Changes

JULY 2016 CAPTURE PUBLISHING LLP’s

PICTORIALLY SPEAKING ON CHANGES

EDITOR’S NOTE Recently, I have been reading the works of quite a few philosophers. Right from the ancient times to the modern, these philosophies inspire and educate.

One quote that stood out in all my reading however, was said by Heraclitus of Ephesus. “Everything changes and nothing stands still.” What he implied by this, I believe, is that change is the only constant in life, and that is the essence of this issue - portraying change in people’s lives, in the world around us, and change through the times.

THE TEAM TANOY BANERJI Managing Partner SAURAV ROY Founding Partner Director, Human Resources AMITOJ SINGH Executive Editor PRERNA MAHESHWARI Director, Writing & Editorial HARSHAL DUDDALWAR Director, Technical & Design SIDDHANT CHAWLA Director, Marketing & Sales ISHWARI DESHPANDE Assistant Director, Human Resources RADHIKA BHOLE Assistant Director, Marketing and Sales

WRITING AND EDITORIAL Ashwini Patankar Devika Dhumal Dhruv Singh Ojaswini Bakhshi Rohan Rao Sharanya Shivaraman Sneha Nanavati DESIGN Mehek Malhotra Pooja Chaudhary Sanika Deshpande Shailja Patel Swapnil Mache PHOTOGRAPHY Amar Chandole Manas Kshirsagar Shaantanu Kulkarni

ROHAN RAO Co-ordinator Technical & Design

Cover by Harshal Duddalwar

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CONTENTS

Pinjratod

// 05

Coming out of the Cocoon

// 09

From Lanterns as a Necessity to Fancy Decoration

// 13

Cause and Effect

// 15

A Commentary On The Philosophy Of Change In The Mahabharata

// 19

Embracing The Chutneyfication

// 23

Taking The Road Not Taken

// 27

How Leaving Home Brought Me Back Home

// 31

Portfolios

// 35

Reviews

// 51

Breaking the Cage of Gender Oppression

By Sharanya Shivaraman

By Devika Dhumal

The Changes Our Parents have Lived Through

By Prerna Maheshwari

The Many Ripples The Butterfly Effect Has In Populat Culture

By Sneha Nanavati

By Rohan Rao

By Devika Dhumal

By Sharanya Shivaraman and Rohan Rao

By Prerna Maheshwari

Design - Pooja Chaudhary Photography - Tanoy Banerji

Book Review To the Lighthouse

by Prerna Maheshwari Movie Review Philadelphia

by Tanoy Banerji

aid It is s

that

t. n a t s n o c y l on e h t s i e g chan

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a varam i h S a arany

EVERY MOMENT, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY SECOND,

CHANGE CAN BE CONSTANTLY EXPERIENCED.

The FALLING OF LEAVES FROM TREES, SUNRISE TO SUNSET AND SEASONAL TRANSITION

d o t a r

ARE ALL AN EMBODIMENT OF CHANGE.

THIS CHANGE WHICH WE SEE AROUND US

IS ORGANIC AND DEVOID OF HUMAN INTERFERENCE.

HOWEVER, SOCIAL CHANGE WHICH OCCURS IN ANY CULTURE OR

SUBCULTURE

IS WHOLLY A PRODUCT OF HUMAN ENDEAVOUR AND EFFORTS.

Our need to change is influenced by a wide spectrum of things including media, peer pressure, exceptional leaders, an urging cause, etc. It is also motivated by strong ideals of fairness and equity. I am fascinated by the manner in which a certain commitment can drive an unorganised and hierarchical social group to diverge from the routine and bring to life an entirely new social condition.

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It might interest many of us to know about some recent public movements in our vicinity which have been gaining traction. One such movement which has been blazing across the nation has been the Pinjratod movement, aptly coined because it stresses on providing freedom and equality to women studying in colleges across the nation.

As someone who has witnessed the movement taking shape, I can say that it has been quite a journey!

It all started with a notion of gender equality that was not present in most college campuses and their hostels in India. Slowly radicalizing its way through the system, the Pinjratod movement has been a highly interesting student movement. Conceived in the cradle of student politics in New Delhi, the campaign began in early August and was initiated by the students of colleges in the Delhi University, namely ­Jamia Millia Islamia, Ambedkar University, National Law University and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

take the symbolic bus ride to make a statement.

And the statement was simple­- “we shall claim our freedom”. Fearless chants, loud slogans and empowering songs encapsulated the essence of the movement. There was a common thread that strung the desires of all those participating in the campaign which strikingly propelled people to join the movement.

I was a part of this agitation. On that day, I experienced something magnificent. There was an infectious passion in the air,­one demanding change, a right that is inalienable to mankind, the right to be free and uninhibited. Many colleges and student communities came out to support the Pinjratod cause with their own solutions and campaigns. The reason why the students relate to this is because of the striking commonality in the problems and challenges faced by the students.

The amount of support that has been extended to the protest has been phenomenal, despite the diverse background and pursuits of these different The campaign aims at exposing the discriminatory students. This campaign indeed proves that all hostel/PG rules and the regressive attitudes of the barriers and differences can be transcended if the wardens and officials related to this particular desire to change is inherently powerful! issue. Empirical evidence indicates that public spaces are becoming increasingly unsafe post the There is something fundamentally powerful normal working hours. It is almost impossible mostly and inspiring about social change that occurs for women to travel alone late at night without through protests, continuous efforts, lobbying and having to contemplate and battle overwhelming numerous parallel movements to support the same. insecurity. A need to make public spaces safe during Sociologists have since time immemorial tried to such hours is felt and it is absolutely pertinent to decipher this process and the study is a never ending strike down the highly discriminatory hostel one. Every social movement which has achieved rules in colleges across India imposing curfews significant goals has given us extraordinary lessons on women students under the garb of security of grit and perseverance and has never failed to reinforce our belief in our own capabilities and concerns. potential to bring about any change.

Another intriguing facet about social change is the varied ways and means adopted in order to achieve the desired change. An example of such an innovative expression of solidarity for the movement was shown in Pune, when students decided to support the Pinjratod movement in a rather novel way. A bus ride was organised to commemorate the 16th December Delhi Gangrape incident. The prevalence of crime in society tends to create perceptions of lack of security and safety for women. Over the course of time, these perceptions have become dogmatic and oppressive, severely constricting freedom. A group of active students gathered and decided to Pictorially Speaking // 08

Coming out of the Cocoon Written by Devika Dhumal Illustrated by Sanika Deshpande

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I was sure I wanted to be an archaeologist in the third grade after we learnt about Mohenjodaro, Harappa and the Indus Valley civilization. The following year, I was sure I wanted to be an astronomer after we were taught the solar system. And then, after an unexplainable epiphany in the fifth grade, I just wanted to be a social worker, and that was never ever replaced by any other profession in all the other grades to come.

It took eight hours of rigorous training each day for a week before I finally got to meet them: a group of juvenile delinquents.

I was assigned the role of an English teacher for a group of ten to twelve year olds. Looking at those naĂŻve faces, I always wondered and thought of the crimes these innocent children might have had committed.

The NGO Make A Difference (MAD), was the biggest blessing in disguise and the best boon that was poured into my life (that felt like ambrosia!).

I was assigned the role of an English teacher for a group of ten to twelve year olds. Looking at those naïve faces, I always wondered and thought of the crimes these innocent children might have had committed. Were these innocent faces really innocent? What had they seen? What had they faced?

What had they done? Who were they? My curiosity kept augmenting, and so did the number of questions that were thronging in my head. However, unfortunately, one of the main instructions that was iterated and reiterated throughout the training programme was that no matter what, we were not to ask them questions about their past, the crimes they committed, or to retrieve any personal information from the kids unless they willingly opened up and confessed.

It was a task! When I previously described them as “innocent” and “naïve”, mind you, I only spoke about their faces. And these faces perfectly exempli-

While all my fellow mates planned on disciplining them through fear, pressure, warnings and ultimatums, I decided to implement a reverse psychology to achieve my goal.

I was definite and determined. fied why you can never judge a book by its cover.

They were wild, savage, brutal, noisy, the most ardent fans of Sallu bhai and Sanju baba and impossible to control. Every movement they made seemed like an attack (I even found knives in their pockets once) and so potentially, I believed that they were also my murderers to be. While all my fellow mates planned on disciplining them through fear, pressure, warnings and ultimatums, I decided to implement a reverse psychology to achieve my goal.

I was definite and determined. I promised myself, I would change them completely, and make them grow up into wonderful human beings, completely detached from their morbid and sordid pasts.

One day they even told me about the crimes they committed and wept profusely, explaining how they were helpless and guilty.

That was the day I saw “Change” marching its way through into their lives.

That was when I decided, the change would start with a change in the subject and syllabus. So English was replaced by Moral Education, and verbs, articles, nouns, vocabulary and grammar were replaced by the lessons in my new syllabus: honesty, respect, sincerity, helping and caring. We used to sit under the trees (I wanted them to absorb the beauty of the nature around them as I thought that that would be the first step towards change).

I would listen to them talk, and narrate Sallu bhai’s movies to me in intricate detail, and watch them draw, dance and sing. I managed to befriend them within weeks, and soon they had started opening up to me.

Their inquisitiveness unravelled many things to me. They asked the questions (countless!), but I got the answers. Their questions appalled me: “Didi, do you stay in the Taj Mahal?”, “Didi, is your bed as big as our room?”, “How do the shops that sell computers look like?”, “Where does the end of the road outside this gate lead to?

Can I run away from here?” They confided in me and spoke to me about their strange phobias too: a phobia of big shoes, grey eyes, marbles, pillows and leather belts. Few of them were also victims of severe psychological disorders like extreme hallucinations, schizophrenia and affliction of pain on the self. I remember crying my eyes out that night. These little ten year olds were carrying such an enormous burden, they had endured so much, life had been so harsh on them, and they were oblivious to everything that happened or existed beyond that big yellow gate.

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Kids do things when they are either dared to do it or told that they won’t be able to manage it or know

they would be rewarded. I asked them to make a grid in their books, and each week was dedicated to one lesson. They had to make a note of the number of lies they told in a day, the number of times they bashed each other up, used swear words, made someone smile, helped everyone and so on, the rule being they were honest about the daily account that they were keeping. And their “dare” was that they were supposed to make sure that the habits in the negative grid decreased each day, and the habits in the positive grid increased. I told them that the reward they would receive for this task was going to be way bigger than they ever imagined and someday they would realise its worth. Things started sailing smoothly, and I began to witness tiny changes around me. One day they even told me about the crimes they committed and wept profusely, explaining how they were helpless and guilty. That was the day I saw “Change” marching its way through into their lives. Our schedule was fixed: half an hour of English, an hour of Value Education, Ethics and all forms of art and creativity, and the last thirty minutes were dedicated to them being my mentors. They taught me how to play cricket! Time flew, and the academic year got over.

I would not be able to see them for three months and I was devastated. I literally counted days and after a month, when my patience ran out, I thought of paying them a surprise visit.

I reached the remand home and ran inside searching for them. And they rushed out, screaming with excitement and gave me a long warm hug. But I could only see half of them. I looked around for the others, but in vain. They saw me looking around in search of the other half of the group. They said, “You won’t find them here anymore. They were set

free because they were not bad anymore.” I gave them a blank look, not knowing what to say. They continued, “And, before leaving they asked us to pass on a message to you. They said that they got the big reward that you always talked to us about and that they had realised that reward’s worth.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. Those innocent souls thought I had changed them. The truth was that they had changed me. I had gotten the reward. I didn’t feel happy that day. I felt bliss. They had taught me the biggest lesson of my life: They taught me the value of life. They gave me my inner peace.

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FROM LANTERN AS A NECESSITY TO FANCY DECORATION The changes our parents have lived through Written by Prerna Maheshwari

I was sitting at a cafe, sipping coffee when my friend recounted a quirky anecdote from earlier in the day to us. Her 80 year old grandmother had sent her a WhatsApp voice note that morning. While we found it quite amusing at first, it later struck me that the previous generation have had a lot of changes to adapt to. They used to study with lanterns and cook using wood ash or coal. From our country getting independent to digital dialing, they’ve seen and lived it all.

As my curiosity grew day by day, I finally spoke to parents of my friends to know exactly what they think has changed in the due course of time, as they have grown up.

ON THEIR CHILDHOOD.

“We used to play outside more. We were more carefree and fearless.

Rather, our parents were more trusting about the world. We were more disciplined about time” says Savita Rao. “Children have to compete now. Life was simpler for us back then. Now, everyone is always trying to do their best and struggling.” says Rashida Kothawala, “That takes away from a lot of experiences one may have in their childhood if they’re not constantly burdened to perform.”

“The generation gap has reduced, definitely. Kids these days are able to talk without any inhibitions with their parents - something we couldn’t do,” says Kokila Modi as she sips her piping hot cup of tea.

She mentioned the fact that children today can talk about things that they couldn’t discuss so freely with their parents, and that in itself is a positive change.

ON FASHION THEN AND NOW. Pictorially Speaking // 13

ON THE GENERATION GAP.

“We used to design clothes for ourselves. Then, either the tailor or our mothers used to stitch these the clothes for us. We have experimented with all kinds of fashion trends - worn frocks and bell bottoms and dresses too! Our fashion trends used to change according to the trends in Hindi cinema, as we used to ape the actors, actresses’ clothes,” says Anu Maheshwari. “ Today though,” she remarks, “ with the advent of branded-wear in the market, kids have the freedom to choose whatever they’d like to own and wear.”

ON RELATIONS.

“Decisions regarding relationships are made very fast these days. People don’t want to settle. There is nothing wrong with knowing what you want and going for it. But people are more carried away with their self and are more detached now. Everybody is busy in their own lives. There is less patience and understanding for one another and to be with the other,” says Savita Rao. “There is also a change in the dynamic of relations in the family.”, says Gauri Vichare. In the generation before her, women would not speak up in front of their mothers-in-law. That particular relation has become a lot more easygoing now, as they can have a more casual conversation with their mothers-in-law and question them if they feel something is incorrect.

“With children, what has changed is now we can’t freely tell our child not to do something because we fear that may lead to an argument with them being upset over our opinion. I feel that the meaning of freedom has changed- it is now being able to question everything rather than allowing and respecting another person’s opinion,” adds Gauri Vichare.

Earlier, we used to call everybody didi, bhaiya, chaacha, chaachi. It was as if we were related to everyone. The doors of our house always remained open for our neighbours. We knew the ins and outs of their lives and were with each other through ups and downs. I feel the sense of feeling related to all has gone down.”, says Anu Maheshwari

“When the TV first came to India, it used to be in only a few households and we used to gather to watch matches or our favourite TV shows on Doordarshan. Instant communication was an alien concept. Instead, letters were sent, trunk calls were made (but they were rare because they meant either a very good news or a very bad one). We used to read newspapers and listen to the radio a lot,” reminisces Gauri Vichare. Adding to her views regarding the changes that she has seen in technology, she says that the use of emoticons has made expressions easier but also faster. Now, according to her, people tend to react easily and faster now rather than feel, think and respond.

ON CONSTANTS THAT HAVE ENDURED CHANGE.

ON TECHNOLOGY.

“Every generation has its own set of constants. They don’t change because of the outside world. And because everything is always changing, there is always a gap between parents and children, “ says Rashida Kothawala. There are certain freedoms we allow our children because we want to but there are certain that we can’t because that is something we haven’t adapted to yet and is new. We also must have acted the same way our children act with us. The dialogues that ‘you are back-answering me’ or ‘I am saying it for your own good’ is something our parents have also told us.”

“No matter what,” Rashida smiles and says, “the parent-child relationship will always be the same.”

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Cause and Effect: The Many Ripples The Butterfly Effect Theory has in Pop Culture Written by Sneha Nanaati Illustrated by Sanika Deshpande

I was ten years old when my uncle who works for ISRO told me about this strange theory called “The Butterfly Effect”. He talked about how a butterfly flapping its wings in Mexico had the power to cause a hurricane in China. While my younger self thought that this was one of his many trick theories with which he used to fool me, the older me is quite amused by the sensitive dependence of a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system resulting in large differences in a later state.

Does that sound too mathematical? I’ll explain it, slowly.

Translated into mass culture, the butterfly effect has become a metaphor for the existence of seemingly insignificant moments that alter history and shape future.

It’s because this pop­cult phenomena has its roots in meteorology.

Usually, scientists spend their lives working on nerdy stuff and being a source of inspiration for factually inaccurate science­fiction movies.

But MIT based Meteorologist Edward Lorenz watched his work become a catch­phrase widely visible in Pop Culture. Lorenz created one of the most evocative notions ever to be adopted from the lab into popular culture: the “butterfly effect,” the concept that small events can have large consequences. The name took birth from Lorenz’s suggestion that a massive storm might have its roots in the faraway flapping of a tiny butterfly’s wings. Translated into mass culture, the butterfly effect has become a metaphor for the existence of seemingly insignificant moments that alter history and shape future. Often unrecognized at first, they create threads of cause and effect that appear obvious in retrospect, changing the course of a human life or rippling through the world politics or global economics.

Being a pop culture enthusiast, something that has always intrigued me is the adaption of scientific theories in movies and books. I watched quite a few movies loosely based on the Butterfly Effect.

As such, seemingly inconsequential actions can be seen to have drastic long­term results.

Just imagine, you take the bus instead of your usual train on your way to work one day and end up altering your life by changing your social circle, place of stay or even your occupation.

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Intellectual curiosity is of the critical importance and over simplification of the butterfly effect in Pop Culture has led to losing intricate details of the world of fractals.

One of them was the movie “The Butterfly Effect” (2004) in which the protagonist travels back in time, altering his awful childhood in order to influence the present, albeit with murky results.

Imagine you picked Humanities instead of Science in your 11th grade, the career path that you pursued would have been exceedingly different. This change is quite major and noticeable. But movies like Run Lola Run (2001), represents the butterfly effect in a clearer fashion. Minor and almost subconscious actions in everyday life can be seen to have gross and widespread effects upon the future. For example, the fact that Lola bumps into someone instead of passing by may lead to a painful death after suffering paralysis.

As such, seemingly inconsequential actions can be seen to have drastic long­term results. Just imagine, you take the bus instead of your usual train on your way to work one day and end up altering your life by changing your social circle, place of stay or even your occupation. In 12B, a 2001 Tamil Film, the butterfly effect follows a similar theme – missing or not missing a bus on a specific moment defines the whole of a man’s subsequent life. If the butterfly had not flapped its wings at just the right point in space/time, the hurricane would not have happened. Change essentially is doing things at the right point in space and time. The consequences of it could be unfathomable.

Such flattery of Lorenz’s idea in mainstream media share one problem: they get his insight wrong. Lorenz’s work gives us a fresh way to think about cause

Pictorially Speaking // 17

and effect, but does not offer easy answers.

I am of the belief that pop culture reference of the butterfly effect maybe be incurate physics but it acts like a barometer of how the general public thinks about science. They expose the growing divide between what the general view from scientific research is, and the realms of uncertainty into which modern science is taking us. While I am into all things that are part of pop culture, I also indulge in occasional modern art musings. It is worthy to note that the butterfly effect theory impacted the art forms in 20th century.

In some way, it was the butterfly theory that gave rise to the Chaos Theory, a movement which went ahead to deeply influence the modern art as we know it.

Jackson Pollock, a master class painter, presented abstract painting as an example of an application of the chaos theory.

In case you did not know who Jackson Pollock is, he is one of the most influential and revered American painters of the 20th century, having left deep impressions on Abstract Expressionism.

Jackson Pollock’s work preceded the Chaos Theory, if you didn’t know.

tern. They are infinitely complex patterns that are self­similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop (Engineers would get this reference). Intellectual curiosity is of the critical importance and over simplification of the butterfly effect in Pop Culture has led to losing intricate details of the world of fractals.

Fractals are the face of a dynamic system.

Metaphorically, fractals are the face of chaos. And this chaos is nothing but change out of control. We all love changes, a new phone or a new LBD paired with new shoes. We percieve change as something simple, something new or different that we choose.

However, “The Butterfly Effect” talked about the dark side of change, the kind of change over which you have no control.

The kind of change where your one action has set in motion a domino of consequences you have no control over. The question is, are we comfortable accepting a change that we did not choose or will we flee because it is not what we desired?

I have a peculiar habit of deciphering patterns in all things I see.

Be it the sitting arrangement in a public transport, the raindrops on the windshield or the squiggly handwriting of the professors on the blackboard. Mathematicians like Strogatz theorised these patterns of randomness and terms them as Fractals.

A fractal is a never­-ending patPictorially Speaking // 18

A Commentary On The

Philosophy Of Change In The Mahabharata Written and illustrated by Rohan Rao

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In the vast treasure trove that is Sanskrit literature, the Mahabharata holds a special place. At 100,000 shlokas or couplets, it is one of the longest (most say, the longest) epic poems in the World. But it isn't just one story. It is more a compendium of tales with various regional anecdotes and dynastic plots woven into the narrative.

However, the reason the Mahabharata is set on such a high pedestal isn't its great length or intricate storyline. It is because through its account of the struggle between warring factions of the Kuru dynasty, the Pandavas and Kauravas, it teaches us valuable life lessons. Lessons that are still relevant even today.

The Kurukshetra war, the actions of the Kings and Warriors and of course the Bhagavad Gita have long provided grist for the philosophical world. It speaks in detail about Duty, Karma and Justice. Change is another aspect of life that the Mahabharata discusses in detail.

Through its storyline, we see small actions can lead to big events, in one life and the next. Even the characters personalities change, as the story unfolds but to us as well, as we read more of it. This change is further noticed with other versions, from different points of view.

The Mahabharata embodies change, in its structure, its characters and in the way we see it with every new reading.

The Kurukshetra war is the highlight of the story, with both sides set against

each other in a great battle for the throne of Hastinapur. That this great battle was the result of the infamous gamble by Yudhishtir proves to show that the clatter of dice can become the clang of swords.

Karna, too, shows how the accident of one's birth (or rather, one's upbringing) can change so much in a person's life. Denied the royal privileges he deserves, the eldest Pandava seethes at the injustice of the world.

Gandhari, mother of the Kauravas, vows to blindfold herself forever on marriage to the blind king Dhritarashtra, so she can be his equal. And of course Draupadi, whose involvement in events of the royal court led to the battle of Kurukshetra. Another part of this account that is different from most is the complex feelings of love Draupadi feels for Karna.

This aspect of the lives of either of the characters has rarely been explored in other versions.

As for Bheeshma, so called because of his terrible vow of celibacy, his past lives intertwine with the present to prove that change is inevitable. His actions in his previous life as the Vasu, Prabhasa led to his birth as Bheeshma. His advice as Bheeshma, saying that Pandu should be King instead of Dhritarashtra sowed the seeds of discontent among the Kauravas that eventually lead to the war.

Karna is a warrior king who sides with the Kauravas, but as the son of the Sun God and Kunti, is actually the Pandava’s eldest brother. He grows up without the knowledge of his royal lineage, hating his half brothers and growing close to Duryodhan, his only friend, who ignores his humble origins. Mrityunjaya, by the renowned Marathi author Shivaji Sawant, is a book that is an autobiography of Karna and presents the Mahabharata through his eyes.

Few people know of Karna’s life beyond his role as the Kaurava warrior. “Karna’s wife - the outcast Queen”, by Kavita Kane shows us a rare side of this epic, through the eyes of Uruvi, Karna’s wife.

The Mahabharata is a complex work, the more we read it the more our perceptions change. As children we read about the honest and upright Yudhishtir, the brave Arjun and the evil Duryodhan. But then we realise, that they're all human, not characters in black and white, rather people in varying shades of grey. Yudhishtir; virtuous, wise yet a gambler; Arjun, a fearless warrior who hesitates before battle at the thought of such destruction and Duryodhan, a wicked king, who is also remembered for his honour in war.

Duryodhan, the quintessential villain of the plot, also has his say, with many versions of the Mahabharata expounding his point of view. The oldest of these is Urubhangam, written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century AD.

The Mahabharata is a work that is forever changThis change in our perception of the many charac- ing, if not in content, then in its perception. As it has ters of the Mahabharata can also be accounted to travelled through the India and beyond to countries a resurgence of other versions of the Mahabharata like Sri Lanka and Indonesia, it has developed sub that we see today. plots of its own, that influence the whole.

Jaya, by Devdutt Pattanaik, is a retelling of the Mahabharata where the noble exalted figures of the With millions over the world reading it, and writers epic are shown in a more human and relatable exploring different versions and presenting them to manner. With interesting facts about how the Ma- a younger readership, this ancient epic continues to habharata influences our culture today, it is a new hold relevance in a world very different from that take on an old work that gives insight into the char- which it describes. acters that make up the story.

The only constant the Mahabharata enforces, is its continued importance in our lives.

The Palace of Illusions is a version by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni that is the Mahabharata from Draupadi’s point of view. In it women are not just the subdued wives of Kings and Statesmen but powerful individuals who influence the course of events in the Mahabharata. Kunti, mother to the Pandavas raises her five sons to be great warriors in great poverty after the death of her husband, King Pandu.

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EMBRACING THE CHUTNEYFICATION Written by Devika Dhumal Illustrated by Harshal Duddalwar

“When I read some of the rules for speaking and writing the English language correctly,I think any fool can make a rule, and every fool will mind it.” ­ -Henry David Thoreau

Language being so dynamic and ever-transient in nature, is inevitably subject to a constant revision, regulation and reformulation of norms. And, we being the by-products of an extensively multilingual culture are bound to formulate and implement our own sets of rules into the language through which we communicate. We possess a general tendency to infuse our own flavours into English to create our own variety of English embellished with an Indian essence. That is the chief reason why “linguistic schizophrenia” is a very recurrent phenomenon that almost every student unconsciously undergoes while learning and speaking the English language, but is yet oblivious to its existence.

We all were thoroughly taught the Wren and Martin in and out, and made to learn every single grammatical rule by heart which consequently made us scrutinize, in a negative light, the unique variety of Indian English that we were attempting at expanding. By linguistic schizophrenia, I mean, associating rigid rules to a language theoretically, but not implementing them practically. For instance,

we will see grammar freaks frown when they hear someone say, “I am not understanding your point.”. They would criticise and shake their heads in disdain, concluding that the speaker is not proficient in the language, and also attempt at explaining how wrong that sentence was, and how it should have been “I do not understand your point.”. However, it is ironic when you hear these souls braised with wisdom say, “You coming over tomorrow na?”. Where is the auxiliary ‘are’?

And doesn’t The Wren and Martin delineate the subject – verb inversion for an interrogative sentence? And since when did the grammatical rules of the English language permit all question tags to be replaced by “na”? Strange how these so called well-versed English speakers define “rules” and that is how Henry Thoreau’s quote makes perfect sense.

English has become a global language, and each country has borrowed the norms of the native varieties, and added their own rules and developed them to construct their own set of norms.

English has become a global language, and each country has borrowed the norms of the native varieties, and added their own rules and developed them to construct their own set of norms. Indian English is the largest spoken variety spoken across the globe, and yet, Indians are ‘tulofied’ to subscribe to British English and are embarrassed of this transformation of language. This continual change in language, this “chutneyfication” should be celebrated and not be perceived as a source of humiliation. Moreover, our form of English has never been entirely English. We blend words, use the English syntax for a Hindi word (the jingle of the Idea network advertisement that says “ullu banoing”.etc), and start with English and end with another language.

(This is how the advertisement industry is evidently flourishing!).

Hence, code mixing and code switching are an integral part of who we are. That is our identity.

That is our language.

We all had this phase in school wherein the suffix ‘– fy’ was affixed to everything: rattofy, dhulofy, padofy...it’s a long list. Every sentence ended with yaar and na and kya: “I couldn’t study at all yaar, you studied kya?”.

We grew up learning how there was no such word as “prepone” in the English language. The opposite of the verb ‘to postpone’ was ‘to advance’. But very few of us are aware that the word ‘prepone’ has been incorporated into the English Dictionary, along with around hundred other Indianized words. It should be a matter of pride and not shame for us. We all had this phase in school wherein the suffix ‘–fy’ was affixed to everything: rattofy, dhulofy, padofy…it’s a long list. Every sentence ended with yaar and na and kya: “I couldn’t study at all yaar, you studied kya?”. A few weeks ago, I chanced upon a few mails that I exchanged with my best friend over the summer vacations in school. I couldn’t believe that I had written those mails! The language was so cheesy, so juvenile, with innumerable exclamation marks, and words and abbreviations that I even failed to understand. That is when it clicked to me, language is like fashion, it changes so quick, everyone tries to get adapted to the in-thing, and discard the outdated. That is why, in the initial years of college life, we had “What’s up brother!”,

that gradually changed to “Sup bro!”. We invented and adopted an SMS jargon of lol, rofl, brb, lmao, wth, idk, fyi and so on, that were no longer confined to a written format. I have heard people say, “LOL ya, that was so funny!”

Thus, we progressively welcome new words and expressions into our lives and extensively use them in our day to day conversations. We live in and around change.

Different varieties and accents of English put forth a unique characteristic property of their own.

American English is perceived as casual and cool (like you gotta have that swag gal pal!), whereas on the contrary, British English and Australian English have a sophisticated and classy aura about them. It is really fascinating. We cannot deny it. Then why do we not create an independent identity for our variety of English? It is time we overcome and treat ourselves of the schizophrenia. It is time for a colossal change. Every language is beautiful, and so,

we must not imitate, we must create.

We must not grimace, we must embrace‌

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not taken

Taking the road taken Written by Sharanya Shivaraman and Rohan Rao Photographs by Sudhakar Chandrashhar and Manas Kshirsagar

It is said that life begins where the comfort zone ends. In a world which glorifies the rat race, going beyond one’s comfort zone is a rarity. It is not before we turn forty-something, that we question and introspect our life, our passion and what defines us. Yet there are those who find their calling and their passion amidst this fierce competition. But defying the norm and following your dreams may not be as easy as it sounds. It requires courage to withstand the pressure, resilience and an amount of commitment to your passion that is only known to the ones who tread this path.

Sudhakar happens to be one such person. Though an engineer by profession, currently living in Sydney, he discovered the traveller in him only when he started his professional career. “I caught the travel bug in early 2001. My employer at the time was going through yet another round of layoffs and that is when I convinced myself to let go. As I had a reasonable amount of savings in the bank, I was in no hurry to get back to the rat race.”

I decided to take the rest of 2001 off and travel.

I packed my backpack (for the first time!), bought a one­way ticket and flew into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with no agenda or hotel reservations.

Over the rest of that momentous year, I travelled slowly and widely across South East Asia. I was instantly smitten and since then I have travelled to 22 countries in 5 continents.”

“Travel makes me look at and engage with the world anew. In every new country I visit, I find that all my assumptions about how the world operated around me have to be reset. I have to re-learn how to order a coffee. I have to re­learn how traffic works.

I have to re­learn how to take public ransit. I have to re­learn the going price for a pint. In this re­learning Pictorially Speaking // 28

mode I find myself looking at the world as if with a Along with travel, he has taken to photography and fresh pair of eyes; Unclouded with preconceptions, spends most of his time understanding the Indian not running on autopilot. diaspora in the various countries he visits. He believes that from Mexico to Malaysia and from Fiji Travel also gives me the opportunity to learn to France, Indians have emigrated to every corner everything I can about the history, culture, art, of the world. “And being an emigrant myself, I economics and politics of a country. I read the find the lives, especially of those that emigrated local (English) media exclusively ­ trying a different in the 18th and 19th centuries, fascinating.” newspaper every day till I find the reliable ones. I visit the crowded markets and stores that the locals As Sudhakar embraced his career change, another shop in to understand the needs of the people. I culinary dream was on its way to realisation. This read as many books as I can.” was Siddharth Mahadik’s dream.

Almost everyone who lives in Pune has heard of the restaurant, Le Plaisir, near Deccan Gymkhana on Prabhat Road. This bistro is one of the go to places in Pune for a delicious meal. With most of us at Pictorially Speaking being fans of this place, we decided to interview the man behind it all, Siddharth Mahadik. A marine engineer turned chef, running a successful restaurant in Pune, the dynamic Mahadik had to be a part of an article on changing careers to follow your passions.

instead of taking that up as a career, Mahadik decided to pursue his dreams and went ahead to study culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu, Sydney.

For him, the decision wasn’t about hating the idea of working with the merchant navy. It was about choosing a career he was passionate about over a career he was indifferent towards. Cooking had always been his passion. He still remembers vividly about how excited he was as a ten year old about a simple lemon soda he had, how the different After receiving his degree, he completed a six month mix of flavours and the ideas behind them that internship with the merchant navy. But afterwards, led to the formation of the simple, balanced drink in front of him. He had always enjoyed cooking from an early age, and counts his grandmother as one of the people who played a role in inspiring him to work with food.

With this background, he took the plunge and completed his diploma in culinary arts. In his words, it wasn’t easy, and at the outset he realised he was in this alone. Even though he had the support of his family members and close friends once he told them about his decision, he knew it was up to him to make it work. This knowledge made him realize he had to take responsibility, and he took a loan to pay his way through course. The rest is history.

Mahadik says that for anyone they should be absolutely sure what they really want to, and responsibility. Anything else, thinks, doesn’t matter.

changing careers, that they’re doing be ready to take like what society

The results speak for themselves. He followed his passion, and Pune is a better place thanks to le Plaisir. Truly Siddharth and Sudhakar have allowed themselves to be driven by passion and dedication to fulfil a dream that many of us have dreamt of but very few have had the courage to chase. Their career change has left an indelible mark on their life and given us an example to follow!

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How leaving home brought me back home Written by Prerna Maheshwari Illustrated by Shailja Patel

I believe that our lives are a sum total of our experiences till this particular point in time. In the initial stages of life, when we are raised at home, we are the amalgamation of our upbringing.

What happens when we leave home?

What changes when nobody brings us up or takes care of us?

Honestly, very few things stay the same. I think that after we leave home, we undo our upbringing.

We change and adopt completely different, new and unique identities shaped by our experiences in a non-sheltered world.

‘home’. No more playing 21 questions at the door when I wished to go outside, no one would constantly call me for dinner, no more begging for permission to go out.. It was quite a high. The first bank transaction I conducted all by myself filled me with pride and confidence.

As I settled into life in this new city, I became a part of a different kind of family here - a family I chose rather than being born into. A family that chose me and accepted me.

However, as is the way of life, I found myself back I left home to No more playing 21 at home once my come to Pune questions at the door term ended. My first for my grad- when I wished to go visit back home was uation stud- outside, no one would weird but familiar all ies. I was constantly call me for the same. I had to very excited. dinner, no more beg- answer a standard I was step- ging for permission to questionnaire evping out of go out.. It was quite a ery family member the sheltered pitched to me that high. comfort of went something like home into the ‘real’ this: world. I was my own parent, who de- How is the hostel? Are you safe cided the rules I there?What is the food like? You would live by look so much thinner. Are you not in my eating enough?You’re not roamnew ing around too late are you?And many more questions that went on and on and on...

I enjoyed being back at home, being pampered and spoiled for choice by my parents and proudly telling the neighbours about my adeptness at living alone. But there was this nagging feeling inside me - I couldn’t wait to go back to Pune.

I ended up creating two personas, bath is a luxury. I am responsible one at home and one here. Home with my finances - I write down became a different world for me. my expenditures and savings evAfter I came back, slowly the ery week. I never thought I’d say high of newfound freedom dis- this but watching TV when I am appeared and a number of prob- home feels weird now. I’d rather lems arose. All for me to figure sit with my mother and chat with out. I was exposed to the world her or do nothing at all in peace. without protection. I was exposed to myself without protec- Maturity set in when I started liktion. I lost track of routine and ing home. I started enjoying bestructure in everyday life. Eventu- ing at home, out of contact with ally, homesickness crept in, first everyone but my parents. My persweetly then bitterly. spective about them Missing out on your Maturity set in when changed.

They’re parent’s anniversary I started liking home. not perfect humans, I started enjoying and family birthdays nobody is. My parfeels bad. The real- being at home, out of ents have become isation that I might contact with every- my friends now. They never be home again one but my parents. have started treating the way I used to, hit me like an adult. But it me hard. I have envied friends is now more than ever, that I like of mine who could go home at a the fact that I’ll always be their moment’s notice. I have missed child for them. They miss me a lot my family to no end while din- too. Sometimes they feel that I ing at a friend’s place. Anything don’t need them anymore. Which from home increased in value is far from the truth. When it feels immediately once I was back in like you’re dealing with the curve Pune. The happiness of getting a balls life throws at you, your parparcel from home overwhelmed ents stay as the constant. me to the point where I was re- They love you uncondiduced to tears. When friends in tionally even when you the hostel brought food from don’t love yourself. home, we pounced on it like an- Security comes imals. When somebody’s parents from home. came to visit, it felt as though my parents were visiting. There are I am learning how I also these beautiful moments should take care of mywhere you experience the feel- self, set my own routine ing of one-ness with your hostel structure and find commates, when they stay all night in fort. I am learning how the hospital for you when you are to make my own home sick or come to your rescue when in the hostel and in my you are caught up in a fight. friends’ homes to gain and offer a sense of faWhat all has changed since I miliarity and comfort. moved to a different city? Well, a number of things. Having clean, Suddenly my parents’ adwashed and ironed clothes in my vice doesn’t seem mean wardrobe make my day. A shower or annoying. I realise how

much I am like them, and also how different I am. I have connected with my parents like never before. Gone is the adolescent me who didn’t know how to reach a common ground with them.

Somehow, leaving home brought me back home. Leaving home is a bittersweet experience, but it is essential.

You begin a process of finding yourself amidst insecurity only after you leave. And it is a constant work in progress.

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DESIGN PORTFOLIO

POOJA CHAUDHARY Pooja Chaudhary wanted to be an engineer, but found her calling in a field which required not only technical thinking but intense amounts of creativity - visual design. A professional who is direct, technical and precise, that is exactly how Pooja likes her work and methodology to be. A final year student in Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Pooja shares her work and experiences with us.

On The Reason Behind Design Being Her Chosen Medium Of Expression Design has less to do with being Pooja’s chosen medium for expressing her emotions or feelings with respect to her work, and more to do it simply being her chosen medium of work.

“Don't get me wrong,” she says.

“I know lots of people who use it (design) to express what they feel and they're doing a great job of it. But it's just not for me.”

On How She Got Involved With Design “I was all set to do engineering, but my mother convinced me otherwise,” says Pooja. She laughs as she recounts her mother calling her a mad person for wanting to do engineering.

Coming from someone who held

a doctorate in Physics, the advice made a lot of sense and Pooja eventually switched to design.

On Her Inspirations Her inspirations change as the seasons do, or even quicker at times. Talking about the different sources of her inspiration, Pooja elucidates, “Tim Brown last month, Massimo Vignelli last semester, they keep changing.

Sometimes, I have no inspiration at all! It all changes so fast sometimes, I can’t keep track of them.”

On Her Work “I don’t set any of my work on a pedestal,” says Pooja. Claiming that it is one of the reasons that hinders her ability to work better, and create better art and improve her technique, Pooja

prefers to consider all her work very objectively.

On Her Goals, And On Art “My biggest project till date I’d say is this mural I worked on in Trivandrum. A couple of batch mates and I worked on it - from ideation to the entire process of executing it. We completed it in only 4 days!” Pooja says that it was her most exhilarating experience with art and design so far, and that she hopes to continue making good, unique art in the time to come.

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Explore her work findinggreymatter.weebly.com www.behance.net/poojaachaudhary

PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

TANOY BANERJI Tanoy Banerji is a name all of our readers are acquainted with. The CEO of Capture Publishing LLP, Tanoy is an engineer by day, and photographer by day and night (because who takes the engineering seriously, eh?) All jokes apart though, Tanoy loves documenting landscapes and architecture through photography during his travels, bringing to life stories from these captured moments.

On The Reason Behind Photography Being His Chosen Medium Of Expression There are 2 reasons why Tanoy chose to express his thoughts and emotions through photography. “One,” he says, “is that the technical aspects of Photography really intrigue me.”

The second reason why he chose to do so is that the concept of capturing an experience of any kind for infinity, in that photograph, excites him and fills him with endless joy.

On How He Got Involved With Photography “Well, I was always told I had a good eye for photography, since my childhood. That’s when it all started I suppose” says Tanoy.

He started pursuing photography with complete seriousness only in his early college years. He learned the tricks and tools,

techniques and worked on them, all leading up to the photographer he is today.

On His Inspirations Tanoy’s main inspiration is borne out of his biggest passion - travel.

His love for travel takes him places, and having developed an eye for unique moments, he never fails to capture them.

On His Work One image, from his entire portfolio that is very special to him is that of a Quay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. “This is a photograph taken at sunset, of an iconic quay in the shape of a sail boat. It is particularly close to my heart as I associate this image with the moment of conceiving the idea for Pictorially Speaking.”

On His Goals, And On Photography When quizzed about his work, and how far he thinks he’s come as a photographer, Tanoy answers very modestly that he doesn’t feel that he has achieved something very substantial. He does however, hope to do so in the near future.

Photography is not just a passion, but a part of his soul now. All his work is an extension of his soul, feelings and expressions. That itself, is the beauty of this artform.

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Explore his work www.eyeem.com/u/tkban24/ www.instagram.com/tkban24/

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Book Review:

To The Lighthouse

by Virginia Woolf

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is a book about the human capacity to change. The story starts with Mr and Mrs Ramsay bringing their eight children to their summer home in Scotland. Six year old James Ramsay desperately wants to go to the lighthouse and Mrs. Ramsay tells him that they will go the next day if the weather permits. James reacts gleefully, but Mr. Ramsay tells him coldly that the weather looks to be foul. Here we understand that James resents his father and believes that he enjoys being cruel to James and his siblings. Upon reading further, it is quite clear that Mrs Ramsay is the center of the family. Their lives change after Mrs Ramsay passes away, and this change is the essence of the story.

articulate because they are either too deep or vague or profound. It is what’s internal that is brought to light in the book. Everybody’s insecurities and fears are made raw and vulnerable.

The book bounces back and forth between philosophy, psychology and a story, interweaving emotionally heavy realisations we have in everyday life.

You can almost feel how each character holds malice and love in such threatening amounts that they may burst any second. Woolf also manages to conjure up beautiful images, for example, she While the book makes for a slow read, compares the event of an idea entering a with very little dialogues, it incredibly character’s mind to that of a drop of ink describes relationships and how we diffusing in a beaker of water. affect each other. Virginia Woolf puts her characters through very human moThe book secretly makes you reflect on ments; feelings that we all feel but don’t yourself, and brings the fear of being exposed and vulnerable to the surface.

With musings on art, literature, poetry, philosophy, death and dying, and most importantly, relationships, it is a great read!

Written by Prerna Maheshwari Illustrated by Sanika Deshpande

movie review Written by Tanoy Banerji

Philadelphia

Picspeak Rating : 3/5 IMDb Rating: 7.7/10

If superstars like Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks team up for a movie, you know it has the makings for a classic, and Philadelphia is definitely one of those classics. Released way back in 1993, this movie was an instant hit winning two Oscars including a Best Actor award for Tom Hanks. However I would like to offer a different perspective on the movie.

This movie is considered a classic, but if you keep the stellar cast and its social issue aside, Philadelphia has quite a poor story. The general aura around courtroom dramas like a “A Few Good Men” and “A Time to Kill” is missing from the entire movie. If you look at the case itself, with the rising awareness for LGBT rights, it was an easy one to win especially once the jury sees Andrew Beckett's state. So in my Andrew Beckett, played by Tom Hanks, is an personal opinion I feel that Philadelphia was hyped ambitious young lawyer who is gay and is suffering because of the social issue it carried. from AIDS. He is fired from his job when his employers find out. He then hires Joe Miller, played A one time watch for Tom Hanks.

by Washington, a homophobic lawyer to defend him in a wrongful termination suit against his law firm.

This movie gets a lot of things right. Director Jonathan Demme beautifully captures Philadelphia as a city with some wonderful cinematography. The music including the original score, “The Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen is beautiful, winning an oscar for best original score. The movie also captures the phobia of AIDS the American people had at the time. It was a new disease then and very little was known about it by the general public except the fact that it was deadly. The popular myth that it could be communicated just by touching the inflicted person is rampant throughout the movie.

Tom Hanks carries the entire movie brilliantly.

If you have any doubt about whether or not he deserved his Oscar, just watch the scene when they listen to the opera. You’ll understand why he won an oscar for this particular role. Denzel Washington, who is a legend himself, gets largely overshadowed

by Hanks in this movie. Nevertheless, he plays the role of Joe Miller adequately. The director portrays the homophobia and ignorance about AIDS of the general public through Washington.

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