Since this past year, there are three romantic films that I highly recommend: <i>2 States,</i> <i>Hassee to Phasee </i>(2013), and <i>The Lunchbox </i>(2013). I have been focusing mostly on films and documentaries that focus on the representations of violence against women, but I think its also important to see how the film industry is illustrating films which focus on the complexities of contemporary Indian relationships because it does give us further understanding of the status of women in India right now. It also reminds us that not all women in India are vulnerable to violence, instead are able to pursue their careers and become empowered individuals. That being said, this film also reminds us of the issues that I had mentioned earlier that we, as Indians, are still coping with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Unlike other films that have recently been focused on the evolving "modern" relationships such as couple co-habitation in <i>Shuddh Desi Romance </i>(2013), the retelling of Shakespeare's <i>Romeo & Juliet </i>in<i> Ram-Leela </i>(2013), or the melodic and haunting love story of <i>Ashhiqui 2 </i>(2013),<i> Two States</i> is more than just a love story. Perhaps, the most touching moment of the story is that it hearkens back to the 90s romantic films in which the opinion and approval of families was important to the couple. Although Krishh and Ananya love each other, there is a need for both of them to gain approval from their parents before they can get married. Both of them make an effort to win over their future in-laws. Perhaps the most touching moment is when Krishh proposes with rings not just to Ananya but places a ring for her father, mother, and brother. Although the film does indeed give off<i> Hum Aapke Hai Kaun </i>(1995) vibes, it shows that modern relationships are a complex amalgamation of traditionality, modernity, and uncertainty with a hint of adventure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> While the couple are in college, the film shows them engaging in pre-marital sex, in many ways, "normalizing" that these type of relationships do indeed take place in contemporary universities and removing the taboo that was illustrated perhaps in Anurag Kashyap's <i>Dev D </i>(2009). While the couple are able to enjoy a utopic relationship in the college, the film does not get interesting until after the couple decide to commit and get married. It is at this time their parents meet each other. Amrita Singh plays Arjun's mother (Kavita Malhotra). As a strong Punjabi woman, she is convincing and memorable. Her husband's role is depicted by Ronit Roy who is known to play the stern father in films such as <i>Udaan (</i>2010<i>). </i>Even though her personality is dominating, her role as a heartbroken mother with a sensitive side is hard to overlook. Unlike her counterpart, Revathi who plays Ananya's mother who is passive, Amrita Singh plays a stark contrast in many ways enforcing the stereotype of "scary" Punjabi mother-in-laws (although it may never be true in all cases). Furthermore, what I liked about this film was that although it did speak of the North and South Indian stereotypes, it also showed them as multi-layered and multi-faceted. For example, Revathi seeks to become a singer but no teacher wants to take her. Krish's mother and aunt are both shown as judgmental people. However, when Ananya wins their heart during a wedding addressing dowry, they become more "humanized" and less of a one-dimensional stereotype. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Although Krishh belongs to a dominant patriarchal family in which his father is an alcoholic and also physically abuses his father, the film does not paint the picture that dysfunctional families are one-dimensional. Instead, towards the end, we learn that despite his father's shortcomings, there is a desire for him to recover and crave love from his only son. The film does not presuppose the notion that children who belong to dysfunctional families will not turn out to be good citizens unlike children who are born and brought up in a tight-knit nuclear families. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The film also complicates and further pushes its viewers to think about love and arranged marriages. Love marriages, to this day, in many parts in India continue to be viewed as tabooed as the involvement and approval of parents is seen as vital part of a marriage's success in India. However, that being said. It shows a love marriage that has failed via Kavita and Vikram (Krish's father) and a successful inter-regional marriage via Ananya and Krish. Therefore, it argues that it is the relationship between two individuals that matters and how much both of them are willing to work towards making their union successful. Even though there is domestic abuse and alcoholism that has seeped into the veins of their happy family life, both parents strive to make efforts to stabilize their family when their son chooses to get married. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Although I am tempted to speak more about the moments I found touching in the film, it is a must watch for any one who is interested in fun, romantic comedies but also keen to learn about India's complicating marriage culture. Marriages in India are viewed as a union not only between the couple, but also between the families. This particular film highlights this point to the T in a humorous and endearing manner. Even though there is a happy ending at the end, it does not come without a realization that there are cultural changes that are indeed taking place in India, which was once rampant with caste-ism, classim, and so on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image sources: situated.in, images.indianexpress.com, static.ibnlive.com </i></span><br />
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-71762809922150689092014-04-15T04:54:00.002-04:002014-04-16T07:53:25.874-04:00Anthony Bourdain's Visit to Punjab: A Reminder of India's Nation-Making in Parts Unknown (2013) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef and world traveller has been making his name with his larger-than-life demeanor. Known for gaining success through his hard-hitting book, <i>Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly</i>(2000)<i>,</i> the man made strides in the media and television industry with the first show that aired on Food Network called <i>The Cook's Tour </i>(2001) where he began his journey to visit world wide locations to sample their cuisine, meet people, and understand the dynamics and diverse cultural systems that are in existence globally. The man then began filming for Travel Channel's <i>No Reservations </i>(2005-2012) and <i>The Layover </i>(2011-2013), before moving on to CNN's <i>Parts Unknown </i>(2013). I have been following his shows like a travel fanatic and foodie since <i>The Cook's Tour </i>aired on the Food Network. I loved his rhetoric hard-hitting and truth-telling style with his openness to culture and a transparent honest approach to the way he filmed, wrote, and hosted the shows. <i>Parts Unknown</i> started its third season and its focus was on the subject that is near and dear to my heart: India. It is not as if Bourdain has not visited India before. He has filmed in Rajasthan, Kerala, Mumbai, and Kolkata but none of the episodes really delved into the heart of India's nation-making and history like his Punjab episode did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The episode was rich in its discussion of India's colourful history, its troubling history of the Partition, and nation-making process, exploration of the relationship between India and Pakistan in its present form, and a visit to the colonial past with the journey he takes to Shimla. Although I have never been to the regional states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, these states are still on my bucket list. Heck, all of India is. That is the reason why I am so passionate about my heritage and culture because it is so deep rooted, so diverse, and together - an amalgamation of amazing people, cultures, and customs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Bourdain begins his journey in Punjab visiting the area and trying out delicious Indian vegetarian cuisine in dhabas (or roadside stands spread across the region and in high ways). Then, he has an opportunity to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar (another location I am dying to visit someday). He speaks profoundly about the Sikh community that welcomes people from all religions, caste, and creed into the temple to partake in the langar (a vegetarian meal served and prepared by volunteers).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Today I write about The Partition, an event that was taking place simultaneously as both the nation of India and Pakistan were coming into being. I have been concerned, touched, and baffled by India's history. From all the documentaries, historical accounts, and people whom I have heard from about the time of Partition - India's largest mass migration which led more than a million displaced and many more violently killed. I have not been able to forget that as the nation was coming into being in 1947 when Nehru was giving his tryst with destiny speech, there was utter chaos and displacement. Bengal and Punjab were among the two states that were divided into the East and West Pakistan then. Part of my own research tries to understand the lived experiences of women during this time period and the ways in which their subjectivities were defined then plays a strong role in the way women in contemporary India are treated now. It is part of India's history that is hard to overlook and forget. Furthermore, it was part of the nation building process although people sometimes view this time period as separate from post-independence India in academic and non-academic scholarships. However, I would argue that it is part of India's colonial history and part of the decolonization process even the two nations were in the process of becoming their own nations during this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Perhaps, there are two endearing moments that are part of this episode that were emotionally and intellectually revealing to me: the discussion that Bourdain has with a documentary filmmaker making a film based on the India-Pakistan border and the stay and meal he has at the guest house in Shimla where a grandson continues to maintain his grandfather, a man known to entertain the English at his home during the colonial past. After 1947, the royal families who had supported the English had to convert their homes into museums and guest houses. You see, India's process of de-colonization with the intervention of capitalism and the rise of modern cosmopolitan India has not been an easy one at many levels. 1947 and the years leading up to this fateful year were the defining moments of India's current situation. India as a nation prior to 1947 was an amalgamation of feudal states that were run by Maharajas of those regions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although a nation of more than a million and half people, India's current political situation, its stance of issues on the recent issues such as violence against women all are part of India's historical past and the time of nation building. The reason why I consider Partition so important is because the decisions that were made politically and socially at that time have continued to have irreparable consequences with countless wars with Pakistan, the hot issue of Kashmir, and so on. I do not have any solutions to these problems but have a desire to understand learn about them as I pursue my research. Anthony Bourdain's latest episode is a strong hint that India's current situation must be understood through the lens of the nation's historical past and the time when the nation was coming into being. As I continue forth my research, I will be writing and speaking more about the cultural products such as films and novels that have represented the violence against women that used to happen at this time period.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Image sources: i2.cdn.turner.com</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-76504168991530721172014-04-11T12:32:00.000-04:002014-04-15T04:41:39.200-04:00"He Let Me Live" - Nisha Pahuja's The World Before Her (and US) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"He let me live" - these words echo in my mind a day after the screening of<i> <a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/" target="_blank">The World Before He</a></i><a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/" target="_blank">r </a>at the University of Toronto last night. I was watching the documentary for the second time and this time in an dark theatre at the University of Toronto observing the audience's reactions and finally meeting <a href="https://twitter.com/NishaPahuja" target="_blank">Nisha Pahuja</a> via skype, <a href="https://twitter.com/ZanaHaque" target="_blank">Farzana Shammi</a>, and Mariam Zaidi for the first time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filmmaker Nisha Pahuja beaming across from India </td></tr>
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The words "he let me live" mean so much to me because I come from a family where girls are valued, loved, and cared for. Unlike what Prachi Trivedi called a "traditional" family where girls are killed through the act of female infanticide, I was brought up with the rhetoric that I was the first girl after 18 years. I was the first born. I was the oldest from my dad's side of the family because he is the oldest among the children. Both my parents have given me whatever I wanted, I was allowed to wear what I wanted, travel the world, date whomever I wanted. When I was down and ready to give up on life two-three years ago, when my thesis got rejected twice during my first masters, my father sat me down in his office and encouraged me to follow my dreams. Lo and behold, my life changed after meeting with <a href="http://www.uwo.ca/womens/faculty/baruah_bipasha.html" target="_blank">Bipasha Baruah</a>, professor and Canada Research Chair at the Women's Studies and Feminist Research Department at University of Western Ontario. Today, with her guidance and with the guidance and support of <a href="http://www.uwo.ca/english/faculty/bhatia.html" target="_blank">Nandi Bhatia </a>and <a href="http://www.uwo.ca/english/faculty/emberley.html" target="_blank">Julia Emberley</a>. I have started my journey as a PhD student. I am thankful everyday and grateful to have a supportive family system both compromising of my extended family (who have loved me as their own daughter), best friends who are like sisters, and friends and mentors who make me who I am today. Every day I am thankful to the higher being!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farzana Shammi and Mariam Zaidi </td></tr>
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And yesterday, when I heard the words from Prachi - <i>he let me live </i>- I realized how much of a privileged position I am in to be able to have the appropriate knowledge and language, write, and study these issues that affect India. This film means a lot to me both intellectually and emotionally because it is not only a cultural product, but also because it has generated a movement that seeks to educate and spread awareness of violence against women. It speaks of female infanticide and the women who are straddled between choosing the "old" and the "new" India. These issues are important to me for selfish reasons. <i>I was indeed allowed to live </i>and allowed to embrace both sides of the ideologies. Many women who belong to India are not given such privileges and support that I have received from my support system and thus, I feel that by becoming a part of the campaign I play some role or if any of spreading knowledge about these issues. It is also my way of giving back to the world I belong to. Like Nisha Pahuja, I consider myself a "humanist." I care for any marginalized and oppressed being whether it be a man, woman, or child who is suffering from oppressive systems.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the screening! </td></tr>
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The campaign is in its last 62 hours. Any amount that you contribute to this campaign will help make a difference in India because I strongly believe that documentaries or any type of a visual cultural product has a different type of impact on our minds when we see the events taking literally before our eyes. By pledging to the campaign, your contribution will be used to fulfill the stretch goals to reach 3 additional grassroots screenings, perhaps even the film can be released in Mangalore, where women were beaten up for visiting bars (which is honestly a personal choice) and Jaipur, the home of Ruhi Singh - one of the speakers in the film. To be honest, its times like this I wish I had been more of a saver than a spender. I would have happily contributed more than I had to the campaign for the goals and mission it has and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Even if its a dollar or two or more, imagine the power you have to make a change in India. Here is the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/411325600/the-world-before-her-india-campaign.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farzana Shammi, Mariam Zaidi, and me! </td></tr>
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These photos are courtesy of people who attended the event including Mariellen Ward and Farzana Shammi!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span><br />
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-59325256077821202952014-04-05T13:55:00.001-04:002014-04-15T04:41:50.810-04:00The Power of Celebrity: India's Upcoming Elections and Satyamev Jayate (2014)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I was born in Dehra dun, India and growing up I was obsessed with <a href="https://twitter.com/aamir_khan" target="_blank">Aamir Khan</a>. He was my first love (well after my papa), my first crush, and my first hero. I think from what I remember of the stories that I was told, I would calm down if my mother put <i>Dil </i>(Heart, Indra Kumar,1990)'s video cassette and I would quieten down and go about my day! Today, the same man proves to be more than just a pretty face! He is an intellectual and has been called<a href="http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/is-aamir-khan-a-social-crusader-or-a-bully/" target="_blank"> "a social crusader" </a>by the recent media press that has released since the release of his final episode. Although I am not in India right now, I have as an Indian woman who has developed and shaped her career in hopes of bettering and understanding India's future and improving the lives of those who live in the marginalized edges of the nation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> When<i> <a href="https://twitter.com/satyamevjayate" target="_blank">Satyamev Jayate </a></i><a href="https://twitter.com/satyamevjayate" target="_blank">(2012)</a> was released, the show sent shock waves around the nation as it uncovered truths about the country through sophisticated research. His views are also very democratic, secular, and speak volumes about the plight of the nation. Although agreeably and perhaps rightfully many will critique them based on their own values (and they are indeed entitled to their opinion). However, his final episode of the second season, <a href="http://health.india.com/healthcare/satyamev-jayate-2-episode-1-review-did-nirbhaya-rape-case-really-bring-about-a-change-k314/" target="_blank">which began with a bang explicating the question of rape,</a> ended on a powerful note especially in regards to the current elections that in his words is a historic moment in India's fate. As I talk among my peers, friends, and advisors in regards to India's political elections, I get a mixed bag of reactions. To be honest, I was never really a fan of Indian politics as the government to me, as someone who was living outside of India (but visiting India for short periods of time), seemed to me like an entity of its own separate from the heart of India.I used to say naively: "I love India and its people but not the government" However, as time have passed and I have grown emotionally and intellectually trying to understand the Indian history in greater detail and understanding where I, as an Indian woman, really fit in. I have come to realize that Khan is indeed correct and courageous to bring this show to the forefront just as <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/411325600/the-world-before-her-india-campaign" target="_blank">Nisha Pahuja and her <i>The World Before Her (2012)</i> team has been proactive in bringing the issues of violence against women to the forefront. </a> As citizens of India, we need to realize our individual power to bring change in India whether we do it through writing, rallying, protesting, or any act that shows one's stand in the future of the country. In order to bring change within a system, you need to understand the system. As easy as it is to blame the government, indeed we need to look in the mirrors and reflect on our selves - what have we done to bring change the various systems that exist within the government? if we don't want to participate in the politics, that is okay. How can we then bring changes as citizens. What can we do? One, honestly, does not need to be in a so-called "seat of power" to bring change to a country. You can do it from wherever you are. I would suggest that this is the underlying message of the show - to make citizens realize their own empowered position within the nexus of the Indian nation. You don't need to be an intellectual or a politician to better your nation. Any one can do it. You don't need higher education degrees. What you <i><b>do </b></i>need is a clear mind that is aware of the surroundings, a clear heart, and an agenda to bring change? I think everyone has that. That being said, its a matter of taking one step - of going one extra mile! :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In the finale episode of<i> Satyamev Jayate</i>, Khan exposes horrifying numbers of criminals - people who have committed grave crimes such as rape, murder, kidnapping, and etc - who are currently MPs and MLAs in the Indian government. While this is a truth that everyone knows and no one wants to speak about, it is something to think about. Of course, as one of his guests had said, that this system of corruption has become so grandeur that it has overwhelmed the country as a nation. No matter whom you support politically, nobody can deny that corruption continues to be a debilitating disease that continues to plague India. I am not writing this to say or urge you to vote for one candidate or another but I am writing this in support of what his show's content is trying to speak of. Perhaps, for me, the most touching moment in the episode was when he takes a vow (a <i>shapath</i>) that he will wear the three colours of the Indian flag as threads as a reminder that he will vote for the right people who will work together to bring India to great levels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> One cannot deny that unlike many celebrities, Aamir Khan is using his star power to create change in the country. He is a paragon of humility, intellect, and shows great concerns for the future of India. When you watch him or listen to him speak, it is evident that he is down to earth and that fame and its privileges have not spoiled him. Instead, he is ready to talk to the nation at an emotional and intellectual level to bring some sort of reality (which sometimes we do not want to see or hear because it makes us ashamed or embarrassed as a nation). While it is understandable to react in that way - to feel uncomfortable - it is important to give an open minded chance to all who are involved in making a difference in India - whether it be the Right or Left. It is important, however, as citizens to make the decision after much thought and without any greed. I think that is the point of Aamir Khan's finale and something that really should be thought about more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Unlike many other countries, India has had a privilege to be called literally one of the largest democracies yet we do not take advantage of it. We live in a nation where all types of religions, castes, and communities have always come together since the B.C. era. Imagine the power we have <i><b>together </b></i>if as Indians, we forget our differences and join hands to better the nation and bring to the heights of success it deserves. You do not need to be a politician to do that but you need to be a good citizen (whether you reside in or outside of India). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Growing up I lived in so many countries including Malaysia and Singapore, but thanks to my parents and extended family, I grew up in an environment where I was taught to always be humble, to be grateful, and never forget and be proud of my roots and heritage. I used to visit India for months on end, live with my progressive (and traditional) grand parents, and even as I grew up - I would find excuses to live in India for the summers and stay with my relatives and family. I would have a chance to wear my salwar suits and be in a country where I didn't have to adapt at all. My passion and love for India never changed even when I moved to the States, I would wear Indian salwars to my high school and would proudly tell my fellow students and classmates that I don't need to wear clothes that signify my culture on a holiday or a special occasion. My love for my heritage has always shaped my life and every day decisions. It is the reason I chose to do a Ph.D - the reason why when the Delhi Rape Case happened in 2012, I jumped to speaking to my entire class on Introduction to Women's Studies trying to tell them to not believe everything that the media speaks of but to understand and learn about India, its culture, history, and so on. Sometimes, it would even surprise and bother me at the same time that people will be like - either "oh wow, you speak such good English or oh wow, you speak Hindi so well!" - or when I would have to prove my "Indianness" - but I do that now as a writer and a budding intellectual in my actions, words, and voice. I am proud of my roots, culture, and heritage - its strengths and weaknesses - but I am not the one to watch India's future develop as a mere spectator but my intellectual project and work has been to better India and its future. Its what makes me wake up everyday! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> All of this being said, the questions of poverty and the fate of women who do indeed still get treated as second-class citizens is still an issue. Having studied feminism and feminist theories as a graduate certificate at University of Michigan and a master's degree at Western (and I am not a "feminist"), I can also say that unfortunately and fortunately, the violence is not gender- or class-specific. Female infanticide, for example, happens everywhere in India not only in rural areas but in families where people hold professions typically known to be more forgiving and understanding of such crimes. The process of dowry (the culprit) behind the increasing rates of female infanticide is still an issue.These are just few examples. It is also hard to overlook the question of poverty that continues to hang like a sword above the head that remains important for India's fate. However, I would argue, that even beyond any of these issues that I think are important for the progress of India as a nation and country. We need to remain united as "Indians" and really think about who we are as "Indians" - what defines us? is it our history? our future? our present? The amalgamation of various and diverse cultures and customs coming together to form a nation? As citizens, we have the utmost right to choose whom we want to vote for. I think we should all participate and vote, as Khan urges, and remember how the nation came to be in 1947. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I am aware that my views reflect hope and idealism (which many will think is perhaps too unrealistic) but I think desiring a coherent and united nation was an idea that was pushed by our own ancient political scientist and intellectual,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanakya" target="_blank"> Chanakya who brought together "India" as a nation for the first time. </a>I call for a united nation. A nation where the young and the old work together to bring change in India regardless of religion, caste, class, gender, and creed. To me, that is the India I want to call home and every day of my life I work to bring this idea together. We sometimes forget in our daily lives that we indeed <b>are </b>empowered individuals who have the right to bring change in India (and believe me, it only takes one). So as the election day come near, please take the time to vote (and don't just vote for anyone) but think about the right leaders who bring the nation together as one, whom we can be proud of, and who can shed light to the issues such as poverty, unemployment, women's issues, development, and so on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <i><b> <span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/aamir-khans-satyamev-jayate-season-2-finale-talks-about-elections-2014/" target="_blank">Recalling what Satyamev Jayate tweete</a></span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/aamir-khans-satyamev-jayate-season-2-finale-talks-about-elections-2014/" target="_blank"><b>d: </b><span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>Cast your vote, don’t vote your caste. Make an informed choice in the 2014 elections. #MyVoteNotForSale.”</b></span></a></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><i>Image sources: www.nrimatters.com and images.indianexpress.com </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-11440829343416805302014-03-25T14:20:00.000-04:002014-04-15T04:42:11.993-04:00A Documentary with a Mission: Revisiting Nisha Pahuja’s The World Before Her<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">On <a href="https://twitter.com/aamir_khan" target="_blank">Amir Khan</a>’s
prominent show, </span><i style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="http://www.satyamevjayate.in/" target="_blank">Satyamev Jayate</a></i><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">,
well-known RTI (Right to Information Act)activist </span><span style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/shaileshgan" target="_blank">Shailesh Gandhi</a> talked about
India’s current political situation. Passionately, he told Khan “every person
is responsible for the flaws of Indian democracy and the problems facing it.”
Gandhi then discussed the responsibility that an individual has in transforming
and changing India and its situation. Commenting on recent politics, he
remarked, “Some say Narendra Modi will fix things. Some say Arvind Kejriwal
will, other state Rahul Gandhi will. That’s the discussion. Nobody talks about
what they will do. We say that we are in a democracy, but we are looking for a
messiah. There will be no messiah.” In agreement, Khan responded “In a
democracy all of us will have to work!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">As I watched the
episode, I felt all kinds of emotions and immediately couldn’t help but agree
with Gandhi’s words; as individuals, we need to play an important and more
proactive role in bringing change to India. Ever since the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-24078339" target="_blank">Delhi Rape case</a>
happened in 2012, India’s treatment of women has placed the country in the
forefront of national and international politics and media. As a result,
arguably, there has been a surge of female-centric documentaries and films that
have been released that engage with the politics of women’s rights and their
position within India. As someone who was born and brought up in India but left
the country when I was seven years old, I have always had to consider and
struggle with my identity as an Indian woman who has lived in Malaysia,
Singapore, United States, and now Canada. I still remember that I had to make a
decision at a very tender age when I was 14 years old whether I wanted to
assimilate into the Western culture or remain tied strongly to my roots. While
I “work” (intellectually and emotionally) everyday to strike a balance between
my “traditional” and “modern” worlds, it has not been an easy crisis to face
growing up. As I was being educated in the Western realms, I would crave to
have a social life with people who belonged to my culture, understood cultural
nuances, music, and popular culture. Thus growing up my research has been on
trying to understand the complexities and nuances of what it means to be a
modern Indian woman in the current era.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I have been grappling
with this particular problem (among others) since my high school days I wrote
my first research paper on Indian women novelists such as Manju Kapur in
2006-7. When the Delhi rape case happened more than a year ago, suddenly these
questions about an Indian woman’s identity became a major topic of discussion
for national and international media. For me,<a href="https://twitter.com/NishaPahuja" target="_blank"> Nisha Pahuja</a>’s <i><a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/" target="_blank">The World Before Her</a> </i>is a documentary
that is more than just a “film”. It is a cultural product. It is a mission. It
is the desire to bring a change in India especially with concerns to women’s
rights.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Although politically I do not identify as a “feminist”, my concerns
remain with the future of India and as an Indian citizen, my heart sinks
whenever I hear the rhetoric in international and national media that women are
being abused, attacked, raped, and even murdered for being who they are. It
does not matter whether they are of lower, middle, or upper class. The rhetoric
suggests that our country is barbaric – that is uncivilized because it cannot
respect women although it prides itself on </span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/09/indias-abused-goddesses-campaign-condemns-crimes-against-women.html" target="_blank">worshiping</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2013/09/indias-abused-goddesses-campaign-condemns-crimes-against-women.html" target="_blank"> goddesses </a>or revering
mothers. Therefore, as an Indian woman personally who is trying to figure out
her own subjectivity in the so-called Modern India, the way women are treated
is of major concern to me– perhaps it is a selfish desire, but the desire to
understand the complexities and nuances of this issue are important for the
future of my nation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The award winning <i>The World Before Her</i> is a nuanced film, and
it engages with different types of issues that concern women in India. It
premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012, and since then has been
screened in more than 125 film festivals and has received 19 awards for its
efforts to bring awareness of the situation of women’s situation in India. At
the heart of the film is the question of female infanticide. It is a topic that
Amir Khan too launched his show <i>Satyamev Jayate</i>
with a couple of years back bringing the issue to the forefront. It is a
reminder that we still need to tackle with female infanticide where we need to
value the lives of girls in India. We need to allow them to become educated and
independent citizens who are capable of making their own decisions. This was an
issue sadly that has been brought up in much academic and non-academic
literature since Katherine Mayo’s <i>Mother
India</i> (1927) and Elizabeth Bumiller’s <i>May
You Be The Mother of A Hundred Sons: A Journey Among The Women of India</i>
(1991).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> While yes the documentary speaks of the polemic Durga Vahini camps, I
don’t think the intention of the filmmakers is to vilify such camps but to show
the two sides of India – the so-called “old” India and the “new” India – and to
suggest that both these schools of thoughts are similar and different in their
own way. Both of them have a vision for India. Both camps – the Durga Vahini
and the Miss Femina India camp – shape a woman’s subjectivity towards certain
ideals. Both their ideologies are not wrong in any way, however, they are
symbolic of the two extreme ideologies that are currently present and are at
odds with each other in India. It is the India that women are born into. <b><i>However,
one must realize that before even women can experience this dilemma – they need
to be alive.</i></b> For me, this is the ultimate concern. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Nisha Pahuja,<a href="https://twitter.com/ZanaHaque" target="_blank"> FarzanaShammi</a>, and Mariam Zaidi have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise
awareness of the very issue that concerns my own research – to bring the issue
of the violence against women to the front and centre of India and Indian
politics. The campaign was launched on International Women’s Day on March 8<sup>th</sup>.
The film will be released in India on April 25<sup>th</sup> this year. The
campaign has the goal of reaching $50,000 CAD. In less than 20 days to go, the
campaign has raised almost $25, 000 CAD. With the money raised, the funds will
be used for 4 causes: screenings at educational institutes, speciality and
theatrical screenings in six cities, online release after the National
elections have taken place in May, and screenings where the rates of female
infanticide/feticide are high. To support the campaign, Anurag Kashyap, Nandita
Das, Shimit Amin, Neeru Bajwa, Lisa Ray, and <a href="https://twitter.com/IamDeepaMehta" target="_blank">Deepa Mehta</a> are playing important
roles in the campaign<a href="http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140322/entertainment-bollywood/article/anurag-present-world-her-get-wider-audience?page=2" target="_blank">. Anurag Kashyap will present the film a month before its release. </a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I write this blog
urging readers and visitors who are concerned with the current situation of
women in India to see the documentary and film in India as well as contribute
to this cause. The Kickstarter campaign website is easily accessible and once
you make a pledge; you inadvertently become part of an important movement that
is concerned with the issue that has brought India into the international map.
Any amount you donate and in whatever currency works towards bringing awareness
about female infanticide and the other issues that the film highlights. The
link to learn further about the campaign is: </span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/411325600/the-world-before-her-india-campaign"><span style="line-height: 115%;">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/411325600/the-world-before-her-india-campaign</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> I want to thank Nisha Pahuja and Farzana
Shammi for being so readily available and informative about the campaign. To
conclude, as Gandhi mentioned in his interview with Amir Khan on <i>Satyamev Jayate</i> – we all have a role to
play to contribute to the future of India – as individuals we need to play our
parts. By participating and becoming a part of this campaign, this is exactly
what you will be doing – you will become a part of a change!</span></div>
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<i style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Image source: </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">d2nh4f9cbhlobh.cloudfront.net and the world before her facebook page. </span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-65932300512218847542014-03-12T13:40:00.001-04:002014-04-15T04:42:21.455-04:00Stepping On Blurred Lines of Reality and Fiction: Anubhav Sinha's Gulaab Gang (2014) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> When I was 11 years old and living in Singapore, my good friend Manoganya introduced me to Jim Henson's fantastical movie,<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/" target="_blank"> <i>The Labyrinth</i> (1986)</a>, starring the popular singer of the 80s David Bowie and with him was the young Jennifer Connelley who recently was part of <i>The Winter's Tale</i> (2014) and<i> A Beautiful Mind</i> (2001). While the entire movie is cute and unforgettable with muppet-like characters, it is the journey of Sarah who is in search of her brother, Toby, who has been stolen by Jareth (David Bowie), the king of the goblins. Towards the end of the film, Jareth is frustrated with the cat-and-mouse chase with Sarah. He blames Sarah for being the cause of the conflict as she had been the one who had initially been frustrated with her brother and had asked Jareth to take the baby away. While he continues to psychologically manipulate and play with Sarah's mind trying to gnaw at her weaknesses, Sarah realizes that she has always had the power within her to overpower and overcome his tactics that are attempts to weaken her strong and resilient spirit. At the end of the scene, Sarah cries,<i> "you have no power over me!" </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Sarah had the power all along to combat such negativity and control from Jareth. The film ends with Jareth falling into the abyss and Sarah rescuing her younger brother. Why is this story important to understanding the mission of <i>Gulaab Gang</i> (2014) or Nishtha Jain's documentary <i>Gulaabi Gang</i> (2014), one might ask? This anecdote reveals the power struggle that continues to exist between the subjectivity of the marginalized peoples and oppressive systems that attempt to control them and overpower them through verbal and physical tactics. Sarah breaks the psychological control by empowering herself and not allowing Jareth's meaningless words to overpower her own subjectivity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As a disclaimer though, I do want to say two very crucial points that I wish to reiterate whenever I write about violence, patriarchy, and bio-politics. First and foremost, I want to emphasize the idea that not every man is a Jareth in the Indian context. Surprisingly, I have encountered more men who are sympathetic and empathetic to the cause and are against any or all types of oppression. They are gracious and are filled with respect for all marginalized communities and genders. Secondly, I want to reiterate that I am not a "feminist." My political concerns span across gender, caste, class, religion, and other realms and my ultimate goal is to understand why India is the way that it is, how can we improve its conditions and lives of the oppressed and marginalized communities, and what does being an "Indian" mean for women like me who have lived outside of India for majority of their lives but continue to live, breathe, and intellectualize India daily and everyday. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Although unfortunately recent news reports have said that Madhuri Dixit-Juhi Chawla starrer<i> Gulaab Gang</i> (2014) bombed the box office, I would suggest that the film is <i>still </i>a must watch. Perhaps, even should be watched alongside Nishtha Jain's documentary on the<i> Gulaab Gang</i> (2014) that took five years to make. <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/2-films-feature-fierce-women-in-pink-saris-confusing-viewers/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0" target="_blank">Both these films have been the avenues that have placed Sampat Pal Devi and her Gulaab Gang on the international map. </a>The members live in the rural parts of Uttar Pradesh, a region known to have an oppressive and misogynistic culture and sometimes physically fight for their rights against the issues of dowry, domestic abuse, and political corruption.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I am reminded here of an interview I was watching on <i>Bollywood Boulevard</i> the other day when Dixit said that the film focuses on the lives of women who live in the 75% India - the poor India - and how they overcome various systems of oppression. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in locating the clip online, Dixit has realized the struggle that India as a nation is facing. There are two "Indias" that co-exist - The "Old" India and the "New" India. The former that is kept alive by centuries old traditions, while the new one striving to be cosmopolitan and modern in the 21st century. Both worlds trying to reconcile their differences and attempting to find a "middle ground" if one exists. At the heart of this struggle, recent films and documentary such as <i>Gulaab Gang </i>(2014) have emerged to strongly argue that "No, India is not dangerous for women. Here are examples of women who do fight back verbally or physically and repeat Sarah's words to their oppressors - YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> While I will not divulge Anubhav Sinha's <i>Gulaab Gang </i>(2014), I will urge those who are indeed concerned with the cause to at least watch the movie once (and then watch Nishtha Jain's documentary). <a href="http://www.gulf-times.com/entertainment/240/details/384271/pink-brigade%3A-clash-of-fact-and-fiction" target="_blank">Both these renditions of the real Gulaab Gang offer us the realities that we sometimes overlook and erase from our cosmopolitan memories. </a>The women who live in rural areas do not have access to education, are privy to child marriages (<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news-interviews/Madhuris-acting-made-me-feel-I-was-on-screen-Sampat-Pal/articleshow/31718385.cms" target="_blank">even Sampat Pal herself</a>), and are readily abused or even have acid thrown on them if they refuse advances. Gulaab Gang was formed to protect women from such oppression and dedicated to the cause. Had both Sinha and Jain worked together or even released the two films side-by-side, we as audiences could have seen that the intention both filmmakers had was the same - to show that women in India were fighting back by uniting and literally taking arms to fight oppression. Instead, there are countless articles that show that both sides are immersed in a controversy days before the release of Sinha's film. Perhaps, their controversy serves a reminder that there is a need - <i><b>a desperate need </b></i>- for a united India. Without unity, there is no space for progress of any kind if people are too busy trying to find differences in one another. Although one film was a commercial enterprise set to release on the eve of International Woman's day, the other was a labour of love that took five years to make and was an attempt to capture the reality of the Gulaab Gang through Jain's perspective. I do have to say though that Chawla's performance as the corrupt, shrewd, and power-hungry performance should not be missed! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The other issue that I found alarming was that the film did not do well at the box office was because there was no male lead in the film. Why is this an issue when no one questions Hollywood films such as Meryl Streep's <i>The Iron Lady </i>(2011), which was a biopic on Margaret Thatcher? The silver screen was dominated by Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla who are both strong and empowered women in their lives and are working to promote the causes that support the empowerment of young women and girls through their means. There is no reason why this film should not work. Perhaps, people are turned off by violence but do not the same people watch films that are action-based and maybe even more violent that the realities illustrated in Sinha's film or Jain's documentary. I believe that this is a realities that many people are aware of and witness in their daily lives and thus have been desensitized to them. Many also perhaps do not want to watch the horrific realities that exist in the poor India where conditions remain the same as they might have been two hundred years ago and it is a reminder that India still needs to work to bring change in the lives of the poor and forgotten! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Images & Sources: hindustantimes.com, india.blog.nytimes.com, nytimes.com, firstpost.com, and gallery.oneindia.in</i></span><br />
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-65258436073509552014-02-23T19:07:00.001-05:002014-04-15T04:42:33.791-04:00 Imitiaz Ali Seeks The Truth About Women's Issues in Highway (2014) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Imitiaz Ali has been one of my favourite filmmakers since he made his debut with <i>Socha Na Tha </i>(2005) starring Ayesha Takia and Abhay Deol. He wowed his audiences with rom-com drama <i>Jab We Met</i> (2007), <i>Love Aaj Kal</i> (2009) and <i>Rockstar </i>(2011). Three years later, Ali returns with <a href="https://twitter.com/aliaa08" target="_blank">Alia Bhatt</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/RandeepHooda" target="_blank">Randeep Hooda</a> starrer <i>Highway </i>(2014). I went to watch this movie with skepticism and doubt because I kept on thinking how will the age gap between Bhatt and Hooda will work on the silver screen. After all, Bhatt's debut with Karan Johar's <i>Student of the Year</i> (2012) had casted her as a young, popular arrogant girl very much like Veronica in Archie comics. However, having faith in Ali, I braced myself for what was going to be unforgettable two and half hours of my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The film begins quite innocently with Veera Tripathi (Alia Bhatt), a rich tycoon's daughter, meeting secretly with her fiancee to escape the ongoing wedding celebrations in her home. They drive too far and bear witness to a robbery. The criminals kidnap her and take them with her to the crevices of India's poor and humble neighborhoods. Fellow criminals reprimand the kidnapper - Mahabir (Randeep Hooda) - for abucting the tycoon's daughter fearing that the rich had connections to politicians and law that could make them vulnerable in the eyes of the law although their crimes were petty. Mahabir is an angry and frustrated man tired of the atrocities he has had to face because he belongs to the poor class in India. Driven to avenge his own fate, he sees Tripathi as a consignment - a method by which he can make the rich class suffer. He decides to keep her kidnapped aware that he is a "no-gooder" - a man with a criminal past still not convicted for the three murders he has committed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> At the heart of this powerful film is a very sensitive issue that many people fear to speak about. Rapes and sexual abuse of young children is unfortunately an unspoken commonality in India. No one speaks about them publicly because it can tarnish reputation and honour of families. The perpetrators are not held for their criminal offense and in order to protect the honour of families rich or poor, women and men grow up traumatized unable to comprehend the contradictions that are before them. Both Veera and Mahabir are victims of such a society. Veera's uncle and family friend rapes her since the age of nine luring her with chocolates and gifts and her own mother stops her from speaking the truth and behaving as if everything is "normal." Mahabir bears witness to his mother's abuse. She is prostituted by his own father to cater to the "needs" of rich men. Therefore, the film alludes to a glaring issue that rarely gets taken up in the socio-political fabric of India. The film suggests that rape and sexual abuse arguably over-rides class complexities within India. Perhaps the most powerful moment is the climax of the film when Veera confronts her family - she says, "growing up, you told me to be careful of strangers outside our home but you never told me that I should be careful inside my home too." She finally screams the pain and trauma she felt at the tender age of nine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As the film ends, audiences in the theater were left baffled and in awe of Alia's performance. Perhaps more endearing is the issue at stake in the film. Although a mainstream "popular culture" film, Imitiaz Ali speaks to a very current social issue that needs our attention. Honour and reputation are used as tools to silence voices of the innocent boys and girls who grow up in traumatic situations not only as street kids who witness atrocities but also in the luxurious homes of the rich where sexual abuse and rape is kept under the rug to prevent dialogue. Sexual abuse and rape sometimes happens in the public and the crowd just watches sometimes not reacting or not partaking in saving the victims. In a country where films like <i>Mother India </i>(Mehmood, 1957) are heralded and where women are revered as Goddesses in mythology and religion, <b><i>why are such cases silenced?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I understand the need to protect honour but at the stake of one's child who is traumatized without their own pain and hurt unacknowledged is something that I struggle with when I see such cases or watch movies or television shows that address the issues. Part of the problem too is the lack of trust in counselling and therapists because again it has to do with reputations. If you see a counselor or a therapist, automatically you are ostracized from the society. However, if one really thinks about it, the importance and relevance of such services should be made emphasized within our society. I would suggest that the film not only does justice highlighting and underscoring a very important issue but also addressing the need for counselors and therapists who are there to deal with children who have suffered from sexual abuse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Finally, a reviewer of the film questions the choices Ali makes for Veera's Stolkholm syndrome - a psychological moment when the kidnapper and oppressed share a traumatic bond. The reviewer sets the moral precedent arguing that the film is sending the "wrong message" with a very subdued love-angle justifying the crime of abduction. To some extent, I can see the reviewer's moral dilemma as he or she questions,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/is-alia-bhatts-highway-setting-a-wrong-precedent/453446-8-66.html" target="_blank">Soon, Alia makes an attempt to bond with Randeep and trust him enough to share with him a childhood trauma. But the film, despite Ali's sensitive handling of a prickly issue, sets a wrong precedent. Among an ocean of subjects to choose from, women once again find themselves the subject of harassment, threats and intimidation on screen. Does the captive's identification with the captor make the act of kidnapping legally acceptable? At a time when the crimes against the women are on the rise should Bollywood have shown more maturity?</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I can see his or her argument that such films might increase kidnapping and rape because it does in many ways romanticize the relationship between the captor and captive, however, I would suggest that the film does more to complicate the bond between Mahabir and Veera. In our society, there is a definite need to define relationships. If there isn't a name for it, it is viewed as something that is seedy or unacceptable. But, that is exactly the relationship that both Mahabir and Veera have - they bond over the fact that both of them have witnessed the exploitation of women. Veera feels that she can be honest with Mahabir and he will accept her as she is without any judgement or pre-conceived notions about her as a person. Therefore, Ali creates a very complex relationship between the two. Although there is a hint that both of them are romantically attracted to each other, there is no hint that their relationship is purely sexual. Instead, they bond over trauma - which is something- that is uneasy to talk about, difficult to unravel, and definitely something that is not easy to understand if you have not suffered it yourself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The writer also questions if Ali's film will further promote the idea that kidnapping and abduction is "acceptable," however, my response to such an observation (albeit valid) is that we are capable of making the right moral decisions without being influenced by films. If we are able to easily get influenced by such films, then these issues will never be brought to attention and become a source of discourse both academic and non-academic. A similar film called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZQ3_EQPomw" target="_blank"><i>Pinjar</i> (Chandra Prakesh Diwedi, 2003)</a> showed a similar trauma that the main female protagonist experienced during the time of the Partition. Although she hates her kidnapper (Manoj Bajpai), she falls in love with him at the end when<i> her own family rejects her </i>because she has tarnished their honour. Hence, these type of relationships are not easy to unpack without understanding the subjectivity of each person involved. To say that such films will influence increase in abductions does not make any sense to me, who believes that change can only take place in the society if we are willing to discuss it out in the open, admit to our weaknesses and faults, accept ourselves for our imperfections (and grow from them), and become tolerant and accepting of others. No one can be perfect. We are born always already imperfect. No one can be absolutely "good" or "bad" because every human is a complex amalgamation of heart, soul, mind, love, desire, and hate. Each and everyone has a reason for their decisions, for whom they are, and their actions. To think otherwise is to think that there is an absolute perfection and no human being is without fault and in my mind, that is God - or the Higher Being. Hence, this film needs to be watched with such lens to understand the humanity that lies within Veera and Mahabir and their struggle for peace and freedom!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Images & Sources: media1.santabanta.com, datastore4.rediff.com, images.songsuno.com, and ibnlive.inc.com</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-78474140782899422592014-02-03T17:50:00.000-05:002014-04-21T16:30:39.049-04:00A Tale of Two Women: Review of Nisha Pahuja's The World Before Her (2012) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> "It has been said that India was a golden bird. But people are forgetting our history. We are becoming modern, our country is becoming modern. Our past is our roots, we cannot leave our roots. I will speak that I am a Hindu and I will proudly say that I am a Hindu. Egyptians, Romans, they are history now. It's going to happen with us. So we are trying to save ourselves. That is the only thing I want. Nothing else." - Prachi Trivedi </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prachi Trivedi is a youth leader of the Durga Vahini camp, the women's wing of right wing militant fundamentalist movement in which young lower middle class and poor girls are taught through methods of lectures and physical combat training how to become a "good Hindu woman." The young girls are also taught to fight against any type of non-Hindu (Islamic, Christian, and Western) influences by any means necessary</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to protect their culture by doing whatever it takes. The Indian government is wary of their ideologies and has been trying to ban them because these camps promote terrorism and hence, these camps are a great deal of concern for the nation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I listened to Prachi's words as I was traveling abroad the flight between London and India. I was transitioning between the world I had left behind in Canada/US (who I had become) and India (where my roots belonged to)! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I first listened to these words, I found them to be so innocent and true. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With burgeoning "western modernity", many like Prachi Desai fear the loss of India's "traditional" culture. As she says so eloquently, India was the "golden bird" and I think to some extent whether you are a right-wing or liberal, there is always a nostalgic hearkening</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> back to the<i> India that was</i> before colonization.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Many films such as<i> Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge</i> (Aditya Chopra,1995) and <i>Pardes </i>(Subhash Ghai,1998) reiterated these ideas about young girls who were expected to maintain their traditional culture and reject western systems of modernity because they were emblematic of India as a nation. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prachi, however, is one of the most complex people I have ever watched in a film. She is strong-willed and vocal feminist who is emotionally dedicated to the principles and ideologies of the Durga Vahini camp. She shares a love-hate relationship with her father who does everything in his power to instill his value systems into her. That being said, her subjectivity is intriguing and unforgettable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although these camps strongly promote the principles of becoming a "good" Hindu woman, in many ways, I understand their concern for the loss of their culture especially as a woman who has been brought up in Malaysia, Singapore, and United States and is currently in Canada for the past two years. I left India when I was seven years old and I never wanted to lose myself or my roots. One of the anecdotes I remember from high school is that whenever I would feel like it, I will wear traditional <i>salwar</i>-suits and I remember proudly answering to my fellow students that it was not a religious holiday but I was wearing my cultural clothes (for fun!) I still do at times and am proud of my cultural heritage. As India's growing cosmopolitanism becomes more "universalized", I can understand the need for many to cling on to their own culture and protect it - after all it is the identity that we are born with and what separates us from the rest of the world. That being said, I also understand that change is constant. Therefore, as a 1.5-generation, one of the biggest challenges I have had to face is the need to find a happy balance between the Nidhi who is in love with Indian traditions and culture with Nidhi who lives in a cosmopolitan and modern culture.However, instead of finding an either-or to this dilemma, I have come to terms and always try to embrace the best of both worlds - the old and the new. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruhi, a Miss Femina India contestant, belongs to the "new" India. In her introduction, she says: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"We, as a country, should move forward. A lot of people think that if you know...you know if you allow women to work and get modern and get educated, you will lose your culture, your heritage, and your deep-rooted values. But, I don't agree. If we want India to develop, I think all of us have to change. We have to change our mentality. As much as I love and I respect my culture. I think of myself as a modern young girl and I want freedom." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruhi's upbringing is quite different than that of Prachi's. Ruhi belongs to (upper) middle class India. Her parents are supportive of her dream to become a Miss Femina India and support her journey throughout the film. She embraces modernity and wants to live her dream and make a career. Like Prachi, she is also fervently dedicated to her dreams and desire to become a part of the modern India. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the background of the Introduction of the film plays the national anthem of the Indian nation. This documentary, for me, is more than a film. It crystallizes, explores, and complicates the tensions Indian women both abroad and in India are facing everyday. Historically, women' s bodies in India are emblematic of their nation. <i>Shree 420</i> (Raj Kapoor,1955) and <i>Mother India</i> (Mehboob Khan,1957) constantly reinforced the notion that she not only represents honour of her family but also of her nation. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film also explores questions of female infanticide, classism and class politics, and poverty. However, at the heart of this film, is the tension between the binaries of modernity/tradition and modernity/westernization. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both Ruhi and Prachi are representative of the two extremes. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While there are women like Ruhi who embrace modernity, there are people like Prachi who are reinforcing age-old traditions and rejecting India's step into modernity. Interesting however, is the conclusion of the film when both these women - Prachi and Ruhi - are still expected to retain their traditional roles to get married and have a family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since post-liberalization, India especially cities like Bombay, Delhi, and Bangalore have become locus of modernity where younger generations experience a whole different culture and become part of the worldwide cosmopolitan club. They can afford travel, well-known brands, and can live a luxurious life. If you have the money and can afford a cosmopolitan lifestyle, sometimes the essence of traditional culture as it used to be dissipates with past. Here, I was reminded of a conversation I had once with my former advisor,</span><a href="http://www.uwo.ca/womens/faculty/baruah_bipasha.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"> Bipasha Baruah</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, who suggested that when people do not belong to a certain class or do not have comfortable financial means to support themselves, they cling on strongly to their cultural capital. In my opinion, I believe that these camps are constructed and regulated because its leaders fear the loss of the cultural capital so as Prachi suggests in the beginning of the film,</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> they can save themselves</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Therefore, this film does explore the complexities and nuances produced by class politics and how this binary, in particular, shapes the subjectivity of women in India. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss India Pooja Chopra posing for a Photo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The film also tells the tale of Former Miss India Pooja Chopra and her mother's brave steps to save her daughter's life. Furthermore, the viewers also listen to Chinmaiyi, a young girl who was getting drawn to and learning the ideologies of the Durga Vahini camp. Their stories, like that of Prachi and Ruhi's are riveting and touching! While we see Chinmaiyi's nascent ideologies slowly developing and strengthening towards the end of the film, it is Pooja Chopra and her mother's life story that remains unforgettable and disheartening. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chinmaiyi standing proud! </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The World Before Her, </i>therefore<i>, </i>is a rich and powerful documentary that greatly speaks about India's current situation especially in lieu of the subjectivity of Indian women that reside in India and out of it. <span style="color: #222222;">While I have only briefly touched upon the themes of the film and the lives of the people it explores, I would strongly urge people to watch this film. It is a film that underscores the reasons and really brings to light the questions that the international media has raised concerning the violence that women face in India. It also shows how the two worlds of the "Old" and "New" India collide and merge together and speaks to the issues such as female infanticide that still need to be understood and such practices eradicated from the fabric of the society. This film, in conclusion, contributes to the emerging academic and non-academic discourse that speaks about bio-politics, nationhood, women's status in the Indian society, and violence against women in India. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please do checkout this film as its available in Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes for viewers in America and Canada. For viewers in India, please support this film and do watch the film when its released all over India. It will blow your mind and really make you rethink about a woman's status in India and the struggles they face in their every day lives..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to thank Nisha Pahuja, with whom I had a great conversation with while I was in India. I also want to thank Naveera Ahmed, a fellow PhD student in my department who introduced me to Farzana Shammi and Nisha Pahuja. They were generous with their time, approachable, and always available to my many questions and extremely</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> supportive. I would have missed out on a great film and documentary that spoke to me both at an emotional and at an intellectual level. I apologize too for the delay in posting my blogs for this month because last month was a potpourri</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of personal and professional obligations that needed to be taken care of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would also urge all readers to visit the website of the film, </span><a href="http://www.worldbeforeher.com/#!" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">www.worldbeforeher.com,</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and learn more about the India campaign that is about to start soon. For my readers who live in India, you will have a great opportunity to not only view the screenings but also meet Pooja Chopra, former Miss India who nearly escaped being a female infanticide victim and her brave mother, who saved her life! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trailer for the film is below and clips are available at the World Before Her's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldBeforeHer?feature=watch" target="_blank">youtube</a> page.: </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image Source: Farzana Shammi</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Source: Farazana Shammi and Nisha Pahuja </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-42018160903379455442013-11-27T14:27:00.002-05:002014-04-15T04:43:00.276-04:00Glimmers of Hope - Interview with Melanie Walker, Intern at Guild For Service Organization in India <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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While the current Indian social and news media is focused on the recent controversies surrounding the lack of outrage in India after the<a href="http://news.oneindia.in/feature/assam-gangrape-has-nirbhaya-failed-to-wake-us-up-1348541.html" target="_blank"> Assamese Gang Rape case </a>, my fellow friend academic and colleague is making a great contribution to a wonderful organization that supports the rehabilitation of widows barring race, religion, cultures, and class to give them a chance to start their new lives in a country where the status of women is constantly called into question especially in the eyes of the international (and local media). Feminists and non-feminists are focused on attacking each other rather than trying to spend time and work together to come up with a solution to eradicate or at the very least alleviate the issue of women's inferior status in India altogether.While I have focused on troubling issues that Indian (middle class) women are facing currently, there are also marked efforts being made by individuals whose efforts go unrecognized but play such an important role in contributing to some sort of a "progress" towards the status of women in India. As an Indian woman, I am critical of the discourse both academic and non-academic that constantly emphasizes that countries like India and Middle East are misogynistic and continue to enact systems of oppression that suppress women and take away their rights as human beings. Among the women who suffer from these conniving and "evil" misogynistic hands are widows. Widow remarriage is a topic that has always sparked a controversy in the Indian discourse both in popular culture but also in the social media that seeks to define boundaries for women who are living without men in their lives. <a href="http://anokhimedia.com/blog/tanishq-ad-breaks-traditional-indian-taboos" target="_blank">The Tanishq Ad</a> that sought to break taboos was for me one of the first glimmer of hope that people were now seeking answers for this problematic tradition that essentially annihilated the subjectivity of women after the (untimely) death of her husband. Like single women who are mostly unrecognized in the society, a widow in India especially lives a life that is a constant reminder of the loss of her husband - she is always clad in white (that is emblematic of her [sexual] purity) and no longer wears jewelry and other symbols that show her living a vibrant life! Films like <i>Baabul</i> (2006) and <i>Water</i> (2005) have played a profound role in honing on this issue and beg us to take a look at them once again and ask the question - does not a widow have the right to remarry? I would argue - yes - she does! I applaud the efforts made by <a href="http://www.thp.org/who_we_are/board_of_directors/v_mohini_giri" target="_blank">Dr. Mohini Giri</a> and her intern, Melanie Walker who is not only a close friend but who is contributing immensely to the service.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melanie and I at the South Asian Studies Conference in Claremont, CA<br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">We had met by chance at the South Asian conference in Claremont University, California in 2011. I was working in EMC at that time but was passionate about my career in academia so I had applied for a conference and with my own funding had gone to the conference and it rightfully changed my life (but that's another story for another day!) In any case, the conference became a forum where I met many wonderful scholars who have stayed in touch and have been supportive. Among them, I met Melanie Walker. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So now that I know that she is achieving great heights, she <i>had</i> to be featured in my blog because both her work and contribution are evidence that while there may be concerns regarding a woman's subjectivity in India, there are also groundwork efforts being done by individuals and organizations that are providing resources for women to have a better life. There is a glimmer of hope and The <a href="https://twitter.com/GuildforService" target="_blank">Guild For Service</a> and Melanie Walker's work and contribution is a great and profound contribution to this thought! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So without further delay, I introduce Melanie Walker to you: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Nidhi Shrivastava: How and why did you select The <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1002093317377289940">Guild for Service </a></span></b><b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">as an organization that you
wanted to work for?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"><b>Melanie Walker:</b> To be honest, it selected me. I’m
here under extreme happenstance! Well, I was </span><i style="color: #262626;">connected</i><span style="color: #262626;"> to the Guild for Service and Dr. Giri under happenstance;
the rest was up to me. It is one of those, “you never know who you are going to
meet” stories. I met Dr. Giri’s Niece, Nalini while working an open house for
my Uncle while in California in September. My Aunt was ill that day, so he
chose to stay home and asked me to fill in and support his business partner,
Susan, where needed. Nalini works in the same real estate office as my Uncle
and Susan, and stopped by the open house. Susan introduced us and shared some
of my history, having done research in India, and it only took a minute to not
only realize that we had a lot in common, but Nalini asked me if I knew of her
aunt, Dr. Mohini Giri, and of course I did. Not only had I heard of Dr. Giri,
but, had done a presentation in grad school on a movie she is represented in
(Forgotten Women) and discussed her work to my students in Development Studies
lectures at the University of Calgary.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nalini said that I
should reach out to Dr. Giri mentioning our shared connection - I told her I
would love to, being that I was post-grad and searching for an internship
opportunity in an organization that supported my values in community development
- a rights based approach. Dr. Giri and Guild for Service focus on the plight
and rights of widows in India through advocacy, activism, and participatory
outreach. I knew that it would be important to follow through, even if just to
be a supporter. However, after some emails, phone calls (with Dr. Giri herself!
- this was very exciting at the time!), and further endorsement from Nalini,
Dr. Giri looked into my background and being satisfied, offered me an
internship and told me to come to India. I applied for my Visa the next day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">NS:What was your inspiration to work in the organization? I know
earlier you had done a lot of work in the development work that included
helping those who were most affected by the dam politics (If I remember
correctly 2 years ago)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">MW: You are correct. My previous
research and advocacy work was within the umbrella of community development, focusing
on displaced indigenous populations due to dam building in India. Though the
concentration of my work is on rural India, indigenous populations, dams, and
specifically development induced displacement (DID), the premise of mine, and
Dr. Giri’s work is participatory community development, capacity building, and
rights based. <b>Our goal is to advocate for those without a voice; include
marginalized populations in the fight to be heard, increasing their human
rights awareness and education; therefore, allowing people to be the agents of
change - changing policy and societal mindsets. </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">My inspiration came
from knowing that I valued and supported the work I would be doing. I would be
a part of something that was already creating change, and had been for years.
Of course, part of my inspiration was being given the chance to intern under a
legend. Dr. Mohini Giri is one of the leading social activists and human rights
advocates in India, if not the world, especially when it comes to the topic of
widows. Her connections lead to UN Women, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize, and sits on the board of numerous organizations, such as The Hunger
Project in New York. With her background, experience, and reputation, how could
one not be inspired to work with her? It was an opportunity I had to take and
was privileged to receive. Maybe I’ll have to write a book? - Behind the Scenes
of a Legend - haha! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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all ages, races, and skin color, how are your adjusting yourself to the
environment? (this is optional/ mostly I am curious) </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">MW: Haha - you should ask this first
question to my family - you would get an intense response! Yes, over the past
while if you watch the news and/or any medial outlets, including social media,
you might think that once you arrive in Delhi you will be raped, and later
murdered. However, I believe that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, and
at any time. This is my fourth time to India, which may allow me to connect to
the real Delhi on a better level, outside of what’s shown on TV. I first came
to Delhi in 2008 to attend the University of Delhi, returned in 2010 for a
research study group, and again in 2011 to conduct research for my MA Thesis. I
have been in Delhi during other significant events, such as terrorist attacks
and/or bombings, and thus have first hand experience of media portrayal versus what’s actually
happening on the ground. In my experience media uses a close-up vision of an
occurrence. However, the occurrence will be in one small section/area of a
city, so I won’t go there - or I will use extra caution and common sense. For
example, now more than ever I do not go out after dark in Delhi, unless I am
with someone(s) I trust and know well. I also stay away from areas that are known
for political rally’s etc. Although, the other day I attended a Violence
Against Women protest and ran smack into a huge (mainly male) intensely
political rally - these are not the best situations for visible foreigners, so
I got out of there quickly - this is part of the work and job of an advocate
and activist and are bound to happen. I’m not suggesting that violence such as
rape and murder in Delhi are impervious to me, not at all, just that the media
portrayal has painted Delhi as a “rape city” and yet is so much more. It’s got
a bad rap and I could get hurt/harmed just as easily elsewhere if I’m not
smart, safe and aware - this is the world we unfortunately live in, and that’s
what Dr Giri and others are trying to change! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>NS: How did you meet Dr. Giri? </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-size: small;">MW: The first time I
“met” Dr. Giri was when her niece (re: previous story) Nalini had me contact
Dr. Giri on the phone while she was visiting her daughter in Michigan. I was
nervous. I mean who just calls up a legend?! I had a good breakfast and asked
everyone in the house to leave - haha! She of course was completely laid back
and lovely - she is a very busy woman, so was to the point and had questions
about my work and qualifications, but was so accommodating and welcoming in her
offer of internship that I hung up the phone elated and maybe a little stunned!
I met her in person upon arriving at the Working Women’s Hostel where I am
staying, which is also run by Guild for Service and the location of the main
office where I work - my commute is very long - two flights of stairs. From the
moment I met her she was just as lovely as on the phone, we had tea and got to
know each other. Since, I’ve been here two weeks now, she has taken me under
her wing and invited me to follow her along in her work, in which I am learning
so very much, getting a glimpse behind the scenes.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">NS: What was the experience like to witness the widow
remarriages? Do you remember any anecdotes or stories the women told?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">MW: </span></b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Group Marriage totaled 15 couples, of which five were widow
re-marriages. It was incredible to witness; this was due to the details covered
by Guild for Service and Ma Dham (Vrindavan). Staff, volunteers, and Ma’s
(widows) living at Ma Dham, decorated the grounds beautifully. The Ma’s
especially were so excited for the event because it was the first Group
Marriage at Ma Dham, previously they were held in Delhi. They prepared
marigolds and other auspicious elements while singing, dancing and chattering
excitedly, working together in circles. Brides received full dress and adornment,
which added to the experience and excitement that this was a real wedding. I
had time to talk to some of the brides and one in particular was so excited to
get married that she took me over and proudly introduced me to her bridegroom;
they were an adorable couple. Her sister, mother and father were also there and
had the same expression of any parents on their daughters wedding day; this was
especially heartwarming to see in India because a wedding can be a mournful
time for a bride as she leaves her family and embarks to live with her husbands
family, seeing her own family less. Norms are changing, if slowly, due to the
advocacy work Dr. Giri and others do, creating awareness of women’s human
rights, and the importance of gender equality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">NS: What are the future events that will be conducted with Guild
for Change? What is it that you like most of the organization?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">MW: We are
currently working on a three-part South Asian conference series on the Empowerment
of Widows, which would include attendees/speakers from all of the SAARC countries
and bring together SANWED members. The first phase would be a conference in
Delhi where discussion/workshops would lead to recommendations required for a
change towards the empowerment of widows. The second phase would be to take
those recommendations/document to the 58<sup>th</sup> session of the Commission
on the Status of Women (March 10-21, NY) as hosted by the UN-NGO branch. The
third phase would be to begin implementation at the grassroots level of such
recommendations, starting June 23 - the International Day of Widows. We are
currently at the funding stage, have confirmed one sponsor, and are working to
find additional funders for the project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">What do I like most...I think it’s the motivation I gain by
working in the field. Working on such causes from Canada is removed and it’s
easy to go home at the end of the day and go about your life, and although
work-life balance is important, working on the ground makes it real. Very.
Real. Without being removed from the issue time becomes rapid - things must
change now and you must work hard to do that. Sometimes the results are
instant, which makes you work harder because you want to see increased change.
Increased change = increased motivation. Community development, advocacy, and
activism can be exhausting and de-motivating on the best of days. Though what I
like most is also the most challenging part of my internship, it’s also the
lesson everyone in the field must experience. I am lucky enough to have this experience
with an organization and group of individuals that <i>are </i>hard working and truly believe in what they seek out to do each
day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So...there you have it! I will be in India next month and will document and hope to do a follow-up blog with Dr. Mohini Giri and my dear friend, Melanie Walker - so proud of you! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Image sources: courtesy of Melanie Walker and Facebook </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-77153271150720934212013-11-20T16:18:00.002-05:002014-04-15T04:43:09.729-04:00Domestic Violence In India : Critical Analysis of A Forgotten Film - Ashok Gaikwad's Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997) <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Rani_mukherji">Rani Mukherjee</a> who has been known for as one of the penultimate Indian actresses of Bollywood started her career in very low-budget films that spoke of glaring women's issues in the 90s. Her debut film entitled "Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat" or "Prince's Wedding Procession Will Arrive" is reportedly said to be a "commercial failure" in India's million dollar film industry. Recent discourses both in various social media outlets, newspapers, and even university classrooms have been hinting towards the increased sexual violence in India - one of the themes that both hinges upon on me emotionally and intellectually as I try to work through both my coursework term papers and attempt to unpack the current discourses that speak to the troubling violence of women in India.<br />
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I am no "feminist" and do not identify my politics with the term after having studied the historical discourses that have shaped the Western discourses since the suffragette movement began during the industrial revolution period in England. I hold a MA degree in Women's Studies from Western and a graduate certificate in Women's Studies from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Suffice to say, I have had time to think and shape my politics as a 1.5 generation woman of color who identifies herself both as an Indian and an American but strongly as a post-colonial scholar who is concerned with the status of women (and other marginalized others) in India.<br />
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I do believe in gender (and "other" studies) that speak to the politics and subjectivity of the subaltern (Read <a href="http://www.mcgill.ca/files/crclaw-discourse/Can_the_subaltern_speak.pdf" target="_blank">Gayatri Spivak's<i> Can the Subaltern Speak?</i></a>) - the marginalized - be it a man, woman, or any other person who belongs to a part of the society who is oppressed by socio-political-economic systems that have been in place for the less-privileged. However, I do consider my self a post-colonial scholar who is deeply concerned about the discourse that is centered upon the (sexual) violence of women in India as one of the major concerns that have shaped my intellectual and personal passionate study of the topic.<br />
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While there are other issues I hope to discuss in my blog in the future including acid attacks, dowry, the fairness debate, and other things that shape a middle class Indian woman's subjectivity in India. I will begin with this forgotten film, which I hope to resurrect from the "dead" and encourage people to watch it again (forgetting the low-budget production but focusing on how astutely and arguably "accurately" the director has brought about many important issues that continue to be hush-hush in India)! The film link that I have posted is with English subtitles but divided into parts. A full version is available but without any subtitles.<br />
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<i>Raja ki Aayegi Baraat</i> stars Rani Mukherjee, Shadab Khan, British-Indian actor Saeed Jaffery, and Mohnish Bahl - all of these actors (sans Shadab Khan) have made an international name for themselves but I give them props for being associated with a film that centered so heavily on domestic (and sexual violence) of women in India at a time when these realities were not even discussed or brought to light (which explains its supposed commercial failure). Today, I view their efforts as a gem and hope to use it in my pedagogical teachings in the future.<br />
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This film has three instances that I find are especially relevant when we discuss today's subjectivity of an Indian woman. Rani Mukherjee's character, Mala, is outspoken and strong. She angers Raja (Shadab Khan) when she arrives at his friend's wedding accusing his friend of abandoning his pregnant ex-girlfriend. Insulting and breaking the ceremony, Mala, a school teacher is then pursued by Raja who rapes her and leaves her naked and vulnerable in the classroom she teaches in. Humiliated but still resilient, Mala returns home to her father and a court case ensues. The court eventually sentences that Raja and Mala should be married in order to maintain the "honor" and "reputation" of both families. While the marriage takes place in a hush-hush manner, neither Raja nor Mala are happy with the arrangement. While Mala gradually starts to accept her role as Raja's wife, Raja and his family continue to despise her because of the fact that she belongs to a lower class and would not have been their daughter-in-law had Raja not raped her. Throughout the story, the family members attempt many schemes in order to literally remove Mala from their lives - anywhere from using physical violence (a scene where Raja tries to hit her with his belt) to a poisonous snake her uncle-in-law leaves in her honeymoon lodge when she is by herself to her sister-in-law leaving the gas on so that she can catch fire and lastly, her father-in-law hits her violently with a vase at the climax of the film. In all these instances, Mala comes out unscathed. The snake ends up poisoning Raja instead and she as a "heroic" figure sucks the blood out of him and like a true lover and wife saves his life and the film ends on a "sweet" note when the older brother (who supports Mala finally lashes out at this villainous wife who is no longer evil after her husband's rejection of her ideas) and when the lawyers and cop intervene, Mala lies to them that she had fallen from the staircase saving the "reputations" and "honors" of both her natal and marital home. The film wraps up nicely as both of them are shown getting married with celebrations and pomp.<br />
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Yes, the film is embedded with problematic issues and instances and perhaps the most glaring to an unfamiliar eye of India's cultural complexities and nuances will be a) a woman marrying her rapist b) silencing and forgetting all the moments of brutal violence against her - she is only accepted within her society if she remains silent and forgives and forgets all the attempts her in-laws and husband attempted to get rid of her. However, my argument as someone who is familiar with these complexities will suggest that the film was not a commercial success and is now among the forgotten films still alive in Youtube's search engines because it drives home the important points of silence and honour that continues to be so relevant to the society. There is always an uneasy silence that surrounds domestic violence in India (among other countries). The decision that the court did that encouraged the rapists to marry the victim is something that by no means that I endorse but it calls into question the ethics behind why the law would ask for such a decision and that is where it gets sticky. This is a practice that has been done for centuries but truly it makes you question WHY that is the case!<br />
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You also have to give credit to Mala for everything that she does - she attempts to find a happy medium between her vocal and strong character and her choice to still comply with traditional customs that is expected of her. Her husband eventually too gains respect, stands for her, and is even willing to take revenge for her against her perpetrators. The filmmaker's attempt to make a controversial film in the late 90s when Yash Chopra musicals were enjoying commercial success is something to think about. These are issues that no one wants to discuss or hear about. Furthermore, this film is definitely produced with a low budget even for its time. Lastly, I really like this film because it suggests that there are many women like Mala who exists who I would argue choose silence (from the law and the outer society) to enjoy a peaceful life with their families. she could have easily complained to the law and gotten her in-laws and husband jailed for their continuous brutal violence upon her but why did she choose not to speak to the law? Why was this the director's choice? Would the film have given the same message if the ending had not been the way that it was? I would suggest that because the film's ending was an eerily "sweet" one, it allows us as viewers and consumers of the film to take up the issues that are unresolved within the framework the film. Although the film speaks of issues we want to close our eyes to, I think the film makes a remarkable impact on the broader repertoire of Indian films that represent domestic violence and beg us to take a look at them again.<br />
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Kudos to the filmmakers who attempt to make movies that compel us to rethink glaring issues that impact the status of women in India.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source Image: upload.wikmedia.org, static.indianexpress.com, static.ibnlive.com, i.smash.saavncdn.com </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Video Source: Youtube </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-76244387401292161632013-11-14T15:45:00.003-05:002014-04-15T04:43:50.682-04:00It's Time For A Change - A Critical Response to Anurag Kashyap's That Day After Everyday <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N.B: This blog entry is an analytic response of the documentary. Please do watch this documentary as it will only enhance your experience understanding my point of view and analysis of the film. IIts only twenty minutes but they will be a really powerful 20 minutes you will spend! The link is above and spread the word! :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Written by <a href="https://twitter.com/nbftnitin" target="_blank">Nitin Bharadwaj </a>and directed by independent filmmaker, <a href="https://twitter.com/AKFPL" target="_blank">Anurag Kashyap</a> who has been known in the past to make radical films such as<i> Dev D</i> (2009), <i>Gulal </i>(2009), <i>That Girl In The Yellow Boots</i> (2011), and<i> Gangs of Wasseypur</i> (2012) have produced a short Youtube film entitled<i> That Day Every Day </i>(2013) that takes the subject of eve-teasing (a topic I have discussed before my previous blogs) and molestation cases. The ending of the film is powerful and riveting speaking to the importance of self-defense. It is also interesting to note that both<a href="http://nidhishrivastava1407.blogspot.ca/2013/09/kalki-koelchin-and-juhi-pande-release_23.html" target="_blank"> Anurag Kashyap and his wife, Kalki Koelchin have been proactive in exploring the problematic issues of India's insidious rape culture and its numerous implications.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a post-colonial scholar and a woman whose roots are embedded in India, this film immediately caught my attention. While the film was kept short and sweet and only ran for mere twenty minutes, it packed with it a sharp punch especially towards the end of the movie. I was deeply saddened that the film did not have subtitles, which limited the audience of the film especially in the much broader international context such that this film could be made available to audiences all over the world. Like many of Kashyap's films, the topic is controversial and provocative. The film stars Sandhya Mridul, Radhika Apte, and Akash Sinha, and other names.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-25EOQsgwCk8/UoU1tUWKO8I/AAAAAAAACVk/AJSFxyba2bo/s1600/Kashyap4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-25EOQsgwCk8/UoU1tUWKO8I/AAAAAAAACVk/AJSFxyba2bo/s1600/Kashyap4.JPG" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Image via <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/ThatDayAfterEveryDay.JPG/220px-ThatDayAfterEveryDay.JPG" target="_blank">Wikimedia.com</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The film starts with Radhika Apte making food and tea in the kitchen as a voice hovers over her speaking to her about the current troubling events happening in India as well as ridiculous studies that suggest that the reason for the increase in rape is due to the increased consumption of the Indo-Chinese dish known as "chow mein" doing nothing but revealing the anxieties that are instilled within the Indian society as they target those who are "others" within the larger Indian context. In other words, the chowmein consumption is not only associated with the othering of the Nepali and other "Asian-looking" immigrants but is also associating them with promoting a dish that acts almost like a viagra for men increasing their sexual desire and increases rape cases. The man then advises her to quietly walk without dealing with the men who eve-tease her and fears that if she rebels, then she will be found dismembered on the corner of the street. He says, "auratein jitni chup rahe utna accha hai" or "its better if women are silenced, its better to prevent provoking sexual harassment or molestation. Within the first minute and thirty seconds of the film, the story has already highlighted many problems that are associated with India's rape culture. I want to repeat again that rape culture in general is universal and insidious and varies from one experience to another. We do not do justice if we compare rape cultures between countries because we, in my opinion, do not have and should not appropriate the trauma as it is unique to each victim's experience regardless of whether the violation was brutal or a case of eve-teasing or sexual harassment. He also reprimands her for not going to work and developing a professional career - he argues that it only adds to her vulnerability towards sexual violence. Like this first instance, the film continues on to show two other women who are also being reprimanded and advised by their loved ones to stop going "out" as much to prevent and protect themselves from sexual violence and rape. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Image via <a href="http://indiaopines.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/That-Day-after-Everyday.jpg">Indiaopines.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The film is very visceral in that it shows men harassing women and eve-teasing them in a quite scary manner especially when the women are trying to get to work. Even at work, the women face sexual jeering and eve-teasing from peons who drool over her using their smart phone's camera features to stalk her and use excuses to get physically close to her. In the middle of the film, the women are seated in the car and are encouraged to stand up for themselves. The film's ending is quite radical in that these women physically fight against the men and try to save themselves rather than being "rescued", which speaks profoundly to the contradictory space that women occupy in India at this time. While I am still struggling with Marxism, I do think that a woman's economic and social status as a professional woman and are desiring now to become part of the "New" middle class culture (Read Leela Fernandes's <i>India's New Middle Class</i>) plays a role in making her a vulnerable subject to these atrocities but before I can completely make this claim, I want to understand the politics of marxism and classism further to shape my point-of-view. The issue is far more complicated and sensitive and this observation is just one aspect of the problem. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> With the growing capital economy, malls in Delhi and Bombay are laced with bars, clubs, and movie theaters and women who participate in the professional world earn enough living to support themselves and their families. The lifestyle, culture, and expectations are definitely in the midst of evolving as women become more and more independent in their respective fields. It is not to say that such progress is "linear" but a complicated zig-zag line that sometimes takes two steps forward and one step backward (and the cycle continues - with different variations). Earlier, yes, there was eve-teasing, sexual harassment, and rape that took place within India but now due to the increased use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, information is more readily available and people are able to connect via cyberspace and distance is no longer an issue. Anyone can be a journalist, a writer, a blogger, and a contributor with mediums available for people to express their emotions, thoughts, and concerns. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The women featured in the film all belong the middle class. They work, use a shuttle bus to return to their homes, stay together and communicate with each other as a band, and fight the men who are eve teasing them together as a unit. The ending is pretty comical actually when the man asks her if she wants a cup of tea coming to a full circle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Now, for the most interesting and fun part - the fight scene. Did it not remind those who have seen the movie of the typical 90s Hindi/ "Bollywood" film fight scenes. The men harassing the women and the women taking the opportunity to band together and literally fighting back showing their empowered "superwoman" selves (Thanks Ramanpreet for this observation). As women who have been in India and walked through the streets, we questioned if this ending was realistic or not. Here is my answer and its a double-edged sword. I think what the film portrays is totally possible if women take self-defense classes and are able to stand up for themselves and literally fight the men (and are prepared and armed with pepper sprays etc) but if we really think about it, the film makes a very salient point - how will they stand up for themselves if their families encourage or advise them to be couped up within the four walls of their home - will it really solve the problem or is it just a solution that takes us back to the times of purdah and zenana? The film strives to encourage women from all classes to stand up for themselves, which I think and believe is a strong and empowering message! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Kudos to Anurag Kashyap and Nitin Bhardwaj for such an excellent rendition of a film based on glaring issues that need to have a dialogue in this world!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-9614157427728609742013-10-31T18:18:00.000-04:002014-04-15T04:44:05.670-04:00Questioning the Ethics of Filmmaking: Bollywood Fetisizes Violence <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>newspaper clipping of Arushi's case via <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/07-01-12-metro1.jpg" target="_blank">Hindustantimes.com</a></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On May 16, 2008, Indian televisions and news channels were flooded with the murder of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar who was a student at the Delhi Public School in Noida, U.P. Although I had been in India at that time and actually in Noida, I was in my early 20s absorbing the sights and smells of India and completely ignorant of the events that were taking place around me. I do, however, have a faint memory of the media circus that took place near Aarushi's home because I had lived in Noida for some time as I had been visiting my relatives there. This case, like many cases in India including the 2012 Delhi Rape case, has been in the court for the past 5 years! Her story has all the elements of a drama: suspicion on the domestic help and parents (both affluent doctors). The prime suspect, Hemraj's body was found on the terrace of the apartment. Most recent development of this disturbing and sensationalized news suggests that <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-aarushi-murder-case-cbi-says-rajesh-and-nupur-talwar-guilty-of-killing-daughter-and-servant-1904796" target="_blank">it was the parents who were allegedly responsible for the murder of the domestic servant and their young daughter. </a>Their motives in the even recent news report seem unclear. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s3HVkpegA_g/UnLWIrkdwnI/AAAAAAAACUc/pUZPougrHjI/s1600/Aarushi2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s3HVkpegA_g/UnLWIrkdwnI/AAAAAAAACUc/pUZPougrHjI/s320/Aarushi2.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/milan-luthria-to-produce-a-film-on-aarushi-murder-case/1186666/" target="_blank">Milan Lutharia </a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the case is still undergoing investigation, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Aarushi-Hemraj-murders-continue-to-fascinate-filmmakers/articleshow/24994785.cms?" target="_blank">Times of India</a> has released an article claiming that filmmaker Milan Lutharia will be undertaking this controversial topic and making it into a film. Lutharia is known to team with Ekta Kapoor and has directed other eye-brow raising films like <i>The Dirty Picture (</i>2011), <i>Once Upon A Time in Mumbai </i>(2010), and other films that are based on the underbelly of the Indian society. While these films especially the Dirty Picture was a biopic on the B-movie South Indian movie star, Silk Smita, Lutharia will be pushing the envelope taking on this controversial case into in his own hands. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XfYGhtZhWbI/UnLWKQ_6YPI/AAAAAAAACUk/wUfpci-tcsI/s1600/Aarushi3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XfYGhtZhWbI/UnLWKQ_6YPI/AAAAAAAACUk/wUfpci-tcsI/s400/Aarushi3.jpg" height="400" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4VXHQqi6bIE/ULhc7NAK2xI/AAAAAAAAAOY/u7VCN0GGulM/s1600/Indopia+-+Hindi+-+Dirty+Picture.jpg" target="_blank">The Dirty Picture Poster</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lutharia tells TIO, "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">When investigations are not conducted properly and people do not know how the system works and who to point a finger at, there comes the desire to tell a story. Also, there's always this </span><span class="cm_word" style="background-color: white; background-position: 0px 50%; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 255) !important; border-bottom-style: solid !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 3px 0px 0px; text-decoration: underline !important;">grey area</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> that's intriguing and, as filmmakers, we have always responded to the stimulus around us."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Recently, Ekta Kapoor was also compelled to take a step back when Aarushi's mother implemented the National Commission for Protection Against Child Rights Against Balaji Telefilms to prevent Kapoor from airing an episode "inspired" by the case. The episode withheld from airing in 2008 itself (unbelievable, isn't it?) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Manish Gupta's Rahasya was also inspired by this troubling incident. Gupta informs, "</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">"The case gives a classic premise for an</span><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Agatha-Christie" style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Agatha Christie</a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">kind of murder mystery, <b><i>which would keep the audience guessing and hooked. Plus, there's the emotional quotient of the parents being accused of murdering their only daughter, something that the Indian audience has always felt for [my emphasis]</i></b>." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Gupta, Kapoor, and Lutharia are directors and filmmakers who are known for making controversial films on topics that were otherwise not discussed in the public discourse. In many of their films especially like The Dirty Picture, the events were reconstructed from the life of a "fallen" woman/actress of the 1980s. Her decision to dress in skimpy and revealing clothes and act in more sexual bold and seductive films made her by default a controversial figure in the 1980s. While I was satisfied with the film, I did not find it problematic! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">What I do find problematic is that the decision to make a film, although the case itself has yet been concluded (and God knows when it will be?!) provokes the questions of film making. What are the ethics that filmmakers should keep in their mind when they touch on sensitive topics such as Aarushi's case? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Gupa, Kapoor, and Lutharia's decision to make a film inspired by recent events suggest that these directors fetisize violence on women.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> Okay, the events of the poor girl's murder case may be like an Agatha Christie novel but what is the motive behind the filmmaker's decision to make the film? Is it to sensationalize violence? I would understand if they decided to make a film documentary on the subject as I believe that documentaries seem to be a more "realistic" medium than a film, which can "dramatize" the events and fictionalize them. There needs to be a law that requires film makers to a duration/period of time before they can jump unto making a controversial fictionalized film that will keep the audiences glued to the seat. At this point, it seems nothing more than a way to make an easy buck but also to further promote violence, which is problematic and troubling. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"> Secondly, we do not know when the case will end and how the events will turn out. Is it really a story worth telling when the scars of the Aarushi case are still visible and hot for the last 5 years? What if her parents are not guilty of her murder? If they are, what are the motivations? Shouldn't the filmmakers question what is the motivation behind their decision to make a film "inspired" by true events? What message are they sending to the audiences? These questions still remain unanswered and deeply problematic. Something I fear these filmmakers are still not aware of. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Lutharia says in another interview,<a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/milan-luthria-to-produce-a-film-on-aarushi-murder-case/1186666/" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;"><a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/milan-luthria-to-produce-a-film-on-aarushi-murder-case/1186666/" target="_blank">"We are still doing research on the subject, but as a company, we want to tell Aarushi's story. There's a lot of curiosity and confusion about this case, that has seen several twists and turns. People should be aware about how our system works. We should start the film in about four to five months. It all depends on the final judgement."</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">These are the questions that plague my mind when I come across news articles such as these. While these filmmakers thus far have made successful films, I hope that this time they are careful and aware of their decision to make a film on a subject that is yet to be resolved. In addition, I hope they respect the poor teen who lost her life in mysterious ways at such a young age. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><i>Sources: timesofindia.com, dnaindia.com,and indianexpress.com </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
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shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-36478955279520134352013-10-30T15:43:00.002-04:002014-04-15T04:44:18.438-04:00No Woman's Land: Radha Bedi's Documentary "India: A Dangerous Place To Be A Woman" Echoes Concerns of the Past <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/RadhaBedi" target="_blank">Radha Bedi</a>'s<i> India: A Dangerous Place To Be A Woman</i> was released during the summer. Produced by BBC, the cameras followed Radha's journey to India and documented interviews with family members, lawyer, victims, and the father of Jyoti - the 2012 Delhi Rape case victim. Bedi's documentary was endearing, emotional, and traumatic. I do want to warn the viewers to be aware that the documentary has very troubling images and can trigger emotions to be vary of it while watching this documentary. Bedi is a British-Indian broadcast and journalist who belongs to a multicultural background in England. She is a third-generation British Indian who has grown up mostly in Belfast and she was educated at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMBDA). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Bedi in India via <a href="http://media.timeout.com/images/100710813/660/370/image.jpg" target="_blank">Timeout.com</a></b></td></tr>
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Recommended to watch this documentary by a good friend, I embarked upon the one-hour journey with her and came across many glaring issues that I have been dealing with not only of my own experiences when I have traveled to India, but also her project raised many issues that take us back to the time of the Partition and earlier. Particularly, I am referring to well-known Partition scholar, Ritu Menon's edited <i>No Woman's Land: Women from Pakistan, India, & Bangladesh write on the Partition on India</i>. The documentary touched on topics I am familiar with and have been working on since the time of my high school days - "harmless" eve-teasing, acid attacks, dowry deaths, female infantilization and now and much more magnified on international media - gang rapes. Bedi started her journey in Delhi and traveled to Assam and Punjab throughout the duration of her documentary. She recollected the horrific memories of the assaults she had experienced, interviewed a 15-year-old survivor of acid attack (her only crime was that she had refused to say yes or give attention to her friend who was enamored by her), and even comes face to face with Jyoti's heartbroken father who couldn't even express his love for her when she took her last breath. </span><br />
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Bedi suggests in her documentary that these violent crimes are a result of the status which women have in India. She argues that because of problematic practices and cultural rejection of girls - women are seen as burdens to their families. She draws on stories of women from both upper and lower classes highlighting that the issue is not class-caste specific but something inherent within the Indian society.</span><br />
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I write this blog from a site of privilege (similar to her standpoint). I was born into a well-to-do family, where I have been lucky that my birth after 18 years was celebrated - my baby pictures found in relative's home whom I had not met since I was a year or two. I have dealt personally with many of the issues mentioned in the documentary but never to the extent that the stories that the documentary conveyed.Unlike Bedi's relatives who celebrated the birth of boys in the families and cried at the birth of daughters, I was warmly received into my family and loved by my immediate and extended family. Bedi herself concluded that she took the life of equality she had growing up as a Diaspora Indian-British woman was something she could never take for granted after the violence she saw in her one month journey into the dark crevices of India during the filming of the documentary. I was not satisfied with Bedi's conclusions and feel that there is more to the story than even what she told in this documentary. I can also never speak for the victims or women of India. I speak as a diaspora American-Indian who is coming to terms with her country especially her nation's capital being called the "Shame capital". It is this blackening of my country's capital that drives me to do the research I do today. This is the reason I wake up to everyday and makes my life worthwhile and meaningful. </span><br />
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Yes, women are vulnerable in India but what can we, as individuals, do to support them? How can we change the mindsets of a society so steeped in patriarchal values that values men over women on a daily basis. Is India really a No Woman's Land? </span><br />
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According to the representative of UN Women in India, Sabrina Sidhu who tells Radha, "We did a study in Delhi. 95% of women in India are scared to go out. Our study also showed that 2 in 3 men interviewed felt that the dress that women wore provoked them." She continues, "Men want to be in control. They want to be in power. In your families, when boys grow into men, they see how the mothers and sisters are treated, right? What value is put on their education, on their mobility, etc and then they go ahead and do exactly that with their wives and daughters. Through their life cycle, they are being discriminated at every stage. Until these mindsets change, rapes, molestation and harassment will continue to happen. What's really clear and urgent <i>- we need to value women equally</i>?" </span><br />
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Sidhu makes a very salient point - mindsets need to change and become acceptable of women. Perhaps there are three steps that need to be taken in order to ensure a dialogue about women's subjectivity in India: </span><br />
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1) Since the post-liberalization period in the 1990s India, the "new" women of India have now come into being. Women are now working late in call centers and other professional positions, which would not have been possible before. They are also social drinkers, do go clubbing (though I may not practice it myself, I have no issues of other women my age do), and they are now independent thinkers who are now attempting to shape their subjectivity in a country which has been deemed to have a "shame" capital. </span><br />
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2) She speaks that "mindsets" should change, but its unclear what she means by "mindset"? I am being a little nit-picky but I think this should be defined and also - who's mindset? society's? families? boy's family? victim's family? </span><br />
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3) <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/delhi-gang-rape-india-women" target="_blank">Many blame westernization or "modernization" as a result of the magnified increase in rape cases in India, </a>but is it really the fear of that these changes bring to the culture (which are inevitable) Is it enough to justify the "other" for the lack of steps taken to protect and empower your own country's women? I think Sidhu hit the nail on the head when she said - we need to value women equally! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the documentary, Bedi interviewed one of the defense lawyer of the Delhi rape case. The lawyer blamed the girl and said that she was not "respectable" and thus provoked the crime unto her. He said, "We have a different culture. Respectable girl and a non respectable girl means if you see someone if you feel respect about her, she is respectable. If she would be respectable, this will never happen to her. Respect is a very strong shield, which cannot be crossed by anyone at all. And respect comes by your character, respect comes by your behavior, respect comes by your actions, respect comes by your circumstances." Bedi questions him if he thinks Jyoti had any responsibility because she was out at the night with a boy. He responds, "She was responsible for this. You cannot say only the rapists were responsible. She is also responsible equally. And entirely the boy is responsible who put her in such circumstances and such scenario. You have to protect yourself number one. Any dog can bite you - that's happened." </span><br />
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The defense lawyer echoes many themes that have been continuously discussed in post colonial feminist theories. He speaks of a "respectable" woman but his definition is unclear. He also blames the victim for provoking the crime and violence unto herself - that the men who raped her are not the only ones at fault for this heinous crime. </span><br />
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Just this weekend, NY times released an article - Gang Rape In India, Routine and Invisible - which was a disheartening read and added more voice in an already controversy-wrought discourse on the Common Indian Male and the responses that have sprung up since the last time I wrote about this issue. The author argued: </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/world/asia/gang-rape-in-india-routine-and-invisible.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">But the Mumbai case provides an unusual glimpse into a group of bored young men who had committed the same crime often enough to develop a routine. The police say the men had committed at least five rapes in the same spot. Their casual confidence reinforces the notion that rape has been a largely invisible crime here, where convictions are infrequent and victims silently go away. Not until their arrest, at a moment when sexual violence has grabbed headlines and risen to the top of the state’s agenda, did the seriousness of the crime sink in.</span> </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The authors's argument sheds light onto another aspect of the rape culture. They suggest that not only is rape an "invisible crime" but the men or rapists who have committed the crime are a "group of bored young men" who routinely commit this crime. The writers describe the men as: </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">None of the men worked regularly. There were jobs chicken-plucking at a neighborhood stand — a hot, stinking eight-hour shift that paid 250 rupees, or $4. The men told their families they wanted something better, something indoors, but that thing never seemed to come. They passed time playing cards and drinking. Luxury was pressed in their faces in the sinuous form of the </span><a href="http://www.lodhagroup.com/bellissimo/" style="background-color: white; color: #666699; line-height: 22px;">Lodha Bellissimo</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">, a 48-story apartment building rising from an adjacent lot</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">The men who have gang-raped the victims are said to have similar profiles. Jason Burke's remarkable article on this issue described the perpetrators as: </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/delhi-gang-rape-india-women" target="_blank">Ram and Mukesh Singh, two brothers living in a slum known as Ravi Das Colony. The "fun", on previous occasions, had meant a little robbery to earn money for a few bottles of cheap whisky and for the roadside prostitutes who work the badly lit roads of the ragged semi-urban, semi-rural zones around the edges of the sprawling Indian capital.</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html" target="_blank">Lavanya Shankaran argued, "</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html" target="_blank">Let me introduce the Common Indian Male, a category that deserves taxonomic recognition: committed, concerned, cautious; intellectually curious, linguistically witty; socially gregarious, endearingly awkward; quick to laugh, slow to anger. Frequently spotted in domestic circles, traveling in a family herd. He has been sighted in sari shops and handbag stores, engaged in debating his spouse’s selection with the sons and daughters who trail behind. There is, apparently, no domestic decision that is not worthy of his involvement.</a>"</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">Shankaran's argument released a series of article strongly disagreeing with her standpoint and her call for the idealization of the "Common Indian Male." We do not know what she means by the common Indian male still. Does she mean a Middle class man? If so, then is she speaking of lawyers like the aforementioned men who blames the victim for bringing the crime unto her. Furthermore, have we forgotten that when the crime happened, NO ONE was there for the 45 minutes when she was bleeding and was by herself and her companion. The language in the media also refrained from defining the relationship between her and her "male companion" but I strongly believe that they were a couple or dating to my knowledge. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">While I enjoyed watching and was emotionally troubled by Bedi's documentary, there were many questions that the documentary sparked. Is being an empowered, vocal, opinionated, and strong woman a crime in India? Perhaps its even more basic - do women in India have inferior status? Have they always represented the honor of their communities through their silence, chastity, and sexual purity? If that's the case, then surely examples of popular culture that promote the idea that Indian women are now stronger and more empowered than is surely promulgating a misconstrued image in their films in which women have found a happy "medium" between their traditional and modern selves. Instead, even in the rhetoric discussed in the documentary and through personal experiences, the opinions seem to be contradictory. Had the 1990s liberalization not taken place or even the modernization that happened in the post-independence period not taken place, how would an Indian woman's subjectivity been shaped? There is more to the story than what we are being told and this documentary is an example of an avenue and dialogue that needs to take place to discuss this sensitive but powerful issue. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">There are no right or wrong answers to these questions but a reflection of media that seeks to answer these troubling questions. A must watch! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="line-height: 22px;">Video Source: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6r8jgFxgA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6r8jgFxgA</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Source: bbc.co.uk, huffingtonpost.co.uk, unwomensouthasia.org, nytimes.com, radhabedi.co.uk</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-42809457232984562272013-10-28T10:16:00.002-04:002014-04-15T04:44:30.442-04:00Productions of Othello, Halloween, and the Production of the Other <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NV_46h4d_XU/Um5gA0gfM5I/AAAAAAAACTY/9scr8pB9S2A/s1600/Othello2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NV_46h4d_XU/Um5gA0gfM5I/AAAAAAAACTY/9scr8pB9S2A/s400/Othello2013.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Bethanny Jillard (Desdemona) and Dion Johnston (Othello) via <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/cms/binary/8826168.jpg" target="_blank">Montreal Gazette</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently went to see the production of Othello at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, ON. Dion Johnston (Othello) and Bethanny Jillard (Desdemona) played the main characters in the most recent Stratford production of the play. Othello is one of the most memorable plays in the Shakespeare canon. Unforgettable for its powerful themes including the racialization of the other, military heroism and the incompatibility of love, and problems of isolation. I am particularly drawn to two themes in the play - domestic violence and racism - but I will focus only on racism. Since Halloween is in 3 days, I thought it will be interesting to discuss the various productions of Othello and think about how we perform different types of characters - whether they belong to our 'race' - and how we "perform" or enact different personalities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspired from a<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-pelosi/halloween-blackface-costumes_b_4168232.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada" target="_blank"> Huffpost article</a> I recently read arguing that Halloween is not an excuse hate and racism. When we are asked to "dress up" and not be who we are, people use this holiday to impersonate or dress up in costumes that can be offensive without realizing (albeit it could be an unintentional move and not directed to hurt anyone)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to suggest that we should use Halloween as a time to wear costumes that yes, are fun and creative but also respect various cultures and people without reducing them to others reinforcing racist ideologies. It should not be a time to mock cultures and customs but a time to celebrate the act of "dressing up" in costumes without trying to "perform" people of different races and cultures. I also agree and want to reemphasize the idea that Halloween is NOT an excuse to promote hate and racism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I still question Heidi Klum's Kali costume but these are the types of costumes that I want to draw attention to. This type of a "costume" not only mocks the religious Hindu ideologies and further promotes the notion that Indian religions are primitive and barbaric. Without knowing the reason for why Goddess Parvati/Durga transformed into Kali, the costume will promote a very problematic understanding of Hinduism.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FlHfUR7QZW4/Um5nekRbhDI/AAAAAAAACTo/BC2_MOHjvgU/s1600/klumkali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FlHfUR7QZW4/Um5nekRbhDI/AAAAAAAACTo/BC2_MOHjvgU/s320/klumkali.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Heidi Klum as Kali via<a href="http://www.fasthack.com/images/weblog/2008/11/klumkali.jpg" target="_blank"> fasthack.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On my recent trip to the Stratford Festival last Friday, I learnt that Othello had been produced in 1973. Nachum Buchman, an Israeli actor with a heavy "accent" played the role of Othello while Stratford icon Matha Henry owned the role of Desdemona. I found it fascinating and troubling that the production choices has "othered" an already "othered" actor. During the trip, my classmates and I earnestly and excitedly went through all the image stills, production booklets, and so on trying to understand and construct the performance in our minds.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rnPP3ASqiP0/Um5fYIadrnI/AAAAAAAACTE/vLyJc523N_s/s1600/Othello1973NachumBachman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rnPP3ASqiP0/Um5fYIadrnI/AAAAAAAACTE/vLyJc523N_s/s320/Othello1973NachumBachman.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Nachum Bachman (Othello) and Douglas Rain (Iago) via <a href="http://pictures.historicimages.net/pictures/_7/6613/6612945.jpg" target="_blank">pictures.historicimages.net</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The production choices included Nachum Bachman to wear the blackface makeup, brought especially from England and earlier worn by Lawrence Olivier in his 1965 NT Live production. I found it troubling and fascinating that the production had doubly othered Othello and the play had not received good reviews. Why was there a need to produce an already racialized actor who would have been perfect to play Othello as he were and almost mock his costuming and make up? In my opinion, I would strongly argue that Othello can be a man of middle-eastern descent. It is not necessary that he has to played by a "black" actor although it has become a norm for the productions of Othello to be performed. Performing a racialized character, one that is not of our own race, is always a questionable move. Furthermore, it almost seemed unnecessary to put the "blackface" make up on. Below is Laurence Oliver and Maggie Smith 1965 production of Othello:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta6fG1753rs/Um5fxLAFy7I/AAAAAAAACTU/qB5ZecrwFA4/s1600/OthelloOlivier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta6fG1753rs/Um5fxLAFy7I/AAAAAAAACTU/qB5ZecrwFA4/s320/OthelloOlivier.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Laurence Olivier (Othello) and Maggie Smith (Desdemona) via<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/13/article-1161714-03E0D599000005DC-823_468x346.jpg" target="_blank"> dailymail.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olivier's costume again emphasizes his "uncivilized" roots reinforcing the play's racist ideologies that are at work in both the text and production. By wearing the "blackface" makeup, Olivier is still "white" in the inside but attempting to construct a persona, which is a characterization of an African man in his own mind. It is not authentic by any means but the character of Othello is magnified by his star persona. Is it "authentic"? I would argue NO.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus far, we have talked about actors who wore "blackface" makeup - Nachum Bachman and Laurence Olivier. Now, what happens when an Othello is produced in Washington theatre and Othello is played by a "whiteman" i.e. (hold your breath) <i>Star Trek</i> star Patrick Stewart while the rest of the characters are "black." I struggle with the rhetoric "black", "white", "brown", etc to describe people as the language is problematic but that discussion is for another day!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rP7HAToHkPs/Um5flYBivFI/AAAAAAAACTM/k5SoPjoy56g/s1600/Othellostewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rP7HAToHkPs/Um5flYBivFI/AAAAAAAACTM/k5SoPjoy56g/s320/Othellostewart.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Patrick Stewart (Othello) and Patrice Johnson (Desdemona) via <a href="http://www.tonyawards.com/images/pics/large/b_STC_O97_19_CarolRosegg.jpg" target="_blank">Tony Awards</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.playbill.com/news/article/35752-Patrick-Stewart-Stars-in-Race-Reversed-Othello-in-DC-Nov-17" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In an interview, Stewart who had come up with the concept told Playbill,<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">"I've been imagining myself playing Othello and, in a sense, preparing for it, since I was about 14.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> "When the time came that I was old enough and experienced enough to do it, it was the same time that it no longer became acceptable for a white actor to put on blackface and pretend to be African. One of my hopes for this production is that it will continue to say what a conventional production of </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Othello</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> would say about racism and prejudice... To replace the black outsider with a white man in a black society will, I hope, encourage a much broader view of the fundamentals of racism."</span></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many actors have suggested that Othello should be produced in a similar way - a man who is an "outsider" in his own society should play Othello to understand the "fundamentals of racism." In my own view, I do not think it is a bad idea - much better - than the idea of "blackface" which actors wear stripping the character of any sort of an "authenticity" the character may have. Halloween is a great time to explore these problematic ideologies when we dress up and try to enact characters that are not our own. Stewart uses an important word - "pretend" - and that was we do during this time - we "pretend" to be someone who we are not. Our actions are at stake each time we wear our costumes. Just because theatre has stopped using "blackface" makeup, it does not mean that we should have an excuse to wear it during this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Halloween is not the time to promote and produce the "Other"!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Images & Sources: stratfordfestival.ca, playbill.com, thepsn.org, tonyawards.com, i.dailymail.co.uk, montrealgazette.com, fasthack.com </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-34237552229242763342013-10-20T13:37:00.002-04:002014-04-15T04:44:48.432-04:00The "Good" Men and the "Not so Good" Men of India: Conflicting Views on an Impending Issue <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Rapists in Delhi </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I came across an article published in the New York Times titled "The Good Men of India" in the Op-ed section of the widely-read newspaper. The author, Lavanya Sankaran ,offered a rosy picture of the men of India defending their subjectivity in the backlash men have received in India which has become magnified in the international media as THE country where women are the most vulnerable and unsafe! Arguments have been made that the perpetrators of the Delhi rape case and other rapists should be sentenced to death or castrated according to the Gang Rape law case under section 376 (G) that was instated in 2012 after the horrific Delhi Rape case took place stunning men and women around the world! I also could not but find the glaring contradictions between NY times article and Times of India, which spoke the alleged<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Mother-of-8-year-old-patient-raped-by-hospital-staff-in-Madhya-Pradesh/articleshow/24440142.cms" target="_blank"> gang rape of a 30-year-old woman in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. </a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Image courtesy: wsj.net</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sankaran's analysis of the men in India she encounters on her flight to Bangalore highlights the changes in the power dynamics of the airplane where men are air stewards while a woman pilot controls the plane - stereo-typically found to be the reversal of gender roles in the airline industry profession. She argues and suggests that there is an "alternate male reality" where men are the "kindest in the world." Now, I don't have any issues with the claims she makes here. India, as a country, is a complex potpourri where people's subjectivity is shaped by various elements including class and economic status, religious, and caste status. She was observing the behavior of upper-class business men who supposedly did not "grumble" when toys and children were creating chaos in the airplane space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also found it interesting that the NY times had chosen a clip from Ranbir Kapoor's Wake Up Sid to represent the "Indian Common Man"<a href="https://www.google.ca/search?q=indian+hero&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SBBkUrjBKabgyQGe8ICQAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624#q=common%20indian%20man&tbm=isch" target="_blank"> but when you google the "common Indian man" a very diverse set of images show up! </a>You cannot but question her essentialist analysis of the "COMMON" Indian man! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>Wake up Sid</i> (2009) via <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0" target="_blank">NYtimes.com</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She writes: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">Let me introduce the Common Indian Male, a category that deserves taxonomic recognition: committed, concerned, cautious; intellectually curious, linguistically witty; socially gregarious, endearingly awkward; quick to laugh, slow to anger. Frequently spotted in domestic circles, traveling in a family herd. He has been sighted in sari shops and handbag stores, engaged in debating his spouse’s selection with the sons and daughters who trail behind. There is, apparently, no domestic decision that is not worthy of his involvement</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">.</span></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, the Indian men are the way she describes them but I am deeply troubled by her decision to use the term "the common Indian Male" that too with capital letters. Who is the "Common Indian Male"? This definition needs to be investigated before we can make any argument. I am in agreement with her defense of the Indian men and appreciate her voice in this important discussion but we cannot overlook universalized assumptions that excuse the inaction that has taken place since the Delhi Rape case happened in 2012 and blackened the name of India with titles like "Shame Capital" forever!<a href="http://nidhishrivastava1407.blogspot.ca/2013/09/is-india-dangerous-country-for-women.html" target="_blank"> I myself responded defending the Indian men in a previous blog </a>but also realize that it is not a rosy picture Sankaran claims in her article. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Troubling notices during Delhi Rape case protest</span>s </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also points out: </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">But when it is at its best, the results, in women’s lives, speak for themselves. If the image of the Indian female as victim is true, so, too, is its converse: the Indian woman who coexists as a strong survivor, as conqueror, as worshiped goddess made flesh. Indian women have served as prime minister and president. They head banks and large corporations. They are formidable politicians, religious heads, cultural icons, judges, athletes and even </span><span style="color: #666699;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">godmothers of crime</span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">.</span></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am in accordance with her argument here! I do agree that Indian women are not just victims but many occupy a position of power within the Indian government, large corporations, and so on but we cannot by any means. However, have we thought about the "Common Indian woman"'s subjectivity? Have we questioned her position with the social spheres she interacts in? What type of sacrifices does she have to make in order to be in the position of power if she is in one? Herein lies the rub....</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I belong to an upper middle class family in India. I was born in India and with my family migrated to Malaysia when I was 7 years old. After which we lived in Singapore for 7 years, and finally migrated to the United States in February 2001 and am pursuing a PhD. in Canada. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite living in so many countries, I held on to the conventional Indian values and was raised in a semi-liberal household where we - both my brother and I - were raised to have a modern outlook on life but retain our "traditional" Indian values. I struggled throughout my childhood, teens, and early 20s to define my subjectivity. How could I find a balance between the conflicting modern ideologies we learned in school and our traditional values we were raised with? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I observed many things growing up and continue to do so: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In many traditional Indian households, women cannot pray in the religious temple if she is menstruating (yet she is viewed as a Goddess)! I found this a deeply problematic practice and somewhat hypocritical but you have to respect the wishes of friends and elders who strongly believe in it. Its hard to engage in an analytic and "objective" analysis of the practice without hurting the feelings of those who believe in it so you have to let go of the irritation. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wearing clothes that are body-tight and otherwise show cleavage becomes a cause of worry for people quite quickly. Women are raised to be more modest but there seems to be no control of how men perceive you and this problem I would like to highlight is universal and everywhere not regionally or geographically-specific. All Indian men are again I want to repeat are not out to "get some" and I cannot overemphasize this point. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no discussion of intimacy and sex within an Indian household (in my observation and do not want to generalize). I hope to change this practice in my own home one day. I would like my son or daughter to be aware of everything so that he/she accepts this as a normal human practice. Hence, there is no knowledge that is passed on to the young girls and women about safe contraception and safe sexual practices. Instead, abstinence is encouraged to prevent any early teen pregnancy or STDs but if you look at films like Dev D (2009) and Luv Ka The End (2011) both highlight a culture in cities like Mumbai and Delhi where young women choose to engage in pre-marital sex without being aware of safe sexual practices. They end up having unhygienic abortions and can be subject to fatal infections! There is an emphasis on honour, purity, and chastity within households lest its forgotten that a person's characterization and purity stems from actions not because they have or have not been sexually active or not. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aamir Khan's <i>Satyamev Jayate</i> highlighted important issues that we cannot overlook. We keep on bringing these issues to our forums but do not take steps to further understand why its happening and why India has become the posterchild for rape cases? </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Aamir Khan's Sataymev Jayate episode "Is Love A Crime" </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/asia/2013/09/delhi-gang-rape-death-sentences-wont-make-india-safer-women" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monisha rajesh concludes, "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.65625px;">Ultimately the conversation must continue. Since the Delhi gang rape the discussion over each newly reported rape has subsided faster and faster with social media moving swiftly on to lamenting the fall in the rupee or arguing over India’s foreign film entry to the Oscars, while the everyday rapes, acid attacks, domestic abuse and violence continue quietly in the background." </span></span></a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQW6lWPYuVU/UmQUNRnqs8I/AAAAAAAACSg/ppqNYEUAwy8/s1600/IndiasNewMiddleClass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fQW6lWPYuVU/UmQUNRnqs8I/AAAAAAAACSg/ppqNYEUAwy8/s320/IndiasNewMiddleClass.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy:<a href="http://fas-polisci.rutgers.edu/fernandes/book%20covers/IndiasNewMiddleClass.jpg" target="_blank"> rutgers.edu </a></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.65625px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">True to the statement Rajesh has concluded, the discussions may continue but its important to understand the complexities and nuances of the "common Indian men and women" in India. Leela Fernandes (2006) 's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Indias-New-Middle-Class-Democratic/dp/0816649286" target="_blank">India's New Middle Class</a> </i>offers a comprehensive analysis of the middle class Indian since the 1990's and I highly recommend this book to understand the politics of the "New" India. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-692p17x_CRE/UmQSFOS-tMI/AAAAAAAACSU/Ios_qK_uQg4/s1600/rape4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-692p17x_CRE/UmQSFOS-tMI/AAAAAAAACSU/Ios_qK_uQg4/s320/rape4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 22.65625px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">post-Mumbai Rape case protest</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 22.65625px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I myself am still trying to understand the socio-economic, political, and literary implications of the recent discussions of rape cases in India. There is no right or wrong answer to this problem since it is laced with lots of complex issues and mind you, I have not even engaged in class/caste politics and rape of Dalit women. Furthermore, rape of men does take place. Aitraaz (2004) was a powerful representation of this issue but again, we just assume that women are victims. These are the issues I am grappling with as I read these news articles and further engage in these discussions. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 22.65625px;"><i>Images and Source:<a href="http://stream.aljazeera.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_big_thumbnail/india-rape-protest-final.jpg" target="_blank"> stream.aljazeera.com</a>, nytimes.com timesofindia.com, amazon.com,<a href="http://cdn.asiancorrespondent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IndiaGangRapeDec191.jpg" target="_blank"> cdn.asiancorrespondent.com</a>, <a href="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-VW413_iraped_G_20130104053236.jpg" target="_blank">wsj.net</a>, and <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/asia/2013/09/delhi-gang-rape-death-sentences-wont-make-india-safer-women">newstatement.com</a></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
shnidhi00@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11664581838231332485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1002093317377289940.post-13329693401271917442013-09-23T08:42:00.005-04:002014-04-15T04:45:00.761-04:00Kalki Koelchin and Juhi Pande Release a Satirical "It's Your Fault" Video <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since the rape of the Mumbai journalist a month ago has again put India on the center of the map, Bollywood actress<a href="https://twitter.com/kalkikanmani" target="_blank"> Kalki Koelchin</a> and VJ Juhi Pande teamed up together with Indian comedy group called All India Bakchod. The video went viral on Youtube but surprisingly was only mentioned briefly on my Facebook without any comments or reaching the same popularity that many other videos have received. As we live and breathe in the digital era, this does provoke concerns and thought because India continues to be viewed as a dangerous country for women. It also provokes questions about how we receive and process information and news. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b> Kalki Koelchin via<a href="http://www.firstpost.com/living/its-your-fault-kalki-koechlin-juhi-pande-star-in-satirical-video-about-victim-blaming-1123131.html" target="_blank"> Firstpost</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Satirical video is called "It's Your Fault" and has received more than 1, 25,000 hits in India but did not receive much attention from my observation that it needed because the video while capitalizing on humor does invoke important issues and both the actresses perform their lines with a smile. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/blogs/blog-by-the-way/article5152991.ece" target="_blank">According to a fellow blogger and critic who has written for The Hindu has observed, "</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/blogs/blog-by-the-way/article5152991.ece" target="_blank">The part that irritates me about most apparently well-meaning TV shows, campaigns, cinema, and some written features on India’s rape/violence against women culture is that many of them unwittingly belittle the issue with tasteless, needless hyperbole. News channels do it via a silly choice of ominous or tragic background music, as if any music could possibly make us feel worse about a woman having an iron rod pushed up her vagina. In print, sometimes even news reports take it too far with judgmentality (for example this report<span style="background-color: white;"> on an honour killing which feels the need to include phrases like "Billu, the remorseless father of Nidhi" or "parents have not even filed a complaint")</span></a>."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> Juhi Pande via <b><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01592/blog1_1592108e.jpg" target="_blank">The Hindu</a></b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">The video starts with Kalki addressing, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">"Ladies, do you think rape is something men do out of a desire for control empowered by years of patriarchy. You clearly been mislead by the notion that women are people too, because let's face it ladies. Rape, It's your Fault</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">The video targets all the stereotypes and also engages with the law - where - it all boils down to victim blaming. Furthermore, it also pokes humor at many critics who said that the woman who was raped in December 2012 could have prevented the rape by shouting "bhaiya" (brother) and mocks statements made by politicians, gurus, and other people who blame that women trigger rape and bring it upon themselves. Within a span of 3 minutes and 36-second footage, the video addresses popular topics like wearing provocative clothing, marital rape, late night parties, and going out for dates as means by which women bring rape and violence unto themselves. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;"> <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb/msid-22850668,width-300,resizemode-4/kalki-rape.jpg" target="_blank"> <b>Times of India</b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">Rohan Joshi, who was one of the stand-up comedians spoke to <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/507790/20130921/fault-kalki-koechlin-juhi-pande.htm" target="_blank">IBT</a> and said, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">"We want to contribute positively to the conversation about the subject. We hope it makes some people feel like idiots, and we also hope it tells women that we're not all idiots; a lot of us are on your side, and will always be vocal about it,"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Why I want to draw attention to this particular video? There are multiple significant reasons I find this video an important contribution in the dialogue of Indian rape and popular culture. </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Although this video may take humor as a plot device to invoke affect/emotions/reactions, it draws and highlights important issues that we need to think about when it comes to rape studies. How else can we provoke change without addressing it? </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">India's current situation especially when it comes to vulnerability of women is a topic that many do not want to engage or discuss, but solutions do not come by themselves especially if we are the ones living the privileged lives while only a few resources are made available to the victims. I.e. In the Delhi rape case 2012, the victim and her friend were left bleeding and naked without help for 45 minutes. I am not saying that we are to blame, but it seems to be too touchy a topic which people refrain from speaking about. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">It also brings us to think about different ways in which we can bring into discussion these important issues. Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate was one of the shows that really brought these impending issues upfront. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">How can we make laws and train people to implement them? What type of developmental resources do we need to provoke the change? </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><b><u><i>Are we going to wait for change to happen until it happens to one of our near and dear ones to realize the value of creating laws to protect them? </i></u></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/507790/20130921/fault-kalki-koechlin-juhi-pande.htm" target="_blank">Ibtimes.co.in</a>, <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/watch-this-chilling-video-about-victim-blaming-in-rape-cases" target="_blank">buzzfeed.com,</a> and <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kalki-koechlins-its-your-fault-satirical-video-on-rape-goes-viral/1172994/" target="_blank">indianexpress.com</a></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">© Nidhi Shrivastava 2014 This content is subject to copyrights. Please ask for my permission before using this content for any purpose. </span></div>
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