Vivaan or “the Rock” as people called him – was the high school football caption and was up for National Selections in 1 month.
So was Ruhail…
Vivaan and Ruhail were the proverbial “Jai Veeru” jodi from Sholay and the whole school knew that! And yet they were the most aggressive competitors!
Be it girls or grades or the highest number of goals – they competed on absolutely everything!
And NO they had NO secrets! EVER!
The bro-code remained…. until it didn’t…
Raima had turned 24 yesterday, and she had had the biggest party ever. She had called all her friends from college and all the families who lived nearby.
The food was smashing and the music ethereal.
The guests she was sure would have been stumped and stunned (had they turned up)
I met the true meaning of “Kul ka Deepak” in person at Baridih – he is an amazing 23 yr old boy – who barely got 60% in his Matric exams – from Chandil (near Jamshedpur) and then saw an “end of the road” in his life with no money to support an education and not enough marks to get a scholarship…
BUT the Gods saw in him – a promise to build the lives of many many more like him (remember 78% of the entire Indian Population is defined as “Bottom of the Pyramid”)
And the Science in his SOUL won! It won the battle of marks and money – and got him to be an amazing “Grassroot Innovator”
“Mere papa feminist hain…” – this is a heartfelt comment made by this gaggle of girls – more as a sense of wonderment than proclamation…
Happy to have interacted with 50 rural and semi – urban girls – of the age group of 10 to 13 yrs in the Ranchi District area.
Our discussion point veered right from what adolescence is to what feminism is – and why is there “so much halla against feminism”
And then the shining moment on how men can be feminists – and then the “Mere papa feminist hain…” moment!
This is a dedication to all girls who have feminist Dads and all Dads who aspire to be feminists – I am sharing ALL that was shared with me today:
Hola world – introducing ME… and “This GURL loves her Cricket…” !!!
Like any true-blue DESI – I can laugh cricket, I can talk cricket, I can live cricket…. (because cricket isn’t a funny game at all)
Ref – the dialogue pick from Namakhalal (for the generation who saw it 😉 )
In your 30s and you suddenly realize that sanitary napkins are taxed – you go OMG!
And then OMG some more – since you have been paying these taxes for the last decade and a half….!!!!
And then OMG loads – as in India where women desperately NEED sanitary conditions during their menstruation cycle – we are taxing it and making it expensive!!!!
Wow…. what AMAZING Logic?
I have been facing issues around what FEMINISM means and what feminists do etc – for quite sometime now!
Most men and some women keep on at it…. “Why do YOU follow and practise feminism when a balanced person like you should practice Equalism….” to “I am NOT a feminist, I believe in equality of gender”
So dedicating this pieces to the DICTIONARIES – do you know they actually carry some interesting definitions for feminism 😉
Jharkhand mein “Bachcha Bikta Hai”!
Child Trafficking is an evil reality which the States of Jharkhand, Assam, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha are grappling with. Lets try to do a quick review of the WHYS of this menace…
There shall be a Series 2 – for the HOWs of child trafficking…coming up!
Moms today have an enemy in the Idiot Box which is bigger and more powerful than ever! They struggle with traditional ways of limiting the child’s TV time, treating the child to TV time on good performance and/or banning TV. These stunts worked for our generation – but a faster, cooler and more aware generations – these very “mom-stunts” have to metamorph!
This NINJA generation needs ninja-style moms…..adaptive!
I read this piece around the thoughts of acclaimed Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – on what she thought Feminism was and “raising your daughters right”. She comes from a highly patriarchal society and has faced her own series of struggles and continues to advocate for women’s rights and opportunities.
In one of my favourite quotes Adichie says :
