scribble pad.

a political housewife?

2008-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

by now, i identify myself as (also) "a housewife and working woman". hmm. okay. so those are 2 roles i play, and usually there's no more of the day left by the time i finish with those two! the "working woman" is less difficult an identity thing to cope with than the housewife bit. its the latter that's been bugging me.how does a housewife define herself? the most banal answer (which also gets me

racism

2008-01-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

i am currently working on a project for a foreign client. my team has mostly brown people, with a sprinkling of a few white people as well. most are very nice, but one specimen quite often makes me feel murderous.for the ignorant white person who comes to india(aka: why i'm wary of white criticism, aka: how you give other white people a bad name):scenario 1:you come here on work. you work with

i am back.

2008-01-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

now that i've access to the internet and a machine to write from again, the biggest impossibilities to blogging have been cleared.plus i am settling into my new work, so i no longer feel creatively dehydrated at the end of a work day - doing this ideas thing 12x6 leaves me mentally exhausted though i love such work.and most importantly, i have been hearing such a lot of privileged trash talk that

note to self?

2007-10-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

this morning we were discussing you, my place to scribble where i talk to myself and check if i can word some things, let off steam, think aloud.he spoke of you with finality, though it was i who said that you were dead. but thats untrue. i haven't run out of things to say. i merely haven't yet safely negotiated a space to talk from. - now that there is another person who would be affected by

2007-09-13T01:18:00.000-07:00

hi.there's an awful lot happening offline in my life, hence the silence. BUT this is something i came across yesterday:if you haven't already read, heard, discussed, prayed, done something about the jena 6, buck up and start now, because it matters.- m.

delirium and other stories

2007-09-01T00:09:00.000-07:00

i don't know about you folks, but i go totally batshit crazy when i have fever. i start thinking verrry carefully - you know, squinting mentally and really trying hard to be logical - and coming to absolutely ridiculous conclusions. its like being soo close to your needle when you're threading it, that you've your tongue out with concentration and you're breathing heavily and all...but then you

a view on "being different" and social conformity

2007-08-06T04:29:00.000-07:00

take an old-fashioned feminist who doesn't like the attention that Being Different attracts, and doesn't think non-conformity has to have a high-visibility component. add to that a strong tendency to be a peacenik. i am very, very picky about what ways i will "stand out" from the crowd.while sometimes non-conformity is intelligent and necessary for integrity to one's political beliefs, most times

a m.m.! 8 things about m.

2007-08-03T02:55:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by the eloquent Laurelin for the 8 random things about me meme. So here goes again:1. i'm emotionally quite impassive a person. i have to sometimes remind myself to show a reaction.2. i tend to catch myself making the fundamental assumption that if i know it, of course you do. or you should - even i know it!3. there's no such thing as eating too many vegetables. however, copious

sex and PG

2007-07-31T04:57:00.000-07:00

through college, i kept talking to women who would sooner tell their parents they were going to jail for eternity, than that they had a boyfriend. parents were - and i think for the most part, still are - generally considered a cross between gorgons and medieval purists.this is for them (the women!) and because this troubles me:(before my mildly delayed honeymoon)m : ma, i kept saying i wanted to

oh joyous, joyous day!

2007-07-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

hello.what have you all been up to? i've been scrubbing, cleaning, washing, ironing, unpacking, sweeping and swabbing. and for relief, i've also been painting and decorating. and making up silly happy songs to sing to myself:hip hip and hurray, i've got me a plumber to fix me drains -out with the slime, the grime and the guck,out with the filth that leaves me drains stuck!hip hip and hurray, i

princesses, happy endings ... and patriarchial lies

2007-06-05T03:26:00.000-07:00

hmm. i just deleted what i started with, because i wanted this to be openly personal, and had instead ended up talking from a distance (as usual!). well.... here goes:if a face belongs to my childhood, i cannot categorise it in terms of good-looking or not. you see, i had grown up in a house where i was told that looks didnt matter. and more importantly, anything that ma told me when i was a kid,

oleanna

2007-04-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

i do hope at least a few of you managed to catch oleanna on tv last saturday! i would've put up a reminder or something here, but i too had clean forgotten: i was indulging in one of my rare surfing sprees when i realised which movie it was and watched it (thankfully pretty much from the beginning).for those of you who didnt, the movie is actually an adaptation of a play by mamet. you can read

those "sassy" babes

2007-04-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

i chanced upon an edition of that gem of a magazine, India Today."smart and sassy" said the cover page, showing a young woman. the story was ostensibly about how women are making it big in the corporate world. india today is india's largest english magazine, so i think it's a fairly representative visage for that fuzzy beast called mass media. i want to dissect the representation made by them

cubicle conversations

2007-03-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

friday afternoon entertainment:we come to know that a couple at work is going to be married (to each other) shortly. it's common knowledge also, that they commute to and from work together. it's lunch break and people are eating in little huddles. a colleague (call him Z) stops by the cubicle where pair who are to be wed are lunching, and starts what he fondly imagines to be a polite

hutch: a study in contemporary corporate-sponsored racism

2007-03-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

a recent hutch advertisement caught my eye. it seems to me a brilliant study in how to perpetuate racist stereotypes, so i'd like to discuss it here.you can almost imagine the ad agency's pitch to the company. "can't sell your product properly? damn natives can't understand english?" or "damn natives too stupid to understand your procedures? spell it out for those brown savvidges". voila. a

gawd in heaven

2007-03-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

today we had a women's day celebration in my office (with the other company that shares our floor). predictably, it was organised by the women, the women dutched in for the lunch and the women alone sat together in the room. (i wonder if the men were murmuring "cheetangol" in another room meanwhile! :D)anyhow. if you think im grumbling about all that, contrary to appearances, im not. i was

mohanty, spivak, where are you?

2007-02-24T19:32:00.000-08:00

one of the main purposes of feminism is to help the community of women come together.the production of knowledge is one of the important aspects of the first world-third world divide, something that also eventually becomes very gendered, making it a critical issue in the third world feminists' agenda.every time i read feminist theory about third world feminism, i invariably find references to

sexuality, sexual orientation and sex

2007-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

am trying to pin down some basics (as i understand them) as briefly and clearly as poss. please factor in inherent limitations of such a disgusting method of presentation! :D sexuality sexual orientation sexual acts is about attitudes is about emotional & physical responses physical responses for internal self expression may be expressed or kept to

prostitution as "just another" profession

2007-02-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

one of the reasons ive been absent here is that i was spending some time talking and learning about some women's issues. mostly, the other people were from women's groups or specific marginalised groups , working on a day-to-day basis with the issues that are especially pertinent to them.as usual, when discussing prostitution, the main discourse used by the prostitutes' rights representatives and

how i spent the last one hour

2007-01-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

thank god for cell phones. before i got one and discovered sms-ing, i used to mutter all this to myself, causing fellow shoppers and shop assistants to shoot me anxious looks and step carefully a few feet away from me."yes. phone recharged. am trying to pick up a simple lip balm. its turning out to be a consumerist nightmare! do i want glowing skin along the way? glossy hair as opposed to thick

happy noo yeer

2006-12-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

no i'm not drunk, i've just been clicking through the rajasthan forestry department site.they show you dazzling pictures of the animals you can see in the forests of rajasthan. the gallery starts the list with a breathless "tiger"-"tiger"-"tiger" and then charms you with these:hoopoospotted dearsloth beer*flying squirals*would the drunken bums we'll see collapsed on the roads today count as

5 things you didn't know about me

2006-12-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

the yearly quota of two tags is about to be completed. evidently ive been tagged by vivek, whom i do not know - and who, i imagine, cannot possibly know me personally if he's a techie! :Din case you experienced a burning desire to know 5 inane things about me, 'ere you go:1. i love bitter chocolate. it gives me shudders of delight. almost nothing in the world can depress me to the extent that

the hole politics of english

2006-12-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

its about lingual politics again folks - some stuff ive found about the vagina -the word "vagina" adopted from latin originally meant "sword sheath" or "scabbard". upholding the frameword, the word "clitoris" is from the greek kleiein which means "to sheathe" or "to shut". the noun form kleis means a key, latch or hook.i suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later we'd have the

perspectives

2006-12-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

i think one of the nicest things about the eastern cultures, is the way they show how one can use cloth for self expression - from sensuousness to businesslike sharpness. with mass media extolling minimalistic (or a lack of) clothing as the only way of making a statement or expressing an attitude, this photograph is such a terrific case for the other side! its supposed to have won a photo of the

merry christmas

2006-12-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

this is what ive been listening to and chuckling over since december 14th, when sanketh first sent it to me.pliss to check this link out: its brilliant!!

science and the state

2006-11-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

emergence and development of new technologies can make human habitats disease-free, happy, more intelligent, increase longevity and human capabilities in the years to come. - president apj abdul kalamsource: the hindu, page 8, november 23, 2006so much for the simple claims of science. so much for

conference on hiv stigma

2006-11-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

the 3rd international interfaith conference on hiv/aids was held this weekend. i had attended it, since i was told that the topic was stigma and discrimination. although i walked out in disgust after about half a day, i must say it was a unique experience!the venue was crowded with saffron- and white – clad men and women. they came from diverse faiths – zoroastrianism, hinduism, islam, jainism,

the scientific mind , emotions and ethics

2006-11-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

i recently saw the movie "12 angry men". it was excellent. it created the opportunity to discuss so much about so many things. one amongst those, was this business of scientific, logical thought.the concept of science as we know it today - mostly based on what has come out of the west - claims logic to be the supreme tool of the scientific mind. logic is elevated to such a status that people even

tagged for feminism

2006-11-08T22:57:00.000-08:00

aishwarya had tagged all contributors on sthreeling for the feminism tag ("5 things feminism has done for you"). sorry for the delay a., here it is at last:1. feminism has made me a happier person in a lot of ways, and added to my sense of self worth. there are days when, even if my whole world has fallen apart and nothing's going right, i still think "i'm a woman", and feel this absolute rush

tamil nadu forestry department

2006-11-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

for your weekend's dose of chuckles please do see the tamil nadu forestry department's site, and once you've recovered from the bilious green, give it your full attention.Things To Notice:the location of the indira gandhi sanctuary. (long live blind spell-check corrections!)a happening new section in the gallery ("accidental deaths" - yes, truly.)a quiet commentary on the hell their phones have

n.b.: (note blease.)

2006-10-30T02:14:00.000-08:00

dear loyal readers who hang on my every word (and other random riff-raff! hehe) -the next installment of squiggles may be delayed a short while. the control freak in me will not be denied, and so i'm finally giving in to base urges to be disgustingly well-organised, and am trying to file the posts under vague categories.of course, if the exercise proves to be too hair-tugful it could well be

abuse of male privilege

2006-10-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

i had made a list - a list of the unearnt, undeserved privileges that i have as a well-to-do brahmin woman. i hoped - almost prayed - that some men at least, after reading that, would make a list of the gender-bestowed privileges that they have.because this is what happens when a man abuses his male privilege and uses it to hurt a woman.every time some guy says "but i'm a nice guy!" and expects

unveiled insensitivity

2006-10-02T05:05:00.000-07:00

i read many feminist blogs, several of which often teach me new ideas. recently there was all that hullabaloo about jessica valenti meeting president clinton, and being assininely maligned by another pseudo feminist blogger about the way she appeared in a group photograph which was taken.i came to know of the whole thing a little late, not having followed the blog world too closely for a while in

why undeserved, why unearnt?

2006-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

i decided to make the list in the previous post because i had some ideas. i found myself learning some more as i actually waded through the painful exercise.one of the things that caught me by surprise and brought a wry smile to my face, was the fact that i could come up with more than 20 things for the list of undeserved, unearnt privileges of being well-off. it contrasts sharply with the mere

undeserved privileges

2006-09-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

i've been coming across so much stuff on the issue of unearnt privileges and discrimination.to put it very briefly, even if i personally do not subscribe to a derogatory caste system and the supremacy of the rich, i still benefit in some ways because these social systems exist. i have privileges that someone else is probably paying the cost of.im starting this thread with the list of privileges

friends and freeing influences

2006-09-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

talking to someone ive gotten to know in recent times has been a singularly life-changing experience. after another evening of absorbing conversation and friendly banter, i was just thinking that something felt different in the way i relate to him (as opposed to my interactions with everyone else). as i drove home, i was musing on why it was so. when i did spot what had changed, it took my breath

between you and me - bloggers and gender politics

2006-09-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

my earlier post was on the right to space. now id like to raise some issues with regard to bloggers and gender politics. in fairness to them, most folks who uphold these politics dont really do so deliberately or consciously - i find most dont see these angles at all. but ignorance isnt much of an excuse, and whether we well-meaningly or misogynistically uphold the patriarchal structure, we are

the game of the name

2006-09-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

every now and then someone pops up in my inbox to say hi. to say "this is my take on what you've written". or maybe "thought this link was up your alley". or sometimes to find out where i am and what im upto, or maybe even something personal from their lives. (of course i get my share of hate mails as well for saying some things - typically like the wikipedia affair!)for the most part, it warms

basement feelings

2006-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

i use the expression "basement feelings" to refer to the emotions and feelings we have, which are the not-so-glorious ones. the ones we dont sing praises of people of for experiencing -like envy, murderous anger, depression, gloom...it used to make me uneasy when people denied the existence of an emotion altogether, but i guess its an understandable reaction given the kind of baggage that we

HSBC : a study in dangerous stereotyping

2006-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

seen the HSBC ad that's on TV now? a breath-takingly bad one. i was chatting with someone recently about how pervasive media stereotyping is,and why it IS a big deal, and this seems to me a prime example of the same.at surface level, the HSBC ad is totally banal.the opening scene is of a stereotypical geek (yes, down to the glasses) peering through a telescope at planets. i guess he is generally

human nature, sex and science

2006-08-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

"Survival of the fittest" is often just an instance of invoking science to sanction hooliganism. How often have we heard blind violence and brute force being accepted in its name? Violence in sex is benevolently patted on the head and glamourised as an expression of virility. When we do shake our heads reprovingly, we sigh over how it's all "human nature".Obviously, science hasn't figured us out

to minus infinity and back

2006-07-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

('ware and be warned: this is highly academic people - watching! i'm thinking aloud again.)someone is down in the dumps about the state of things in his/her life. too many problems, too few solutions, not much in their control. they decide to immerse themselves in something else with far greater problems in order to acquire a sense of perspective about their own life.the "other thing" to be

the dignity of labour

2006-07-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

"You! Take this file upstairs to accounts." "Hey! - Bring me another one." "That's all. You can bring the cheque." "I need this serviced." "What the f--- d'you mean you can't let me in in these shoes?!"This is the age of the consumer alright - the one with the manners of a pig. There is already a dignity in labour. We just happen to strip it away from the worker when we treat him/her like

arbit blah 6

2006-07-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

i go to a school of music to learn classical guitaring. however most of the other folks who come there come to learn to play the keyboard. now some of these, are very young children - 4/5 years old.so each time a very small kiddy comes, and the pally greetings have been exchanged, the teacher (who evidently has a deadly sense of humour) asks 'em in a grave Jeeves-ian manner whether they'd like

the chameleon's clothing

2006-06-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

my family talks a lot - about any and every thing. seriously, im a little hard pressed to come up with a topic that would be considered so taboo as to be excluded from our discussions! and im extremely glad that we are so open with each other.recently in one of our addas, we got to discussing a farce that's played out every weekend at a huge clothes shop nearby. high-school kids upwards, droves

the chernobyl museum

2006-05-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

after the uk, the contrast that ukraine offered in some ways was all the more striking and stark. for starters, there we were, gleefully drinking tapwater in uk. in ukraine i guess youd have to be pretty much crazy to try anything like that. chernobyls terrible legacy is still with them.our hostess was telling us how she bought supplies only from certain supermarkets because she was worried about

yullow!

2006-05-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

im back from an ab-sho-lootly gorgeous holiday. while the uk has really fantastic museums and galleries (and whopee, the jersey conservation trust!), i must confess i lost my heart to kiev. it is an awesome place! do go if youve the chance. avoid winter though - it hits minus 30 degrees only. and this time, because of the fight with russia, gas was totally cut off for a week or so, so everyone

and off i go

2006-04-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

the bags have been pulled out again and we're all packed and ready to head to uk and ukraine! :D will see if i can post from there - rather doubt it since we've picked all the rambling trails-ish places, but then ve shall olvays hope, ja? :)have a nice time you people - i hope summer isnt too miserably sweltering. i shall return to the happy home turf around the end of the month.adios!my life

'ello 'ello!

2006-04-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

hello to you kindly souls who still come here :) much has happened and we have been out of circulation for quite a while. hopefully i'll soon get to write about the stuff thats been recently crossing the mindscape - im off on another jaunt again next weekend (yaay, it promises to be rather exciting!).meanwhile, i just felt like showing you this poem i love -While a universe grows in my head,I

ethics and allopathy

2006-03-25T04:15:00.000-08:00

ive often made references to allopathy's unsavoury ethics. let me explain (again) that first, it is the system i attack : at an individual level, people are often inspiringly wonderful - i personally know of a few very ethical and compassionate allopathic doctors who put patient welfare before allopathy every time. i deeply respect their effort and ability to heal people, as well as their ethical

thinking aloud about BNP

2006-03-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

be warned, this is stream of questionable consciousness writing because im thinking aloud here! :Dwhat i heard being said amidst the blank noise"i feel so much better knowing that i'm not the only one" "oh my god! it happened to you too?" "our experiences are so similar" "i could relate to every word.." "suddenly, every woman i know seems to have been through this"is there a doubt? of course it

freewheeling

2006-03-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

the blank noise project blogathon triggered many thoughts in my head as i read each post. directly or tangentially, id like to explore some of the things that i noticed. im starting with a simple thing (its mid-week! :D) - ive lost count of the number of men who said "oh my god. i didnt know being a woman was like that". at the same time, someone mentioned how while it was understandable that

bloody diamonds

2006-03-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

because the story of the bushmen's struggle for survival and protection of their ancestral land should be heard, remembered and repeated to as many people as possible. a hearing organised by the united nations on july 31st and 1st august 2000 conducted by the security council committee officially acknowledged the link between the trade of illicit stones in sierra leone, and the trade in arms and

the man for their daughter

2006-03-09T03:32:00.000-08:00

"we are not a very conventional family. our daughter has studied ______ . she is well-read, and is very interested in the arts. she is currently working in ____" the gaggle of relatives got to work, aunts busily ringing up each other's uncle's, daughter-in-law's, co-sister's brother and other obscure connections to Spread The Word. the uncles took life easier, sat in several acquaintances'

lessons learnt on 29C.

2006-03-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

dedicated to the blank noise project (the more i roll that name around in my head the more i like it!). the harassment of women is our sexist culture is an old problem thats sadly still in existence. in india, its all the more open and violent with so many of us packed tightly together. all of us women are given The Talk after the first time we are groped : "no, i know you didn't do anything,

eve teasing - the claims of ownership

2006-03-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

humiliation, actual and insinuated gender-based violence, violation of privacy and sexual harassment are issues women around the world are tackling. however, its such an established part of our culture that we even have our own term for it. "eve teasing" as its coyly called, is a word of indian origin.we know it is a pretty old phenomenon - almost something of a tradition. probably if we asked

a reminder

2006-02-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

i hate fights. im often reluctant to walk into one. for the zillionth time, i was churning things around in my head the last few days and wondering if i was getting too angry about too many things.and then i read this.of course its worth blazing with rage about. there are some things that should make us furious again and again and again. thanks for the kick in the pants annie.Do not go gentle

sex, violence and a cola?

2006-02-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

( source: agencyfaqs.com) thats from the new pepsi ad. its horrible. the opening shot is of two women singing about the soft and smooth, and the man steps into the scene starting them off on the rough with the smooth (yawn). the women stop fawning over the bottle and instead switch to draping themselves over the guy. closing shot: man appears with an artistic black eye (and otherwise unchanged

make some blank noise

2006-02-25T00:39:00.000-08:00

i came across something interesting. the blank noise project. they deal with the harassment of women. as they point out, eve teasing is common, yes, but totally unacceptable. they are now organising a blog-athon to spread awareness about the issue. quoting a sentence i liked in their mail, "hopefully it will be an archive that will help us understand and stay angry about harassment". ( more

the common thread

2006-02-24T23:34:00.000-08:00

india's female population is greater than the total of the combined female populations of usa, canada and the russian federation. women are biologically the stronger sex - when living conditions are equal, women outlive men. according to the un figures, the men-women sex ratio is in favour of women in most countries – notably excluding ours. while that’s not surprising, what may be so is that is

barbie

2006-02-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

barbie is one of a kind - there will probably never be another doll quite like it. thank god. in 1957 Mattel mildly remodified a german pornographic toy called lilli, to market it as barbie. lilli was popular for her tight sweater and removable miniskirt. it took until 1971 for barbie to lose lilli's sly down and sideways glance and be able to at least look straight. she has still not lost the

us and them

2006-02-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

i very often find, when discussing something like patriarchy, that people who believe it’s a non-issue come up with a line like “why don’t you do something for homeless children or dalit women instead of spending so much time on feminism and antipatriarchy?”. other than the fact that feminist concerns include the very same homeless children and dalit women – its not an either-or – that’s just a

my charming old friends

2006-02-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

when my grandfather wants to say hullo and find out how a cousin or friend from the old days is doing, I write to them for him. i enjoy writing letters, especially to old people. I love their stories from the past, the sepia remembrances and nostalgia... that gentle pace of life, the formal yet warm style of writing. its fun working out the

fairy tales and stereotypes

2006-02-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

(ok. i had posted this on sthreeling, but in case you've not been checking that one (boohoo!) i'd still like to know what you think. and hence post in duplicate, signed by notary public blah blah :D) when i was a kid, i had a pretty nifty collection of story books. i loved reading, and on each of my birthdays, at least one of my numerous relatives used to give

koff koff

2006-01-31T03:38:00.000-08:00

tis time for another big beaming smile, because i just can't be fashionably nonchalant and calm about this.... ples to see sthreeling when you have time.** that was only to sound polite: its more like NOW!! ;-)

singing from rooftops!

2006-01-27T09:15:00.000-08:00

i am beaming happily.last night two friends and i went out for dinner. and in the parking lot, one of the attendants looked remarkably like the guy who abused me when i was 15. i saw him, got ready to fight.... and realised it wasnt that dude after all and walked away. we had a perfectly pleasant dinner, chatted and joked. slow reactions as ever, but for the last two hours its been hitting me in

2006-01-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

i dont really consider myself a flowersy person but this one sets my heart singing! arent gerbaras gorgeous?!life is beautiful! ... have a lovely weekend you folks :)

woes of a wildlife biologist

2006-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

ive just heard a diatribe against "silly clunches who think that animals are going to do one bloody catwalk before their goggling eyes... BAH!", and figured... why just me? you hear all about it too. i know... im a darling at times! :D G. is what is called a field person. if youve ever done any footwork, youll appreciate all the little squiggles of nuances that are

yoni worship

2006-01-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Series: feminism in indian culturethe origins of a traditionshakthi worship and philosophyyoni worship * * *in a culture of such reverence for the feminine, you bet you can find at least a small cult to salute the yoni! the yoni yantra, basically a triangle, represents the mother goddess, and indicates the cosmic womb, and hence the source of life. the yoni is considered

shakthi worship & philosophy

2006-01-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

The Series: feminism in indian culturethe origins of a traditionshakthi worship and philosophyyoni worship * * *the sanskrit word shakthi means force, the feminine energy. it is regarded as the primordial creative principle that underlies the cosmos, and as the energising force behind all divinity, creatures and beings. in several scriptures, the

the origins of a tradition

2006-01-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Series: feminism in indian culturethe origins of a traditionshakthi worship and philosophyyoni worship * * * feminism is usually associated with the movement that started in the west (especially in america). however, all of the old cultures in the world have feminist orientations in that they have all (at least in the beginning) worshipped mother goddesses and

feminism in indian culture.

2006-01-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

The Series:feminism in indian culturethe origins of a traditionshakthi worship and philosophyyoni worship * * * i happened to read some interesting snippets about the yonic tradition, and was ab-so-lootly riveted. on further digging around, i found : 1). any real literature on the subject is nearly impossible to find.... how much i had to search! *pant pant* 2). one very

m. speaks

2006-01-05T05:46:00.000-08:00

hmm. another controversy it would seem, and much vehemence and anger.. and ironically, i seem to be the cause of it, not wikipedia! life is certainly unpredictable :) well, ive heard what youve all had to say. there has been much talk about whether wikipedia is biased, whether the management is concerned about their being biased, and so forth. whether you choose to heed it or not, wikipedia

tell me another one!

2006-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

this is in (rather slow) response to something i read about wikipedia and the integrity of the information it presents.this is a topic of discussion that seems to come up every few months, and when even he was pro wiki, I thought ok, if so many people are so hotly in its favour, let me check again – maybe it has improved. (yes I know, it surprises me too how foolishly optimistic I can be!)call me

cheers!

2005-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

i take immense pleasure in quoting a very (other) wise man and wishing you alla happy and preposterous new year. :D

ah. tech.

2005-12-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

my house is simply shtunning when it comes to tech. out of immense kindliness we shield techies from our escapades - for let there be no doubt, any techie who happened to be present at one of our bloopers would definitely blanch, shrivel up and wither away.take for instance this evening's episode. i was teaching my elder sister how to set the time and alarm on my digital watch (yeah! cutting edge

the amazonian

2005-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

the sheer strength of the woman is incredible. krishnamma is the boss in her house. she told her husband ages back that if he didn't like her authority, he could get out, since she's the working member. period. she's that kind of woman, you see.with virtually no help from her husband, she raised her three children, put them through college and made sure they all got good jobs. she has a deep

dress (lack of) sense

2005-12-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

since we briefly touched on the subject of the body quite recently, i remembered this other thing.i suggest you walk into a really crowded shop (yes i hate shopping too, but chin up: its for a people study!). look carefully at the little girls around. look at what they wear. specifically, the fabrics, the kind of clothes, the colours, the kind of clothes, whether its indian or firang, the kind of

salut!

2005-12-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

I find divinity in living, walking people. I don’t mean the sort that have droves of worshippers and fans flocking to them – I mean the everyday kind of people who do such fantastic things so quietly, so matter-of-factly. mr. sb is a teacher. he has his own tuition center. ask him why he works so hard, driving himself almost insanely, and youll get a straight

the body political

2005-11-23T05:48:00.000-08:00

I had a flaming argument in the morning about this, so this is not only what I think, im also hopping mad. and a little scared. the argument pulled me up and reminded me just how little women in India own their bodies. the issue was about clothes – the old dupatta story - but for me it stood for more. clothes decide if youre worth a job, youre a

WAD 2005

2005-11-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

in my former workplace, we used to have this cynical, a tad trite, but very practical adage – every day is World AIDS Day! however, since the whole world doesn’t talk, breathe and think HIV every waking moment, it may be a good idea to shout about it as much as you can at least on that one day so people get the general drift! : ) I know hiv

the story of his love

2005-11-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

he smiled. It was the sort of smile that reminded you of a deep breath - the instant it slowly uncoiled across his face, you knew it was a harbinger. it would lead to something….she watched him, catching her breath in anticipation and wonder. what story would this be? with a sigh like an opening quote, he started his story. it was to become His Story. The

loafer speak

2005-11-18T07:12:00.000-08:00

hi! the penny has indeed returned. and here's the last of my gems from SA - this i heard on a radio show and thought it priceless:'tis the early worm that gets eaten.

third world, and first rate

2005-10-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

after spending the whole weekend chit chatting, monday morning started off very interestingly. en route to work, i was chatting with someone about the sociopolitical scene in south africa. when we were getting out of the car i remarked to him how i thought it was garbage to rate south africa as a third world nation. for the next hour we sat in the parking lot as he gave me a very articulate and

ahem

2005-10-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

this time, he's the guilty un.the 5th line in my 23rd post : "then slow down and look at what that has done". it was from my effort to describe technocracy and its influence on the mediai'm not doing the 55 word tag cos i already broke my head over it once, thank you! and since im a nice girl, and have to get back to work, i shant tag anyone. yet.:D

africa ahoy!

2005-10-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

Dear folksHullo from SA! After 15 hours of climbing walls and beginning to wonder if id ever seen the great wide world outside a plane's cabin, im finally here. The only interesting thing about the flight was learning how to spell "altitude" in Arabic. And since im very kicked about it, I shall tell you how: its squiggle, wiggle, and two dots! :Dthis is a truly beautiful country. The colours and

beam me up toto

2005-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

dear folks,im off to south africa for two months on work. now that’s very nice, though i must say, as soon i was told i was going it felt more like the end of the world because i hate travelling - im harder to budge than a cat once im comfily settled anywhere!at first I was worried witless about the work as such, you know – would I go through the training ok, and not end up botching things up

A (not so) brave new world?

2005-09-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

Yes. I just read Huxley’s brave new world. And while I was happy that I finally got around to reading one of the books that played a role in boosting counterculture, I was also left with a slightly bad taste in my mouth at the end of the story. Some things about the book bothered me because they seem to quietly reinforce mainstream stereotypes… and coming from a book that otherwise criticizes

the fragments

2005-09-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

she couldnt admit to herself that some things had happened. the knowledge ran as parallel rivulets to her consciousness, causing explosive turmoil whenever the streams of thought converged. she watched detachedly as the rivulets swelled over the years. their waters would one day drown her reason, but as she could see no solution at hand, she accepted it all calmly. her life had become a

an epitaph

2005-09-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

thanks senthil. the tag gave me a chance to say this - and i really needed to! :)An Epitaph They always fought when she was alive. She was a tyrant. We hoped he would enjoy his new freedom. Sadly, he was just too lost without her. after he died, we found her death certificate and an old sepia photo of them together under his pillow. His was love that had quietly weathered 65 years.

arbit blah 5

2005-09-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

A Birthday by Christina Georgina Rossetti My heart is like a singing birdWhose nest is in a water'd shoot;My heart is like an apple-treeWhose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;My heart is like a rainbow shellThat paddles in a halcyon sea;My heart is gladder than all theseBecause my love is come to me.Raise me a dais of silk and down;Hang it with vair and purple dyes;Carve it in doves and

equality vs liberation.

2005-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

Someone wrote to me some time back – one of those folks who claim that feminism is an irrational rant, and that men are the ones who are discriminated against. (For any further explanation on that head, sorry – youll have to question this species yourself!) why, they demanded triumphantly, do feminists never fight to be in the army? At the time I was too impatient to say much beyond this: (This is absolutely true. Cross my heart!) Millett’s book paved the way for the 70s’ feminism. She opposed the prevailing critics, and insisted