|1 PERSONAL GROWTH September 2018 Vol 2 Issue 9 `150
Anjali Menon
Giving Malayalam cinema a global perspective
PERIOD POLITICS How does ‘menstrual leave’ play out in our fight for equality?
HASHTAG FEMINISM Social-media activists Japleen Pasricha, Ayesha Asif and Anushka Kelkar
KERALA FLOODS A family recounts the devastation and trauma they faced
contents
60
09
Period Drama
12
Love, Interrupted
16
Hi-Tech Healing
19
Sisterhood of Science
22
Cinema Positive
40
The Tiger Widows
44
Grey Matter
48
Surviving the Deluge
54
The Land of Fire & Ice
Inspired by India
Meet US-based accessories designer Deepa Gurnani
SEPTEMBER 2018
Should women get days off during periods?
Lessons in heartbreak for a single mother
Dr Priyanka Giroti on one-day treatments
Nandita Jayaraj and Aashima Dogra
Anjali Menon is redefining Malayalam films
The man-tiger conflict’s toll on women
What’s wrong with letting your hair go grey?
One family’s experience of the Kerala floods
We take you on a visit to ethereal Iceland
4 | EDITOR’S NOTE
MY OWN COUNTRY
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s a Punjabi who grew up in the ‘Gelf ’ (Malayalam for Middle East) with a healthy diet of ‘ayyo’ and murukku; a dad who wore lungis at home; a best friend in college from Cochin; and finally married a Malayali myself, Kerala has pretty much been the de facto theme of my life – my conversations and mindscape have always had large doses of Mallu food, language, cities and towns and, of course, men. This past month, however, Kerala has been on a lot of people’s minds. Sadly, it had to do with a terrible calamity, as rains and floods inundated the state. While it brought out the worst in some people – such as those who peddled fake news coloured with their own prejudices – it also brought out the best in others, especially authorities that stood united and the common people who pitched in with rescue and reconstruction. A family who Aekta Kapoor survived the devastation shares their experience in Editor and Publisher this issue (p.42). aekta@coralcontent.com Kerala was also in the news for a positive reason: our cover personality Anjali Menon’s latest film Koode, which has a sensitive angle and treatment much needed in the Malayalam film industry (p.22). It’s a sign of progress and change. May the land of coconut trees bounce back to vitality again! Editor and Publisher: Aekta Kapoor Marketing and Research: Nyamat Bindra (nyamat@coralcontent.com) Brand Managers: Amrita Nagpal, Pallavi Pratap Malik Contributors: Abhishek Ranjan, Amrita DasGupta, Anupam Dabral, Ninong Ering, Sindu Sreebhavan, Sonal Rana, Suparnaa Chadda, Dr Urvashi Tandon
All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Published by Aekta Kapoor from Coral Content, C3/1 GF, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057, India. Phone: +91 9818166621. Printed at Modest Graphics (P) Ltd, Shop No.C-53, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi 110020. For queries, write to mail@coralcontent.com. To subscribe to the free digital edition, visit eShe.in SEPTEMBER 2018
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6 | DESIGN
IN THE HOT SEAT
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DESIGN | 7
By using saris to upholster chairs, Aradhana Anand’s design label Limón is upholding Indian aesthetics and contributing to sustainability – besides making an eye-catching statement
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By Anupam Dabral
rowing up in a family blessed with a strong sense of aesthetics, Aradhana Anand got her lessons on creating artisanal furniture early on. Her mother and her maternal grandmother both had an eye for exquisite furniture and home décor, and Aradhana inherited the same. After spending nine years in the maritime industry as an oil freight trader living in Dubai and then in Singapore, Aradhana routed back to India and moved in with her parents in Delhi. The house was fully furnished, and all she needed in her room was a chair. So she set her creative juices flowing and came up with an idea of making a different kind of chair.This led to a couple of other pieces and gradually her label Limón was shaped. Two collections old, her label focuses on not just creating furniture but an experience with an artistic appeal. Over a short span of time, the 38-year-old has learned to treat her chairs as a canvas to experiment with a permutation of different textures, colours and materials. What makes her creations stand out is the usage of striking fabrics, mostly saris in multiple tones and SEPTEMBER 2018
prints. “My mother used to buy cotton saris along with a few other raw silk pieces and used to layer them over furniture for giving it a
protective covering because of our six cats. It was changed after every six months allowing an interplay of interesting colour schemes at home,” Aradhana reminisces. Her eclectic taste extends into
8 | DESIGN
her personal living space too. She balances the striking appeal of her pieces with some classic collectibles she has gathered from traveling all over the globe. So, be it her Afghan carpets, antique Chinese lamps or brass pieces that once belonged to her parents, everything finds a place in her creatively scintillating abode. radhana, who has not been trained formally as a designer, was always intrigued by product design. While she counts Welsh furniture designer Bethan Gray and the American architect and interior designer Alexander Girard as her key role models, she adds, “I appreciate artists and designers who mix prints and patterns while keeping a space for minimalism as well.”
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With artisanal home décor still a niche, Aradhana admits the Indian market is still in its nascent stage. However, she has found her sweet spot already. “There are always people who want to explore, and the market for customized interiors is catching up. With the increasing demand, we are staying strong with our form, without compromising with our essence,” she says. Limón today is defined by its one-of-a-kind prints and appealing juxtaposition of textures and fabrics. A space once dominated by old-school classics has been infused with a fresh energy. Riding this tide of change is Aradhana with her cool set of Limón chairs, which are just too good to sit on. SEPTEMBER 2018
COLUMN | 9
PERIOD DRAMA A Menstrual Bill has been placed in Parliament to allow women two days’ leave from work during their periods. How does it play out in our fight for equality?
PHOTO CREDIT: CEZANNE ALI ON UNSPLASH
By Ninong Ering and Abhishek Ranjan
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or most women, getting their periods prompts a standard procedure: Ignore the heavy flow, pop a pill if necessary, and keep moving on. However, there are some women who need to take a day or two off. It could be due to severe cramps, endometriosis or dysmenorrhea, which are incredibly painful. In this case, following Japan, China and SEPTEMBER 2018
South Korea’s lead, implementing a menstrual leave policy in our country will enable women to take two days off from work every month at the beginning of their cycle. Interestingly, the Ningxia region in Northern China announced this policy on 17 August, 2016, just days after swimmer Fu Yuanhui discussed her fourth place loss in the Rio Olympics, suggesting
10 | COLUMN
that exhaustion due to menstrua- that will enrage and provide more tion slowed her down. This sparked ammunition to the so-called ‘men’s conversations by Chinese women rights activists’.” about how their cycle lowered their It was a legitimate concern. As a productivity in the workplace. country, we are still battling for the In our own country, the state of most basic forms of gender equaliBihar has had special leave for wom- ty – at the workplace, in relationen for two days since 1992 (though ships and at home. Can we then it is not explicitly referred to as the promote any preferential treatment menstruation leave). A teacher from for women that might endanger the Lakhisarai, Bihar, Dr Prabhawati, march towards equality? told us, “Special leave is a boon for The worry is that the menstrual women employees as it helps us in leave policy may reinforce the agebalancing our health issues with our old conservative belief that women work responsibiliare addled creatures ties. When I joined “IN 1994... SOME MALE who need special in 1994 as a teachcare, bringing with er, some male col- COLLEAGUES MADE FUN it other regressive leagues made fun OF THIS SPECIAL LEAVE, beliefs. It is thereof this special leave. BUT NOW IT HAS BEEN fore important to But now it has educate ourselves NORMALISED” been normalised. on how physically I think male colinconvenient, if not leagues have also painful, a period become more sensitive and do not can be for the average woman. To mock us anymore. However, I am go through it every single month not sure how these leaves will be for 40 years of one’s life is not easy. seen in the private sector.” It understandably takes a mental India came very close to the im- and a physical toll on any woman plementation of this policy last who works long hours every day, year, but unfortunately, this Private and if this is combined with a deMember Bill was not passed in Par- bilitating condition like dysmenorliament. It has been finally placed rhea (which has a 40-70% occuron the table of Lok Sabha in August rence in Indian women), it might 2018 by MP Ninong Ering. be extremely hard for many womWhen the term ‘menstrual leave’ en to just get out of bed, let alone was first mentioned, the counter be productive at work. In this case, argument that immediately came having a menstrual leave policy at up was, “Now there’s something the workplace is completely justiSEPTEMBER 2018
COLUMN | 11
fied – it can reduce the toll of the physical pain on women. The government can provide tax exemptions or compensate the company for the menstrual leaves availed by its women employees so that the burden of compliance is reduced. “But how can you call yourself a feminist by saying that you want equality, yet demand special treatment for women?” some ask.
staying home and working on her own terms, as opposed to making frequent trips to the washroom to change her sanitary pad, or taking painkillers to get through the day. While such a policy could polarise male counterparts in the workplace, this could be combated through the acknowledgement of stigma surrounding the issue. Period pain can no longer be a topic of
PHOTO CREDIT: PIXABAY
Women at work in a food factory in Mangalore
A policy like menstrual leave does indicate the bearings of differential treatment, but it does not classify as preferential treatment or entitlement if it provides relief from a painful physical process which a whole gender has to suffer through for a large portion of their lives. If menstrual leave could be implemented, it would greatly lessen a woman’s stress during her period cycle, thus giving her the option of SEPTEMBER 2018
taboo, especially when it concerns women as a whole. It is a topic that must be normalised and spoken up about. A woman’s menstrual issues are something that only she can make decisions on, not a third-person who trivialises her pain by saying that ‘it is not that big a deal’. Ninong Ering is an MP (Arunachal East), and Abhishek Ranjan is a policy analyst. They can be reached on twitter at @ninong_erring and @deetee08
12 | RELATIONSHIPS
LOVE, INTERRUPTED
All romantic relationships change us, whether they lead to commitment or a broken heart. A single mother shares a poignant episode from her life
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By Suparnaa Chadda
met him when Tara was six years old. We were colleagues in a popular FM station in Delhi. His suave sense of dressing, articulate conversations and a pedigreed education made him irresist-
ible to my own convent sensibilities. Sparks flew from the word go and, before I knew it, we dove deep down into a roaring love affair. Staying back late after work, talking for hours, sharing cigarettes, SEPTEMBER 2018
RELATIONSHIPS | 13
enjoying the city’s cafes, or simply listening to eighties’ music soon became a happy routine. As did sneaking to the roof of the office to steal a peck or driving out of the city at the drop of the hat, enjoying year ends and new beginnings together. He was quite certain from the beginning of the end.The relationship would not culminate in matrimony. I refused to see the elephant in the room; my present was too beautiful for me to worry about the future. Or maybe my lovelorn heart hoped things would work out somehow. The universe would conspire; I couldn’t be unlucky in love again; the gods would relent for sure. So what if he was from a different religion. So what if I had a failed past marriage and a child in tow. He would motivate me to follow my heart. Travelling extensively – from filming a documentary in the most militarized zone in Kashmir, bringing forth the plight of humans stuck through an earthquake, to quoting John Lennon’s Imagine in the most religiously polarized audiences – it seemed I could bring about a change. I felt beautiful and it reflected in my persona and work. The night we broke up, as he had finally decided to move on, complying with his family’s decision of getting married to an ‘untainted’ Muslim girl, we both howled in each other’s arms, hopelessly. “I will burn in hell for what I put you SEPTEMBER 2018
through”. I still remember his remorse that night, but he was bound by his family. Only at the end of a heady romance of three years did it hit me for the first time, like a bolt from the blue. I saw myself the way the world perceived me: a divorcee with a liability. In my own bub-
Suparnaa with her daughter when she was six
ble I had failed to recognize what the world promptly envisaged. Overnight, I transformed from a strong-headed idealist, starry-eyed girl who would take on all the ills of the world, into a woman with a failed past. The bubble burst, making me realize that I’m no longer Simply Suparnaa, as I so proudly proclaimed. I am a woman who took impractical decisions and did not make the mark of an ideal life
14 | RELATIONSHIPS
partner any more. Having said this, I must admit, Soon after, he called to share the I did sometime look up his sonews of his wedding. That was the cial-media profiles, trying to see last we spoke. I chose it that way. No what Tahira looked like or how calls or texts or seeking each other’s beautiful his wife was or how happy company. And so it was for many they were as a family. years. His mother would message Then he disappeared from all on occasion, sharing recipes that I so public platforms. His last seen enjoyed earlier or dropping a note WhatsApp time was many months just to stay connected. It meant a lot ago. And his status read, “What goes before, since he revered his mother around comes around”. I was inand it made me feel like I belonged trigued, since before his disappearin his family. ance he called to ask if I was okay. Subsequently, I politely request- It led me to text an old colleague ed her not to to figure if he, connect, as it LIKE A BOLT FROM THE BLUE, in fact, was okay. hindered for me The colleague to move beyond I SAW MYSELF THE WAY THE had met him WORLD PERCEIVED ME: A months earliwhat was now my past.That was DIVORCEE WITH A LIABILITY er and he had the last I heard of seemed fine. He her. Much later, offered to find over a long-distance call, he called out more, an offer which I declined. to share that she’d passed away. The same colleague messaged me Someone he was the closest to in a few weeks later to say that he, alas, this world. Now he had a small girl had passed away and was survived whom he and his wife had named by a wife and a daughter. Died of Tahira. So close to the name Tara, I a heart attack, enjoyed his last biryremember thinking then. ani meal and succumbed to a 90 Over the years, our contact re- percent artery blockage. The conmained to an occasional birth- versations outside his house, where day or a New Year wish. That too along with me some of our old coldwindled, consciously on my part leagues came to pay obeisance, were first – consciously because I got an stories of stressed work situations inkling from his conversations that and strained home scenarios. He all was not well in paradise. I was had cut himself off from everyone pretty sure to stand by the decision from his past, and even changed his we took those many years back to numbers. In fact, things within the let go and not look back. family were so bad that on the day SEPTEMBER 2018
RELATIONSHIPS | 15
Suparnaa and her daughter. Suparnaa founded the SABERA awards and #LikeABoss leadership web series
after he passed away, they were actually booked to fly to Singapore to another old colleague’s house as an attempt to forge familial ties. Now he lay in the morgue of a hospital. And the last I saw him, I realized, was that night we howled after a meal, underneath the flyover near the office. It felt like a distant memory. I saw his little girl walk out of the SEPTEMBER 2018
house with her nanny close behind. We looked at each other for a brief moment. Her forehead was broad and wide just like his. Tahira... Just as old now as Tara had been when I met him for the first time.  Suparnaa Chadda is an author, entrepreneur, gender activist and spiritual enthusiast. She is the founder of Simply Suparnaa Media Network
16 | DENTISTRY
Dr Priyanka Giroti is using technology, training and a healthy dose of spirituality to pioneer a new wave of hi-tech dentistry in India
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he Durga Saptashati plays softly in the clinic, as foreigners in shorts wait patiently for their turn on the dentist’s chair. Staff dressed in blue scrubs play affectionately with a
curly-haired three-year-old boy accompanying his father. The reception lights up as Dr Priyanka Giroti walks in, chatting with her expat clients. One’s ears perk up when she says, “You’ll be back home with a SEPTEMBER 2018
PHOTO CREDIT: FOCUSTANK PHOTOGRAPHY
HI-TECH HEALING
DENTISTRY | 17
new smile in time for dinner.” That’s no empty promise. Priyanka, co-founder of the Sterling Dental Clinic in Delhi’s diplomatic hub of Vasant Vihar, is pioneering the concept of ‘one-visit dentistry’ in India. Her clinic is the first in Delhi to acquire CEREC technology, which allows them to create aesthetic ceramic crowns or implants within a single visit, a procedure that normally takes up to 10 days in most Indian cities and often requires repeat visits. Priyanka’s clinic has partnered with Dentsply Sirona, one of the largest dental technology companies in the world with over 15,000 employees in 21 countries. “If the technology is now available worldwide, there is no reason why it shouldn’t be introduced to India as well,” says Priyanka, who did her BDS from Pune’s Bharati Vidyapeeth, and was a resident at All India Institute of Medical Sciences before she headed to New York University of Dental Science to do a postgraduate diploma in aesthetic dentistry. Born into a business family in Delhi, a fractured tooth at the age of 12 introduced Priyanka to the wonders of dental science. “I realised how important it was to have a good smile and healthy teeth,” she says in retrospect. Priyanka knew Tarun from childhood, and their families were delighted when they decided to tie the knot. After comSEPTEMBER 2018
pleting their education and working in various hospitals, they started their private practice along with orthodontist Dr Anurag Bhagat 20 years ago, and eight more dentists joined them along the way. In the meantime, Priyanka had
From top: CEREC machines; the Sterling team
two children, and began veering towards spirituality. Often termed the ‘soul’ of the organization, she brought in the human element to the sterile surroundings with her charity work. She tied up with NGOs such as Nai Disha to send
18 | DENTISTRY
in underprivileged children who needed dental treatment, which she did for free. She also opened up her space for monks from the mountains visiting Delhi for treatment. Travelling has been a large part of Priyanka’s professional and personal growth. Every June, for the past three years, she has travelled solo across North America. The Girotis have travelled to most major pilgrimage centres, even Mount
whitening. CEREC machines take their reputation forward. “A soon-to-be-bride came to us after a filling had gone bad, leaving her front teeth looking very odd,” narrates Priyanka. “She was petrified of what her wedding photos would look like.” Priyanka was able to scan her mouth, make a new ceramic veneer in the shade the girl wanted, cement it to her teeth, and send her back home the same day.
L-R: Priyanka (in white) with her husband Dr Tarun Giroti and daughters Suhanee and Pavanee; at work
Kailash. This year, Priyanka also travelled twice to Germany for CEREC training. “I use to wonder, is there a way to use technology to enable treatment?” says Priyanka. Empanelled with the US embassy, Sterling attracts a large number of diplomats from nearby areas, and were among the first in Delhi to use microscopes to aid laser treatment and root canals, and the Zoom machine for tooth
“There’s a huge sense of creative fulfillment of contouring such a complex thing as a tooth with this kind of finesse,” says Priyanka, her eyes brimming with passion. But above all, there is also the satisfaction of seeing a happy client that keeps her going. As Marquez said, “No medicine can cure what happiness cannot.” Perhaps Priyanka’s loving touch works as powerfully as the technology she specialises in. SEPTEMBER 2018
SCIENCE WRITING | 19
SISTERHOOD OF SCIENCE Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj are putting the spotlight on women working in various fields of science across India
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hile interviewing women scientists and academicians across laboratories and research institutions in India, Nandita Jayaraj came across two common patterns. “To be successful in science, these women either had a great deal of support – such as a family or relatives who encouraged them, or husbands and in-laws who pitched in with houseSEPTEMBER 2018
work and childcare, or were from privileged backgrounds and could afford help. Or else they had to be rebels – they were single mothers or unmarried by choice or had kids late in life or didn’t have kids at all, essentially defying social expectations in some way,” says the Bengaluru-based blogger and journalist. “It appears that marriage is a great impediment to women scientists,”
20 | SCIENCE WRITING
Aashima Dogra
she goes on, quoting a survey that found more unmarried women scientists than unmarried men. “When these women do marry, they choose fellow scientists as partners. But for male scientists, the partner’s profession doesn’t matter.” These are only some of the observations Nandita has gleaned over the past two years, ever since she and her former colleague at Amar Chitra Katha, Aashima Dogra, co-founded TheLifeofScience.com. The website and its associated social media focus on women in science, trying to answer questions like: What is the kind of work that women researchers are doing in India? What are their sto-
ries and their challenges? Both Nandita, 30, and Aashima, 32, studied biotechnology in college. Nandita, who grew up in Chennai, went on to do her Master’s in journalism, while Aashima, who grew up in Mumbai, studied science journalism from University of Warwick in UK. Both worked in different media organizations before they started working together at a monthly science magazine for kids. When the organisation ran into funding problems, they decided to do something of their own, a blog that would make science accessible to younger Indians. “School kids can only name a couple of scientists, and SEPTEMBER 2018
SCIENCE WRITING | 21
Nandita Jayaraj
they are all dead.We wanted to highlight the living ones,” says Nandita. The duo soon realised they’d have to go out of their way to represent a more diverse pool of scientists, and began focusing on women. “Manmade biases don’t allow women to rise in any profession, including science,” she says, adding that women scientists often did not get the same opportunities as men – a problem that persists worldwide, not just in India. “But there are unique factors to the issue in India – class, caste, patriarchy and so many other nuances that further hinder a woman’s career here,” says Nandita. The girls set out to present the women’s SEPTEMBER 2018
perspective and to find out what enabled them to beat the odds. It wasn’t easy to find a way to fund their project at first, but they managed to get a grant from India Alliance, which has helped them hire a network of science writers around India, thus saving on travel. “We never realised it would grow into something this big,” says Nandita modestly. Their website and work is frequently in the news, their content is syndicated to larger media websites, and they’ve signed two book deals this year. “It’s insane how much people are supporting us,” Nandita wonders. It’s probably the science of karma.
22 | COVER STORY
CINEMA POSITIVE
Director and screenwriter of award-winning Malayalam films, Anjali Menon – the conjurer of surprising plots and nuanced characters – is introducing global filmmaking values to regional cinema
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By Aekta Kapoor
t a time when the Malayalam film industry is making national news for a top actor’s alleged misdemeanours with a woman colleague – and the accompanying Pandora’s box of misogyny and chauvinism it has opened – one woman filmmaker’s name and tall standing comes as a welcome contrast. With four critically acclaimed feature films under her belt, including the latest Koode which released this July, Anjali Menon has a formidable standing amongst her peers. It has been earned not just by her hard work and intense training but also with her ability to encapsulate complex ideas into a cinematic language all can relate to. Born to a Malayali business family and raised in Dubai, Anjali first discovered her love for cinema while doing her Master’s in communication from University of Pune. “The film component of the course really drew my attention,”
says the National Award winning screenwriter, who often speaks at Indian and international forums and writes columns for newspapers. Drawn to her calling, and unfazed by the low numbers of women in the field, Anjali did her Master’s in art and technique of filmmaking from London International Film School, and went for various directing and screenwriting workshops in US and UK. Having set up her company, Little Films India, in Mumbai in 2006, she went on to participate in an anthology film Kerala Café along with nine other co-directors, which premiered in Abu Dhabi in 2009. Her debut as a director and screenwriter left moviegoers and critics stunned. “Manjadikuru is unforgettable,” vouches Alekh SV, a 24-year-old mechanical engineering student from Pattiam in north Kerala. Drawn from Anjali’s own ‘reverse immigrant’ experience, Manjadikuru is set in the late 1980s, SEPTEMBER 2018
PERSONAL GROWTH | 23
SEPTEMBER 2018
24 | COVER STORY
Anjali with cinematographer-actor Littil Swayamp, during the shoot of the film Koode
and follows a 10-year-old boy who arrives at his ancestral home in rural Kerala to attend a funeral. To Malayali audiences, who value plot above all else, the film was hugely fulfilling. And Anjali kept the bar high with her second film, Ustad Hotel, for which she did the screenplay, and Bangalore Days, for which she was director as well as screenwriter. Released in 2014 with English subtitles, Bangalore Days is considered one of the biggest box-office successes of Malayalam cinema, and earned Anjali a spate of awards, putting her firmly
on the global map. “Anjali has added freshness to Malayalam cinema,” says Alekh, echoing the sentiments of several movie buffs. “We look forward to her films because we know each one will be completely different.” The most interesting thing about Anjali’s films is the way she introduces a larger world view through her characters. The men in her films are respectful of women and broadminded about relationships, and the women are as complex and carefully etched out as men in traditional cinema. “Off-screen, SEPTEMBER 2018
COVER STORY | 25
you’ll hardly see the kind of men women’s groups – led to the esyou see on-screen in Indian mov- tablishment of Women in Cineies. And on-screen, you’ll hardly ma Collective (WCC), of which see the kind of women you see off- Anjali is a part. “WCC’s role is to screen,” says Anjali wryly of a bal- empower,” she says. “It’s a support ance she’s trying to structure for those correct. who need it. Such “WE NEED MORE It’s an important advocacy can be the perspective much corrective factor in INDIVIDUALS WITH needed in the Malathe industry here, HIGHER LEVELS OF yalam film industry, just as the Womwhich was rocked SENSITIVITY IN CINEMA” en in Films orgaby a shocking rape nization has been a case of an actress last factor in correcting year. Allegedly abducted by goons gender bias in films abroad.” hired by top film star Dileep, the Her latest film Koode looks at andisappointing fallout to the case – other angle to sexual harassment Dileep got bail and was reinstated – to that of young boys. Without to the Association of Malayalam explicit details, the film shows its Movie Artists to much furore by impact to the lead character’s later
Anjali directing actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, who plays the lead character, Joshua, in Koode SEPTEMBER 2018
26 | COVER STORY
Anjali (right) with film actress Nazriya Nazim who starred in two of her films: Bangalore Days and Koode
life. “The most delicious cinema is that which can be interpreted,” avers Anjali, who idolises filmmaker Gulzar for his “timeless, poetic” films. Koode is a visually emotional experience, unlike Anjali’s past films that were heavy on dialogue. “I like to push myself in different directions,” explains Anjali, whose six-year-old son often travels with her for shoots. The most touching moment for Anjali during the shoot of the film was a scene that depicts the protagonist, a blue-collar worker in Dubai’s oil industry, travelling in a bus with others of his ilk. “The extras weren’t actors, they were real workers. Their faces tell the
real back story – I didn’t even have to direct them. I felt privileged and humbled to be able to capture their truth,” she recalls. Inspired by such connections and emotive moments, Anjali doesn’t like being characterised as a ‘woman filmmaker’, and wouldn’t say hers is a ‘female gaze’. “Gender is not binary; it is a spectrum. Having said that, we do need more sensitivity our films, and we need more individuals with higher levels of sensitivity in cinema as a whole.” While some may say she, like her idol Gulzar, is in a genre all by herself, Anjali brushes it off in her characteristic down-to-earth way. “I still have a long way to go.” SEPTEMBER 2018
FEMINISM | 27
WOMEN FOR WOMEN
Revolution has gone digital. Using social-media activism, today’s young feminists are leading the way for a brighter, more equal future for women. We speak to Japleen Pasricha, founder of Feminism in India; Ayesha Asif, who offers a platform to victims of abuse; and Anushka Kelkar, who photographs and celebrates real women’s bodies. Armed with hashtags and passion, these young women are helping their sisters speak up, stand up and shake up the status quo By Sonal Rana SEPTEMBER 2018
28 | FEMINISM
JAPLEEN PASRICHA
available on all social-media sites, even a WhatsApp broadcast list. @feminisminindia First created as a Facebook page in apleen is the founder of Femi- 2013, Feminism in India has come nism in India (FII), a digital in- a long way and now has a large, extersectional feminist platform that’s tremely loyal following.
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It all began when Japleen, who was a German Studies lecturer at JNU, Delhi, set out to explore the extensive domain of feminism, especially in India. To her disappointment, however, information about the topic was limited to dense theoretical articles. Consequently, FII came into being with the clear objective of facilitating a free, easy-to-understand and accessible platform for feminist content, “written by Indian women for Indian women”, as Japleen puts it. “The idea is to increase the representation of women and marginalized communities on the internet – their stories and histories.We amplify these usually unheard stories using digital storytelling techniques, pop culture references, and new media,” explains the 29-year-old. But storytelling, despite its digitization, is a demanding business. As Japleen says, one big hurdle for all online platforms in today’s time is acquiring partners. She expands, “We find it difficult to find clients who want to pay for social media and digital security workshops as well as for issue-based campaigns. However, with a few highly successful campaigns in our portfolio and clear statistics on social media outreach and how they have impacted the audience, we are getting more successful at attracting partners.” Another challenge, she says, is ensuring the resonance of the content SEPTEMBER 2018
FOR TOO LONG, DOMINANT COMMUNITIES HAVE CONTROLLED THE NARRATIVES OF THE MARGINALIZED
put up by the FII team with those who need it the most. “Working in the social sector, it is important to keep building diversity and making sure that the privileged do not speak over the voices of the marginalized. The majority of our writers, while women, don’t belong to only the privileged section of society. We have, in fact, instituted an editorial policy in order to centre the voices of the marginalized,” she says, adding, “At FII, we ensure that men will not speak for women, upper-castes will not speak for lower-castes and cis-heterosexual people will not speak for the queer community. For too long, dominant communities have controlled the narratives and the stories of marginalized communities.” FII has uploaded nearly 200 articles so far, focusing on the perspectives of the marginalised. Topics go from gender-based school bullying, to marital rape, to sexism at work.
30 | FEMINISM
AYESHA ASIF
@feministflowercrown
A
yesha Asif, an aspiring clinical psychologist, is the admin of feministflowercrown, an Instagram page that collects quotes and stories centred around the concerns of women’s empowerment, environmentalism, abusive relationships, mental health, casteism and self-love. “I believe feminism without intersectionality is shallow and self-serving,” says Ayesha. “It is important to consider the various social intersections of wealth, caste, religion and disability while talking about feminism because the oppression of all women is not the same.” Ayesha’s Instagram page, which has over 20,000 followers, helps facilitate a safe space for victims of any kind of abuse by providing a means for them to come forward and share their stories anonymously. “As an ally to the marginalized, and also as a supporter of victims of abuse, it is not my job to speak for them. It is my job to step down from my platform and ‘pass the mic’. I feel the need to give space and visibility to the work and emotional labour put in by members of disadvantaged communities to educate us about their struggles instead of me speaking over them,” says Ayesha. One of the many reasons that Ayesha created the page was to harness knowledge about social issues
herself. “I thought of putting myself in the middle of an online activist community that would provide me with the exposure I wanted. And I was right, the journey has been incredibly enlightening,” says Ayesha, who is doing her Bachelor’s in psychology and works at a play school. In addition to the vast, and equally manifold, avenue of feminism, feministflowercrown also deals ardently with the concept of mental
IT IS NOT MY JOB TO SPEAK FOR VICTIMS OF ABUSE. IT IS MY JOB TO STEP DOWN FROM MY PLATFORM AND ‘PASS THE MIC’
health. Having suffered from the shallows of depression, the Kanpur-based 22-year-old found herself face-to-face with people’s dangerously ignorant attitude towards mental illness. She adds, “Seeing this happen first-hand and also to my close friends made me aware of the urgency with which we needed to work towards normalizing and destigmatizing neurodivergent people seeking help for their disorders.” The journey that Ayesha has choSEPTEMBER 2018
FEMINISM | 31
sen to embark on is a strenuous but a necessary one. The mere realization that her page holds the potential to create a positive change in even a single person is what keeps her going. In fact, Ayesha is now planning SEPTEMBER 2018
to expand the scope of the page to set up workshops in schools about sex education and warning signs of unhealthy or toxic situations. She also plans on teaming up and volunteering with NGOs.
32 | FEMINISM
ANUSHKA KELKAR
en have regarding their bodies, says Anushka Kelkar, the Mumbai-based @browngirlgazin admin of a fascinating Instagram ore than tackling sexuality, I account, browngirlgazin. Anushka’s was invested in creating a space objective was to click and share to discuss vulnerabilities that wom- more honest portraits of people
M
SEPTEMBER 2018
FEMINISM | 33
I WANTED TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE WOMEN CAN TALK ABOUT THE STRUGGLES THEY FACE IN ACCEPTING THEIR BODIES
who identify as women, and to redefine beauty. “I wanted to create a space where women can talk about the struggles they face in accepting their bodies,” she explains. The problem, Anushka elaborates, is that women don’t quite find themselves represented enough, authentically at least, in popular media. Recalling her own experience, the 21-year-old adds, “When I was younger, I often felt that my body was very different from all the ‘beautiful’ women I saw on TV, or in the media that I consumed. They all looked flawless in a way that I found impossible to replicate – skinny but with curves in all the right places, glowing, fair skin with no blemishes, long hair that never had split ends like mine.” This scenario diminished women’s self-confidence and magnified their need to create, or rather feign, perfection – at least online. Anushka, owing to her work as SEPTEMBER 2018
a photographer, was able to detect that in order to forge this supposed online perfection, people often curate their personalities, thoughts, and even insecurities.“I wanted to make more honest portraits of the women around me being vulnerable about their bodies,” says the Ashoka University alumna. Her college experience opened her eyes about the insecurities women deal with every day – about having dark skin, being overweight or having pimples to the ‘problem’ of body hair. Her page became a way to highlight and even celebrate these issues, and to make it a kind of cathartic outpouring for the women in the pictures. The response came quick: scores of comments identifying with the pictures, and thousands of followers within months. “The name browngirlgazin has two meanings for me – it alludes to the stereotypes and pressures that often come with being seen as a ‘brown girl’ or being an Indian woman today. On the other hand, I also wanted to imply that I was the brown girl who was gazing at all the women around me, trying to re-construct my own gaze and understand what it means to be a brown girl.” Photographs become strangely unnerving, Anushka expands, because one almost always fails to visualize what one might look like in them. “Expectations and reality hardly ever intersect.”
ASIA ON MY PLATE
34 | RECIPES
Sakura, the popular Japanese restaurant at the Metropolitan in New Delhi, has now introduced pan-Asian cuisine to it oeuvre. Head chef Swapnadeep Mukherjee shares his favourite recipes from the new menu
POH PIA JE (SPRING ROLLS) Ingredients (serves 1): 2 spring roll sheets 50 gms chopped garlic 20 gms curry powder 50 gms carrot 50 gms onion 25 gms bell peppers 20 gms spring onions 20 gms shitake mushroom 50 gms cabbage 20 gms glass noodles 20 ml soy sauce 10 gms aromat seasoning 10 gms lemon grass Oil to fry
Instructions: 1. Cut all the vegetables including mushrooms into thin slices. 2. Take a spring roll sheet and cut into four pieces. 3. Stir fry all the vegetables with chopped garlic and lemon grass in a wok for 2-3 minutes. 4. Add seasoning and keep aside. 5. Now take evenly cut spring roll sheets and spread the vegetables over them one by one. 6. Roll them to a cylindrical shape and deep fry. 7. Serve with sweet chilli sauce. APRIL 2018
RECIPES | 35
APRIL 2018
36 | RECIPES
FOOJING RICE Ingredients (serves 1): 150 gms Chinese rice, cooked 20 gms bell peppers 20 gms green peas 1 tsp soya sauce 20 gms carrots 20 gms onions 50 gms chicken 1 egg 10 gms chicken broth Celery to garnish Sesame oil to sprinkle Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions: 1. Cut vegetables into thin slices. 2. Heat oil in a wok and put chicken and vegetables, stir frying for 2-3 minutes. 3. Add cooked rice and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. 4. Season with soya, salt and pepper and stir fry for another minute. 5. Turn off heat and transfer Foojing Rice to a serving bowl. 6. Sprinkle sesame oil and garnish with celery. SEPTEMBER 2018
RECIPES | 37
OYSTER LAMB Ingredients (serves 1): Vegetable oil to marinate 20 gms garlic 20 gms ginger 100 gms lamb 50 ml stock 20 ml oyster sauce 20 ml dry sherry Sugar and salt to taste Celery to garnish 20 gms bok choy 20 gms shitake mushroom
SEPTEMBER 2018
Instructions: 1. Cut lamb into thin slices and marinate with vegetable oil, dry sherry, sugar and salt. 2. Heat wok and add oil. Toss garlic, ginger, bok choy and mushroom into it. Stir for 2-3 minutes. 3. Add marinated lamb and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. 4. Add oyster sauce and stock. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until thick. 5. Garnish with celery.
38 | RECIPES
KUNG PAO (STIR FRIED CHICKEN) Ingredients (serves 1): 100 gms chicken breast boneless 20 ml white wine Soy sauce to marinate 10 sesame oil, divided Thick cornstarch 10 gms chilli paste 10 ml white vinegar 10 gms brown sugar 20 gms green onions 20 gms garlic 20 gms water chestnut 20 gms cashew nuts
Instructions: 1. Pre-marinate chicken with soya, Chinese vinegar, wine and sesame. 2. Heat wok and add garlic. Stir fry for a minute. 3. Add chicken breast and stir fry for a minute until the juice comes out. 4. Add water chestnut, cashew and chicken broth. 5. Simmer until sauce becomes thick. 6. Add brown sugar and chilli paste, and mix well. 7. Serve hot.
SEPTEMBER 2018
RECIPES | 39
DATE PANCAKES Ingredients (serves 1): 1 cup dates 1 cup refined flour ½ cup powdered sugar 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp honey 10 gms sesame seeds Instructions: 1. Sieve together flour and sugar in SEPTEMBER 2018
a bowl. 2. Add egg and pour milk gradually till the batter is smooth. 3. Brush butter in a pan. Pour the batter and spread into a thin pancake. Cook underside. Remove. 4. Put chopped dates, honey and sesame seeds in a bowl and mix well. 5. Fill pancake with dates mixture and make into a parcel. 6. Deep fry the parcel and serve with vanilla ice cream. 
40 | REPORT
Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans have widowed scores of women, leaving them vulnerable to penury and prejudice By Amrita DasGupta
T
he day her husband’s fishing party was heading out to sea, Madhobi Majhi* had arranged for a prayer ceremony for Bonobibi (the resident goddess of the forest) in their house, as was the custom. Soon before the ritual was to start, however, a stray dog came in and excreted over the
foundation on which the holy idol was to be enshrined.“It was a warning from the Goddess,” Madhobi rues. But the pangs of poverty and hunger pushed the men to set out and earn their daily bread regardless. They wound up in the claws of the tigers of the Sundarbans. Madhobi was 21 then. Days after
REPORT | 41
her husband’s death, she found out that she was pregnant with their second child. Now 45, the Dulki resident recalls, “The tiger took away my husband, my livelihood. I don’t want my sons to go back there. If they are gone, what will I have left?” That’s why she forced them into the tourism industry. “I did it against the rules of my community, which decrees that every son should follow in the footsteps of the father.” Madhobi is not against the tigers that killed her husband. “It is because of the tiger that the forest survives and, because the forest survives, we have food and tourists,” she says pragmatically. Unable to find a job as an agricultural labourer, she has been financially dependent on her brother-in-law all these years. “We are puppets at the hands of the Devi.” Sundarbans is the only mangrove tiger land of the world, a UNESCO world heritage site spread over 140,000 hectares spanning India and Bangladesh. More than 100 tigers roam free here, according to a 2014 study. The massive crisis looming in the region is the man-animal conflict: the 2011 Census estimated that about 4.3 million people coexist with the endangered Royal Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans. According to authorities, 10 tiger attacks take place every year, but villagers
claim that at least 10 people die of tiger attacks every month, the count reaching 30 in times of cyclones and floods when the land-water divide becomes soluble and the forest and human settlements converge. Tiger widows don’t just face a precarious future in terms of livelihood; they also face active daily discrimination. Called bagh bidhoba by the locals, they are targeted with the slur of ‘husband-eaters’ (swami khejo) as they are considered responsible for the death of their spouse by an-
THEY ARE TARGETED WITH THE SLUR OF ‘HUSBANDEATERS’ AS THEY ARE CONSIDERED RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SPOUSE’S DEATH imal attack. They are also burdened with numerous ritualistic practices to keep Bonbibi satisfied. These widows are compelled to accept cultural and social injustice through the propagation of Sundarbans’ folk epic Bonbibi’r Johuranama (‘The Life and Miracles of Bonbibi’, which is adhered to by both Hindus and Muslims). It is believed that the goddess punishes those who are evil and exploitative in nature by never coming to their rescue. Epochs ago, widows were thrown out of their homes and forced to
42 | PERSONAL REPORT GROWTH
live in ostaricised hamlets or tiger widow villages (bidhoba pally) at the periphery of the forest resident areas, reminding us of the spatial politics in Vrindavan and its similar housing of upper-caste widows. With time, the population of Sundarbans has increased, resulting in higher human-tiger conflict. Now, widows are no longer thrown out of the house as there are hardly any
The writer Amrita (in jeans) with the widows
men left in villages owing to the increased and frequent number of deaths by tiger attacks. The tiger widow undergoes post-trauma psychological scars at various levels: from deprivation, abuse and exploitation. According to a study published by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, tiger widows report higher levels of fear, negative feelings, discrimination, communi-
ty attitudes and spiritual dimensions compared with both normal and snake-bite widows. During my research, while talking to 60 tiger widows in Sundarbans, I realized that they speak in metaphors – often referring to the boat of occupation, the house of the fishes, or occupational partner. Once, I asked a group of these women to pose for me by standing on a boat anchored by the banks of the village (lead photo). They vehemently refused, stating that they have been barred from accessing the boat as it is a means of livelihood. It is particularly devastating as many of these women were once skilled in fishing and were the occupational partners of their husbands. Now, their husbands and livelihoods are both gone. The West Bengal Government’s Bidhoba Bhata (widow pensions) scheme is still to extend its reach in the innermost pockets of Sundarbans where, in any case, compensations for the death by tiger attacks are rare. Environmentalists defending the Sundarbans tend to keep the plight of the humans of the area away from the consciousness of the general public, but we need to look at the subject from both points of view while moving forward. *First name changed, keeping surname intact for indicating the occupation, caste and religious dimensions Amrita DasGupta is an M.Phil research scholar at Jadavpur University SEPTEMBER 2018
PRODUCTS | 43
SHE’S AGAINST RAPE INITIATIVE Launched by students of The Shri Ram School, the ‘She’s Against Rape’ Initiative is an effort at making Delhi a safer place for women. The students have created a ‘Rape Whistle’, a battery-operated handheld device that makes a noise of upto 120 dB. It cannot be easily turned off by a third person, hence attracting immediate attention.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Students, both girls and boys, are leading the call to make life easier and safer for Indian women. Here are two devices developed by Delhi students SANFE SANITARY DEVICE Developed by IIT students as an affordable and efficient solution to unhygienic public lavatories, Sanfe is a stand-and-pee device for women, priced at `5 per unit. This single-use biodegradable sanitary device has a menstrual friendly design. It is adjustable in size and also allows convenient single-hand usage, which makes it highly user-friendly. It was designed with special care towards pregnant women, who cannot hold their pee for a long time and face problems while squatting. SEPTEMBER 2018
44 | APPEARANCES
GREY
MATTER
More women are letting their hair go grey naturally and why not? It’s a healthier, happier, hassle-free and trendier way of life By Aekta Kapoor
This page: Anuradha Ramachandran, 45; facing page: the writer, 44
M
y first greys appeared in my late 30s, and within a few years, they were substantial enough to garner attention. “Why don’t you dye your hair?” asked hair dressers. “You look
older than me,” teased the husband. “You’re too young to let your hair go grey,” said my mom. Giving in to social pressure, I went the usual route: first henna, and then – tired of the tedious apSEPTEMBER 2018
APPEARANCES | 45
plication – tried hair colour. But my wild tresses dried and frizzed up in indignation. A couple more failed attempts later, and I had had it. “I am letting my hair go grey,” I announced to my family, as they gaped in horror. I decided to enjoy this bit of rebellion. Social pressure can go get its own hair dyed. But as the months went by, I noticed an insidious change taking place within me. My bones began creaking, my shoulders began stooping, I stopped wearing makeup, nail polish and jewellery, and often referred to myself as ‘old’. I no longer visited salons. I was growing old, outside in, because every time I looked in the mirror, I perceived myself as older. This wouldn’t do. I had to call in the reinforcements. The first on my calling list was Anuradha Ramachandran, a 45-year-old mother of two boys in Gurugram. Born and raised in Delhi in a Sindhi family, she had fallen in love soon after college with her South Indian colleague at the Maurya Sheraton hotel. Years later, the couple moved to Mumbai, and Anuradha gave up her career to raise their children. She’s currently writing a novel. Blessed with cherubic, youthful looks, Anuradha had a few greys in her 30s, soon after her kids were born. “Hair colour always led to hair fall, and applying henna was a SEPTEMBER 2018
long, boring and smelly process. No one likes it,” says Anuradha. Out of “sheer laziness”, she stopped colouring her hair, and decided to follow in the footsteps of Bollywood actress Sushma Seth, whose greys make quite a fashion statement. “I was lucky to have many friends who were also allowing themselves to age gracefully,” she says. “We supported one another.” The best part of going grey, she soon realised, was that it makes people notice you. “Everyone
else around me is trying to look younger, and here I am, unapologetic about my age. It draws people to me,” she affirms. Fitness conscious and an organic-food junkie, Anuradha works out five days a week and enjoys her time out with friends. “Women spend so much time and money trying to look younger for no good reason,” she says. “I’d rather spend it
46 | APPEARANCES
on something useful, and fun.” That’s in fact the best part of going grey for 32-year-old Ashima Chauhan, a former healthcare professional and now entrepreneur. Always fond of colouring and highlighting her hair in her college days, Ashima’s hair began going grey in her late 20s. She had to stop all kinds of hair colour after she conceived her first child two years ago. The backlash was unexpected: “Your husband will lose interest in you,” ‘aunties’ chided her. “I’ll know if my husband loses interest in me,” bristled Ashima, who had done her graduation in physiotherapy and MBA in healthcare management. Hairdressers had their own two bits to add: “It looks very awkward,
ma’am. It makes you look old.” But Ashima didn’t find their argument convincing. “I think I look my age,” she would retort. Just before we met, she had cut her hair to shoulder-length, and is enjoying the freedom from hair dye. “I no longer have to rush for touch-ups before parties,” she laughs, looking every bit the young, dynamic woman she is. Ankur Ahuja, a 44-year-old cinematographer who shuttles between Delhi and Mumbai for work, is in fact very sure that this is the right time to have naturally grey hair. “Salt-and-pepper hair makes you look elegant; the look is trending,” she half-jokingly affirms from her vast experience in Bollywood. Her SEPTEMBER 2018
PHOTO CREDIT: ANANYA JAIN
Ashima Chauhan, 32, entrepreneur
APPEARANCES | 47
Ankur Ahuja, 44, cinematographer
hair had started greying pretty early on, even before she had completed her Master’s in mass communication. But it was never a big deal for Ankur, who always kept her hair short, and whose husband’s hair is now going grey too. She did colour her hair for a while – purple, pink, blue and so on – but is temperamentally too chilled out to spend hours in the salon on her appearance. “I’m enjoying the greys but I would’ve enjoyed as much had my hair been black. What matters is that you have healthy hair,” she says. Of course, grey hair comes with its own challenges, especially for someone with a penchant for bright hair colours: “I had always thought white hair would dye easiSEPTEMBER 2018
er than dark hair. I was wrong. You still need to bleach first.” I asked Ankur her thoughts on growing older. “I have many thoughts on that but grey hair has nothing to do it.” And it struck me how right she was. My hair or even my age has nothing to do with my youthfulness, curiosity, sense of adventure and passion for life. They are not correlated. I booked a beautician from an app the other day. As she did my pedicure, I signed up for an annual subscription with her company online. “Do you want nail polish?” she asked, looking up. I shook my head instinctively. Then I had a second thought: “Yes, I will, actually. Silver grey.”
48 | KERALA FLOODS
Photo by Adv C. Jayachandran
SURVIVING THE DELUGE
A family in southern Kerala shares their harrowing experience as their home and village were flooded during this year’s devastating monsoon
I
By Sindu Sreebhavan
t was Onam time. My mother was ecstatic. My brother and his eight-year-old son were visiting her from Dubai. But, the monsoon season that normally ends a few weeks before Onam did not seem to be in a mood to end its course. Pandanad is a thickly populated village in central Kerala, on the banks of the river Pampa. The river rarely floods
beyond a certain point, and when it happened it was more of an inconvenience than a destroyer. The day I called my mom, she told me about the continuous rains and about how the power supply had gone out two days earlier. By that evening, shutters of most of the dams in the state were released. The rain was so strong that its noise SEPTEMBER 2018
KERALA FLOODS | 49
kept sleep away. At 4 am, hearing an unusual sound, my brother lit a torch outside. He realised with horror that water was raging into the front yard of the house. It was a matter of minutes before it reached inside. Two neighbours came in to ask about my uncle, who is a polio survivor and cannot walk. Just as they were carrying him to their own home, they saw water ripping off the gate between the two houses. Soon, the entire village had succumbed to the water and they were isolated. People could not step out of their homes as the water current was strong enough to carry them along with it. As the water level rose, many people in the neighbourhood took refuge either on the first floor of their houses or on roofs. By the next day, most phones in Pandanad were out of charge. My family had stocked up on food as there is a shop next door. Many other families could not do that. Two days into their isolation, my family started collecting rainwater. They boiled it and used it for drinking. I made hundreds of calls to rescue missions. Most of them got no response due to busy network and poor connectivity. But, when some got answered, I realised the true meaning of empathy. They were genuinely concerned about our situation. People from all walks of life, from executives to fishermen, worked together shoulder to shoulSEPTEMBER 2018
der in this mission of humanity.They did not wait for the state or central government to lead; they made use of social media and technology to organise rescue efforts. When my family was finally rescued, they left home without any extra clothes or money. The money in their bank accounts proved useless. ATM booths were submerged. Paytm and online transfers were impossible when all gadgets were dam-
Homes submerged. Photo by Presanth R Pillai
aged in water or out of charge. After the rescue, my mom and uncle were admitted to a hospital (they are fine now). Relatives from drier areas of the state provided them with basic necessities. People who reached the relief camps were given basic necessities by rescue missions. Those who live off the land are the worst affected as their houses are
50 | KERALA FLOODS
completely damaged, farmland and crops are utterly destroyed and they have lost their livestock. Furniture, gadgets, utensils, clothes. Regular things you see in any household were destroyed. Electrical wirings went faulty or hazardous in many households. The flood didn’t discriminate between rich and poor. This is the Onam season, the big-
icine. Cleaning itself will take time and gigantic effort with knee-deep mud inside houses, which is heavy and hardens when it dries. This will need powerful cleaning agents and many helping hands. Though I am relieved about the safe evacuation of my family, they are worried about the gigantic task of getting back to normalcy.
People had to move up to the roofs of buildings before being rescued. Photo by Adv C. Jayachandran
gest festive season and the highest revenue generator for businesses. Businesses had stocked up inventory and geared up for Onam with special products, promotions and packages. All this has gone into the water. Diseases might make an entry when the water recedes and when hundreds of people live in camps. For that, the state will need a lot of med-
All of Kerala needs to be rebuilt, from basic amenities to infrastructure to houses. Kerala government needs money, relief camps need money and the common people need money. Let us support Kerala so that it comes back stronger and greener.  Sindu Sreebhavan is an author and the Chairperson of International Youth Leadership and Innovation Forum SEPTEMBER 2018
BOOKS | 51
ESSENTIAL READING
These new releases should be on your radar this month
Glow
Vasudha Rai (Ebury Press, Rs 299) Former beauty director of top Indian fashion magazines, Vasudha Rai knows a thing or two about beauty. And what she’s learnt is that it begins inside out. Glow looks at 60 Indian ingredients that can be used in 100 different ways, eaten or applied, to make you look and feel better. A certified 300-hour yoga teacher, Vasudha uses her own experience along with a five-member panel to pick ingredients that build strength and brighten skin. A must-read.
Missing, Presumed Dead Kiran Manral (Amaryllis, Rs 350)
If you’re looking for a thriller with dash of psychological drama, extramarital relationships and the idyllic settings of a hill station, this is the novel for you. Exploring the crippling boundaries of mental illness while taking the reader through the throes of a bad marriage and the introduction of ‘the other’, the book keeps you hooked to the end. A prolific writer with several books of various genres under her belt, Kiran’s latest offering will delight her fans.
Sunburn
Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber, Rs 499) Polly is on the run. She abandons her husband and daughter at a beach resort, and makes her way into a small town out of nowhere. There, she meets Adam – who has been hired to investigate her past indiscretions involving the murder of her first husband and a possible insurance scam – but who finds himself irresistibly drawn to her instead. What is it about Polly that draws men to her? What is she after? This gripping thriller hits all the right notes. SEPTEMBER 2018
52 | BIBLIOPHILE
A LITERARY BENT OF MIND
Mita Kapur
M
ita Kapur is a busy woman these days, what with her literary agency Siyahi’s Woman Up Summit coming up next month. The festival will celebrate the real-life stories of successful women. It’s just one of the many ‘extra’ activities that her Jaipur-based firm undertakes, such
as curating early morning music sessions at ancient temples. All this besides representing hundreds of writers and books over the past decade or so. It’s a life filled with creativity and culture. And Mita wouldn’t have it any other way. Born and raised in Jaipur, Mita moved to Delhi to study English at Lady Shri Ram College. “The love of books was ingrained in us since childhood,” Mita recalls, seated in her office with racks of books and journals behind her and spread over her table. Her mother, a doctor, would often take her three daughters along to the local library, and the main source of entertainment for the sisters was curling up with books. After doing a double Master’s in English and journalism, Mita began working as a journalist at the Free Press Journal in Indore. Marriage necessitated a move to Jaipur, and she had three children over nine years, freelancing as a journalist. Over the next few years, she got more involved with the writer community, helping budding authors with suggestions, connections and SEPTEMBER 2018
PHOTO CREDIT: ADITI GOYAL
Mita Kapur, who runs one of India’s most successful literary agencies, on why good writing in India isn’t being noticed
BIBLIOPHILE | 53
publicity, especially through Jaipur Lit Fest. One day, she met a publisher from Little, Brown and he pointed out that what she was doing was, in fact, a literary agent’s job. “And so I decided to do just that,” says Mita, of how Siyahi was conceptualized. Set up in 2007, Mita’s first two books were sold to top publishers in less than a month, and things just grew organically from there.“There’s a lot of good writing in India that’s not being noticed. Languages aren’t getting their due,” she rues. “There’s not enough inter-language translation, either.” That’s where she hopes Siyahi will be able to make a mark. ita never had to chase writers; even those of the likes of Tabish Khair left their publishers and sought her out. Extremely selective, Mita only takes on three or four authors a year and has so far worked with 146 of them, representing almost 500 books in various languages. “What we’re doing is forging relationships and strategising their entire writing career, not just placing a book,” she explains. With a small team size, Siyahi has strict guidelines for submissions, and stringent filtering criteria. “People are still reading – internet or no internet,” she says, rubbishing claims that online publishing has eaten into book readership. “We have new formats for reading – there are ebooks, novellas, Terribly Tiny Tales – there’s enough space for everyone. The printed book is not going any-
where.” In fact, she says, new research has found that there are increasing readers for both digital publications and physical books worldwide. She’s also optimistic about the growing interest in thrillers, “and we’re just scratching the surface. There’s also a lot of scope for com-
M
SEPTEMBER 2018
A Christmas tree made of books Siyahi represents
mercial fiction and deeply researched narratives.” Her favourite genre is, of course food narratives, and she’s written two herself. “We have such rich, diverse cuisine in India. Food narratives are a good way to document social trends. I’m definitely going to write more on this.”
54 | TRAVEL
THE LAND OF
FIRE & ICE
A Delhi family’s dream vacation to Iceland reveals the extraordinary bounty of nature and the endurance of humankind
I
Text and photos by Dr Urvashi Tandon
t was 9°C in Reykjavik on the first morning of our Iceland holiday. The intermittent rain and fog did nothing to dampen our spirits and, over the next few days, we had an unforgettable experience in one of the most fascinating lands on the planet. From the
Blue Lagoon, where the salty water is kept warm by hot geysers, to golden waterfalls and beaches with black sand, the landscape is stunning. We also visited nesting places for the local puffins, the famous elf stones, and went inside a volcano! Here are snapshots from our travels. SEPTEMBER 2018
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ď ° A visit to the lovely Blue Lagoon was our first experience of communal bathing. Icelanders are quite comfortable bathing in the nude. (Thank goodness there were cubicles for visitors like us!)
ď ą Each day brought with it completely different landscapes. We often spotted mountain goats, arctic foxes and wild rabbits freely roaming about. Towns are far-flung, and access to healthcare is limited.
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ď ° Our journey took us from Seljalandsfoss waterfall in the south of Iceland to Dettifoss falls in the north east. In all we covered 1895 km in eight days by bus with 20 other tourists, and then more on our own.
ď ą We rode around scenic bays. Towns on the Fjords are mostly located on the north side as it is sunnier. We passed a fair number of salmon rivers. The permit to fish costs a bomb, though.
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We stayed one night in the fishing town of Siglufjörður, less than 30 miles away from the Arctic Circle. Norwegians had once set up fishing businesses here due to the abundance of herrings.
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After a stop at Diamond Beach, an amphibious vehicle took us to a glacial lagoon. Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier, is estimated to be at least 1000 years old. We even tasted its glacial ice.
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Stories of elves and trolls enthralled us. Locals believe that elves live under small ‘elf stones’ that dot the roads and highways. If you move these stones, you will be besieged by problems.
We halted for a night at a town called Vik. I was taken aback to know that it had a population of only 200. Unimaginable for Indians! The purebred Viking Horses are famous for their strength.
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There are large numbers of craters and sulphuric mud springs near Lake Mývatn, a geothermal and volcanic area. We drove up to a caldera here, and visited several picturesque lava falls and springs.
We descended 120 metres into Þríhnúkagígur, a volcano that last erupted 4000 years ago. It is the only one in the world with an accessible magma chamber. The minerals give off a colourful effect.
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INSPIRED BY
INDIA US-based designer Deepa Gurnani and her husband Jay Lakhani are giving a global platform to Indian embroidery techniques and craftsmanship with their fashion accessories label
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Deepa Gurnani
ver since she can remember, Deepa Gurnani always admired beautiful pieces of jewellery at every wedding she attended. “After returning home, I would try to sew pieces together that I thought were remarkable from the event. I still have many of those pieces in my archives and these make me smile each time I look at them,� narrates the 40-year-old New York based accessories designer. Today, along with her husband Jay Lakhani, Deepa has realised her childhood dream. She retails her eponymous label from over 1,000 stores worldwide, including several multi-brand designer stores in India. Her pieces have been worn by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, the Kardashians, Nicole Scherzinger, Paris Hilton, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena SEPTEMBER 2018
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Kapoor Khan and Deepika Padukone to name a few. Born and raised in Mumbai as the middle child of three daughters, Deepa’s father encouraged her to pursue fashion. “My parents were supportive of my choices and proud of all I achieved,” she says. After studying design, Deepa married Jay when she was 27 and moved to the US with him. Sharing a common passion to create a label born of Indian aesthetics, they came up with a bohemian luxury label 12 years ago called Deepa Gurnani, featuring handmade bejewelled creations such as fashion jewellery, hair accessories and belts, amongst other products. Each piece is created by hand in workshops in Sion, Mumbai, by highly trained artisans using embroidery techniques passed down from generation to generation. “The aim is to keep the exquisite art of traditional hand embroidery alive,” says Deepa, explaining why it’s important to educate their artisans in new techniques and innovations. Every piece they produce undergoes three rounds of intense quality control before leaving the factory. “Everyday objects inspire me,” says Deepa, who travels to India every six weeks. “I look at things with a different eye and try SEPTEMBER 2018
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to convert everything I see into a hand-embroidered work of art.” Working with her spouse has been a ‘fantastic’ experience for her. “Both of us share the same vision for the company and handle two separate areas in the company to make that vision come to life. The only area we overlap in is design and that is the best part of the business for me!” she laughs. The duo handle two brands: the Pret brand ‘Deepa by Deepa Gurnani’ has items retailing under `10,000 and the luxury brand ‘Deepa Gurnani’ starts from `10,000 per piece and works its way up depending on the embroidery techniques used as well as the quality of materials used. “The fashion jewellery industry is growing each day in India,” opines Deepa optimistically. “India is a strong force today. People understand fashion, style and trends that are popular worldwide. The growth opportunity is tremendous in India at the moment.” Jay constantly inspires her with his hard work and his belief that there is room for everyone at the top. Deepa, who admits she is spiritual by nature, has developed equal respect for everyone and understands that life is short. “So live each day to the fullest potential!” she signs off. SEPTEMBER 2018
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Breathing Gratitude KIRAN KAPOOR, 68, DELHI
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s the youngest of four siblings, and the only girl, I had a pampered childhood, even though my parents were Partition refugees from Lahore who started a new life from scratch in Mumbai. My schoolmates were Parsi girls from modern families, and – despite my conservative, middle-class Punjabi roots – I picked up their fashions, tastes and confidence. I studied psychology in college and, soon after graduating, I was married off to an engineer from an aunt’s family. After our two kids were born, he got a job in Dubai. We ended up living in the Middle East for the next 30 years, where I was the quintessential hardworking homemaker. Ten years ago, we moved back to Delhi. I love it here. I am glued to TV and Twitter, and have a wide circle of friends and family. Not a day goes by when I don’t look back at my life with gratitude at God’s grace. Every breath reminds me of His benevolence, and I distribute His blessings to all, helping the needy with food, clothing, shelter and education for their children. I have been showered with so much love – it is only natural that it overflows on to everyone around me. The pundits talk of penance or pilgrimage as the path to God. I only know gratitude and love. That is my religion. SEPTEMBER 2018
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