Tālofa Samoa... Ua Mai Oe? ... Part II

And finally my 30-hour journey has come to an end. And for the next 5 days, Samoa will be home for me. For now, I have just enjoyed a long relaxing warm shower, followed by a light dinner - Samoan chicken soup with vegetables. And now I am reflecting back on the day today and preparing for the meetings scheduled for the next few days.

After collecting my baggage at the Faleolo Airport, it was time to get hold of some local currency - the Samoan Tala. There was only one money exchange counter open at the airport and again over here, there were local ladies with 100 Watt smiles. Such is the infectious enthusiasm of the Pacific, and specifically the Samoans, who are called as the "happy people"...

The delightfully colourful Samoan currency is called the Tala which is subdivided into 100 Sene. The Tala and Sene are apparently Samoanized  names for Dollar and Cent!

The drive from Faleolo to Apia was along a beach road with lovely views of the sea. The driver did mention that rising sea levels had caused beaches along the roadside to go under and there was increasing salinity inland, which is a big issue in the Pacific and the Caribbean, as much as in other low lying countries and cities, like much of Bangladesh or Jakarta.

As we drove, we passed by hoardings that advertised imported used Japanese cars being sold by a Sai Motors. I was instantly reminded of the automobile dealer, Sai Service back home in Mumbai. While I imagined "Sai" may be a Samoan name, out of curiosity I googled this up and what I discovered was amazing. Sai Motors is indeed managed by an Indian, Vijay Jashnani! Hats off to the Indian diaspora whose spirit of enterprise has brought them to this remote region of the Pacific. (There is apparently a saying about Indian diaspora being found in all countries except North Korea and Pakistan!)

It's not funny how the remoteness of these Pacific islands influences the political and economic decisions their governments make. Two examples from Samoa stand out - one is the shift across the International Date and shifting from driving on the right of the road to the left.

In 2009, the government decided that the country would shift driving on the right side of the road to the left to align it with its regional partners in the Pacific and particularly, Australia and New Zealand from where most cheap used-cars are imported. That decision was contested in courts but was finally implemented. The implementation came along with a two-day holiday to get Samoans used to the change and a three-day ban on alcohol sales, to avoid accidents due to driving under influence.

In December 2011, the country shifted west over the international dateline - Samoa skipped a day to align their business days with their main trading partners, Australia and New Zealand, which was expected to impact the country's economy positively by aligning the work week with its major trading partners. This was done by quite literally skipping December 30th, making Samoans lose a day of their lives as they jumped the clocks 24 hours ahead (imagine your woes in 2011, if you are a Samoan and your birthday is on December 30th!). When the clock struck midnight on Thursday, December 29, 2011, the calendar flipped over to Saturday, December 31, 2011, switching from the same time zone as American Samoa to align with the rest of Asia, New Zealand and Australia. 

The international date prior to the change...

(Source: Daily Mail UK)

The new alignment of the international date line...

(Source: Daily Mail UK)

And it wasn't Samoa that did that shift. Tokelau, a territory administered by New Zealand to the east of Samoa, also did the same, for similar economic reasons.

The momentous event was celebrated in Apia with fireworks. Postage stamps commemorating the occasion were issued with the message "Into The Future". So Samoa, along with Kiribati and Tonga are the first countries to welcome the new year! Till 2011, Samoa was the last country to celebrate the new year!

Another strange thing I witnessed in the hotel lobby was the presence of men dressed as women, with long hair, lipsticks and all that stuff that they call eye-shadows and the likes. I was told that these are people from the third gender of "Fa’afafine", which when translated literally means "in the manner of" (fa’a) "woman" (fafine). 

Fa’afafines as a concept has always existed within Samoan society. Pre-Christian Samoans accepted that every individual, man or woman, had a separate role in society. Accordingly, it was and still is still acceptable today for a male child to be feminine, for example. Boys who display marked effeminate behavior in childhood are recognized to be Fa’afafines and are fully accepted within their families and society.They have a very specific role in Samoan society, an interesting contrast to how transgenderism in the rest of the world are yet to be widely accepted. 

How interesting...

I will resume my discovery of Samoa but for now, slumberland beckons!

The Dream Trip Begins...

After a few days home, I am on the road again, heading to the islands of my dreams in the South Pacific. My work is taking me to the Independent State of Samoa, which will be followed by a few days off in Fiji before heading back.

In a sense this is a dream trip, albeit for work. I have been wanting to visit the region for over 30 years now. And I am finally making it!

I will be flying off to Hong Kong right now on an Asiana Boeing 767, incidentally, this will be my third flight on a Boeing 767. I will have a transit time of over 5 hours in Hong Kong, during which I shall be meeting family. From there I will fly to Nadi, Fiji, with transit halt of nearly 6 hours and then would connect to Apia, Samoa. And this promises to be a long, long nerve-wracking journey, of over 30 hours...

Plane Spotting at Incheon...

Browsing through Korean newspapers and the "National Ajumma" is gone...

And the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye is big news. They say she has been impeached for corruption. Well... which politician, the world over isn't corrupt?

My take is given the extreme degree of misogynistic undercurrents in Korean society, the political class could not tolerate a women in the seat of power, and an excuse was found to boot her out...

Who knows what the truth is?

Misogyny, work pressure and what not has made Korea a veritable "pressure cooker" that has led to a high degree of psychiatric problems and as a result the country has one of the highest suicide rates in the OECD...

A restaurant to try in Seoul...

Asiana's Airbus A320...

An Asiana Boeing 767 in the Star Alliance livery...

Young plane spotters...

Asiana's Airbus A380 bound for New York JFK...

Boarded...

And we are next to an Asiana Airbus A330...

Pushing back...

Aha - I spot an Air Seoul Airbus A320!

It’s More Fun In The Philippines...

Today's trip around Manila city's historical sites was indeed interesting. 

My guide in my discovery was Malung, a middle aged Pinoy lady who showed me around the city.

And a lot of what I had felt about the pulse of Manila, over yesterday and today, was reinforced by Malung told me. It was evident that the Filipinos aren't in an ideal situation economically. They too face issues similar to what have historically had in India - philandering politicians, indifferent and corrupt bureaucracy and infrastructure that woefully hasn't kept pace with the times. 

But despite these issues, the Filipinos keep their spirits high. The whole vibe of the city was frenetic and energetic unlike the despondency I had seen in a place like Kuala Lumpur!

That's what Malung also confirmed in her conversations with me.

She was curious about India and its traditions. As expected I gathered that there was quite  bit of curiosity about the dynamism of the Modi administration and Malung hoped that Rody Duterte would evolve into the Modi of the Philippines. Frankly I am not sure about Duterte, but people do change, they do change when they assume office, some positively, some negatively. 

In Malung's questioning about India there was an underlying positive inquisitiveness which changed to abject sense of anger when I prodded her on China. The sense I got was the Filipinos deeply resented the "might is right" attitude of the Chinese when it came to the bullying going on in the South China Sea. Deep down they also didn't believe that United States would honour its often stated security commitments to the Philippines which they felt was a mere lip service.

The perception of India and China couldn't be so stark. While China is seen as a bully and is feared, India's rise as a world power is being seen positively here and it's time the Modi administration serenaded Philippines much like they are attempting with Vietnam.

On the social side, Malung's concern was on jobs. Educated Filipinos find few opportunities at home and have to head out to the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei and Korea for work. Most of them go as labour and household support and a tiny few as skilled or white collared workers. Filipinos are preferred for their professionalism and their English language skills (like India, almost everyone learns English here). And I agree with the fact that Filipino household helps are extremely professional as we have experienced in Songdo.

But the outflow of workers creates a social issue back home. Relationships go for a toss and that assumes significance since as a deeply devoted Roman Catholic nation they do not allow divorce under law. A legal separation is allowed but remarriage is illegal - so when people cohabitate after a legal separation the kids grow up confused. Complicating matters is the fact that that abortion is looked down upon in society.

And returning workers have settle for low paying jobs which calls for major lifestyle adjustments.

Also women workers abroad especially in the Gulf face harassment which creates an indelible scare on their psyches.

These issues sounded very familiar to what India also faces as a net exporter of manpower to the Gulf, especially Kerala where there have come to facing a social crisis.

But despite significant issues that it faces, Philippines does seem an interesting place, a delectable place as I discovered, here in the noisy food court of Robinsons Mall, with boisterous, happy Pinoy families devouring every morsel of spicy fare that this archipelago offers. And I am looking forward to the next few days here. It’s indeed more fun in the Philippines...

Saluting Yashodhara & Womanhood...

I was sent this lovely piece on WhatsApp, that talks about the pain Lord Buddha left behind for his family, when he renounced the world. This piece, which is attributed to Vikram Bhattacharya salutes Buddha's wife, Yashodhara and women in general! This is my tribute to womanhood...

He left her in the middle of the night, the night their son was born. When she heard the news she was devastated. Yet, she did not complain but her life lost all meaning. The only reason for her to live now was her son. She wanted him to grow up to be a man that the world would look up to.
Her friends and relatives came around and asked her to forget about the man who had left her and start life again.
They asked her to marry again but she refused. She was young and beautiful and suitors queued up outside her door, but she refused each one of them.
Then one fine day he came back !
He stood in front of her and she could hardly remember him as the man who had left her. “They call you the Buddha now?” she asked him gently.
“I hear they do,” he answered in a calm fashion.
“What does it mean?” she further inquired.
“I think it means the enlightened one, a knower,” he informed.
She smiled and then a silence.
“I suppose we have both learned something. Your lessons O Buddha, will make the world richer in spirit, but my lesson will unfortunately remain largely unknown.” she reflected deeply...
“And what lesson is that?” the Buddha probed.
Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, “That a courageous woman does not need anyone to complete her..... SHE IS COMPLETE ON HER OWN ”

Caught In A Timewarp?

So far this break in Taiwan has been extremely enjoyable. The people here have been very friendly and Taipei is indeed quite an inviting destination with oodles of character, that many other cities lack, especially places like Shanghai and Singapore.

Taipei is a city where the old thrives with the new and that is evident wherever you travel. For instance close to the ultra modern Taipei 101, there are old structures, unlike the gleaming glass and steel structures of Pudong in Shanghai. The old hasn't really given way, it rather thrives together with the new.

I had this impression for a few years now that Taiwan was pretty sophisticated. And that is with good reason. When the communists overran the Mainland, the intelligentsia and the upper crust of Chinese society fled to Taiwan, carrying their values and their wealth with them. And that was instrumental in Taiwan's development and emergence as a technological and economic powerhouse well before the rise of the Asian Tigers (ASEAN).

But in other ways I felt Taiwan got caught up in a timewarp. It remained wedded to the values of the bygone century that may have little significance or relevance  in the emerging world order.

Earlier this morning when we landed at Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport, we were picked up by our AirBnB host who was quite hesitant to speak to Neeti and maintain eye contact with her. When we got out of the terminal, Neeti and I split up to search for our host. Neeti was the first to spot the host, who refused to believe that she was his guest, until I came in. She felt, what the heck, can't a woman be a guest? 

This kind of attitude was visible everywhere - on the Taipei Metro, in shops and malls. Somehow it appeared that the Taiwanese did not see women as equal partners. They find it hard accepting women as equal partners.

Just across the Straits, in mainland China such attitudes are unthinkable of, today. In fact Chairman Mao can be given immense credit for one thing - upliftment of women. He had once famously said that "women hold up half the sky!"

Today, women in mainland China are in fact quite well respected and are preferred in the workforce.

The second stark difference that I noticed was in the script. After the communists overran the mainland, they went about "reforming" the cultural mindset of people. That involved the simplification of the traditional Chinese pictographic script. In the 1950's and 60's, the communist government evolved a simplified Chinese script in an effort to modernise the nation. But Taiwan continues to cling on to the old, complicated pictographic script, a reminder of the old times.

While Taiwan did well for itself, it became an economic and technological power house, China on the other hand was an unruly mess in 1949, when the Communists took over. The heavy hand is what forced the Chinese to change, and the rest is history!
But for Taiwan, despite all its success, one issue dominates local politics - reunification. And that's a legacy that was left behind by Chiang Kai-Shek, the father figure of Taiwan, who is all over the currency notes - the 100 New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) bank notes. Frankly, the two estranged nations have moved on separate paths, the people do not appreciate the Mainland, as our guide in the morning, Jimmy, had told us in a free-wheeling discussion on cross-strait relations. But talking of Taiwanese independence is strictly non-kosher!

In that sense, Taiwan still clings on to the past, it seems to be caught in a timewarp....

Nirbhaya Lives...

A few days back, I passed by the Novena Medical Center in Singapore - this is where our Nirbhaya, India's daughter, was brought for treatment and sadly she passed away... Seeing the hospital again, the second time after August 2014 brought harrowing memories of the incident of December 2012.

And then when I heard about the BBC documentary on India's daughter, Nirbhaya, I was flabbergasted... How the hell could we give so much importance to the depraved perpetrator of the crime? How the hell could we tolerate the propagation of the wicked mentality the defence lawyers seem to be having?

I fully supported the government when it came to the ban on the screening of the documentary in the country. Twitter and Facebook were awash with statistics on rapes and crimes against women in the West, particularly, New York City, the United Kingdom, yet we were being shown in a poor light... Why? Why? Why?

Last morning, I came across a website that has somehow escaped the internet filters and carried the documentary in full. That's when I realised, we probably need to be brave enough to deal with it...

Indeed, the documentary showed India in a poor light. It was gut-wrenching and I watched it with tears in my eyes... At a certain moment, it was too much for me to take and I had to walk out...

But these are the harsh realities of life, the realities that we have to face and overcome, if we are to grow as an economy.

The mentality of the rapists and their lawyers hit me hard, but that is the way some men are, not only in India but the world over.

But today what concerns me is that all this is happening in my country. This is the land that venerates the devi, the mother goddess. This is the society that treks up 13 kilometers to Vaishno Devi's cave, this is the society that celebrates the victory of Maa Durga over evil. This is the nation that produced women like Razia Sultana and Jhansi ki Rani. 

This is the nation that produced one of the world's finest women statesman, Indira Gandhi, who led India to its moment of glory in military history in the 1971 war and was later venerated as the modern Durga in parliament by none other than Atal Behari Vajpayeeji...

So it two Indias we have today?

One that sees women as partners and the other that sees women as objects, to be used and thrown...

Perhaps, yes, this is the reality - we have two societies..., two Indias...

There is no disputing the fact that depraved perpetrators (the juvenile included) of the Nirbhaya rape deserve an exemplary punishment, chemical castration followed by an execution, there is a need to ensure that the "other" India is lifted up....

And I see no way that can happen without two necessary conditions - secular economic growth and wholesome education...

A secular economic growth that spans at least two to three decades will lift the entire society. The feeling of economic well-being would being about a sense of positivity and well being that would reduce gender differences as such...

Secondly, but, more importantly, our menfolk, our male children need to be educated to respect. It all begins at home - when the boys see their parents treating their sisters as equals they too will grow up to be positive individuals. They will learn to respect and love women as equals... And we need to inspire our little girls to be ambitious, to have their individuality and a unique identity. The symbolism that was on display at the Republic Day celebrations is a softer way in which the Modi administration is nudging India towards gender equality... and this is indeed admirable.

That doesn't take away the need to make our women strong and independent. We need to make the girl in every home a Durga, a Jhansi ki Rani, an Indira Gandhi, a Kiran Bedi and our parents are responsible for that...

The press too plays a vital part. Instead of sensationalising stuff, we need positive news coming around of how women are succeeding and fighting back. Recently, I read this article in Singapore's Straits Times on how girls in Delhi are fighting it out. Perhaps our press needs to reflect on their style of reporting too..

Nirbhaya may have died, but the flame of her struggle is indeed strong enough to light up over a billion candles that will make India a brighter place, for all, including 50% of its population...

The Republic's Women Power...

It was after quite a few years that I watched the Republic Day parade today.

While the parade happened on a dull, rainy morning (indeed a bright, sunny morning would have been ideal for the riot of colour), the only facts that made me stick was the symbolism and its far- reaching implications for the Republic, positive ones, certainly.

The thing began yesterday when Wing Commander Pooja Thakur gave President Obama a guard of honour.

Then today, contingents of the three armed forces included women officers leading the way. Women mountaineers from the Indian Army, women sailors from the Indian Navy who sailed from Goa to Rio de Janeiro showcased their achievements.

The women soldiers marched as equals with their male counterparts, they marched with their heads held high. They were confident and undoubtedly proud of their achievements. And service to the Republic was the undertone of the pomp and pageantry.

As I saw the parade progress, I had little doubt that this display of women-power matching the fire-power would have inspired countless little girls around the nation - in the jungles of Jharkhand, the hills of Kumaon, tea gardens of the North East, dunes of the Thar, mustard fields of Punjab and the temple towns of the South. They would be having a twinkle in their in their eyes, right now, their minds racing with dreams of growing up as equals and following the footsteps of the women soldiers on Rajpath today. They would be pestering their parents that they would want to join the armed forces. 

That in my view is inspirational for an entire generation and indeed more cost effective than any budgetary programme worth its salt. The parade also showcased India as a progressive nation of equals.

Indeed this was Prime Minister Modi's masterstroke.

I still have one regret - the fly pasts of the C-17 Globemaster, the C-130 Hercules, the Poseidon P8 and the Sukhoi Su30 MKi were not as impressive because of the dense cloud-cover, that broke my heart... 

From The Empire To The Republic... Part III

Our walking tour continued on to CHIJMES.... well it's pronounced as chimes...

It was a bit baffling, for me, as to what CHIJMES was...

We were told that CHIJMES stood for the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, which was founded by four French nuns who arrived in Singapore from Penang, Malaysia in 1854 - it is said that these nuns travelled overland from France to Asia in caravans. 

The nuns led by Reverend Mother Mathilde Raclot, set up a school and an orphanage for little girls who were abandoned by their families - in those days, ethnic Chinese had a marked preference for the male child. The nuns raised the kids, educated them, nurtured them and cared for them till they were ready to step into adulthood.

The plaque on the CHIJMES gate at Victoria Street says:

"At this small gate of the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), many babies were abandoned to be picked up by the Sisters of the convent. This was the origin of the Home for Abandoned Babies. For over 100 years, the orphanage was born to children from poor or broken families as well as unwanted babies. The orphanage took in many Chinese baby girls born in the Year of the Tiger, “Tiger girls”, because of the strong superstition belief then, that they would bring bad luck to the family. In 1968, the Mother Superior noted that the practice was stopped as there was a marked change in this superstitious belief. The Home for Abandoned Babies ceased functioning in 1983 when CHIJ was relocated. The CHIJ was founded in 1854 in Singapore by the French Catholic Missionary, Father Jean Marie Beurel."

It was indeed saddening to read how people would give up their own kids.... But that's the way things were then, and they do seem to have changed for the better now. Certainly, without its women, Singapore wouldn't have have become what it is today. In fact, an icon of Singapore abroad is female, the famed Singapore Girl, of Singapore Airlines...

Getting over the ills in society is key for development and progress, that is the learning from the Singapore model... In fact it was heartening to read a story in the Straits Times on what Prime Minister Modi had to say on the girl child. We seem to be riding on an inflection point in India, and hope we become a better society after this...

Coming back to CHIJMES, the nuns, acquired a bungalow, Caldwell House, for 4000 francs. The bungalow was built in 1841, by Singapore's chief architect G.D. Coleman for magistrate clerk H.C. Caldwell. Caldwell House became the residence of the nuns. CHIJ came up in the adjacent plots of land bought by Father Jean-Marie Beurel. The first chapel in the complex was consecrated in 1855. The Gothic Chapel and the Gothic-arched linkways, built in the 1890s, are designed and built by French priest and architect Father Charles Benedict Nain.

As the number of inmates in CHIJ grew, more properties were acquired and dormitories and classrooms were added. In 1931, Hotel Van Wijk along Stamford Road (which comprised of four bungalows) was acquired and incorporated into the convent compound. In 1933, St Nicholas Girls' School was established in these bungalows.

As the number of students here grew, the CHIJ complex could not meet the demand. CHIJ and the school had to shift to bigger premises at Toa Payoh in 1983. 

Between 1985 and 1987, some buildings of the complex were acquired by the government to set up the MRT headquarters. However, on public demand, the heritage buildings were gazetted and conserved. The complex was christened CHIJMES in 1990 - "a subtle combination of the convent's acronym and the pleasing peal of its tower bells."

After an extensive restoration in the 1990s, a local property company redeveloped CHIJMES for commercial purposes as a dining, shopping and entertainment centre with ethnic restaurants, shops and a function hall. Today, CHIJMES is also used for musicals, recitals, theatrical performances and weddings.

The chapel at CHIJMES...

Lovely stained windows...

Interesting shadows at CHIJMES...

The wall of CHIJMES on Victoria Street...

Hem Lata then led us back into Raffles Hotel, the last stop of our walking tour...

Here she described the history of the hotel, something which we were already familiar with, as we had visited the hotel for high tea two days back...

Hem Lata had interesting trivia about the place - she described how in 1903, a tiger had sauntered into the Billiards Room and had to be shot. We saw the courtyard where Michael Jackson had breakfast with an orangutan brought in from the Singapore Zoo...

And how Elizabeth Taylor who had a near-"wardrobe malfunction" on stage, in the hotel chided the local seamstress. The seamstress retorted "Elizabeth has gained weight" in front of the audience that made the actress go red in the face...

As the tour ended, we rushed to grab a bite and head to the Singapore Zoo...

Women Hold Up Half The Sky

"Women hold up half the sky" - Mao Zedong

The latest assault makes me shudder each time I hear about it. My blood curdles, I feel dizzy each time television channels start their meaningless debates on the subject.

What wrong did the girl do to deserve this kind of an atrocity, an atrocity of the worst order. What life will she have if she survives? Will her scars ever heal?

The girl is a citizen of this country. She had potential to contribute to the country's economic and social well-being, yet her potential has been nipped in the bud for all practical purposes.

Who is to blame?

It is easy to blame lax policing and easy laws, but we are talking about a larger social issue.

This is a society which despite having leapfrogged into the e-age has quite a medieval and feudal mindset towards half of our population - the female sex. Successive governments and social organisations have not focused on the root cause of the problem.

The solution lies at home. If little boys see their sisters being loved and are taught to love their sisters, they would never become such demons. If the little boys see equality at home, only then would learn to respect girls.

If the girl child is treated with the same respect, loved, cared for and tended to as boys are, only then would boys see girls as equals, as partners in progress and not as mere lesser mortals or just sexual objects.

Preference for the boy child, female infanticide also results in a warped sex ratio. Distortion in the sex ratio essentially results in a whole lot of sexually frustrated young men, which in Northern India has resulted in a well-oiled trade in "brides" from the East, which is nothing but human trafficking.

Sad.

And then there has to be compulsory sex education in schools and colleges. Women must also be compulsorily taught self-defence techniques to deal with such demons.

To deal with these demons, I don't really think death penalty will help. Instead, they should be chemically castrated and put behind bars for a minimum 15 years. On release, their foreheads should be tattooed with the words "Rapist" to make them live the rest of their their lives in indignation. These should deter any demons in the making.

Gender issues we face as a country essentially means that half of India isn't as productive economically as they could potentially be. Look at China.

If only we understood what Chairman Mao meant when he said "Women hold up half the sky".

As for the girl, I hope she's revived, gets an intestinal transplant, returns to society with full honour and dignity and moves on to realise her dreams. 

Amen!

Jiyo Malala!

Two days back, the Taliban in Pakistan's Swat Valley targetted schoolgirl activist, Malala Yousafzai - she was shot in her head.

Her crime - supporting the cause of female education much to the chagrin of the Islamic fundamentalists.

Television channels were prominently featuring this news since then. This morning news is in that Malala is out of danger - doctors in Peshawar have successfully removed the bullet from her skull.

NDTV carried a clip of the feisty Malala speaking of how determined she was to study!

I was impressed. Girls like her will make the world a better place to live in...

Interestingly, the Pakistani journalist, Nadeem Paracha tweeted "Alas, the only real man in Pakistan turned out to be a 14-year-old school girl."

Just after that heartwarming news, there was another news of continued atrocities against women in Haryana. Supposedly, a minor had been raped in my hometown, Yamuna Nagar. I was shocked. And then the stupid comment from the strongman politician, Om Prakash Chautala, justifying underage marriage as a solution to these ghastly crimes.

How can we have these guys with a Talibani mindset govern us?

Forget politicians, I really give up on Indian men - men who have this mindset confining women to a narrow role, despite being well educated and claiming to be progressive.

While Indians may like to pan Pankistan for atrocities against women, we in India too have a long way to go. Hope India too gives birth to millions of Malalas - nearly 50% of the nation - women who have progress on their mind. They will make India a better place, an economic growth engine.

Jiyo Malala!

Our Prayer!

Neeti and I celebrated the end of Navratras with a Kanjak ceremony. This ceremony involves inviting at least five pre-pubescent girls home, washing their feet and serving them food.

This ceremony is done in devotion to the Goddess, as pre-pubescent girls are considered Her embodiments.

We prefer calling girls from underprivileged sections. Usually, the cooks and cleaners help in this.

The breakfast menu is standard - atta halwa, dry black channas and puris.

This time our cleaner brought with her five chirpy girls, all about 7-8 years old. After washing their feet, Neeti and I served them breakfast. As they were eating, we asked them if they went to school.

"Yes, we do! We have an exam today."

"Are you well prepared?"

"Yes" came an emphatic response.

Then we asked what subjects they loved the most. Three said Marathi, one said Maths and the last one said Science.

The next logical question was on career choices. Two girls said they wanted to study to be doctors, one a teacher, one an engineer and one a pilot!

They all smiled when they said this and had a sparkle in their eyes! We were speechless and very impressed.

Just look at the hope and passion these girls have, despite their deprivations!

"May God bless these little girls with strength to do what they want to!", that was the only prayer Neeti and I had at that moment.

Time To Introspect....

There have been a few publicized crimes that have made my blood curdle. The Arushi murder case and the Aruna Shanbaug case are among them.

The Aruna Shanbaug case in particular gave me a lot of sleepless nights, in the run-up to the Supreme Court verdict on euthanasia.

It's indeed horrifying to read Aruna Shanbaug's story, a story of a violent twist to a fairy tale of hope, love and humble beginnings. The only question that lingers in my mind is how could a human be so brutal to rape the embodiment of hope.

What's sad is that the perpetrator of the crime walked away with just 7 years in jail, that too for assault and attempt to rob and not for the heinous crime that brought the pretty Aruna to this vegetative state.

The Supreme Court in its verdict has shaken the country's conscience by legalising euthanasia, but I wonder if it is human to let Aruna live, especially if she's not brain dead, as the doctors have testified. Imagine, if she still can think, she must be reliving the horror of that fateful night over 37 years back, that dashed her dreams. To have her relive that tragedy day after day for nearly 4 decades is a travesty of the basic principles of human justice.

But, the country has to doff its hats for the staff of King Edward Memorial Hospital, Bombay, who have tenderly taken care of Aruna for all these 4 decades.

As the world celebrates Women's Day, it is worth a debate whether India can let violators of the fairer sex get off lightly. In my opinion, such people deserve nothing less than a castration, followed by death, to prevent emboldening of wayward men.

But getting that legalised will be tough, when a number of our lawmakers themselves have blood on their balls. It is shameful to have had rapists like Taslimuddin heading union ministries and lawmakers who condone violations done post midnight.

I hope that the Honourable Supreme Court nudges the government into legislating watertight laws on rape.

It is indeed the time to introspect - what is the kind of society we need, one that looks the other way, while the crime is tolerated or one where respect for the fairer sex is recognised by law?

It's Still A Man's World!

We like to call ourselves progressive, we like to extol values of gender equality and empowerment. We like to believe that there is no glass ceiling.
But episodes like the sacking of Debrahlee Lorenzana from Citigroup for being too hot, prove that all these concepts are indeed alien in the workplace.
Frankly, Debrahlee looked pretty ordinary to me from the her photos that appeared in the press, but there may be men who thought otherwise.
But honestly, aren't men supposed to rest their raging hormones when they are at work? In any case, if they don't, it's their problem, and not that of women like Debrahlee.
This episode got me to think a lot. And it forced me to recall my conversations with career women, both in the family and friends.
I have felt this in the past. Female friends have told me this.
It's still a man's world out there.
If a woman is exceptionally successful at work, colleagues would speculate that she sleeps around with the boss. If she's aggressive, the males around her get threatened and she's asked to take it easy, whereas, similar aggression by her male colleagues would be appreciated and applauded with backslaps.

If she gets involved in discussions on the nuts and bolts of business, menfolk can't believe their ears.. She's not taken seriously.
If she becomes pally with the folks around, it's taken for granted that she's "easy". If she avoids inappropriate and off-colour conversation, she's accused of having an attitude.
These attitudes show up in all professions, politics included and across geographies. The recent Nikki Haley case in the United States shows that sexist attitudes may still be all pervasive. Perhaps, Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman may be a tad better off, given their experience in battling sexism in the boardroom over the years.
For God sake, women are not playthings. Women are not "women" in the workplace, they are just employees like her other male colleagues around - love to look and dress smart, have ambitions and aspirations and crave for success.
But unfortunately, it's still a man's world!