The Irony Of Being A Girl

Most Indians believe that a man’s life is immensely blessed if two women come into his life - Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi. After all, what more can you ask for than education and prosperity? But then, we also kill our girl children, if possible in the womb itself. Clearly, we are a country of cultural contradictions.

Achi is pregnant for the eleventh time and is a mother of seven girls. The rest of the girls have passed away thanks to lack of resources of the family. The one and only wish of her life is to deliver a baby boy, although by the looks of it, she is not in a state of health to go through such a demanding experience for the umpteenth time. She is confident while declaring that if her eleventh child turns out to be a girl, she will either kill it or sell it.

Out of the two tribal communities that are prevalent in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh – the Chenchus and the Lambadas – the latter is a more enterprising bunch whose roots can be traced back to Rajasthan. They live in communes by the name Thanda and the one that Achi belongs to is called Katrawath.

Achi’s husband is indifferent about the whole issue. He seems to completely have submitted it to his wife to take the decision she wants. He disagrees with Achi when she says that their eldest daughter is 22. How she can be 22 while he himself is just 32, he asks. Going by the fact that the daughter in question herself is pregnant and looked old enough to be 22, the man could hardly be believed.

Dressed in elaborate Rajasthani costumes adorned with white plastic bangles running through the length of their hands, the older women of the community also care less. It is most likely that they too subscribe to Achi’s philosophy. Because of the lighter tone of their skin, a lot of Lambada women have been forced into flesh trade as well.

A couple of government paid social workers do try their best in spreading awareness. Shailu, an ASHA worker and a member of the community herself, tried to tell Achi how her girls could reach heights just like boys and that killing them is not the solution for anything. Achi snapped back asking her to provide for their upbringing and later for their dowry. Another Lambada woman Redi Bai, who is pursuing graduation through Open University and working in the Thanda anganwadi, also tried her level best to convince Achi that educating her girls was the answer to her problems; but in vain.

Not just that Achi is not apologetic about it, she thinks female infanticide is justified given the poor living conditions she has to deal with, day in and day out. That is the striking aspect of the rural parts of our country, where ironically half of the deities are female.

It's Numaish Time, Folks!

Malls and multiplexes may have taken Hyderabad by storm. But gargantuan crowds still flock to the Nampally Maidan annually in January – February to participate in the old world charm that it hosts. That is the magic of the mela that Hyderabadis fondly call Numaish.

In its 69^th year now, the all India industrial exhibition is as much a part of Hyderabadi culture now as Biriyani. One that started with just 50 stalls in 1938, the ‘Numaish Masnuaat-e-Mulki’ has sure grown beyond the wildest dreams of its founder, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam. This year, there are close to 2500 stalls with participation from our neighbouring countries as well. However, Pakistan, one of the most frequent participants, is missing in action.

The exhibition has a plethora of choices for shoppers. There are dedicated sections for anything you can think of - Bengal cotton sarees to Kashmiri Pashmina shawls, dry fruits to electronics, leather goods to ceramic ware – with a minimum of ten to fifteen stalls in each one. In case you run out of cash in between the shopping spree, just pay a visit to the SBI ATM near the exit. Most Numaish shops still believe in taking paper money for their goods!

The mini-train that takes riders for a journey through the exhibition ground attracts kids and elders alike. There are other joy rides like giant wheel as well. Multiple food courts, chaat bhandars, ice cream parlours and juice counters help you cool your heels when tired of walking at length.

Visitors form a diverse bunch here – some are regulars, some are first timers. All have a good outing for a cheap price though. The entry fee is just Rs. 10 per head. “This is my sixth time here. Though many of the products are available outside, this is like a one stop place for everything under the sun. They often give good bargains too,” says Geeta Rao, a resident of Hyderguda. The Exhibition Society uses the ticket income to support over 18 educational institutions in Hyderabad and surrounding districts thus reaching 35000 students.

Numaish is eagerly awaited by sellers as well. They travel from different parts of the country for four to six weeks of hardcore business. “This is the money spinning time of the year for us. Hyderabadis spend a lot here. It seems more like an emotional connect than a budget decision,” quips Alam Khan, a carpet seller from Kashmir. Many other sellers backed Alam’s opinion that the effect of recession has waned considerably.

The advantage of Numaish is, of course, bargain prices. Follow the mantra that ‘bolne ka daam’ is usually the double of ‘dene ka daam,’ and you are sure to land some good deals. Even if you intend only window shopping, there is every chance that you will fall prey to the sheer variety available. Give yourself an opportunity to do so. The deadline is February 15^th!

Gen X Doles Out Diwali Dhamaka In Bollywood

It was indeed a special Diwali this year as Bollywood witnessed three releases – all by new age directors with a fresh perspective.

Big budget Blue, India’s first under water adventure movie, has many names to boast of. Kylie Minogue, the Australian pop star who is internationally famous, and our desi Oscar winners A R Rahman and Resul Pookkutty are just some of them. The man who made these stalwarts come together and also made a multi super star ensemble cast possible is Anthony Dsouza, taking his first shot at Bollywood. However, he is no novice and has a host of ad films under his belt.

Anthony must be making a toast now as Blue has emerged the clear winner in the Diwali race. It apparently grossed around Rs. 19 crore over its first weekend in India and made good business in the international market as well.

Not far behind is Prem R Soni who hit a jackpot by bagging Sohail Khan Productions to make Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna (MAMK). The movie that stars Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Kareena Kapoor has a plot that deals with issues of love, career and marriage. However, the bad news is that the movie has been slammed by critics and has got a shoddy response from audience as well. The film did much better in the key international markets though; probably because of a never ending obsession that NRIs nurture for the institution of marriage.

The third Diwali release, All The Best, is also by a young director who already has two super hits to his credit – Golmaal and Golmaal Returns. Rohit Shetty made the film for his friend and producer Ajay Devgn and managed to earn him big money too. The producer may want to think it is because he dropped an ‘a’ from his name; but trade pundits say it is all thanks to Rohit’s mastery over comedy that made this no-brain laugh riot such a huge success.

No matter what verdict the cash registers will pronounce for these films in the coming weeks, it is heartening to see production houses pin not just their hopes, but big money too, on new talent. Even earlier releases like Kambakkht Ishqq (Sabbir Khan), Wake Up Sid (Ayan Mukherjee) and upcoming ones like Kurbaan (Rensil D’Silva) Pankh (Sudipto Chattopadhyay) point towards a healthy trend where freshness is preferred over experience.

It looks like Gen X is all set to rule Bollywood and how!

Telugu Cinema Takes A Miss At National Awards

The absence of Telugu films on the winners’ list was conspicuous as the 55^th National Film Awards for the year 2007 were announced on September 7, 2009 by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The Golden Lotus Award for the Best Film was picked up by Tamil film Kanchivaram directed by Malayali director Priyadarshan.

Prakash Raj won the Best Actor award for his remarkable performance as a hard core communist in the same movie. Umashree bagged the Best Actress laurel for her fine portrayal of Gulabi in the Girish Kasaravalli directed Kannada movie Gulabi Talkies. This film was also adjudged the best feature film in Kannada.

Padma Vibhushan Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the world famous director from Kerala, won his fifth Golden Lotus for the Malayalam movie Naalu Pennungal in the Best Director category.

While the other three South Indian languages walked away with all the top honours, Tollywood failed to bag even one in any category. In fact, except the award for the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment won by Geethanjali (Mani Ratnam, 1990) and Sankarabharanam (K Vishwanath, 1980), no other Golden Lotus for the Best Direction, the Best Film or the Best Children’s Film has ever come to Andhra Pradesh.

This year, Chak De! India by Shimit Amin won the Golden Lotus in the popular category, and Taare Zameen Par (TZP) directed by Aamir Khan won the award for the Best Film on Family Welfare.

The mellifluous track ‘Maa’ from TZP bagged two music awards – the Best Male Playback Singer (Shankar Mahadevan) and the Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi). Ouseppachan was chosen the Best Music Director for his composition of five songs based on the same Carnatik raga – Shubha Panthuvarali – in the Malayalam film Ore Kadal. Shreya Ghoshal, who drifted away from her melody queen image through the vibrant rendering of ‘Yeh Ishq Haaye’ in the movie Jab We Met, bagged the Best Female Playback Singer award.

“It was an exciting experience judging the feature films this year,” said Sai Paranjpye, chairperson of the jury for feature films, at a press conference held at New Delhi on September 7. “There were a lot of new films by new directors. In fact, there was a bit of a problem adjudging the best new director,” he added. The laurel eventually went to Shivajee Chandrabhushan for his directorial debut Frozen.

Darshan Jariwala, who played Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi My Father directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, bagged the Best Supporting Actor award. Shefali Shah became his female counterpart for her power packed performance in the Arindam Chaudhuri movie The Last Lear. These movies also won the awards for the Best Screenplay and the Best English Feature Film respectively.

A heartwarming performance

Although Kanchivaram is set against the backdrop of a growing communist philosophy in the 1940s, the basic thread of the movie is a very personal experience of the protagonist Venkadam played by Prakash Raj. The struggles that he goes through to materialize his word that his daughter will be married in a pattupudavai is the crux of this movie. Prakash Raj convincingly portrayed the tragedy of a weaver who creates numerous expensive sarees for the affluent, but cannot afford one for his own daughter. His helplessness at various moments through the film - when he loses his wife and becomes a single father, when he has to forgo his ideals and steal from work and when he finally loses his daughter for whom he struggled all his life - will definitely move anyone humane. No wonder this gifted actor breathed life into this character without even taking remuneration!

Giving life to Gulabi

A veteran actress with close to three decades of experience in theatre and cinema, playing Gulabi must have been cakewalk for Umashree. It is this ease and effortlessness reflected on screen that eventually won her a coveted Silver Lotus for the Best Actress. Throughout the tight narration by the four time Golden Lotus winner Girish Kasaravalli, Gulabi, an innocent Muslim fisherwoman who is addicted to cinema, fails to understand how she is different from the Hindu fisherwomen friends of hers. It is this perplexity that makes her vulnerable, yet extremely lovable. Gulabi Talkies is entirely Umashree’s movie as the title suggests and she has justified it with a soul stirring performance. She has thus become the third actress to bag the Best Actress trophy for a Kannada film after Nandini Bhaktavatsala (Kaadu, 1974) and Tara (Hasina, 2005).

Moti Struggles Even After Silver Jubilee

At UoH, there is no dearth of committees that students have at their disposal. However, some others, who toil it out on campus so that students have a comfortable life, are often at a loss.

One case in point is Mr. Motilal Chaudhary, who runs the cycle shop in UoH from 1984 – much before many of the students who study here were born. He and his wife came here bag and baggage from Uttar Pradesh and later raised their four children here.

Currently, Moti does not have a place to lock up the work-impending cycles when he leaves for his home at Gopanpally. With cycle thefts rampant on campus, Moti, who leads a hand to mouth sustenance, bears the brunt as students ask for a new cycle instead of the lost ones.

“The room behind our shop is locked up and full of useless remnants of construction works that go on. We requested the Estate Department multiple times to let us pay a rent and use it; but in vain,” he laments.

One fine morning this September, he got another shocking surprise. He found that all the cycles parked outside his shop were thrown into the bushes behind. He is clueless to this day about who would have done something so ruthless. “If it happens again, I will report it. I pay a rent for this place; even I need security,” he says.

But what would happen if he reports the incident? Speaking to UoH Dispatch, Deputy Registrar (GAD) Mr. Raseel Ahluwalia said that the Campus Amenities Committee (CAC) looks into the requirement and approval of vendors on campus. This body, currently chaired by Prof. G Uma Maheshwara Rao (Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies), has representation from faculty, students and the administration. However, there is no separate redressal mechanism for the vendors as such. “They can always come to the CAC if there is any problem,” he asserted.

Sheela Devi, Motilal’ss wife and ‘Bread Bajji Aunty’ for students, says it is not as simple as it sounds – “I have given many applications and attended meetings too with the CAC. Apart from hollow promises, nothing is delivered.” She analyses that the administration knows that they will continue even without the facilities. Since they are concerned about the students, they have not resorted to extreme measures like abruptly closing down the shop until now.

On top of not facilitating their business, the administration sometimes creates problems as well. In spite of paying electricity bills promptly, Sheela’s connection in the canteen near F Hostel was cut off citing a reason that ‘there is no requirement.’ Her customers have to now drink their tea in darkness after dusk. “There is clear partiality for some vendors while some like us are pushed around. The dhobi stationed near us pays no rent – yet she gets a room, electricity and water. We are ready to pay and still are not granted even the basic facilities,” she says.

“We have no direct say in how the CAC functions. It is an autonomous body. It is completely up to them as to which vendor should be on campus and what facilities they should get,” Estate Section Officer Mr. S Vijayakumar commented.

However, he also said that if students feel strongly that a particular vendor needs to be given more facilities or permission to diversify the business, they can file a request with the Estate Department in the Admin block. This adds value to the vendor’s case.

Sheela and Moti also concludes saying that a little bit of initiative from the Students Union can help them a lot. Of course, they know such complaining does not help much. They have to work against all odds to send kids to school and feed them.

Let us do the least we can for the family that keeps our lives running with functional bicycles and tasty bread bajjis – stand and speak for them!