This session was meant to be an open session with no specific agenda for the day. I guess this was the best time for a free session particularly after the two HEAVY sessions by Hans on Sex, Sexuality and AIDS. The reason being anything today would have been a little difficult to digest. Appropriately Rakesh started by getting a feedback the sessions taken by Hans. As expected, as if everyone was waiting to explode, the answers began to flow.
It started with Nisha who said that as his language and the approach to the entire topic was so simple and direct, it made everyone comfortable about the topic. For Davar, one of the important things from the sessions was that a number of his myths were quelled. One of them was that HIV was being spread by people putting infected needles in the seats of the theatres. Hans had replied to this by saying this was all rubbish as no one would have the time to go to theatres and insert needles in the seat. Also if someone did, there is an element of time which came into the picture, which made the entire effort almost impossible. Also Davar felt that the entire exercise of Hans asking us to put the condoms on the dummy penis was really helpful, rather might prove to be helpful! Mahalaksmi though had a slightly different take on the sessions and the way they had been conducted. She felt it was a little too much on the face. It was a bit uncomforting for her, maybe because something like this had come a little early for her. But the positive thing for her was that it helped her to understand one’s own body and sexuality better than before. The body mapping exercise proved really helpful. Jahnvi mentioned something really important. She said that whatever we discussed a major percentage of it was something we already knew. Just that the way it was brought to us was something different. Also she realized that most of the times, our take on such sensitive issues is more or less the society’s perspective which had been knowingly, unknowingly forced upon us. For me, the sessions were one the most interesting sessions till now. I liked the way Hans put forth the entire topic to us, you could not take your ears and sometimes the ‘eyes’ off what was being discussed in the two sessions. Personally, I felt that the first day was made us prepared what was coming in the next session. Unless and until we were comfortable with the word ‘sex’ and the parallel words which come alongside it, we wouldn’t have been able to discuss sensitive issues like sexuality, the trans-gender community, and AIDS. For Aditi, who could not attend the first session, it was a bit of a shock when she first came in on the second day. But slowly she was able to absorb what the session was meant to be for. Later she was comfortable talking about it.
Meanwhile Rakesh had been listening to all our feedbacks carefully and also giving critical inputs as and when needed. He told us that they had taken a risk by inviting Hans because this approach might not work with every group. But at the end of it, he thought it was worth taking the risk. We then moved into a discussion on whether this approach would work with every group. The answer was definitely ‘no’. The simple reason being that the approach should vary keeping in mind the backgrounds of the group involved. At the same time we were sure that Hans is mature enough to take care of this while interacting with the other groups. Also Rakesh mentioned an important feedback that in most of the sessions on sex, HIV becomes the concluding topic. This should not be the case as ‘sex’ and not ‘HIV’ should be the concerned point. He then went into nostalgia into his college days where they had to do a study on sex-related issues and how they found it really difficult to get through the entire experience. Looking back, he felt the times have changed a lot, and now people are relatively more open about discussing about sex and related issues.
We then moved into a discussion about the current situation of the trans-genders in India. The focus was more on the Hijra community. There were two sides of the argument. One emphasized on the fact that it is society who is responsible for the position in which the Hijra’s find themselves in. Rakesh put the entire perspective in the famous line used in a number of hindi movies which goes, ‘ Mein mujarim nahi hu, mujhe samaj ne mujarim bana diya hai!’ The other side of the argument said that it was the Hijra’s also who were to blame as they themselves have been creating a bad name for themselves in the manner in which they potray themselves.we the discussed about their history. During the mughal raj, the Hijra’s were equally respected and also served the queens. But after the British came into the picture, things began to change for them.
Slowly we shifted to the trans-genders: the gays and the lesbians and their situation in the current society. The most interesting debate on this started when the question, ‘How does someone became a gay or a lesbian’. The answer was it is either by birth or else by the social conditioning one goes through. Here is where the debate started. The counter point to this was why should someone justify that he is a gay? Do we find a reason to explain why I am a man or a woman? Similarly a gay should be, rather expected to be, and treated with a similar respect. This was the highlight of the entire session today.
After this, all of us dispersed into our respective groups for the projects and began to discuss the agenda of the project and the time frame in which to achieve it, thus putting a sedate end to a rather eventful series of sessions!
ankur kothari
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Visit to the Tribal Art Exhibition
Thursday 20/09/2007
India has the largest tribal community anywhere in the world ,except perhaps in Africa ,which boasts of a rich distinct culture. However given the knowledge about them in available to us about them in class I cities, they are mostly perceived as people clad in leaves living in far off jungles..
Open Space, in an attempt to bridge this gap, along with city based writer Randhir Khare took an initiative to give the city a glimpse of this heritage.,Randhir khare ,a teacher ,at the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy in Pune travelling all over the country for a year procuring tribal artifacts .This journey culminated into a 4 day exhibition at the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy . The exhibition featured 14 different types of samples of tribal art forms , from like Madhubani paintings, Pithoro paintings, bhil tribe of rajasthan, shawls from nagaland, and many others. This was one rare opportunity to get familiar with a culture so close yet so distant from us.
It was the students of the school who presented these artifacts to other students explaining them how tribal values, stories and symbolisms manifest themselves in these art. The exhibition displayed not just some rare artifacts collected but also had quiz sessions and graffiti for the visitors to interest them and help them connect with something that they had only seen or heard of only in books or discovery channel.
The exhibition also included the screening of "Guabolombe -- Our Island " a documentary on the Onge tribes of the Andaman islands. This half-hour documentary by Kaushik Ray Gupta focused on a dying tribe with only 51 surviving members.
.
India has the largest tribal community anywhere in the world ,except perhaps in Africa ,which boasts of a rich distinct culture. However given the knowledge about them in available to us about them in class I cities, they are mostly perceived as people clad in leaves living in far off jungles..
Open Space, in an attempt to bridge this gap, along with city based writer Randhir Khare took an initiative to give the city a glimpse of this heritage.,Randhir khare ,a teacher ,at the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy in Pune travelling all over the country for a year procuring tribal artifacts .This journey culminated into a 4 day exhibition at the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy . The exhibition featured 14 different types of samples of tribal art forms , from like Madhubani paintings, Pithoro paintings, bhil tribe of rajasthan, shawls from nagaland, and many others. This was one rare opportunity to get familiar with a culture so close yet so distant from us.
It was the students of the school who presented these artifacts to other students explaining them how tribal values, stories and symbolisms manifest themselves in these art. The exhibition displayed not just some rare artifacts collected but also had quiz sessions and graffiti for the visitors to interest them and help them connect with something that they had only seen or heard of only in books or discovery channel.
The exhibition also included the screening of "Guabolombe -- Our Island " a documentary on the Onge tribes of the Andaman islands. This half-hour documentary by Kaushik Ray Gupta focused on a dying tribe with only 51 surviving members.
.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
SEX and Sexuality contd
Today's 8th session at OPEN SPACE ,was the 2nd and last day of the two day long session on Sex and Sexuality. We started the session by not answering Hans's questions but instead by throwing a volley of questions at him about him, where he came from, why did he come to Pune etc.. etc.
Then we moved on to talk about the third gender or transgender(in India called the 'Chakkas'). Hans told us that there are three levels of euneuchs:
1) Hemaphrodite- They are the ones born with both male and female sex organs. I t is a very rare case.
2) Transsexuals-They are people who feel they are in a wrong body i.e a man in a woman's body and a woman in a man's body .In rich countries the men pump in estrogen to grow in breasts.The other way is by operation .In operation method there are two types:
a) Theatre method
b) Wire method .Both are equally painful methods.
3) Transvestite: These are the people who feel they are living in the wrong body but do not undergo operations and live with those organs.
Eg: A man who is mentally a woman ,does not undergo any operation but he wears female clothes.
We also talked about how the Asia Pacific Network Of Sex Workers (APNSW) which works with these transgenders. We also discussed about Indian Penal Code 377 which puts a ban on anal sex( sodomy) .
Then we were shocked when next, Hans removed a condom packet and with that a dummy penis and vagina .We all looked at each other and wonderd what it was for .
I actually saw how a condom looks for the first time .We were all shown a demo on how to use the condom and practically had to do the same.
We also spoke about HIV and AIDS . HIV as we all know is the virus that causes AIDS and targets the immune system.But let's be clear of one thing, being infected with HIV does not mean that person has AIDS.We learnt how HIV is transmitted and also about the 4 stages of HIV ie: Asymptomatic, Clinical Stage 1 , Clinical Stage 2 and the fourth stage of HIV is AIDS.In India, we have 5.7 mn HIV + people ( something we cannot be proud of) and globally there are 40 mn HIV+ people.
HIV is linked only to sex which makes it shameful .There are other ways also by which HIV can be transmitted but in all our minds only the word 'SEX' gets associated with HIV and AIDS.
Then we came to the last topic of child sexual abuse , where we were given excerpts from Pinky Virani's book " Bitter Chocolate" . We took turns in reading the story about how a three month old child was sexually abused by a 17yr old boy ( isn't the age shocking!!!)
Child sexual abuse includes :
1) An adult exposing his or her genitals to a child or persuading the child to do the same.
2) An adult having oral, vaginal or anal intercourse with a child.
3) Any verbal or other sexual suggestion to a child by an adult.
The definition of child sexual abuse is " any sexual behaviour directed at a person under 16 yrs of age without that person's informed consent".
The session ended with Hans tellingus to be informed , talk to people and participate in the campaign .
It is upto us youth and educated people to spread the right message about HIV and AIDS, sexual abuse to people we know so that we can in our own way create a difference to the world and remember: RESPECT YOUR BODY AND SEXUALITY.
Posted by : MAHALAKSHMI.G
Then we moved on to talk about the third gender or transgender(in India called the 'Chakkas'). Hans told us that there are three levels of euneuchs:
1) Hemaphrodite- They are the ones born with both male and female sex organs. I t is a very rare case.
2) Transsexuals-They are people who feel they are in a wrong body i.e a man in a woman's body and a woman in a man's body .In rich countries the men pump in estrogen to grow in breasts.The other way is by operation .In operation method there are two types:
a) Theatre method
b) Wire method .Both are equally painful methods.
3) Transvestite: These are the people who feel they are living in the wrong body but do not undergo operations and live with those organs.
Eg: A man who is mentally a woman ,does not undergo any operation but he wears female clothes.
We also talked about how the Asia Pacific Network Of Sex Workers (APNSW) which works with these transgenders. We also discussed about Indian Penal Code 377 which puts a ban on anal sex( sodomy) .
Then we were shocked when next, Hans removed a condom packet and with that a dummy penis and vagina .We all looked at each other and wonderd what it was for .
I actually saw how a condom looks for the first time .We were all shown a demo on how to use the condom and practically had to do the same.
We also spoke about HIV and AIDS . HIV as we all know is the virus that causes AIDS and targets the immune system.But let's be clear of one thing, being infected with HIV does not mean that person has AIDS.We learnt how HIV is transmitted and also about the 4 stages of HIV ie: Asymptomatic, Clinical Stage 1 , Clinical Stage 2 and the fourth stage of HIV is AIDS.In India, we have 5.7 mn HIV + people ( something we cannot be proud of) and globally there are 40 mn HIV+ people.
HIV is linked only to sex which makes it shameful .There are other ways also by which HIV can be transmitted but in all our minds only the word 'SEX' gets associated with HIV and AIDS.
Then we came to the last topic of child sexual abuse , where we were given excerpts from Pinky Virani's book " Bitter Chocolate" . We took turns in reading the story about how a three month old child was sexually abused by a 17yr old boy ( isn't the age shocking!!!)
Child sexual abuse includes :
1) An adult exposing his or her genitals to a child or persuading the child to do the same.
2) An adult having oral, vaginal or anal intercourse with a child.
3) Any verbal or other sexual suggestion to a child by an adult.
The definition of child sexual abuse is " any sexual behaviour directed at a person under 16 yrs of age without that person's informed consent".
The session ended with Hans tellingus to be informed , talk to people and participate in the campaign .
It is upto us youth and educated people to spread the right message about HIV and AIDS, sexual abuse to people we know so that we can in our own way create a difference to the world and remember: RESPECT YOUR BODY AND SEXUALITY.
Posted by : MAHALAKSHMI.G
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
sex and sexuality...ahem!!!!!!
The 7th session of the Open Space internship held on Monday, the17th was a truly fun filled 3 hrs. Hans, from the Deepgriha society kickstarted the 1st day of the 2 day workshop asking 7 of the '13 hues' to hold down Daawar(while he lay on the floor in the crucifixion position giggling) and introduce each other. The session was on .........umm...........yeah....... it was on sex and sexuality. Not an issue easy to talk about, is it? Thats because you guys havent had a chance to interact with Hans.
With the help of various interactive and funfilled activities like analysing newspapers for sexually suggestive material, listing 20 words we associated with the word 'sexy', body mapping(we came up with mostly conservative body maps) with reference to where we feel pain, pleasure(physical) and shame(psychological).Hans definitely helped us get more open to talking about it.
The discussion began with what we mean when we talk about sex and sexuality. Initially, we were hesitant to openly list out words (Hans doesnt like silence by the way.........) we managed to come up with a few conservative responses such as male/female, copulation,intercourse,act for sex while sexuality was referred to as the manisfestation of one's sex, sexual characteristics, appeal, drive and the sexual organs.
We also overwhelmingly felt that sex is in the individuals themselves while sexuality is in the conditioning.Hans then proceeded to divide us into 3 groups, each with a separate newspaper to analyse:-
SAGA-Sneha,Aditi,Geeta and Ankur with the Times of India
RAGA-Daawar,Chitteshri,Nisha and Soni and with the Indian express and
BAGA which included our surprise guest Mrs. Verghese( who was supercool about the topic being discussed and actively participated in every activity),Anu,Janhavi and Mahalaxmi with the Maharashtra Herald. Our analysis of the newspapers revealed shockingly subtle suggestive references such as the Corolla ad(touch corolla, feel happy), ads for body contouring services, massage ads to supposed 'news' like Daniel Radcliffes 1st kiss......the fact that these references are so rampant sets your grey cells thinking.....what exactly is fuelling ads such as these? are we creating the demand? are we a nation of covert sexuality?
Add to these questions, if sex and sexuality is all around us why did the Bombay legislative council come up with with a statement saying-" No sex education please! This is Maharashtra.....",not a very good stand when estimates project 53.22% of children in India face severe sexual abuse?????
With this as our food for thought Hans came up with another activity(yes, he is full of learning by expereiencing...... something that had died in all of us a long time back thanks to our lacklustre education system.....). Here we were all given chits with a reference to whether we were male or female or references where it was difficult to decide on. He then proceeded to make us stand in 3 groups:- Mars for the Men , Venus for the Women and Earth for characteristics exhibited by both the sexes and left us with a lingering question.......................where does the trans gender fit in all of these?????
Unfortunately, all good things like the session had to come to an end and you better believe this one,we got homework for the next day.. yeah, you read it right.... homework i.e finding out the meanings of sex and sexuality from different sources. Nothing tedious na????
More tomorrow...............
With the help of various interactive and funfilled activities like analysing newspapers for sexually suggestive material, listing 20 words we associated with the word 'sexy', body mapping(we came up with mostly conservative body maps) with reference to where we feel pain, pleasure(physical) and shame(psychological).Hans definitely helped us get more open to talking about it.
The discussion began with what we mean when we talk about sex and sexuality. Initially, we were hesitant to openly list out words (Hans doesnt like silence by the way.........) we managed to come up with a few conservative responses such as male/female, copulation,intercourse,act for sex while sexuality was referred to as the manisfestation of one's sex, sexual characteristics, appeal, drive and the sexual organs.
We also overwhelmingly felt that sex is in the individuals themselves while sexuality is in the conditioning.Hans then proceeded to divide us into 3 groups, each with a separate newspaper to analyse:-
SAGA-Sneha,Aditi,Geeta and Ankur with the Times of India
RAGA-Daawar,Chitteshri,Nisha and Soni and with the Indian express and
BAGA which included our surprise guest Mrs. Verghese( who was supercool about the topic being discussed and actively participated in every activity),Anu,Janhavi and Mahalaxmi with the Maharashtra Herald. Our analysis of the newspapers revealed shockingly subtle suggestive references such as the Corolla ad(touch corolla, feel happy), ads for body contouring services, massage ads to supposed 'news' like Daniel Radcliffes 1st kiss......the fact that these references are so rampant sets your grey cells thinking.....what exactly is fuelling ads such as these? are we creating the demand? are we a nation of covert sexuality?
Add to these questions, if sex and sexuality is all around us why did the Bombay legislative council come up with with a statement saying-" No sex education please! This is Maharashtra.....",not a very good stand when estimates project 53.22% of children in India face severe sexual abuse?????
With this as our food for thought Hans came up with another activity(yes, he is full of learning by expereiencing...... something that had died in all of us a long time back thanks to our lacklustre education system.....). Here we were all given chits with a reference to whether we were male or female or references where it was difficult to decide on. He then proceeded to make us stand in 3 groups:- Mars for the Men , Venus for the Women and Earth for characteristics exhibited by both the sexes and left us with a lingering question.......................where does the trans gender fit in all of these?????
Unfortunately, all good things like the session had to come to an end and you better believe this one,we got homework for the next day.. yeah, you read it right.... homework i.e finding out the meanings of sex and sexuality from different sources. Nothing tedious na????
More tomorrow...............
Of 13 hues and the Majma
13/09/2007
It was the 6th open space pioneer internship programme .The session was our 2nd session on Gender fecilitated by Rakesh. The session commenced a bit late with our “blog-naming ceremony " wherein all of us had to come up with different names for our blogspot . Here came in the drama of the day when there was a heated argument on Abdul Kalam and nuclear weapon testing or energy (not yet clear). After a round of eliminations and from whatever limited choice google gave us, we finally zeroed down at “13 hues”. (not bad considering the fact that there were suggestions like "diaries of horror" “spicy 13” and “salad bowl”.) So our blogspot is now called “13 hues”.
We then had a screening of a documentary called “Majma” by Rahul Roy. Majma , essentially is the story of Aslam who sells medicines for sexual problems on the pavement of Meena Bazaar in Delhi and of Khalifa Barkat, a veteran wrestler who presides over an akhara (traditional training gym) in the adjacent park and puts a group of young men through the moral and physical grind of wrestling. This movie basically seeks to explore the instability and insecurity of working class lives in Old Delhi and how attitudes towards masculinity and male sexuality affect them. The screening was followed by an interactive session where we dicussed a little bit about the documentary. Some of us were shocked whilewhile some felt it was too "in- your- face".Then came up the topic of perspectives.
Dawar told us about this photograph in which the photographer captured a man set aflame
this snap won a prestigious photography competition. Some of us thought it was ridiculous and ‘wrong’ on the part of photographer while Rakesh explained it was not. Basically he told us how we could look at it from different perspectives both positive and negative . and then Renu took over the session for the last 15 minutes wherein we again talked about gender .
It was the 6th open space pioneer internship programme .The session was our 2nd session on Gender fecilitated by Rakesh. The session commenced a bit late with our “blog-naming ceremony " wherein all of us had to come up with different names for our blogspot . Here came in the drama of the day when there was a heated argument on Abdul Kalam and nuclear weapon testing or energy (not yet clear). After a round of eliminations and from whatever limited choice google gave us, we finally zeroed down at “13 hues”. (not bad considering the fact that there were suggestions like "diaries of horror" “spicy 13” and “salad bowl”.) So our blogspot is now called “13 hues”.
We then had a screening of a documentary called “Majma” by Rahul Roy. Majma , essentially is the story of Aslam who sells medicines for sexual problems on the pavement of Meena Bazaar in Delhi and of Khalifa Barkat, a veteran wrestler who presides over an akhara (traditional training gym) in the adjacent park and puts a group of young men through the moral and physical grind of wrestling. This movie basically seeks to explore the instability and insecurity of working class lives in Old Delhi and how attitudes towards masculinity and male sexuality affect them. The screening was followed by an interactive session where we dicussed a little bit about the documentary. Some of us were shocked whilewhile some felt it was too "in- your- face".Then came up the topic of perspectives.
Dawar told us about this photograph in which the photographer captured a man set aflame
this snap won a prestigious photography competition. Some of us thought it was ridiculous and ‘wrong’ on the part of photographer while Rakesh explained it was not. Basically he told us how we could look at it from different perspectives both positive and negative . and then Renu took over the session for the last 15 minutes wherein we again talked about gender .
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Mass Culture
Day 3
A very distinguished guest was amidst us today, Ms. Jeroo Moolah.
Well we started with an audio recording of a Rajasthani folk song... to be honest; it was confusing and sounded strange to our ears.
As the song progressed the singer started singing something, which sounded like a film song… and that’s when we realized that it was the Original Sound Track of the “Nimbooda Nimbooda” Song. She proceeded by telling us about the kind of exploitation done by various Bollywood movie Companies when all they do is create a remixes of old Indian Folk songs!
Next we were given an introduction to terms like “Culture”(on which we had a good deal of knowledge), High Culture, Mass Culture or Popular Culture, and also Folk Culture. It has been seen as a trend in today’s entertainment sector that High Art is rarely showcased on Television and folk art has been swallowed largely by Mass culture which has gained popularity among the masses.
At the end of this talk we were shown some ads from TV, which widely promoted Stereotypical images via mass communication. What struck us remarkably was the kind of images portrayed for women in the ads as they were shown more as objects of fascination than human beings; they are shown as loose in character, blonde brained, made for housework exclusively, easy to attain… the list can go on and on…
We had a good time screening the movie “ Veer Zara” which was loaded with clichés, stereotypes, and obvious suggestions. We were made consciously aware of the usage of sound effects; lighting angles focus on characters, their postures, clothing, and voice modulation techniques to make a clear difference between the Hero & Villain (the Good Guy and the Baddies).
Overall it was an eye-opener to the vast Capital produced from a profit oriented consumer market. An exhausting yet incredibly wonderful session
Sony Varghese
A very distinguished guest was amidst us today, Ms. Jeroo Moolah.
Well we started with an audio recording of a Rajasthani folk song... to be honest; it was confusing and sounded strange to our ears.
As the song progressed the singer started singing something, which sounded like a film song… and that’s when we realized that it was the Original Sound Track of the “Nimbooda Nimbooda” Song. She proceeded by telling us about the kind of exploitation done by various Bollywood movie Companies when all they do is create a remixes of old Indian Folk songs!
Next we were given an introduction to terms like “Culture”(on which we had a good deal of knowledge), High Culture, Mass Culture or Popular Culture, and also Folk Culture. It has been seen as a trend in today’s entertainment sector that High Art is rarely showcased on Television and folk art has been swallowed largely by Mass culture which has gained popularity among the masses.
At the end of this talk we were shown some ads from TV, which widely promoted Stereotypical images via mass communication. What struck us remarkably was the kind of images portrayed for women in the ads as they were shown more as objects of fascination than human beings; they are shown as loose in character, blonde brained, made for housework exclusively, easy to attain… the list can go on and on…
We had a good time screening the movie “ Veer Zara” which was loaded with clichés, stereotypes, and obvious suggestions. We were made consciously aware of the usage of sound effects; lighting angles focus on characters, their postures, clothing, and voice modulation techniques to make a clear difference between the Hero & Villain (the Good Guy and the Baddies).
Overall it was an eye-opener to the vast Capital produced from a profit oriented consumer market. An exhausting yet incredibly wonderful session
Sony Varghese
BLOGISM
Day 4:
The idea of a common 'blog' for the 13hues had been floated around only to receive a half-hearted response. Well, this was only obvious taking into consideration the fact that we were quite alien to this concept. We'd scratched the surfaces of many 'isms', but one eluded us- blogism. But hold on! Have no fear, inhouse techie, Kaustubh is here!! (But hey, don't be too quick to typecast him as a geek, he begs to differ!)
Although some of us already were a little familiar with this blogging business, Kaustubh definitely cleared the air when it came to our never ending list of 'hows', 'whats' and 'whys'. Although the trusty computers surely put us to task when the systems were slow, the session was definitely a relaxed and fun filled one.
The fag end of the three hour session on blogging brought us face to face with the challenge of weilding the weapon of the web. The ten million things we can do to one blog left us quite bemused. So finally we just settled with the straight and narrow. A black template and a simple format.(credits to chiteisri for actually working on the blog while we watched a film)
Well, in the end all's that left to say is that blogging is a learning process. I think its fairly safe to say that we'll figure it out in due time and then maybe it will probably signify what we stand for. So with that being said, keep watching this space!!
Janhavi
The idea of a common 'blog' for the 13hues had been floated around only to receive a half-hearted response. Well, this was only obvious taking into consideration the fact that we were quite alien to this concept. We'd scratched the surfaces of many 'isms', but one eluded us- blogism. But hold on! Have no fear, inhouse techie, Kaustubh is here!! (But hey, don't be too quick to typecast him as a geek, he begs to differ!)
Although some of us already were a little familiar with this blogging business, Kaustubh definitely cleared the air when it came to our never ending list of 'hows', 'whats' and 'whys'. Although the trusty computers surely put us to task when the systems were slow, the session was definitely a relaxed and fun filled one.
The fag end of the three hour session on blogging brought us face to face with the challenge of weilding the weapon of the web. The ten million things we can do to one blog left us quite bemused. So finally we just settled with the straight and narrow. A black template and a simple format.(credits to chiteisri for actually working on the blog while we watched a film)
Well, in the end all's that left to say is that blogging is a learning process. I think its fairly safe to say that we'll figure it out in due time and then maybe it will probably signify what we stand for. So with that being said, keep watching this space!!
Janhavi
Thursday, September 13, 2007
gender
Since childhood education was always indoctrinated but it was impressive to experience how information could be extracted from individuals and reorganized to have a last longing effect. The session started with the brain storming exercise with each individual contributing about his or her idea of gender and how effects an individual and some of the ideas were:
roles in the society
behavior
norms
Choices, perspectives, conditioning.
career options
opportunities available
how people perceive you
position in the family
asset-liability (status from birth)
freedom,movement,security,obligations
duties
upbringing
violence ,laws are subjective
religion
social economic position
power equations
interdependence
identity
socialization
We came to the conclusion that gender means the state of being male or female .in social context it refers to social differences between man and women .these norms are reinforced through social structure, community and social institutions .The term gender is different from the word sex which refers to biological categories of male or female however gender is fluid rather than fixed. We talked about various gender issues in religions and came to the conclusion that religion has two sides theological and philosophical and most of the religious theology takes it for granted that patriarchy by its virtue of power will appropriate other institutions and systems. Most of the discrimination happens in relation to women .
compiled by mirdawar
roles in the society
behavior
norms
Choices, perspectives, conditioning.
career options
opportunities available
how people perceive you
position in the family
asset-liability (status from birth)
freedom,movement,security,obligations
duties
upbringing
violence ,laws are subjective
religion
social economic position
power equations
interdependence
identity
socialization
We came to the conclusion that gender means the state of being male or female .in social context it refers to social differences between man and women .these norms are reinforced through social structure, community and social institutions .The term gender is different from the word sex which refers to biological categories of male or female however gender is fluid rather than fixed. We talked about various gender issues in religions and came to the conclusion that religion has two sides theological and philosophical and most of the religious theology takes it for granted that patriarchy by its virtue of power will appropriate other institutions and systems. Most of the discrimination happens in relation to women .
compiled by mirdawar
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Day 2 : On Culture
Religion, attire, food, color, caste, language, belief systems, customs, traditions etc all add up to one thing : culture. Culture is so deeply ingrained in every one of us that without it we are incomplete. One cannot imagine life without culture. It is so closely linked with ourselves that, to a certain extent, it gives us a sense of identity and belongingness.
However culture is so diverse that each and every aspect of it is capable of creating rifts and conflicts between individuals. This was the central theme of the session on Tuesday.
The session began with a short film called ‘Cosmopolis” by Paromita Vohra. It depicted, in a nutshell, that even a seemingly trivial thing like food can act as a barrier between people with different tastes. The movie was not only informative but humorous as well.
It showed how educated and ‘sophisticated’ people could use being non-vegetarian as the grounds for discrimination and non-inclusion in their community as is did not fit in with their strong beliefs. There were mainly two characters in the film- the goddess of food and the goddess of wealth who were sisters. The fact that they were constantly criticizing and bad mouthing each other sends a strong message across.
Following the movie was a discussion on the same. The film was unanimously enjoyed by all. Quite soon the discussion turned to one of the most pertinent issues facing the world today: religion. There were some heated discussions on the ‘peacefulness’ of religions. It was then agreed to by everyone that all religions preach peace and brotherhood; however, it is the people who cause conflicts in the name of religion. Economic gain is the sole purpose of this violence.
There was an interesting argument on why people seek homogeneity and not heterogeneity. Most felt that a homogeneous group is secure and stable while heterogeneity might not be as comfortable a situation. It was argued that homogeneity curbs creativity and individuality. Heterogeneity gives one a chance to explore the unknown.
Rakesh informed us that multiculturalism began in the UK and initiated words like ‘pluralism’, ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’ into the discussion. Every individual considers the group he or she belongs to as the in-group and people who are not included in the group is the out-group. These terms are subjective to every individual.
An interesting interaction on the present generation being more open to change ensued. This is the result of us being exposed to the constantly changing technology and education that helps us in understanding the working of gizmos and gadgets.
We ended the session with an activity that tested our geography and general knowledge. We were asked to draw out the outline of the map of India with chalk on the floor. Then we had to stand on the approximate place on the map where we were born. Then each one of us had to announce the food, clothing and festivals celebrated special to that place. We were supposed to be the place itself and had to send a message to the rest of the country on behalf of that place. It was interesting to note that the group was so diverse that we had someone coming from Kashmir right down to someone from Kerala. Then we were asked to stand on the place that we are currently studying in and of course all of us landed up in Pune. We again had to state the same things that we were asked to earlier; only this time we were ourselves and not Pune itself. It showed us that although we live in Pune we deviate from the culture and form smaller sub-cultures, which are quite different from the dominant culture of Pune.
The session was the perfect mix of fun and knowledge. It helped us think about the complexity and importance of culture.
- Aditi S
However culture is so diverse that each and every aspect of it is capable of creating rifts and conflicts between individuals. This was the central theme of the session on Tuesday.
The session began with a short film called ‘Cosmopolis” by Paromita Vohra. It depicted, in a nutshell, that even a seemingly trivial thing like food can act as a barrier between people with different tastes. The movie was not only informative but humorous as well.
It showed how educated and ‘sophisticated’ people could use being non-vegetarian as the grounds for discrimination and non-inclusion in their community as is did not fit in with their strong beliefs. There were mainly two characters in the film- the goddess of food and the goddess of wealth who were sisters. The fact that they were constantly criticizing and bad mouthing each other sends a strong message across.
Following the movie was a discussion on the same. The film was unanimously enjoyed by all. Quite soon the discussion turned to one of the most pertinent issues facing the world today: religion. There were some heated discussions on the ‘peacefulness’ of religions. It was then agreed to by everyone that all religions preach peace and brotherhood; however, it is the people who cause conflicts in the name of religion. Economic gain is the sole purpose of this violence.
There was an interesting argument on why people seek homogeneity and not heterogeneity. Most felt that a homogeneous group is secure and stable while heterogeneity might not be as comfortable a situation. It was argued that homogeneity curbs creativity and individuality. Heterogeneity gives one a chance to explore the unknown.
Rakesh informed us that multiculturalism began in the UK and initiated words like ‘pluralism’, ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’ into the discussion. Every individual considers the group he or she belongs to as the in-group and people who are not included in the group is the out-group. These terms are subjective to every individual.
An interesting interaction on the present generation being more open to change ensued. This is the result of us being exposed to the constantly changing technology and education that helps us in understanding the working of gizmos and gadgets.
We ended the session with an activity that tested our geography and general knowledge. We were asked to draw out the outline of the map of India with chalk on the floor. Then we had to stand on the approximate place on the map where we were born. Then each one of us had to announce the food, clothing and festivals celebrated special to that place. We were supposed to be the place itself and had to send a message to the rest of the country on behalf of that place. It was interesting to note that the group was so diverse that we had someone coming from Kashmir right down to someone from Kerala. Then we were asked to stand on the place that we are currently studying in and of course all of us landed up in Pune. We again had to state the same things that we were asked to earlier; only this time we were ourselves and not Pune itself. It showed us that although we live in Pune we deviate from the culture and form smaller sub-cultures, which are quite different from the dominant culture of Pune.
The session was the perfect mix of fun and knowledge. It helped us think about the complexity and importance of culture.
- Aditi S
THE BEGINNING
We came, we saw, but we didn't conquer! Instead we talked, interacted, discussed, deliberated and even planned ahead. "We" are the thirteen- odd bunch of youngsters who have 'come' into Open Space's maiden internship programme. We soon 'saw' that this is far from the conventional internships one would expect for budding lawyers, psychologists, journalists, architects etc. yet – it does somehow cater to not just our varied interests, but also to our career plans!
Little cliques were formed almost instantly, which was precisely what our coordinator Rakesh Ganguli did not want, so he got us to do an 'ice-breaker' session. We all had to pair up with someone we did not know and were given ten minutes to find out about each other. Then, with only our memory retaining skills to aid us, we had to introduce each other. Whereas it was easy for the group to differentiate between the first pair i.e. Rakesh and Mahalakshmi, we decided that for all the other almost 'all-girl' groups, things would get quite mixed up if we literally 'stepped into the other's shoes'. So followed the other introductions which all began with "My friend's name is …" with hilarious little anecdotes and at times, successful attempts at prompting!
We discovered that each person had to something unique to offer, be it in Music (quite a few guitar players!) dance, public speaking, experiences etc.
The next exercise was that of 'The World Café'. What could possibly unite a bunch of youngsters from Kashmir to Kerala, Gujarat to Manipur with interests ranging from football to Human Rights? What motivated all of us to join this internship? To find out we were divided into groups of four or five which were delegated to discuss it. One person in the end was to summarize the group's and each individual's cause. 'Gender Rights' 'Environment' 'Human Rights' 'Open mind' 'learning experience'- were some of the phrases that were frequently heard.
A discussion and a reading of our tentative schedule followed this. Apart from our 3x3x3 schedule (3 hours a day for 3 days a week for 3 months!) our sessions had to be planned bearing in mind our exams (esp. for Mahalakshmi) our holidays (for every person who loves a break!) and organizing the various resource persons (For Rakesh).
Lastly, our project topics were told to us. We are to be again divided into 3(!) groups where each shall select any of the following topics:
i) Document the lives and livelihoods of the informal sector
ii) Document the lives of prominent individuals who have made a difference to Pune, and
iii) Bring out a tabloid centered on cultural diversity in India’s, esp. Pune's youth looking into consumption patterns, norms and pop culture, languages etc.
So, here we are – set out to explore (not conquer!) the many complexities of Art, film, drama, Gender issues, cultural diversity, Mother Nature, the disadvantaged sections on our society, Human Rights, Information, Youth, Development or to put it more simply …Life in itself!
By – Chiteisri Devi
Little cliques were formed almost instantly, which was precisely what our coordinator Rakesh Ganguli did not want, so he got us to do an 'ice-breaker' session. We all had to pair up with someone we did not know and were given ten minutes to find out about each other. Then, with only our memory retaining skills to aid us, we had to introduce each other. Whereas it was easy for the group to differentiate between the first pair i.e. Rakesh and Mahalakshmi, we decided that for all the other almost 'all-girl' groups, things would get quite mixed up if we literally 'stepped into the other's shoes'. So followed the other introductions which all began with "My friend's name is …" with hilarious little anecdotes and at times, successful attempts at prompting!
We discovered that each person had to something unique to offer, be it in Music (quite a few guitar players!) dance, public speaking, experiences etc.
The next exercise was that of 'The World Café'. What could possibly unite a bunch of youngsters from Kashmir to Kerala, Gujarat to Manipur with interests ranging from football to Human Rights? What motivated all of us to join this internship? To find out we were divided into groups of four or five which were delegated to discuss it. One person in the end was to summarize the group's and each individual's cause. 'Gender Rights' 'Environment' 'Human Rights' 'Open mind' 'learning experience'- were some of the phrases that were frequently heard.
A discussion and a reading of our tentative schedule followed this. Apart from our 3x3x3 schedule (3 hours a day for 3 days a week for 3 months!) our sessions had to be planned bearing in mind our exams (esp. for Mahalakshmi) our holidays (for every person who loves a break!) and organizing the various resource persons (For Rakesh).
Lastly, our project topics were told to us. We are to be again divided into 3(!) groups where each shall select any of the following topics:
i) Document the lives and livelihoods of the informal sector
ii) Document the lives of prominent individuals who have made a difference to Pune, and
iii) Bring out a tabloid centered on cultural diversity in India’s, esp. Pune's youth looking into consumption patterns, norms and pop culture, languages etc.
So, here we are – set out to explore (not conquer!) the many complexities of Art, film, drama, Gender issues, cultural diversity, Mother Nature, the disadvantaged sections on our society, Human Rights, Information, Youth, Development or to put it more simply …Life in itself!
By – Chiteisri Devi
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