The Beat, March 2015

March 2015 | The Beat

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Mother

By Shubhang Saurav

The aura of divine eternity

When it needed softening

Which I got in plenty

Pinnacles of grace

You somehow

Your love and concern

And fraternity

Knew it all

When your voice falls

What they say

Besides your blessing and lessons

Breaking my numbness

Of that mystical light

Nothing then seems

I found all those

Out of bounds

In your love and might

Nor difficult When you say it

There were times

With such kindness

When I was aggravated Finding it hard

All the entanglements That complicate tence

my

To properly get adjusted exis-

Vanish in a moment When you soothe them With so much persistence

When I realized With an utter shock What life would had been

What god can’t

If you would not had been there

You always did

To protect me from

Yet I never wondered

The world of thorns and mock

It seemed so natural And pure indeed When it needed rough You were there To erase the rough

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Then I remember the times

I don’t know much As no one can even say About god as such But I longed to yearn

March 2015 | The Beat

No doubt I rise That whatever I am today Only because you were There above all the despising This life is too short To pay your debt But I proud myself With a treasure That I always kept Never in discomfort or pressure O Mother, I owe you Not only my life But also my existence Not just this earthly body But also my soul O Mother, I owe you And find peace in this very thought That I owe you And am in debt of you…

CONTENTS Light at the end of the tunnel

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Of permissions and stereotypes: Mosques for women in India Transportation in Bangalore:

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Where’s the progress?

26

Bengal bleeds over religion March 2015 | The Beat

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Roaring across Bangalore’s skies

34

Karnataka’s Banjara tribe: The untold story

Madras to Chennai: A cultural journey

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32

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India sends a big message with Pakistan, South Africa wins Cover Photo: Dipayan Kundu Cover Design: Shubhang Saurav

The beat is a publication by Magazine students of Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media. All rights reserved by IIJNM. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or any means,without the prior permission in writing of the publisher,nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published.

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March 2015 | The Beat

The Beat Editor Samreen Tungekar

Content Editors Darshan D Rane Sharangee Dutta Sameer Deshpande Sreemoyee Chatterjee

Designers Aadhira Anandh Nikunj Ohri Asmita Kundu Raya Ghosh

Content Advisor Mark Austin

Email your feedback to magazinestudents@ iijnm.org

Letter from the Editor Society did not always discriminate between people on the basis of their gender. During the early Vedic times, women enjoyed equal status to men, and daughters could actually inherit their father’s property. History has marked the rise of many powerful women against the typical patriarchal society such as Rani Laxmibai, Florence Nightingale and Marilyn Monroe. However, the graph of the status of women in the Indian society dropped during medieval times and has yet to reach a point where a woman does not have to declare her sex to be a liability in order to survive.

Over the past few years, Indian society has displayed an unnatural level of violence and lack of sympathy toward women, as witnessed in the infamous Nirbhaya case, the Guwahati case and the rape of the 6-year-old girl in Bangalore, to name a few.

But all is not lost. Our men have realised that their women are no less than them, and we can steadily see a rise in feminism among Indian men. However, there are a few who still cannot picture a woman beyond her sexuality, supposed physical weakness and her ability to look good.

This month’s issue brings forth how women themselves are taking charge and rising above customs that have weighed them down so far. Our cover story talks about how certain sections of society are now rising against stipulations and social norms which dictate a woman’s place below a man’s. The issue also brings to light how Islam is commonly misinterpreted as an oppressive religion, and how women are actually not barred from praying in mosques. Luckily for us, Indian mosques are now, if I may say so, beginning to see the light. On a lighter note, tech parks in Bangalore now have their own playschools so that a working mother can work without having to worry about rushing to attend to her child.

Our issue also has metropolitan citizens opening their heart and their cities the way no travel website or channel will. Take a look at our article on the underground transport system, where we set to compare our metro with the likes of the London Underground and others. On a completely unrelated topic, freedom of speech in India was challenged once again as All India Bakchod (AIB) faced a lot of criticism after posting what could be interpreted as a standard roast, involving many Bollywood celebrities. Read our commentary piece on the incident, which highlights how Indian society still has a lot to learn when it comes to free speech. Do not miss our review section, commentary section and also the list of the best upcoming events.

Happy Women’s Day! Happy reading!

Samreen Tungekar March 2015 | The Beat

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Cover Story

Light at the en

By Raya Ghosh It was a luminous night. She was on her way home in a bus.

And suddenly her world came crumbling down. She was raped.

Gang-raped. Brutally assaulted.

Dec. 16, 2012 illustrated that a woman has to tolerate oppression if she desires to survive in society. The horrific episode confirmed the fact that women have to endure the wrath of a patriarchal society, even if that consequently leads to pulverizing their identity. Since decades, women have been a victim of discrimination and exploitation.

The Vedas eulogized women as a creator— one who gives life. She radiates divinity and thus, is worshipped as a devi (goddess).

However, this apotheosis has been absolutely fictitious as the same women are now constantly condemned in the society.

Women empowerment is the answer

In the so called technologically advanced 21st century, everything seems to have progressed apart from the rationality of the society. Society still believes that women are subordinate to men. That she is only worthy of a tragic life wherein she constantly has to bear the brunt of abominable violence. Irrespective of the fact whether she deserves more or not, a woman is forced to believe that she is a mere puppet in the hands of this radically patriarchal society.

But why? Why should the creator have to suffer? Subject herself to such bigotry? The answer is 6

quite predictable. It’s nothing but a stereotypical mentality.

The mind-set to outshine women, thereby restricting them from proliferating further. And yes, of course, physical strength.

A man lives under this façade that a woman is fragile. An

enervated soul. And there he rushes. To do what? Indeed, to prove his manhood.

Anti-rape laws and police assurances have failed to reduce the fear that has creeped into a woman’s mind. Let’s face it!

She still feels unsafe. And what have our “respected” leaders done to resolve this perennial issue? The answer is quite visible from the increasing number of cases of crimes committed against women. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 309,546 cases of crimes against women were reported in 2013.

So the government’s supposed measures to protect the women March 2015 | The Beat

in society are clearly insufficient.

When the government declines to address this issue, the responsibility falls on the public.

Rather, women have to empower the diminished class that has consistently been a chronic victim of the society. Women empowerment entirely refers to the emancipation of women. It solely implies providing her with rights that will enable her to maintain her dignity in society.

In the 16th century, women were literally objectified and treated as slaves.

However, the nation is now looking forward to light at the end of the tunnel.

Women basically requested for equal rights that men have possessed since centuries. Thus, a long struggle has finally resulted in property and voting rights along with equality in civil rights before the law. Apart from the above, NGOs working in favor of the oppressed class have successfully managed to fight the miseries of female infanticide, child marriage, sati (self immolation by women), dowry system and the state of permanent widowhood.

Successful measures Sapna, a Delhi-based NGO, works on these grounds. This organization initiated the Mahila Salah and Suraksha Kendra that enables women to negotiate their way through the criminal justice system. Moreover they also rehabilitate women who bravely manage to survive violence.

nd of the tunnel Medical and legal aid is also provided to such victims.

“We protect victims of domestic violence and prevent them from further torture. So we are basically giving women their rights back,� said Manisha Bhan, chief coordinator and counselor at Sapna. The Support the Girl Child program envisages a lifelong symbiotic relationship between the girl child and the sponsor who supports by paying for her education.

Another Delhi-based NGO, Care, facilitates the empowerment of girls from marginalized communities, thereby helping them to overcome poverty and social injustice.

In this way, many NGOs work towards vesting the power within women. Through several program, they try to improve the condition of women in society.

Prostitution:

a tragic story

What the society fails to realize is that prostitutes too, are human beings. They are also entitled to human rights just like other human beings.

Moreover, the hypocrisy of our lawmakers is observed here, too. The paradoxical incongruity lies in the fact that the rights of the prostitutes are jeopardized by the very policies that aim to boost their dignity. Right to life, free speech and political action belong to this section of the society too. The profession should never determine whether one should possess these rights or not.

The abhorrent stigma

Prostitutes are considered to be audacious. Flagrant. And why?

Just because they are a part of this profession? Just because they are a part of this implies that they can be taken for granted? Sadly, that has what the world has come down to. In several brothels, prostitutes are routinely harassed. Also they are insulted by the police on account of the fact that the latter will not be condemned for it. Pertaining to their physical vulnerability, prostitutes have severe health issues. Moreover, criminals often target prostitutes as they believe that they will not report against the criminals on account of fear

and further contempt.

HIV: A ceaseless tragedy Yes. Prostitutes are raped.

Several reports have stated that often prostitutes are not allowed to use condoms. As a result of which, they often acquire HIV. A TOI report states that two out of five sex workers are HIV positive in India. Moreover, those who are not infected are at a risk of getting infected in their lifetime.

This occurs as sex workers have multiple partners. At times, partners may refuse to pay if the worker desires to use a condom.

And stigmas make the issue worse. As they are constantly marginalized by the society, the vulnerability quotient is always sky high. Even if a sex worker is raped, she will not even think of exposing the criminal. Thus, lack of protection further makes them susceptible to violence.

Laws, too, are so stringent that it is difficult for NGOs to work with such victims. Often, hospitals also refuse to treat sex workers in case they are affected by this horrific disease. However, certain organizations still make an effort to make a difference. The Social

Brinda Adige conducted a workshop for police officers March 2015 | The Beat

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Activities Integration distributes 200,000 condoms to prostitutes every month. Apart from organizing awareness programs, this organization also provides food and other medical facilities to HIV-positive sex workers.

Why sex workers?

Really? How many women have the opportunities, space and luxury of making such a “choice”? What, maybe the “living wages” that the regulation would like to extend towards this so called “choice”? What would be the minimum wages for this kind of sex? Would rape, molestation and assault be collateral professional hazards, and if yes, then what is the compensation that the authority is willing to offer? These questions will forever remain unanswered.

Brinda Adige, director of Global Concerns India, an organization that works for women believes that circumstances and situations literally force women into flesh trade.

“How can buying or selling ever be referred to as work? Work is supposed to be dignified. So from which angle does sex work proliferate a woman? In such cases it is extremely demeaning to call a woman, a sex worker,” Adige said.

Legalizing prostitution?

Prostitution nowadays, is synonymous with rape and physical abuse. So how can legalization of such appalling acts help? Already, prostitutes are fighting for their human rights. Legalizing the profession may bring about adverse effects. The major problem lies in the fact that people fail to realize that most of them are forced into this profession.

Not only does the government condemns prostitutes, but also subjugates them in the society.

Legalization has not stopped human trafficking, not in the Netherlands, Norway, Brazil or any other country that has taken this step. In that case why do the law enforcement authorities believe that regulating commercial sex is the answer to reduce human trafficking, rape

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or sexual assault? Such heinous violence is equivalent to slavery.

It only calls for a traumatic life for the victims. The aphorism is such that the ones who control benefit from the regulations.

Hence, the government, its stooges and the white-collared mafia consistently profits from such arrangements. So does democracy mean profiteering from human misery, flesh trade, servitude and state controlled and programmed rape? The answer sadly, still remains uncharted.

The government’s take If at all the government decides to address this issue, then they should begin with putting in place systems and mechanisms that work. Funds should be allocated in the respective departments and government officials must be trained to deliver the services for which they are liable to the public.

Considering the fact that we live in the 21st century, there is no space for master-slave attitudes or behavior. Power does not belong to our “respected” officials with which they can oppress the citizens.

“Strict and quick action should be instituted against erring officials in any department, religious institutions and elected representatives. Also, people should be educated and made aware of what they are legitimately entitled to.

Information and knowledge is power and this should be used to empower women,” Adige said.

A ray of hope “Established in 2010, Global concerns India is a social research project in India, through which over 200 women at the poverty line were interviewed.

Faced with challenges such as abuse, violence, discrimination and poor living conditions, the women were determined to overcome these hardships. Using the research as a foundation, we initiated the Dialogue Action Program in early 2012,” Adige said.

The Dialogue Action Program,

March 2015 | The Beat

which was initiated recently, creates a safe space for women to discuss their issues that they face daily. Thereafter, the organization helps them to build action-based strategies to achieve their goals. These women are invited from the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of the society.

“Several women have found so much value with the program, that they have invested their own personal resources when we fell short of funds. As the program progressed and women became more confident, they expressed their desire to take the program in a direction that would give them greater autonomy over its development, thereby reducing their reliance on external funding sources,” Adige said.

Zarina, who is one of the mentors of the GCI program, believes that she has emerged into a much more sanguine individual now.

“I feel blessed to be part of this program. I was scared when I finished school that I would be forced to marry, as my father was very keen not to have ‘a liability on his hands.’ It took me several days and nights to convince my family that I was safe. I am a new and confident person being a mentor with GCI,” Zarina said.

Governmental measures However, due to increasing violence against women, the government enacted two acts that are meant to emancipate women.

Domestic violence victims are protected under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Thankfully, the Domestic Violence Act recognizes that abuse can be both physical as well as mental. Also, Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act 2006 prevents women from marital abuse and crippling social justice. This act also helps those innumerable women who are abandoned by their husbands and have no means of proving their marital status. Child marriage, bigamy and polygamy are also kept under check. Women are able to seek maintenance and custody of their children. Widows can claim inheritance rights. The

most significant factor about this act is that it is applicable to women from all the sections of the society irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

and encourage them to prosper by starting various business activities. Moreover, the government has set aside a considerable

“This act truly empowers women to exercise their rights and thus empowers women,” said Dr. Sujatha, an independent counselor from Bangalore.

sonality.

A ceaseless dilemma But women are still not safe. The increasing figures of rapes suggest that women are still victimized and considered as weak individuals.

“Not only women, but also children are sexually abused all over the country. 2014 saw several cases of child abuse in the schools of Bangalore,” said Bharathi, assistant subinspector at Basavanagudi Women’s Helpline in Bangalore.

Empowerment on its way

Women have been considered Education as fragile and and social hence have been awareness discriminated only corDialogue Action Program, conducted by Global Concerns India against since respond eternity. Some to women of our political leaders blame amount of money, which women empowerment. Not only should women for getting raped. Othcan utilize to initiate their own women be aware of the existing erwise they state that rape is business. social problems in society, but committed as a mistake. So what they should also be taught about The metamorphosis else can a country expect when it countering these issues. Also is ruled by such leaders? Sadly, With increasing awareness prowomen should be allowed to this mind-set can only intimidate grams and organizations workparticipate in the political life. In women further and thus delay ing towards educating women, this way, they are given a chance the literacy rate among women is justice. Or better still, deny it. to serve the community includconsiderably increasing. Also the The only hope can be derived ing fighting for basic amenities from awareness programs organew mold of working wives and and welfare needs. Education mothers has improved the status nized by NGOs and independent proves to be a severe challenge organizations working in favor of of women in several ways. Their as just 65 percent of women are monetary independence also em- women. educated. Most of them are not powers them. Gender inequality Sadly, the creator has to sustain given a chance to finish their is on its way towards eradication. herself in such appalling education. Instead they are marEducated women believe that circumstances and yet emerge ried off and forced to conceive their life is way beyond marriage. as victorious. And if at all, the at an early age. Several NGOs are Hence they fight to prove their country decides to act on these working towards improving this dignity in society. A slick change lines, then it should inspire situation. Also, several scholarin mentality has also been obwomen to break free from ships are available that allows served with the emergence of the shackles of narrow beliefs women in India to build their live-in relationships. This mindand societal and religious career. set has challenged the traditional conditions that have traditionally Or is it a business? conception that marriages are a suppressed women, preventing permanent compromise between Although the status of women them from realizing their true families and communities. Modhas marginally improved in socibeauty and power. Only then will ern matrimonial are now based ety, several NGOs are set to earn the woman emerge as a divine on flexibility and desire rather profits through these activities. soul, an element that defines her than convention. Thus, ecoReportedly, various NGOs also bona-fide integrity. nomic independence of women is offer financial support to women transforming their overall perCourtesy of community.sutramagazine.net

March 2015 | The Beat

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‘Weaker sex’?

By Sharangee Dutta

“I earn around 10,000 rupees every month. When the wedding season or festive season is on then the earnings hikes up to 15,000 rupees,” she said.

Have you ever wondered why are women termed the “weaker sex”?

Science ranks labor pain to be the second most painful after a heart attack. Also, the pain of delivering a child is considered to be equal to that of the pain of having multiple bones broken simultaneously. Yet every woman happily goes through that painful bringing life on Earth.

Thinking from the Indian context, a number of other aspects defy the term “weaker sex,” too.

The woman who is married off at a fairly young age largely adapts to a whole new atmosphere of her husband and his family, raises her children, takes care of her in-laws even more than her own parents, and is always seen putting others’ interests before her own. She, for sure, cannot be called a “weaker sex.” A “weak” heart cannot do such deeds.

Breaking all the stereotypes, women today live like a free bird. They do dream and are brave enough to accomplish them.

In Kolkata, women are flourishing in small-scale businesses. Calling themselves as proud “entrepreneurs”, they are taking the other way that is usually less traversed by and walking with their heads held high with an “individual identity”.

Alpana Ghosh, 40, runs her own beauty parlor at her home. She has been in this business for 20 years now, and terms it to be “the best feeling ever.”

“I don’t have a family as such. My customers are my big family. It’s a good way to socialize with people as I feel lonely otherwise,” she said.

When she was as young as 16 years old, her parents married her off to 10

Living in the outskirts of the city ceases her to get proper exposure.

She plans to buy a place in the city soon and have a bigger beauty parlor.

Shobita Dey thinks her identity is more valuable than her marriage. a not so old man, as her husband was 20, and without a job. The marriage started off like a fairy tale but soon turned bitter when she became a victim of domestic violence.

“My husband became alcoholic and didn’t do anything for a living.

Every night he used to beat me up when he was drunk,” she added.

At 17, when she had her first child, a son, she thought things would get better but everything went in vain until she fought back and stood against her husband’s tantrums. She saved up money and started the business in 1995.

“I was untrained, but I had the will to learn. I took classes from employees in other beauty parlors and improved my skills,” she said.

“And now I train others.”

Alpana’s husband lives with her but they don’t maintain a proper couple’s relationship. They hardly talk and maintain a separate life aloof from each other. Their son, Subash Ghosh, who runs a CD and DVD shop, lives alone with his wife and son. She says she can’t ask for a divorce from her husband because that’s still a “social taboo” in India.

March 2015 | The Beat

Shobita Dey, 35, works as an employee at Madame Bovary beauty parlor which is more than 20 kilometers away from her home in Barasat, a suburban area. Her story is not much different from Alpana because she was a victim of domestic violence too.

“My husband and I dated for seven years before getting married in 2006. He used to work in a garment shop, but later got fired due to being alcoholic and unpunctual.

Owing to losing the job, he started beating me up regularly after returning home at night,” she said.

In 2010, they separated. Shobita went to live with her parents who were supportive of her decision. It was then when she started working at the beauty parlor.

“I knew basic skills like threading, doing facial, et cetera, so I didn’t have a problem coping. The owner of the parlor was really nice and sympathetic. It was the best decision of my life to stand up for myself,” she added.

She has now reconciled with her husband who has found a job at another garment shop, but she says, “Leaving my job is not an option even if it means the breakdown of my marriage.”

Humble and optimistic by nature, Shobita now manages the beauty parlor alone after the owner died in 2014. Sudipto, the son of the owner, helps her completely taking time out from his job as a

? Think again of my own. It’s still a dream, but I am confident in fulfilling it as well,” she added.

Sudeshna Bhattacharya, who is living her dreams today with the support of her family banker.

Munna Bhattacharya, 36, offers beauty care including facials, threading and waxing door to door. A high school graduate, she took training from an organization called Kinly situated in Kalighat, a well-known place in South Kolkata.

“I have always had an inclination towards dressing up and looking good. I belong from a poor family so I couldn’t study anymore after high school, but I never for once thought of staying as a housewife,” she said.

In 1997, through Kinly, she started working at a beauty parlor in Kalighat. It has been a long ride since then as now, not only she is married with a 15-year-old daughter, but she has contributed “equally” in buying a one-room apartment with her husband in Tollygunge.

“After I shift to my new apartment I plan to start a small beauty parlor

Apart from beauty parlor jobs, the sari business is widely famous in the city among women. Every day almost all the local television channels are seen holding programs wherein these entrepreneurs exhibit their works to promote their boutiques.

Sudeshna Bhattacharya, 39, runs Meghna’s Boutique, which is popular across the city. She stars in a live promotional program aired on CTVN Plus, a local Bengali channel, three days a week to showcase her collections.

Married at a young age, her brother, husband and father-in-law paid for her two-year fashion and textile course at the National Institute of Fashion Design, since renamed the Inter National Institute of Fashion Design.

“They have always been very supportive. They invested 50,000 rupees when I first started my boutique in 2002,” she said.

She added: “I have 45 workers in my boutique whom I pay 6,000 rupees a month. Other than that I’ve made a yearly contract with the weavers from various districts in West Bengal like Dhonekhali and Fuliya who render their yearly proMarch 2015 | The Beat

duce to me.”

“My husband and in-laws are extremely supportive. I wish every woman gets a family like mine wherein her dreams are valued,” she added. “Every woman should be empowered.”

Debanjali Dutta (name changed), 50, used to own her own boutique.

Due to health issues she had to stop the business, but continues to work if anyone places an order with her.

“I can’t work for long periods of time like I used to before, so only if someone places an order to me for making a sari or a salwar suit do I work,” she said.

In 1994, Debanjali’s husband gave her 15,000 rupees to invest in the business. Initially, the revenue was quite small compared with her expectations, but as word spread among her relatives and her daughter’s friends, her business picked up.

“I had a tough time making time out for my only daughter. I used to work day and night coordinating with my customers, buyers from whom I used to buy raw materials and the laborers who used to do the stitches and embroidery and other stuff for me. My husband supported me completely,” she added.

Apart from these cottage industries, the pickle business is also famous in the city. Women prepare pickles and sell them either door to door or to local markets on a contract basis with the buyers.

It is true that women are still considered to be a secondary gender in India, but if they have a will they will certainly be able to change that.

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Of permissions and stereotypes

By Samreen Tungekar Understanding and subjective reasoning may exist or not exist, but multiple stereotypes can exist in our society peacefully. When it comes to religion and activities related to them, there has been a certain kind of ambiguity that exists in a lot of norms that are followed. Coming to mosques and the idea of women praying there, the rule of women not being permitted to pray in mosques is still prevalent in India.

Understanding Islam Most of us in India have been brought up with the rule that women are not allowed to go to mosques. As I write this, I come to realize that I am also one of those. However, it is time we stop believing what has been told to us and start using this amazing tool called Google to make our own rules.

The East London Mosque has always had prayer space available for women and the London Muslim Centre has services for both.

In 2013, the mosque massively increased its facilities –­ including prayer space, fitness centre, girls’ school, counseling and education support –­ for women.

Woman in mosques: The global picture

However, a recent article about a TV reporter being blocked by a mosque shows that even though Two women activists, frustrated Britain has its share of openness towards allowing women to pray in mosques, that Hadiths (prophetic traditions) and is not the case with every facts about women being permitted in mosque there and some of mosques: them still have their own set 1. The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Do not preof rules. However, the awarevent the female servants of Allah from ness of being allowed to pray going to the mosque of Allah.’ in congregation is more in 2. And husbands were specifically told by the West than in India. him, “If the wife of any one of you asks In Kuwait, the bigger permission (to go to the mosque) do not mosques have provisions for forbid her.” women to pray in congrega3. And husbands were specifically told by tion. These mosques have a him, “If the wife of any one of you asks separate entrance for women permission (to go to the mosque) do not and a room is allotted too. forbid her.”

However, the smaller ones 4. Islam permits women to pray in do not have enough space mosques. Ladies should have separate and women are not permitand equal facilities. ted there.

5. During the time of the Prophet (pbuh), “Awareness about permiswomen not only went to the mosques for prayer but also for religious education and sion to pray in the mosques is quite there,” said Mudasliterary discussions as the mosque was the centre of community. Several Ahadith sir, who lives in Salmiya, Kuwait. “In Ramadan, more tell us that the Prophet (pbuh) addressed women come for taraweeh people in the mosque, and the audience than during daily prayers.” consisted of both Muslim men and women. Women many a times asked questions The emerging trend of incluto the Prophet (pbuh) in the mosque. sive mosques in India

Dr. Zakir Naik is the founder of the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai. In order to break this stereotype, he said: “There is not a single verse in the Qur’an, which prohibits ladies from entering mosques. There is not a single authentic Hadith (Prophet’s traditions) that I know of, which states that the Prophet (pbuh) prevented or forbade women from going to mosques. There is only one Hadith, which perhaps could have been misunderstood to mean that women should not go to the mosque. That Hadith says that it is preferred for a woman to pray in the privacy of her chamber, instead of in a courtyard. This Hadith was also said because when the Prophet said that praying in a mosque will get one 27 times more blessings, women complained it is not possible for them to pray in a mosque by leaving their children and homes unattended.”

In a book titled “Rights of Women in Islam: Modern or Outdated?”, 12

Dr. Naik has further explained that Islam’s objective was always to uplift the status of women in the society and will continue to be so by modernizing thinking, seeing, hearing and feeling.

The book also mentions how the rights of men and women are “complementary, not conflicting.”

at being blocked by mosques, started an Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI) in 2012 in London.

According to their Wiki page, In 2013 IMI commissioned a pilot study into women’s experiences of UK mosques, and aspirations for inclusion. This study focused on explaining the importance of mosques in the lives of women.

Even non-practicing women agreed that it will be a good thing to have mosques that will allow women to offer prayers as well.

March 2015 | The Beat

Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai are witnessing a change in trend regarding have inclusive mosques in India.

Masjid-E-Noor on Dickenson Road is one such mosque in Bangalore.

Farha Khalid from the Girls’ Islamic Organization said there is a space perpendicular to Commercial Street, where women can pray.

“Arrangements for women are made in terms of space and place to do wudoo (washing oneself before prayers) but there is no ar-

s: Mosques for women in India rangement for imaamat (a leader to pray),” she said. “Women can join in and follow but we don’t have women imams, except for taraweeh (extra prayers in Ramadan).”

She added that it is possible for more women to pray in mosques if they are made aware that there is provision for the same.

“This inclusion has been happening since 10 years now, but

it needs to grow more. The point is the need of awareness, as the stigma of women not being permitted still exists,” she said.

In Hyderabad, there are mosques with special arrangements for women with segregation of space and other facilities. These sections are mainly used during the Ramadan taraweeh prayers offered in congregation. Women have the option of praying at

home but in the mosque, during taraweeh, the Qur’an is recited and that is why, women prefer praying in the mosque. “However, the arrangement is only for Ramadan, not otherwise,” said Syed Jaffer Hussainn, an executive at Krayon Events in Hyderabad.

Should all mosques in India be inclusive of women?

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March 2015 | The Beat

13

Bangalore Tales

By Sreemoyee Chatterjee

“Dress in sarees, be girl, Be wife, they said.

Be embroiderer, be cook, Be a quarreler with servants.

Fit in” Kamala Das, in her confessional poem An Introduction rightly described the submissive stature of women in Indian society. Today, when the mother of all men have reached to the stars, fought bullets back with bullets, led forward a nation with pride, why will the tech mommies lag behind in their professional field due to their little ones? WeCare Learning Pvt. Ltd. in Bangalore has given them an easy solution.

Sheetal was seen recently coming out of Embassy Golf Links tech park with her 2-year-old daughter

Why should men Sashi tied round her in a baby sack. It was of course surprising to see an IBM employee carrying her baby at the end of her shift and being a responsible mother.

When asked, a satisfied Sheetal said: “I can continue my work after delivery only because of WeCare Learning.

It has been a great privilege for working new mothers like us. They keep our babies safe and jolly while we too can work at peace.”

WeCare Learning Pvt. Ltd. is a renowned center that sustains a number of child care and learning units. An Education World magazine survey added a feather to its cap, ranking it as Bangalore’s one of the top pre-schools for the last four years. It is also known to be an initial child care associate of almost 25 corporate companies.

Embassy Golf Links business park experiences a top-notch “WeCare Learning”, the first play school in th child care procedure in order to promote “parent to child proximity” even during the tenure of working shifts.

“It was very difficult for me to continue working after delivering twin babies four years back. We all mostly live in nuclear families nowadays where there is no one to support a woman at early motherhood irrespective of her work pressure. Had there been no such child care units, I would have to quit my job four years back. After all people always expect a woman to compromise her career for the family,” said Shraddha, a 32-year-old Yahoo employee, mother of Nisha and Neeraj.

Striving through several obstacles, women of this era have shown great potential, combating with their male competitors in every spheres of life. Nora Ephron’s clarion call to all women, “Above all be the heroine of your life, not the victim” has been well absorbed by the mothers of the decade. WeCare Learning just adds a little camphor to the femi-

The children at the creche 14

March 2015 | The Beat

have all the fun? ing someone else’s child for nine hours a day.”

Aastha, one of the baby sitters, said: “I come from a financially backward family and I never hoped a few years back that I will be able to earn my own living. But now I earn 10,000 bucks a month, spending the best moments with these little children. I don’t have to ask for money from my husband every time.”

WeCare has been playing a major role in making life easier for working mothers.

It has also been an aid of empowering several women, training them up and employing them to look after the children. It has now become a wing to every woman, to fly high and reach up to their dreams.

he EGL tech park nine will.

Coco Channel said, “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself.

Aloud.”

“It was very difficult for me to continue working after delivering twin babies four years back. We all mostly live in nuclear families nowadays where there is no one to support a woman at early motherhood irrespective of their work pressure. Had there been no such child care units, I would have to quit my job four years back. After all people always expect a woman to compromise her career for the family”—Shraddha, 32

leave behind all hindrances and have moved on to their goals. They have learned not to compromise with their self and fulfill their wishes.

Empowered they are, today’s women.

Women, at last, have been able to

Structured on an area of 3,500 square feet and with about 75 children of different ages under its care, WeCare Learning is the only child care centre in the Domlur business park that is sponsored by corporate honchos.

Reshma Srinivas, the WeCare founder, said: “It is our firm belief that we have taken up a noble responsibility to make a home away from home for these children who have to live without their mother’s warmth for almost nine hours a day. Hence it becomes a weighty task to be their second mother, nurture them, feed them with nutritious food, look towards their emotional and physical needs and setup a module for them that indefinitely caters to every unique mind. This endeavor not only provides a helping hand to the working mothers but also procures employment to another group of women who get a chance to stand on their own feet mother-

Women mothering the children

March 2015 | The Beat

15

‘Kannada gotila?’ Better learn it

By Sharangee Dutta Pleasant weather. Greater opportunities. Colorful nightlife.

Welcome to Bangalore.

But if you “don’t know Kannada” (Kannada gotila) then you might land up in trouble.

Snigdha Prasad, 19, an engineering student of electronics in PES University, said: “Once I was traveling with my friend to meet my sister from Jayanagar to Marathahalli. It was the very first week of mine in Bangalore and I wasn’t well aware of the city. The digital board inside the bus wasn’t working so we asked the bus conductor to inform us when Marathahalli comes. Not only did he keep us uninformed, but he also started screaming

in Kannada, drawing attention from everyone. It was so embarrassing.”

She added that later a man in the bus translated to them how the conductor insulted them by pointing them out as “stupid outsiders who will stay in Bangalore but not learn Kannada.”

“At the end, we were forced to get down at the wrong stop,” she said.

Arpita Roy (name changed), 24, an IT engineer who has been staying in the city for the past one year said, “Autorickshaw drivers refusing to go by the meter reading is normal here but they charge extra money from outsiders as they can understand from our looks that we are not Kannadigas.”

She added that it depends on someone’s will to pick up a new language, but “harassing people just because they don’t know the language is very wrong.”

Jawad Mirza, who thinks Bangalore has too diverse a crowd to pose problem for outsiders linguistically 16

Mrregakshee Kalita, 20, a second-year student doing a bachelor’s degree in business management from the northeast who has been residing in the city for two years now, said: “Once I was traveling in bus that had a lady bus conductor. After I gave her a hundred rupee note she gave me a ticket worth 19 rupees and scribbled the due money on the back of it which I was supposed to take before getting down.”

After she pestered

March 2015 | The Beat

the conductor to give her money back when she was only two stops behind, the conductor screamed at her in Kannada.

“Two women spoke to each other in English insulting northeast Indians and said that they don’t understand why we come in Bangalore and irritate them,” she said.

The lady conductor “pushed her out” while she got down and “threw the money at her face.”

However, contradicting these experiences, Subhojit Bera, 23, a research and development engineer who has been residing in Bangalore for the past one year, said, “I haven’t faced any major problems for not knowing Kannada because more or less everyone is well conversant with Hindi.”

A native of Kolkata, he said that while Kannada is not necessary for survival and people can “get away by not knowing it,” learning the language certainly “gives an extra edge.”

“People get overwhelmed and feel connected to you if you speak in Kannada. They can understand from your attire and looks that you’re an outsider hence, the little effort to speak in the local language delights them,” he said.

Jawad Mirza, 23, IT engineer who has been staying in Bangalore for the past four years, echoed Subhojit and said that owing to Bangalore’s “mixed crowd,” wherein people come from all over India for the purpose of studies and especially jobs, “he could communicate easily in English.”

He said: “It’s always good to be multilingual and learning Kannada will obviously give one an advantage with the locals. Knowing the language will always be helpful while dealing with autorickshaw drivers

and not because of any rule.”

On asking if the language barrier is a negative side of the city considering it is an IT hub, Bera said, “So far I have not faced any such thing because in my office and the atmosphere I live in, everyone is well familiar with either English or Hindi.”

Mirza said: “In multinational companies, English is the main language of communication. It is true that sometimes when locals gossip with each other in Kannada, we become a bit inquisitive for not understanding, but other than that I don’t think it is a negative side.”

But Sudeep Janwade, a 22-yearSnigdha Prasad, who believes Bangalore needs old engineering to break its linguistical taboo as a metro city student of R.V College differed. He or bus drivers.” said: “Of course it is a negative side. The laboratory Recently Karnataka’s chief minisattendants in my college don’t ter, Siddaramaiah said at the 58th know anything but Kannada Rajyotsava (Karnataka Formation while more than 50 percent of Day) celebrations that outsiders the students are outsiders. How should learn Kannada. He said are we supposed to connect to that when an outsider can utilize them?” the facilities of the state and enjoy its benefits then it is neces- He said that the language barrier sary for him or her to learn the is a major problem for the stu“local culture and language.” dents than those working in IT When The Beat asked if it was right of him to demand such a requirement, Bera said: “No, it was not. He does not get to dictate what languages the common man needs to learn.”

Mirza said: “I don’t think it should be a compulsion to learn or speak Kannada to stay in Bangalore. Like I said, being multilinguistic is good, but it should be on every individual’s choice

sector because in case of the latter, people are well off and converse only in English and Hindi.

Comparing Bangalore with other cities, Prasad said: “My mother tongue is Telugu, but when I went to Hyderabad I was happy to see everyone knowing either Hindi or English. Thinking from an outsider’s perspective, it is an advantage.”

March 2015 | The Beat

Sayantan Saha, 24, a medical intern in Bhubhaneswar said: “In Bhubhaneswar, most people know Hindi so outsiders don’t have any problem. Moreover, Oriya is quite similar to Bengali, so I picked up the language really fast anyway.”

A native of Kolkata, he added that sometimes people charge extra fare in public transport thinking “non-locals don’t know the fare” but other than that there is no language problem in Bhubhaneswar.

He said that with India having more than 22 languages there must be a common language.

Hence, “locals should at least learn some Hindi” for the sake of communication especially when “Hindi is our official language if not national.”

Anand Kishore, a student residing in Kolkata who originally hails from Bihar said: “Everyone here is well conversant with Hindi and English. I’ve anyway learned Bengali because it is a sweet language, but I think everyone should learn the local language especially after staying for a longer period of time.”

Sugata Srinivasaraju in her book Pickles from Home tells that in bilingual conditions, two languages “meet and feed on each other.”

She explains that one enriches the other due to which a Tamil speaking English is different from a person belonging to a different community.

However, such unfair treatments are certainly not the way to promote a culture.

Scanning the incidents faced by the outsiders in Bangalore it can be told that it is yet to come in line with other metros like that of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad where almost everyone knows Hindi or English.

Until then either learn Kannada or somehow make do with “Kannada gotila.”

17

Log out of your web life with

By Samreen Tungekar

Interventions are short-term

The word addiction need not be associated with alcohol and drugs any more, as National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) has set up a center that offers rehab for Internet and technology addicts in Bangalore.

The sessions conducted by the clinic are kept short-term, as teenagers don’t consider this addiction as a problem.

Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Mental Health and Social Psychology started SHUT clinic (Service for the Healthy Use of Technology) in NIMHANS on May 2014 after working on this idea through his research projects for six years. He observed online behavior and parents’ concern over their children’s excessive use of technology, and decided to set up a center to serve the purpose of helping people get over these addictions.

Dr. Sharma told The Beat that Internet and technology addiction is a major concern in India right now, as through a survey and further research, it was observed that 5 percent of youth in the age group of 1825 years are addicted to social networking sites and 24 percent are addicted to the Internet.

“My youngest patient is 14 years old.

Children use Internet as a coping method and parents are concerned about it,” he said.

He said that the center’s primary goal was to create awareness about the possibility of addiction to technology, moving on to training manpower such as mental health professionals and counselors about technological addiction and the third step was to develop sessions. “We got a really good response in Bangalore when we started off. We are training people to conduct sessions so that these centers can be set up at other places as well,” he added.

Bangalore has seen more than 40 patients since May 2014, and Dr. Sharma said that predominantly, it is the teenage group that his patients are from.

“The age group is usually from 14 to 24 years of age. My oldest patient is 24 years old. The most common addiction observed by him is video games, followed by social media, addiction to pornography, texting and also online shopping addiction,” he said.

“We always focus on delivering what we want to deliver within two to three sessions, so that even if the teenager stops coming, we have put the idea into their mind,” said Dr. Sharma.

The first session is done using standard tools of psychology, finding out what the reasons are behind the initiation of the addiction and forms of technology abuse. “These teenagers have a very brief communication with their parents, just like an online interaction. Parents get worried that their child is not interacting with them because they are always glued to their devices,” he said.

The second session is focused on educating them about the hazards of excessively using the Internet and how they can reduce its usage. The third session is usually an assignment, like Internet fasting, which is a day without the Internet. “This assignment and other activities are given to them for them to realize that it is possible to survive without the Internet and there are other things one can do,” he said. If there is a fourth session, the agenda is to counsel parents to communicate with their children and to help teenagers prioritize their shortterm and long-term goals and reduce using the web.

Average child ‘receives 9,000 messages daily’ Dr. Sharma said that Facebook is the most common form of social media.

“What I have observed recently is the excessive use of messenger apps like WhatsApp. They are always updating their status. Their excuse for using the web is usually ‘finding information.’ An average child receives at least 9,000 messages a day and responds to at least 2,000-3,000 messages a day. There is a lot of physical stress that is caused due to this constant typing on the phone or the computer,” he said.

He said that parents realized the seriousness of the problem due to the media attention on Internet addiction.

“Parents are anxious after constantly

18

reading news about su “Their response to us and they understood t needs to be brought to realized that gadgets s in a

March 2015 | The Beat

hand just keeps busy.”

Lifestyle change t

The clinic faces a chal results in a short span

“Parents expect quick process takes its own “A minimum three mo merely minimize the u least nine months to a lifestyle to occur.”

Amit (name changed) the clinic with the issu He used the web to fin available biographies, and scientific informa mobile phone to acces The average use was f a day. He developed n etc. and fell asleep two his usual sleeping tim sleep soundly as he co to see Wikipedia. He s eyes by checking Wikip controlling his bladde search on Wikipedia. I he continued this as it and relaxed.

“He is an introvert. His Internet Addiction Tes

h Bangalore’s Internet rehab

k results, but this time,” Sharma said. onths are needed to usage, and it takes at a year for a change in

was presented to ue of internet usage. nd information on spirituality, fiction ation. He used his ss the information. for eight to 10 hours neck pain, body ache o hours later than me. Also, he couldn’t onstantly had the urge started straining his pedia at night and er to complete his In spite of neck pain, t made him feel good

2755 subjects(50.5% males& 49.5% females) in an age group of 18 to 65 years

llenge in showing n.

“He scored 81 on the Internet Addiction Test, indicating significant problems due to internet and met the Griffith criteria of video game addiction,” Sharma said.

takes time

Rakesh (name changed), 17, was a topper in his class until the eighth grade. In the ninth grade, he got a computer and started playing online video games. Subsequently, he started spending 10 to 14 hours a day on the computer. He started bunking his classes and did not clear his exams.

He used to bunk school and stopped interacting with his friends. He preferred to eat his meals at his computer table.

When he was asked to refrain from using the computer, he became aggressive and would break things to express his anger.

Sometimes, it got out of control and he tried to physically assault his mother. Due to excessive online activities, he developed neck pain, fatigue and eye strain. These issues did not stop him from continuing his games.

Indian Council of Medical research work (Sharma,Benegal,Rao & Thennarasu 2013) on

so that he

interview also revealed the presence of craving, control, compulsion and consequences related to accessing Wikipedia. He feels irritable whenever advised otherwise. He has been taking muscle relaxant for neck pain along with his sessions,” Dr. Sharma said.

uch issues,” he said. was quite positive that it is a matter that o light. They have should not be given child’s

Profiles at the clinic SHUT clinic receives three to four e-mails per week from other states of India, especially from parents for their teenagers, enquiring about the service as well as possibility of online help or telephone counseling. The clinic also gets one to two cases in the age group of six to 20 years each week from the Psychiatry Units for Management of Excessive of Information Technology.

China and de-addiction A study in China was published in 2010 to compare the personality profiles of adolescent males with and without Internet addiction disorder (IAD), and to determine if IAD is associated with specific parental rearing behaviors. The results of this paper confirm that adolescents with IAD consistently rated parental rearing behaviors as being over-intrusive, punitive, and lacking in responsiveness. According to an Al Jazeera article in 2014, there are 632 million Internet users in China, and authorities say 10 percent of minors who surf the Internet are addicted to it. An article last year said that as many as 250 camps have been set up across the country.

s score on the st was 72. A clinical March 2015 | The Beat

19

Don’t be ‘fuel’ish

By Asmita Kundu We often go to many places by sharing a car. There are few reasons behind it. Firstly, it is cheap and convenient. Secondly, we don’t have to go through the confined atmosphere of public transport (generally buses). Thirdly, the extensive traffic of Bangalore can be avoided.

And one can also be relieved from the awful auto rickshaw drivers.

to reduce traffic in Bangalore.

“Even the Bangalore Traffic Police endorsed us and launched our mobile app,” said Srinath Sudarshan, CEO and co-founder,

There are two Bangalore-based car-pooling groups on Facebook, Carpool and Rideshare: Bangalore and Carpool and shared cab, Bangalore. The main objective of these groups is to find other travelers who are interested in sharing a car and splitting the costs.

Hemakhshi Sharma (name changed) said, “I have been car pooling for the last two years, and I can save a lot of money through this.”

Bangalore has quite a number of car-pooling services (websites and apps) like Pool Circle, Ridealley, Let’s Drive Along, Ridingo, vRideAlong, Carpooling in India, among which Let’s Drive Along is quite popular. It caters to almost 4,000 users.

Wikipedia defines carpooling as the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person can travel in a car. This idea is quite efficient for the commuters.

Once you register in these car-pooling apps or websites, you will be able to have a ride with other commuters and can share the commuting cost.

So, how does it work?

“Generally every car-pooling company has their registered cabs or customers can use their own vehicles through us,” said Shashi Ranjan Singh, HR, Ridealley.

Let’s Drive Along is another “pure car-pooling initiative” taken by Srinath Sudarshan, an x-Boschler with more than 15 years of IT experience in Bangalore. The main objective of taking this initiative is 20

the last couple of months with his neighbors. “It’s really helpful for me because I am a novice driver and I have been learning driving for the past four months while car pooling,” he said.

“Driving in Bangalore is a stressful experience. Carpool helps a lot as we drive alternately.

A person can drive one day and relax on the next,” Ghosh said.

Of the car-pooling services, Ridealley has 1,200 customers, Let’s Drive Along has almost 4,000 and Rideshare caters to almost 10,000.

Let’s Drive Along.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board also approved of their solution. Their website lists several benefits of car pooling.

It not only helps to save the fuel cost up to 80 percent, but also helps to reduce traffic congestion.

It is environment-friendly as well.

Car pooling means less pollution that helps to “save planet”. It also enables to build a strong social network.

People get certain innovative advantages from car pooling. Ayon Ghosh, an engineer working in Flipkart, has been car pooling for March 2015 | The Beat

Commute Easy, one of India’s leading car share networks, with almost 18,000 users has been shut down for the last couple of months. Its website says it’s under maintenance. It did not respond to a request for a comment.

Another popular carpooling network, Zinghopper also has been shut down owing to some personal reason. An official of Zinghopper said, “There is no certain reason. We are focusing on other projects. That’s why we are closing this one.”

One of the main reasons behind shutting down of these carpooling networks is their limited popularity. The companies promote themselves via social media or sometimes through newspapers, but apparently to limited effect.

An MBA student named Rupal

—just pool a car Sharma (name changed) was surprised to hear about carpooling services.

“I’d never heard of carpooling.

What does it exactly mean?”

He said.

He is one among many whom the concept of car pooling has not yet reached.

Women safety has become a big issue these days, especially in the case of car pooling. A woman might have to travel with a stranger. The carpooling network has an easy solution to it.

“In case of women safety we make sure that a woman does not get a stranger to travel with her. We’ll give her the choice to make an individual group as per her comfort level. She has to check the other person’s CEO AND co-founder, Let’s Drive Along profile on Facebook /LinkedIn and should then be a friend.

Otherwise, she has to register ensure that our female members they are female,” said an official of her name in our websites and feel safe in sharing rides. So, we Rideshare. can select her partner as per her do prevent our male users from Devleena Chatterjee, a user choice,” said Srinath Sudarshan, viewing or disturbing our female working in a MNC in Bangalore, CEO and co-founder of Lets Ride members. But female members are said, “I always prefer car pooling open to viewing and requesting Along. because it is safe. If you get your male members for Rides,” says its neighbors, colleagues or friends “We have an advanced feature for website. as your carpooling partner, then it women, by which you have the Other websites have made sure that is extremely comfortable.” rights to save ‘Only Female’ rides they have sufficient arrangement or can join ‘Only Female’ rides “But even if the routes match, the and that can only be seen by other for women safety. “Because timings do not match,” she said. registered female users,” said the whenever a woman registers her name, we make sure that we have HR of Ridealley. checked the backgrounds of every Courtesy of David Falconer “At Ridingo, safety is a priority. We drivers and co passengers, even if

Ayon Ghosh Engineer, Flipkart ‘It’s really helpful for me because I am a novice driver and I have been learning driving for the past four months while car pooling.’

March 2015 | The Beat

21

Transportation in Bangalore:Where’s the progress?

By Nikunj Ohri

Delhi sets the pace

Big Apple has it all

Ask an autorickshaw driver to take you to a destination, and what do you usually get? A nod, saying, “No.” This is not a rare sight in Bangalore and so far, no solution has been found for it.

A direct comparison of the transportation system in Bangalore and Delhi clearly shows that the scale of development of the latter is much higher than the former.

Public transportation in Bangalore is a menace. Though, the city is growing every day, the city’s public transportation is outdated. There is less frequency of Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC) buses to routes that need more buses.

There is a limited number of buses for every route because of which the daily travelers throng at the bus stops. These buses are so full that it’s difficult to even stand and travel in a bus during office hours.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) revolutionized the mass transportation system in Delhi. After the metro started in 2002, people could comfortably commute from one place to another.

New York’s city subway system is the fastest way to travel in the city. The residents find it economical as its fare is $2.50 for one way. The subway trains that operate for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, cost $2.50 for a ticket that lasts for two hours in which one can board any number of trains and also use buses for this time span across the line. The city also has a good bus network that costs the same as that of the subway.

The base fare for autos in the city is Rs.25, whereas it’s only Rs.19 in Mumbai. This difference does not seem significant if we just look at the base fare but does make a difference if we calculate the fare on a per-kilometer basis. An eight-kilometer auto ride costs Rs.13 per kilometer in Bangalore whereas the same ride will cost Rs.6 per kilometer in Mumbai.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) is taking long to complete the ongoing metro work in the city with frequent delays. The metro runs only on two routes; Baiyappanahalli to M.G. Road and Sampige Road to Peenya Industrial Area.

The minimum fare of traveling in metro is Rs.9 for at least two kilometers. With Rs.28 in your pocket, you can travel nearly all around Delhi; the maximum fare for traveling in a metro for a stretch of almost 50 kilometers is Rs.28.

The metro has been a sigh of relief for the residents of Delhi and has given public transportation a new definition altogether. People travel long distances with ease.

A car-pooling service in Delhi costs Rs.10 for traveling distances less than 30 kilometers. With such cheap modes of transport the city facilitates you to travel anywhere without making your pockets light.

Kirti Arora, a 26-year-old MNC employee, said: “I find the metro very useful, time saving and pocket-friendly.

It is a step ahead to India’s public transportation. Its punctuality and safety for women attracts me more to choose it over the other modes of transport.”

22

Keeping the security aspect in mind, the doors of the subway don’t close if the sensors detect some obstruction because of which the train won’t start. The driver can cancel the service if he finds something suspicious.

The taxis in New York charge $2.50 when you take one and the fare increases by $0.50 for every one-fifth of a mile.

The Public Authority of New York and New Jersey (PATH) connects New York to New Jersey and costs $2.75 one way. The ferry from Staten Island that connects to different parts of NYC is totally free; it’s used as means of transport and commuting people with their vehicles.

Fancy Arora, Support Analyst at BNP Paribas said: “The state of the art connectivity to each and every corner of the city makes the subway one of the best in the world. I personally think that I won’t be requiring a car if I think of settling in New York City.”

Ngar-Mei Tom, a resident of New York, feels that the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), trains used for commuting to Long Island are much nicer but “pricey.”

“I would rate the public

Courtesy of nywatertaxi.com

The rickety condition of the buses, rude and abusing bus conductors willing to throw you out of the bus if you don’t have change for the bus ticket and give him or her a 100 or a 500 rupee note; can be the definition of BMTC buses given by anyone living in the city, but are the only choice for many.

According to a survey conducted

by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), in 2011, Delhi metro helped in keeping 117,000 vehicles off the streets of Delhi.

March 2015 | The Beat

transportation in New York a 7 on 10,” she said.

London: Pricey but worth it The public transportation in London is very convenient for passengers commuting on a daily basis. It is quite easy to understand the routes and buses even if someone is using it for the first time. Buses have the same fare of £1.50 per trip for every zone. There are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly passes which are called Oyster cards.

Traveling becomes a bit expensive if you don’t hold an Oyster card, so people there prefer having one who to commute on a daily basis.

Traveling in the peak office hours is expensive especially in the Central London zone.

Barclay’s cycles are cycles that one can rent by picking one up from a bicycle point and dropping it at another. The rent for one cycle is £2, and the first 30 minutes is free.

Hiring taxis can sometimes cost you a fortune in London so people prefer buses and the Tube over taxis.

Yasha Kamdar, a student at Queen Mary University of London, said: “I find the public transportation in London very convenient. As the tubes cannot take you to small lanes then the buses come to picture. Having a student Oyster card makes your travel cheaper.

People prefer cycling for shorter distances. Mike Burke, a 32-year-old resident of Tokyo, said: “The bus here in Japan is relatively inexpensive, compared to the UK at least, as is the metro. Both trains and buses are very frequent and punctual. The railway coverage in Tokyo, and indeed throughout Japan, is very wide.

poor route access and are far less comfortable.

“To be honest, Japan is the best country for public transport I’ve ever been to, so I’d give it 9/10.”

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, managing director of leading biotechnology firm Biocon Ltd. and a high-profile figure in Bangalore, told The Beat: “Multimodal “The shinkansen bullet train is also transportation, encompassing metro, excellent, it means that you can travel buses, taxis and autos must be seamless vast distances very quickly and in good in their operation. It must be brought under one umbrella. We City Metro base fare urgently need an elevated road network in Bangalore to address Bangalore Rs.10 for 2 km present density of traffic and provide buffer for at least next 10 Delhi Rs. 9 for 2 km years. If we look at many parts of the world, these similar projects London £4.80 (Rs. 451) are undertaken and are completed at much greater speed. Lastly, because the way they are financed New York $2.50 (Rs. 155) and managed does not lead to such

for 2 hours kind of delays.”

Tokyo

JP¥170 (Rs. 88.61 Transportation authorities need for 2 km to pull up their socks and make

comfort. It’s also very good value for money if

transportation in Bangalore at par the needs of its citizens.

Courtesy of Matt Buck

“One flaw that I found in the public transportation is that if you don’t get a direct bus you have to board two or sometimes three buses which makes your travel expense as £4.50 which otherwise would be £1.50, if you get a direct bus as the fare from one end to the other is £1.50. But, the frequency of buses is good so, it nullifies this flaw.”

Tokyo: On the cutting edge The public transportation system in Tokyo is the most convenient and the fastest way to travel in the city. Other than the morning rush hour, between 7.30 a.m. to 9 a.m., one can travel comfortably without any hassle. Trains and subway run from around 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. The fares range from ¥170 to ¥310 depending on the distance. A day’s pass for unlimited use costs ¥710 (Rs.370).

you compare it with Britain.

Trains there are very expensive, unpunctual have March 2015 | The Beat

23

BBMP: Alter existing system or restructure?

By Nikunj Ohri Bureaucrats are in talks for the restructuring of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) for effective administration in Bangalore as the city corporation is failing to keep up with the citizens’ expectations. The outcome which aims at providing quality access to civic services and clear accountability by all service providers raises questions on whether this step will prove out to be fruitful or screw up the administration and management by this split.

The experts promise that the restructuring will help in “tying up” the administration and governance at the larger regional level. Moreover effec

administration will serve the purpose rather than bifurcating the municipal corporation.

The BBMP has admitted that it has not been able to collect taxes from legal constructions that have increased in the city leaving the illegal constructions aside.

Arvind Kejriwal was seen requesting residents of Delhi to pay taxes in his previous 49-day-tenure as the chief minister. So, when a city like Delhi, which has a segregated city corporation, is facing the similar problem, how does bifurcating solve the problem in Bangalore?

Siddaiah, retired BBMP commissioner and one of

1947

1980s

2007

2015

0.9 million

5 million

8.2 million

10 million

Area(in sq. km) 102

226

800

800

Wards

100

198

198

Population

62

Bangalore’s growth in terms of population, area and wards.

Source: India census data, bbmprestructuring.org

tive organization at the different tiers, namely, centralized, local and regional, and transparent communication between them will be an important component of the restructuring process.

the experts in the BBMP restructuring panel, said: “We are now in the initial stages of putting this argument of whether restructuring BBMP is a good or bad idea. We have submitted a report in favor of With an estimate of 10.1 million as the city’s popu- restructuring BBMP for quality and effective governance and we are consulting with student orgalation and an area of 800 square kilometers, it is nizations and business associations for the pros a serious concern for the officials as many cities and cons of it and worldwide with such hope this project density have more than Cities Population in Area in No. of is a success and one City Corporation. million(est.2014) sq. km corporations makes governance The other side of and administration the coin easier.”

There have been allegations that increase in the number of councilors after the merging of seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council in 2007 has led only to a draining of the exchequer because of the crooked mentality of officials.

Bangalore

10.1

800

1

Mumbai

12.5

438

1

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, managing director of biotechKolkata 4.5 185 1 nology firm Biocon Ltd. and one of the Delhi 17 1480 3 founders of the Bangalore Political Chennai 6.5 426 1 Action Committee (BPAC), said: “The Comparison of Bangalore with other metro cities of India BBMP is unable to Source- bbmprestructuring.org, India census administer the huge and growing greater Bangalore metropoAfter the restructuring of BBMP, employing more lis. BPAC has provided rationale for division both officials and councilors will do no good for the in terms of population segmentation and property city and its administration, but will only lead in tax collections to support development.” increasing under-the-table transactions.

This also raises the question that if one chief minInstead, increasing accountability, use of informaister can look after a state with his effective and tion technology more so as to increase the transefficient administration, why can’t a mayor do the parency of operations—by putting all the budgets same with a city? and contracts on a public domain and a strong 24

March 2015 | The Beat

Op-ed

AIB roasters ended up toast

By Kedar Deshpande So one day, a group of comedians decided to bring together a group of adult celebrities and poke unclothed, brash humor at them, only to have it given back by the celebrities. A jolly verbal mud-slinging match among a group of friends, for a good cause that too. It sounds harmless and was pretty harmless too. Making millions of people all over the world laugh was the sole intention of the program.

All went well until the “Indian Saver” brigade showed up. The vanguard of a rotting and decadent mind-set that up until now has only given us vicious horrors such as dowry, child marriage, zamindari and sati. It was the contention of this brigade that the show format was calculated to spread vulgarness and undermine “Indian” culture. Exactly how that happened is not yet clear to me.

They decided to mount a full-scale legal and political assault against the show and its participants. The president of the Brahmin Ektha Seva, a Mr. Akhilesh Tiwari, felt “Bharatiya Sanskriti” (Indian culture) was insulted by the show. I am sure if someone were to question Mr. Tiwari about the voting rights for women and the concept of live-in relationships, he would have some more precious gems of wisdom to offer. He was, in fact, the first one to rustle up this whole mess when he filed a police complaint against the participants and the organizers.

Exactly who asked him to watch the show? I don’t know.

The political stalwarts couldn’t let the opportunity pass by without their appearance, so Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leaders declared that movies starring Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor (the two celebrities participating in the show) will be banned, unless they made a public apology and pulled down the show. The event organizers suddenly found themselves being questioned. Everyone saw an opportunity and started to take a swing. It was then that the creators of the show (All India Bakchod) decided to be pragmatic (I quote them), pulled

down the show and made an apology. Free speech and the right to make fun at oneself and others was yet again stifled.

This is not an isolated incident, unfortunately. The year earlier was grizzled by news of the abhorring attacks on the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Two fanatics walked into the offices of the magazine armed with Kalashnikovs and tried to wipe out the right of the people to express their opinion and use their creativity. They may have worn the mask of blind religious faith while doing so, but the perpetrators behind this dastardly act hoped to instil fear in the hearts of the people and stop them from expressing their creativity. When newspaper editors and journalists tried to show their solidarity to the magazine, they were crucified by the very own establishments they represented. Shireen Dalvi was one such casualty. Fearing a political backlash and violence, governments and media companies clamped down on their editorial staff, as a result of which Shireen Dalvi lost her job.

Optimists say that making oneself heard has never been easier. To a large extent, I believe that’s true.

Tweeting, Facebooking, chatting, WhatsApping (yes, it’s becoming a thing now) and a variety of other such activities have made it easier for people to voice their opinions and make decisions for themselves.

Here, the government steps in with their legal roadblocks. Laws that are for the benefit of the people are funnily used to deprive people of their opinions through these channels. Two young girls were arrested in Mumbai in November 2012 when one of them commented on the death of political leader Balasaheb Thackeray and the other liked the post. The organizers of the AIB roast were all charged with criminal conspiracy, along with a list of other charges. How exactly does this reflect on the mindset of the country? Why is it that MLAs and MPs are allowed to make statements like “Women using cell phones and wearing jeans is the cause of rape,” March 2015 | The Beat

are allowed to roam free as protectors of culture while those who look at creatively bringing people together to share laughs are being charged with criminal cases? Pankaj Tyagi, a member of the Film Censor Board of India, recently tweeted that the board was coming up with a list of words that were not to be used on screen. Is this not a reminder of an ancient socialist civilization in which editorial content was dictated by the whims and fancies of the ministry?

These questions however have remained unanswered throughout the past decade. With every year of social progress, we are also witnessing a rising resistance to this change.

These guardians of culture and tradition, in their quest to protect their interests, have forgotten the true values of the leaders and thinkers of the world. People may not like each other’s opinions, people may have different perspectives about a certain subject but to repress them from expressing these opinions is the end of civilization and thought itself. The freedom of speech and the right of the people to make an opinion is guarded by the very laws of civilization.

We talk of years of progress. We talk of social change in the country. But if one show which was for a closed audience and had an age disclaimer when it came online can create such controversy, I begin to question the validity of such remarks. I don’t believe that the cultural founders of our society would have condoned such an act. The freedom of speech is repeatedly and violently stifled in this country either in the name of standard practise or in the name of culture and tradition. Social media, including YouTube, may make it somewhat easier for these voices to be heard, but as long as the truncheon of social change rests with these traditionalists, free speech remains at threat. It is therefore the responsibility of the progressive and the logical thinkers to come forward and commandeer such acts of brevity, for only with constant battles against backward thinking, can the war be won.

25

National

Bengal bleeds

By Sreemoyee Chatterjee Mahatma Gandhi led a peace march following the Hindu-Muslim bloodbath in Kolkata in 1946, and almost 70 years later, communal tensions are still evident in the city’s Hooghly district, which is known for its architectural heritage. It has now become one of the prominent riot-prone areas in the Mamatagoverned West Bengal.

Hooghly can be termed as the district of diversity, from the historic, panoramic as well as religious points of view. Being an old city on the tranquil bank of Ganges, Hooghly served as the “window” to the foreign merchants and sheltered the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, the Danes and the English in 1696.

Prior to that, Hooghly was under the Gupta dominion which was lat-

er overtaken by the Mughals. Since the third century B.C., Hooghly has seen an amalgamation of several religions, which has turned into a thorn of violence and a prick of fear in the last few months.

It was a joyous Christmas morning last year consorted with humming carols, jingling Christmas bells and a throng of visitors with burning candles, when a riot was triggered in areas around the famous Bandel Church in Hooghly. Bandel Church, built by the Portuguese, is not only a center of immense religious interest, but also a great tourist attraction in Kolkata.

“I was heading towards the church with my husband for prayer when suddenly a bomb wasthrown right on my left foot and I could see nothing but a layer of dense smoke all around. They shouted, ‘You

bloody Christian!’ and there was a wave of terror among hundreds and thousands of visitors, mostly Christians, crying for their lives and shedding blood to a storm of bullets rushing in,” said Martha (name changed) with horror in her eyes, seated on a wheelchair.

Martha lost her left foot to communalism while the local Hindu- Muslim goons were never arrested because they enjoyed political protection.

Paresh (name changed), a Hindu shopkeeper in the Muslim dominant locality of Chokbazaar, almost trembled in fear while describing what happened to his daughter on the same day. “She was dragged out of a bangle store near the church, thrown on the ground and

Above, center: Imambara, Hooghly Above: Hangseshwari Temple 26

March 2015 | The Beat

s over religion tween the Hindus and Muslims who prefer spilling blood over the game of the deserved.

The early November of 2014 saw a heated-up Hooghly over a brawl between the Hindu-dominated Kapasdanga and the Muslim majority region of Chokbazaar when Muslim goons attacked the Hindu Kalibari, openly urinated on the temple walls and the bronze Kali idol was hurled into a nearby pond. The Hindus, tanked with fury, retaliated by bombing a mosque near Chokbazaar Police Station.

The consequences followed.

A curfew was declared, the locals were compelled to be under house arrest and all the schools and colleges were shut down in the adjacent areas. Mujib (name changed) never returned home after he had gone to buy a pack of

cigarettes from the nearby stall, Radha’s (name changed) raped and mutilated body was found behind the walls of a brick factory after a couple of days.

Animesh Guha Roy (name changed), an octogenarian and retired municipal officer from Chinsurah said wearily: “Communal violence in Hooghly is nothing new. It has been taking place since a long period of time due to the geographical location of these riot prone regions and their demography. In recent times, the situation has taken a severe turn due to least police interference and political influence at the cost of local lives.”

It has been observed that despite the frequent religious tension in these areas, the political aid towards the contribution of religious upheaval has never been brought before the media and has been

whipped a score of times for being a behaya [shameless] Hindu (by Muslim goons because she was not wearing a burqa),” he said.

Hooghly witnessed open firing on thegrounds of the church, killing two on the spot. The communal tension between the Hindu and Muslim goons injured about 20 men, out of whom three died later in hospital.

Hooghly, being the birthplace of Lord Krishna and beholding the renowned Hangseshwari Temple, the Hindus claim a greater right over it, while the world celebrated Imambara, known for its archaic beauty lies only six miles away. This spurs a tremor of lawlessness be-

Bandel Church March 2015 | The Beat

27

to locals. This, of course is a master card for the green flag holders to divide and rule and draw maximum votes in Bengal.

“It is as clear as water that these staged riots are of immense political interest for the diplomats and hence are absolutely overlooked by the carriers of justice in our nation,” said Angshumitra Dutta, a young journalist of Anand Bazaar Patrika, who was threatened by one of the influential political power holders of the area while she was reporting. The media in and outside Bengal hardly get to know about the riots, not only due to their sensitive nature, but also to cater to the concerns of power-hungry monsters of democracy.

The massacre after the riots kept under the masquerade of a shrewd diplomatic game of green and red. Recently, the vigor of the ruling party at the central has added up to it. Hooghly has been torn by religious intolerance with communal catastrophe at its height.

Bhadreshwar, Champdani, Telenipara, Urdibazaar, Chinsurah and Rishra are reported to be the prominent areas where there has been a threatening increase in riots for the last six months that has disrupted the social and religious lives of the local residents in Hooghly to a large extent.

“Hindu-Muslim riots in our locality are everyday phenomena. It is as common as crows in the morning and owls at night. Despite the local residents being frequently victimized, the government and police have been blind, deaf and dumb and they have obvious reasons to ignore. After all, they are paid to spill blood and ruin the communal harmony,” said Arnab, a 24-year-old student of electrical engineering who has been born and brought up in Hooghly.

This marred religious sketch of one of the ancient cities in Kolkata evidently points out to the 28

degrading nature of rule over Bengal. The Chief Minister claims herself to be the didi (sister) of her Hindu and Muslim brothers alike. The opposition is blemished with blandishment of creating a communist Bengal that essentially excludes religious intolerance. Despite that Hooghly is bruised with the paw mark of communal turmoil.

“I am scared to leave my parents back in Hooghly”, said Argha, a resident of Hooghly and currently working in one of the multinational companies in Bangalore. “If the rulers themselves turn out to be the exploiter of justice, what can the common men do? The parties hire goons and engage them to plan and execute riots to grab Hindu and Muslim votes to fulfill their own political interests.”

Goons hired by the ruling party in Chinsurah are known to kidnap young boys and use a ransom of Rs.120,000 to buy weapons for the purpose of staging riots, which enables the Trinamool Congress to smear the Bharatiya Janata Party as anti-Muslim and the Communist Party of IndiaMarxist as anti-Hindu, according March 2015 | The Beat

Joya Chatterji, a professor at Cambridge University and the author of Bengal Divided: Hindu Communalism and Partition produced an analysis after a tiresome research as to how the Partition of Bengal had been sowing the venomous seeds of communalism that would perhaps not end soon.

She writes: “Partitioning India was a decision taken by the Congress at the Centre playing from strength. By contrast, the Bengal Congress achieved the partition of their province from a position of fundamental weakness.”

It is this “weakness” of blinded hypocrisy and the inability to celebrate humanity that has jeopardized secularity in our nation.

Even after a century of the partition, Hooghly seems like a wrecked boat, sinking deep down in the sea of blood, the blood that once colored the rising sun along the solitary bank of Ganges. Now, it is all about the game of thrones, where life is wasted at the honor of Krishna, Allah and Jesus, spurring one to kill another in the name of God. God bless India, God bless humanity.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

International

Taliban and Al-Qaida: A stark contrast

By Raya Ghosh Sept. 11, 2001, was an ordinary day in America until one catastrophic event transformed the divine decree of the country in an obnoxious way.

The atrocious attack of Al-Qaida on the World Trade Centre took the lives of approximately 2,996 people including 19 hijackers.

History records this episode as one of the most pernicious ones for firefighters and law enforcement officers, with 343 and 72 killed, respectively.

Mumbai also, in 2008 grappled with a difficult situation wherein the Lashkar-e-Taiba wreaked havoc by attacking various corners of South Mumbai, claiming 164 lives.

Terrorism across the world has been a perpetual affair, so much so that a sudden incursion does not even come as a surprise.

The Institute for Economics and Peace defines terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear, coercion or intimidation.�

But what about the mass destruction that such attacks create? The cataclysmic wreckage that leaves millions of innocent beings into shambles? The Global Terrorism Index illustrates how terrorism has become a universal paradox wherein a 61 percent increase has been observed in the number of people killed in terrorist attacks over the last year.

India, Pakistan rank high Around 17,958 people were sacrificed in terrorist executions last year that are 61 percent more than the figures obtained in 2013. Sadly, 82 percent of all deaths from terrorist attacks occur in just five countries—Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

Furthermore, the organization also identifies the major factors that are associated with terrorism. Apart from extra judicial killings, group grievances and soaring levels of atrocities also lead to such terrorist activities.

Terrorism has consistently targeted private property and citizens. However, religion as a propulsive theory has dramati-

cally increased since 2000. Prior to this, nationalist separatist ideologies were what motivated terrorist organizations. Pakistan and India rank third and sixth, respectively, in the Global Terrorism Index of 2014.

Over 48,000 terrorist attacks have occurred over the last 14 years claiming over 107, 000 lives. Another significant point which must be noted is that the increase in terrorist activities has synchronized with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which has consequently created humongous power vacuums in the country, thereby granting various blocs to resurface and emerge as a brutal force.

Origins of terror Taliban and Al-Qaida are identified as the most carcinogenic terrorist organizations in the world. However, the universal belief that exists is that the Taliban and Al-Qaida are one and the same. Nonetheless, bothhese organizations are not only disparate but also have contrasting objectives.

After the 9/11 attacks, which were executed by Al-Qaida, the

A Taliban member beating women in Kabul.

March 2015 | The Beat

29

terrorist group was referred to as the world’s most infamous terrorist organizations. Basically, the Al-Qaida originates from the mujahideen. Thousands of volunteers came to Afghanistan from the Middle East as mujahideen. Essentially, these volunteers were warriors who wanted to defend their associate Muslims. During the mid1980s, Osama Bin Laden became the primary manipulator for an organization that recruited Muslims from mosques around the world. Soviet forces were majorly defeated by these people, who were trained to become terrorists.

cized for treating their women brutally. Most of the members of Taliban are Afghan Pashtun tribesmen.

in the blood of the Taliban. For them, political endurance could only be achieved through austere fundamentalism.

Ideologies

Formation

Moreover, Al-Qaida and Taliban have ideologies that are absolutely different from each other.

Al-Qaida follows the theory that is based on sharia. Through this, they aim to establish an Islamic state by eradicating the concepts of socialism and nationalism, which according to them are “non-Muslim” concepts. The organization is radically influenced by “Qutbism” which stems from the writings of Sayyad

Sunni Muslims who practice Wahhabism formed Al-Qaida. It must be noted that Wahabism is the most extreme form of Islam, wherein the Qaida members aim to establish Islamic rule and replace all governments with Islamic leaders.

Laden returned to his native Saudi Arabia after the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. With the help of experts of the Afghan war, Laden established an organization which formed the foundation of Al-Qaida.

Strategies

Furthermore, Laden was expelled from Saudi Arabia for hosting activities which were against the government, after which he established the headquarters of Al-Qaida in Khartoum, Sudan.

On the other hand, the Taliban is an Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization in Afghanistan. Not only did Taliban form the Osama Bin Laden, Founder of Al-Qaida government in Afghanistan, but it also ruled as the Qutb. Moreover, Islamic fundaIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 to Decem- mentalism and Wahabism are ideologies which Qaida members ber 2001, with Kandahar as the capital. Nonetheless, this organi- propagate eminently. zation was diplomatically recogOn the other hand, Taliban folnized by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia lows an extremist ideology that and the United Arab Emirates is a combination of Sharia law only. Since its inception, Moand Pashtun tribal codes, therehammed Omar, the founder of by sharing certain concepts of Taliban, has also been serving as jihad followed by the Al-Qaida the spiritual leader of the orgagroup. Refugee students who nization. constituted the Taliban were not only uneducated, but also had The Taliban had sanctioned a no traditional skills such as agririgid interpretation of sharia, culture or handicrafts. War repIslamic law, that has often been resented employment and peace opposed by the Muslim commuwas considered as stagflation. nity. Apart from this, the TaliDominating women was infused ban has been consistently criti30

However, Taliban consists of conservative religious students who were rigid zealots of Sharia.

Dominated by people of the Pashtun community, the Taliban inhibited Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Despite losing power in 2001, they reinstituted themselves, thereby wreaking havoc on the world yet again.

March 2015 | The Beat

Al-Qaida has a strange rivalry with the United States.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor in chief of Rai al-Youm, an Arab opinion website, summarizes the strategy of Al-Qaida in this way: Qaida members desire to provoke the United States and the West into ravaging a Muslim country by executing a massive attack on U.S. soil, thereby causing high civilian casualties. They then aim to expand the conflict by spreading it to neighboring countries. In this way, the United States will end up engaging itself and its allies in a long war that will result in their abrasion.

Furthermore, Al-Qaida also believes that the U.S. economy will collapse by 2020 due to multiple engagements in several places.

This in turn, would affect the worldwide economic system that depends on the United States massively. Thus, global political instability would lead to the establishment of global jihad by Al-Qaida, wherein a Wahhabi caliphate would be initiated across the world.

However, Taliban primarily

The flag of Al-Qaida in Iraq concentrates on Afghanistan and Pakistan. U.N. officials have stated that 15 massacres have occurred between 1996 and 2001. Also, Taliban treats women in Afghanistan worse than one might treat animals.

Not only do they operate a human-trafficking network, but the organization also abducts women and sells them to pimps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Women are also forced into sex slavery. Reportedly, several women have committed suicide in order to save themselves from this horrific livelihood.

The world denounces Taliban on account of dealing with women in such an oppressive manner.

Several restrictions are imposed on the women in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Women are strictly not allowed to work outside their house unless accompanied by a mahram (close male relative such as father, brother or husband). Neither can they deal with shopkeepers, nor can they get themselves treated by male doctors. Grievously, women who do not wear a long veil up to their ankles are whipped in public. What can be worse than the fact that women in Afghanistan are not allowed to wear bright colors as the Taliban considers them to be “sexually attractive colors.”

Operations Four out of six Al-Qaida op-

erations have been executed against America. These include a bomb attack in Aden in 1992 and attacks on the U.S. embassies Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi in 1998 that claimed a total of 300 lives.

However, the most disastrous one has been the World Trade Center attack.

The Taliban, on the other hand, captured Kandahar in 1994 and also received support from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) in Pakistan. Not only did the organization capture Kabul in 1996, the Taliban also enforced sharia in Afghanistan, prohibiting videos and dancing. Women were forced to wear burqas and men were asked to dress in the Taliban way.

Al-Qaida is often considered as a convolution of relatively associated terrorist groups rather than a tenacious organization with the command and control structure and perpetual core of terrorists. However, the Taliban has often been classified as a “dictatorial and alternative government.”

“The longevity of the Al-Qaida could be attributed to the organization’s very secure and secretive inner circle and to the fact that the inner circle has not been penetrated by any of the secret services or intelligence units of those countries fighting them. The error in combating terrorism and Islamic extremMarch 2015 | The Beat

ism is that all acts of terror are attributed to the Al-Qaida. It almost seems that the Al-Qaida is the model scapegoat for failings of the security forces around the world. It has come to such a pass that one now also has doubts on whether the perpetrators of 9/11 were indeed the Al-Qaida. However, the Taliban is only another facet of Afghan politics. Hence it should not be linked with Al-Qaida or even terrorism,” said Ambassador B.R. Muthu Kumar, a former Indian Foreign Service Officer.

The ideological and fundamental difference between Al-Qaida and Taliban exists predominantly. But that does not reduce the impact that their encounters create worldwide. Slaughter. Annihilation. Mass destruction and gory deaths. Terrorists rarely achieve their objectives through these attacks; but only end up claiming innocent lives through such devastating exterminations. Not only do these attacks destabilize the government but also sabotage the civil society and naturally thwart the peace in the nation. The balance in the society is disrupted through constant intimidations which affects the temperament of the mass. With increasing terrorist activities all over the world, we can only hope for a better future.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

31

Roaring across B

By Himadri Ghosh Metal birds of different shapes and designs soared and roared over the sky of Bangalore from Feb. 18 to 22 during India’s premier air show, the biennial Aero India.

While inaugurating the 10th edition of Aero India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strong speech indicating the end of India’s reliance on defense imports. He also promised a conducive atmosphere for foreign manufacturers and urged them not to be just a “seller” but be a “strategic adviser.”

Braving the hot sun and putting aside the city’s infamous traffic snarls, thousands of people of all age groups reached out to the venue to witness the spectacular flying emblazon of stunts performed by jets, helicopters and drones.

The Aero India Organizing

Committee said that more than 300,000 general visitors came down at the Indian Air Force’s Yelahanka Air Base to watch the mega air show.

State-run Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd. (HAL) flaunted their light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas and displayed the Rudra prototype light combat helicopter.

The medium combat aircraft Rafale, a creation of the French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation was the star attraction with its audacious maneuvers, which included an eye-catching double-barrel loop and some regular vertical turns, rolls, flying upside down and in angular combat mode.

Although the Czech Red Bull pilots suffered a minor, nonfatal midair collision on the second day (the planes landed safely), it still remained the favourite of the year’s air

Two girls perform stunts on top of Breitling aircraft.

32

show.

Aero India 2015 was a huge success compared with its last edition in 2013.

This year, more than a 100 companies from around the globe participated in this mega trade fair. The exhibition saw over 750 companies, both Indian and international, including state-aided enterprises showcasing their technological prowess

and flaunting their prototypes.

On the surface, it seems that Aero India 2015 was a grand success. But a lot of sectors of this

A group of four helicopters leave a thick trail of smoke, in preparation for the show.

March 2015 | The Beat

Bangalore’s skies magnificent air show are still in dark. No mega deal was signed in this significant platform despite the government’s claims of bolstering business opportunities in the international aviation sector.

The “Make in India” program was trumpeted at the trade fair and in the media, but the government has yet to clarify how the endeavor will help the stateaided defense manufacturing companies.

Defense enthusiasts are awaiting answers to these questions, hoping for a positive boost in the aeronautics sector.

The Indian Air Force’s Lockheed Martin C-130J on display

Views on ‘Make In India’ “I genuinely believe it’s a decisive decision taken by our government, it also shows the farsightedness of the government.” Gp Cpt S K Pandey,GMBusiness Development, OIS-AT “We believe that government’s vision of ‘Make in India’ will be a game changer in aerospace and defence.” T. Suvarna Raju, Chairman, HAL “I think it will help India in terms of Global business and also improve India’s economy.” Jean Francois Auber, Sales Executive, Spherea Test & Services “I believe India imports more than 50-55% of defence mechanics, this programme is designed in such way where both the national and foreign contribute and make a product in India.”

A S Mahadevan, General Manager- Communication, Alpha Design Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Embraer ERJ-145 moves on

March 2015 | The Beat

33

Art and Culture

Karnataka’s Banjara tr

By Darshan D Rane, Samreen Tungekar and Kimaya Varude Tucked away in forests of Bijapur, with improper or no road connectivity, an entire community bears the brunt of complete neglect by the government¬—the Banjara or Lambani settlement.

Otherwise used as showpieces for tourists who visit Bijapur, the community has been subject to difficult conditions of living.

Spinning Mill tanda (village) and Bhaikatti tanda are two lambani villages, comprising about 375 families who have been living there for three generations or close to 200 years. The Banjaras complain of there being no schemes for healthcare, no housing, no proper roads, no education and no toilets or sanitation.

Most families do not know of the schemes and benefits that they are entitled to, which make them vulnerable to exploitation by the government and other communities.

A meager pension of Rs.500 for men and women above 60 years and food rations are the only two schemes that are known to these people. According to the villagers, sometimes the pension never arrives and other times, it is just Rs.200 to Rs.300.

Food rations are provided, but instead of 5 kilograms of rice and 3 liters of kerosene and food oils, only 3 kilograms of rice and 2 liters of kerosene are provided or not provided at all. This is an irony considering that there is a warehouse of Food Corporation of India (FCI), located at a few hundred meters from the settlement, which provides food grains to the entire Bijapur district and Karnataka state.

The ration shop owners mock the villagers with comments like, “You’re supposed to register via cell 34

phone before coming to collect the rations.”

“We do not have cell phones and they know it,” said Santosh Rathore.

“If we don’t register, we do not get our rations.”

The villagers sleep for a night or sometimes two in front of the ration shop to make sure that they get their supply of ration from the shop. Hence, obtaining these basic schemes by the government is also a major struggle for the community.

The Karnataka state government had earmarked Rs.400 million for setting up Banjara community halls, starting in 2011. Two community halls, Jagajivan Bhavan and Banjara Bhavan were to be constructed according to the project however the construction of the community halls was stalled due to a “shortage of funds.”

“We were not paid on a timely basis by the public works department (PWD). Our last payment of Rs.39 lakhs [Rs.390 million] is still pending with the PWD because of which we have not handed over the Jagajivan Bhavan and Banjara Bhavan to the PWD,” said Ashok Torase, site engineer with Puja contractors.

Medical conditions and schooling A government hospital is situated in the city, far away from their settlement. Families refrain from going there as the government hospital demands money for treatment.

“Government hospitals are supposed to provide treatment without demanding payment.

They ask us to pay heavy payments for treatment,” said Vijay Chavan, a Lambani youth.

Eighteen people (two blind, three infected with polio and 13 March 2015 | The Beat

with arthritis) blamed their misery on the lack of healthcare and poor connectivity of roads to get to the nearest hospital.

Lakshmibai Rathore, who was blinded in a house accident in 2011, said their vision could have been saved if a medical facility was located in close vicinity to the village.

There is one school in the entire area which has classes up to the seventh grade. Approximately 60 students study in the school. Most children drop out to work in brick kilns at Rs.200 per day.

“The families of the students prefer them to work in brick kilns rather than pursue schooling,” said P.C Kajagan, headmistress of Government K.B.S No. 54 School. “It earns them money.

They have no

ribe: The untold story awareness that schooling will bring about the wellness of their children and their future. Their mindset is such. Our teachers have to go individually to request parents to send their children to school.

“The brick kiln owners also, lure the youth with money. They exploit the youth to run their business. There are 12 illegal brick kilns running in this area. It becomes difficult for us to retain our students. There is no will on the part of the parents or the students.”

What can be done?

The community needs basic healthcare and housing which can be provided under the Indira Awaas Yojana scheme. But this can be done only if there is a political will to bring about the

welfare of this community.

The upliftment of this community would serve to increase the GDP of the country in a more profound way by means of tourism because the Banjaras have rich sense of art and culture. Their dance, rangoli, embroidering, tattooing, music skills, and painting can be given a boost by converting their villages into revenue villages.

The revenue villages model could be adopted from 100 smart cities project planned by the central government in their interim.

Actions taken in this direction would serve to boost the tourism sector and also bring about the upliftment of the community.

History, origin, migration, change of profession Indian culture and tribes have always been of interest, even to the Constitution, which recognises 646 tribes. The Lambani tribes are a part of the Indian tribal groups and their cultural revolution along with a constant battle to retain their identity has been behind the curtains of Karnataka’s scenario.

Lambanis are originally a tribe from Rajasthan. A part of the Banjara tribes, Lambanis would wander in the remote areas of Rajasthan.

These tribes are known to have settled in different parts of India.

One of the folklores suggests that they flocked to South India and settled there to lead a healthy and protective life.

Their story of settling in South India begins with a war between Maharana Pratap Singh of Rajasthan and Mughals. When the King lost the battle, Mughals were outraged to kill everybody who was a part of his kingdom. Hence, lambanis had to move out of the state to save themselves. This wanderer tribe then flew to the jungles, miles away from their place of birth.

They settled in parts of Maharashtra, Andhra March 2015 | The Beat

Pradesh and Karnataka. They continued their business of selling salt in these areas to make a living out of it.

“When they came to Karnataka, 100 years ago, they started selling salt here. They earned, but it was not sufficient to feed their families. The name ‘Lambani’ originated from the fact that they sold salt,” said Appa, 88, the oldest living Lambani in a tanda (the traditional living place of Banjaras), 26 kilometers away from the Muddebihal Taluk in Karnataka.

They entered the business of making leather and learned the art of preparing liquor from jaggery.

There was a time when this business was at its peak and their arak alcohol had become famous amongst the locals. Soon the state government banned the production of arak, terming it illegal. They said that it hampered the sales of statesponsored liquor.

It was at this time when they took up agriculture and made it their only source of living. They started growing jowar, bajra, toor dal, peanuts and sunflowers in their fields. They sell them in the nearby markets.

They sport highly patriarchal families and believe that children are the branches of the house.

Lambanis in the tandas near Muddebihal have many children and they are all sent to government schools for education.

Women have high status Women of this tribe are strong and feisty. Rukmabai, 65, was also born and brought up in Muddebihal. She has three sons and four daughters.

In her early years she worked as labourer in farms and was famous for making Arak. “Women are considered weak. But we proved that we are strong enough to manage a family of 20 people or more. Our successful family generations are proof enough,” she said.

They used to wear traditional 35

attire of Rajasthan, but after moving to different states, they took up different attire to hide from the Mughals. They are draped in colourful dupattas and wear blouses decorated with mirrors and decorative stones.

Their dresses are hand woven and sport intricate designs. They are always decked up in heavy jewellery on their forehead, ears, nose, neck, hands and legs. Their hair is pleated and silver earrings hang in their hair on both the sides. Men wear a dhoti kurta and a turban of single colour to distinguish themselves from the other men.

Lambanis

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celebrate all Hindu festivals from Diwali to Holi. However teej-gour and seetla puja are their favourite festivals. They follow the cultural activities of all the festivals. There is extensive singing and dancing during these festivals. When the first crop of the year grows, the Lambanis celebrate it with a puja (worship) of the farm and young people are made Nayak and Karwari. They have to wear the traditional dress of the lambani and have to parade along the farms.

Migration for work Lakshmibai, 75, was born and brought up in Muddebihal. She was married

March 2015 | The Beat

off at the age of 14. She has three children and never went to school.

She used to work in farms and as woodcutter. The life for her was very difficult and so she started selling salt. Her sons work in Goa as labourers and return only during the rainy season to take care of their farms. Most of the people from these tandas work in Goa to earn money during the summers.

The oldest Lambani woman of Muddebihal Ratnabai, 98, is the oldest of all the Lambani women in Muddebihal. She was married off at the age of 15 and her grandson says she

hasn’t been inactive for a moment since then. She singlehandedly managed the house, which is also the largest family of the tanda, when her husband used to be out of town. She has two sons and two daughters. She owns 100 acres of land and has never had to take loans for her farms.

“She wakes up at 6 a.m. and does all her personal and household chores every day. She never asks for help, she is independent.

Her age worries us because she is

the strong pillar of this family,” said her grandson Krishnappa, 34, who manages her farms now.

helping his parents in farms and wants to serve in the Indian Army.

Lambani youth: A cultural disconnect

Kiran Rathore, 19, is a second-year student of commerce in MGVC College.

The youth of this tribe is evidently adapting more to what they experience around them in Muddebihal, choosing modernisation over culturally connecting to where they come from. They are quite vocal about not having much knowledge about their background.

“Our language does not have a script,” he said. “So we end up learning in Kannada and English language. We don’t wear the traditional dress because the world is changing. We love new fashion,” he said, fiddling with his phone, playing a recent Bollywood song to prove his point.

Namdeo Rathore, 15, is a student of MGVC College in Muddebihal and studies arts there. He took admission in that college under the Scheduled Tribes reservation. He likes

March 2015 | The Beat

37

Citylights: Delhi

That beautiful mess

By Pavitra Parekh Delhi is a lot to take in at once.

It will fill your senses and consume you. It has an aura that is the result of a 3,000-year-old history. It holds in its every space glories of the past or a glimmer of the future.

I know this is not the picture you have in your head. The capital is today so much more popular for crime and corruption and crooks. That’s what the papers tell you every morning.

And as someone who has lived there all her life, I’ll tell you this.

You’re right. Delhi is every bit the mess you think it is. But it is also so much more. I hope you can visit the Delhi that lies beneath newspaper headlines and crime record files. And when you find that city, you will fall in love with it.

I find it hard, even after living in the city for 20 years to pinpoint what it is about the Delhi that makes it so special. It contains the remnants of various dynasties that have inhabited it and have left the city, but have also left their mark, one that hasn’t faded the tiniest bit and one that probably never will. It provides the canvas that Delhi is painted on.

The capital boasts of a rich heritage and magnificent architecture. Tombs of the Tuglaqs, and minarets of the Mughals dot the entire landscape of the city. The im-

38

perial styles of Indian rulers exist so harmoniously with the Victorian styles of the Raj to give you the most stunning IndoSaracenic architecture. The Lal Qila or the Red Fort, Humayun’s tomb, Qutub Minar, the Lotus Temple and many such more are so generously scattered across the city and make up Delhi’s charm. The grandeur of India’s capital is only too apparent in these places.

freedom and space they provide is impossible to beat. You’ll find the strangest traditions here. The Virgin Tree pooja, for instance, is a prayer in which a particular tree in Hindu College, my alma mater, is decorated with condoms and streamers.

The boys then circle the tree and pray to the goddess, normally a Bollywood actress, to either lose their virginity or to have lots of sex.

This age-old history rubs shoulders with metropolitan modernity in every possible sphere.

A 20-minute ride will take you from electronic dance tracks to qawallis at the Nizamuddin Dargah.

This isn’t just a small prayer.

It’s a big deal in Delhi University.

It’s how many start their valentines.

Delhi lives in its streets. It embraces all the diversity that migrants bring with them and is constantly evolving. It does not belong to any one people. If you put aside your Lonely Planet and other travel guides, you will find a city still undiscovered and perhaps far more appealing.

Delhi University draws so many young people into the city year after year.

There is such a great hype surrounding these colleges. They more than live up to it.

The intellectual

There are visitors and heightened security and flowers to throw at posters of the “goddess.” The prayer is written by the brilliant minds that reside in the boy’s hostel and is really just a vulgar song. There are customs too. Two boys will be declared pandits. They will wear dhoti and shave their heads and cover their foreheads with the white powder you normally find in temples. It’s amusing how seriously they take this practice. The principal and teachers happily watch the show. It has over the years become a thing of pride. Although I find the concept ridiculous, to say the very least, it symbolizes complete and absolute freedom to do what you like. And that is so very liberating.

Another favourite spot in the city has to be Hauz Khas village.

March 2015 | The Beat

Overlooking the lake and the beautiful fort, it is a set of cafes and boutiques crammed higgledy-piggledy into the narrow streets. You will find the best food, music and couture in this place.

cuisine. The street food in Delhi is a whole experience. There are a few restaurants and dhabas that have become so immensely popular that many consider them a part of the routine sightseeing tours.

It has a number of restaurants that offer you food from around the world, cafes that come alive as soon as the sun sets and a range of music. There is something for everyone. It’s where many lazy days and whole nights have been spent. This artsy and colourful spot is paradise for fashion lovers. Stores of several established and upcoming Indian designers are located here. Art galleries displaying the works of some of the biggest names also contribute to the charm.

On New Year’s or World Music Day or any occasion to celebrate really, the lanes here will display pure chaos. It is the kind of chaos you don’t mind. The kind you enjoy even.

Chandni Chowk is one such place. Having served the most delicious food for over a hundred years, it has garnered a well deserved popularity. Today it is managed by fourth or fifth generations. You haven’t really seen all of Delhi if you miss the city’s oldest spot. Every shop has photographs of Indira Gandhi, Nehru or Ranbir Kapoor dining there. It makes you realize how much of a history the area has.

Anyone who has been to Delhi will tell you about the food. It’s hard to get used to not having it around. From the famous chicken and mutton rolls at Khan Chacha to the best blueberry cheesecake I have had anywhere in the world, this city will bring you everything you want on a platter. Elma’s Bakery will serve you the best red velvet cupcakes and Karim’s will bring you the best Mughlai

Matia Mahal Bazaar in Old Delhi

March 2015 | The Beat

This place is crowded and noisy and chaotic. It is pure pandemonium and it is stunning. You must visit it, even if only to stare at the spectacle.

For anyone who enjoys shopping, you cannot possibly set aside enough days to go through Delhi’s markets, which sell everything from colorful stoles and traditional Indian chappals to gold and silver antiques. From the bangle shops you see Indian girls lust over in movies to high end essential oils, the city is a treat. With the large number of designers showcasing their work in the capital, design and art have somewhere become intricately woven into a lifestyle that many choose.

You grow up in a city that has since the very beginning pampered you with beauty in every possible form and sphere and maybe you start taking it for granted a little bit. I realized this when I finally moved out close to a year ago. It’s like you only notice how much you need those paintings and sculptures in your home when you are forced to live in a space with bare walls.

For those of you who do visit, Delhi will surprise you, hold you and make you come back.

And as for me, the city will always have my heart and I will always call it home.

39

Citylights: Kolkata

A city beyond Beng

By Moinak Pal As the pilot’s sharp voice crackled through the cabin, a sense of excitement rushed in me. Blinking lights, fast-moving runway, the sound of turbines hitting the cold air and strobe lights under the wings, all mixed up as the plane took off from the Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore.

It was half past nine and I was already feeling a sense of eagerness and restlessness. Time blacked out.

“We will be landing shortly at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. On behalf of the Indigo Airlines and the entire crew, we would like to thank you for joining in this trip. During your stay in Kolkata, do not forget to try the mutton biryani at Arsalan, famous juices in Paramount at College Street, sweets from Bhim Naag and Oly Pub in Park Street.

Have a nice stay and we hope to see you again.”

I intently felt the thump of the wheels on the runway as the plane started its landing procedure.

The distance from the runway to the terminal seemed like a million miles as the plane taxied towards the parking area. It stopped, the door opened, a whirlwind of people got up and took out their luggage and moved towards the door. Getting down, walking on the tarmac, feeling the vibration on my legs as the turbines fought against the wind made me perceive the caress of my roots. The flight had landed and I was in Kolkata. For the first time in 23 years, I felt I was back, somewhere, I was meant to be. Felt at home, at peace.

Due to the unique way family relations work in India, my family was somehow disconnected to relatives in Kolkata. This meant I had to stay at my friend’s place that was homely and never made me feel alone in a new city. After 40

reaching home at quarter to two in the morning, we had dinner, chicken curry and rice.

It was a grand feast of chicken curry, with its breathtaking aroma and magnificent taste.

It was served with steaming rice, ghee and raw onions for company. Ah! Bliss was right there. The journey was tiring and we decided to call it a night, unwillingly of course.

Kolkata is a very distinct city, of its own sorts. It has an earthy atmosphere and is capable of even mellowing down Hitler handling a nuke. An utmost sense of fulfillment is found on its streets, the Maidan, the shopping sprees and most of all, the food. Kolkata is the land of sweets, as we all know. It is also an abode of good and cheap food. Almost every joint will serve you a mouth-watering mutton biriyani, delicious chicken, mutton or egg roll or a thali that will delight your digestive system at a very reasonable price.

Cuisines in Kolkata are innumerable. The prevalent Bengali cuisine provides innumerable options, enough to fulfill the desire of a foodie. The basic culinary influences include Mughlai, Anglo-Indian or Raj and Chinese cuisine, offering a wide array of lip-smacking dishes.

If you are travelling by train to Kolkata, then you should know that the moment you start hearing “Jhalmuri” in the coaches, you have entered the Bengal territory.

Basically consisting of puffed rice, chanachur, chopped onions, chillis, tomatoes, coriander, spices, nuts and tossed in mustard oil.

It is a rage for the tastebuds and better than the “airbags” that you get in high-end stores.

I have friends from Kolkata and have seen them transcending into squeals of delight upon seeing a March 2015 | The Beat

cart of gol gappas, or phuchkas, as they are commonly called there.

Eat them, drink them anyhow you can have them and still have the urge for more. Say something against the phuchkas and you will probably find yourself dead.

The famous kathi roll of Nizam’s, originating in Kolkata, is a basic flatbread rolled with chicken or mutton fillings, covered in spicy sauce and a dash of chopped onions and cucumber. They are similar to the Spanish tacos or the Lebanese shawarmas.

Telebhaja (fried in oil), ghugni (dried yellow or white peas), papri chaat, doi bora (dahi vada), shingada (samosa), chowmein (noodles), kulfi, jalebi, radha ballavi (masala kochuri), fish cutlets or fingers, alu kabli (made of potato), mishti doi (sweet curd) and what not. The sheer mention of these names makes me hungry again. Hungry enough to rush back to the place where it all started.

gali: The City of Joy can feel its colossal presence intermixed with the sounds of wind blowing in your ears, the Ganges flowing underneath and the traffic throbbing angrily in your head.

Zamindars or land owners, some of the wealthiest people in Kolkata? had huge houses and property estates. The Marble Palace is one among them. Also known as the Palace of Art, it was the private possession of Raja Rajendro Mullick. Artworks from Italy, the Netherlands, Britain and other European nations adorn the palace. This is another place to visit if you are someone who appreciates art.

I, if the space allows, can go on and on about food in Kolkata. But then, food is not the only thing residing large, amid various other things. You have ample of places to go and relax and feel the cool and crisp air on your face.

Victoria Memorial, built in the memory of Queen Victoria after her death in 1902, showcases the various paintings of the British royal family, royal and historic artifacts, lithographs and documents. One of the most known major landmarks of Kolkata, that fairy at the top of the dome spurs one to fly and feel free.

One of the busiest bridges in the world, Howrah Bridge, caters to more than 100,000 vehicles per day and even more pedestrians and exemplifies one of the best engineering techniques in the world. Pictures only tell you a part of the story but once you stand in the middle of the bridge, you

Park Street is perhaps one of the best known places in Kolkata and therefore it requires a special mention. Before I went to the actual place, I was tempted to read some reviews of the same. I was amazed at how deeply people loved Park Street.

“Christmas in India,” “The street that never sleeps”, “A bright spot in Kolkata,” “Funky,” “The Spinal Cord of Kolkata,” “The best walking street,” “Bright lights” were a few out of the numerous reviews that I found.

When I visited the place, it was the night of Dec. 22 and good lord, Park Street looked awesome.

The whole street had been strung with innumerable small blinking lights and adorned with dangling light strips. The shops, the bars, the pubs and the plazas amazed me. This was the Times Square of India. Lights, people, traffic were the three things that made up for a beautiful evening.

A few of the main attractions are the Oly Pub, famous for its beef steak and beer, Peter Cat for its chelo kababs and house dizzlers. Flury’s, famous for its English tearoom and breakfast, serves luxurious cakes, indulgent March 2015 | The Beat

pastries, rich puddings and Flury’s pride, one of the best single-origin chocolates outside of Europe. All these had a dash of Old World charm.

Another must-visit place is the Kusum Rolls. They serve the famous kathi rolls and one of the best rolls around the place.

Particularly, the double chicken and the mutton roll with a dash of lemon. Behold! Your tastebuds will explode.

Walk up to any one in Kolkata and ask them about the best place for Mughlai cuisine. Arsalan will be the swift reply. It is the main heart and mind of the Bengali cuisine with its steaming mutton biryani and chicken biryani.

Indian Coffee House is one of the oldest places in Kolkata, where intellectuals gather for some English tea and breakfast. Much like Koshy’s in Bangalore, it serves good old bacon and eggs, Spanish omelet and tea or coffee.

Kolkata is the den of cheap food and transport. You can get anywhere in Kolkata for as low as Rs.10. The metro is cheap. So are the bright yellow cabs. There is a considerable difference when you compare the transport system in Kolkata with anything else.

Cheap and cheerful, that’s a hard term to come by these days. But then, Kolkata proved to be the City of Joy, where you do not need a huge amount of money or a swanky lifestyle to fit in. The city welcomes you whol-heartedly and keeps you in its heart without any questions or restraints.

I loved Kolkata. For me as a Bengali, who had lived outside of Kolkata his whole life, it would make me want to come here again.

This is not about being a Bengali.

This is more than that, beyond Bengali.

Courtesy of Wikimedia

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Citylights: Chennai

By Aadhira Anandh.M A city that introduces us to emotions, the Cultural Capital of India: Chennai. The tranquility of the place welcomes us to its glimpse of tradition and culture. The essence of the place fills us with a nostalgic reminiscence of our introduction to culture and tradition.

Madras to Chennai a charismatic experience.

For Madras, Marina is a thing of beauty. Every Chennaitee basks in the glory of this

Chennai is an amazing concoction of tradition and modernity. Munduclad men, sari-clad women and the tortuous sun are always on their doorsteps welcoming any globetrotter visiting the vast expanse of this marvelous traditionalism.

More than a tourist spot, we can connect to Chennai as a beguiling place every traveler will look for.

The city is itself a bunch of different emotions put together. There is a very famous statement that defines the place: “Chennai is a city, but Madras

swimming and bathing is highly prohibited due to the high turbulent waves and the under current.

Extravagant history Fort St. George was opened to the public from Jan. 31 1948.

The museum building is one of the oldest and the period pieces are displayed over three floors. The building first served as Madras Bank and then turned into a museum. It mainly displays military architecture marvel and is recognized largely by the Archeological survey of India.

is an emotion.�This a r t i c l e willtake you throughMadras.

The old Madras that still makes this place a treasure, that madras which will give us the taste of culture, which it refuses to lose, even after modernization and the spread of the vast IT sector.

The fort is divided into two sections: St. Mary Church and the Fort Museum. The church holds the name of being the oldest church to survive and it is also the oldest Anglican Church in India.

The uniform of the various British Army ranks, ceremonial dresses, oil paintings, portraits, medals, coins, letters etc are few among the famous displays here. It’s nothing but an extra feather in the cap for Madras, as the city has always opened its arms to the antiquity and the emotions that could well describe the people living there.

Tans,sandand more The foremost place to visit in Chennai is Marina Beach. It has the name of the longest natural urban beach in the country and also the second largest beach in the world. Adding to the beauty of the beach is the vast expanse of eatery shops that serve hot local food. The food there is always a major attraction. The rejuvenating fresh air and the classy food give us 42

extravagant expanse of the sea and welcome the tourists to this place showing the best thing that they can offer. It is the most crowded beach. During summer it is estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 people visit the beach daily, even though

Architectural beauty The Thousand Lights Mosque is known for its architecture. Though March 2015 | The Beat

i: A cultural journey it’s a religious shrine, its architecture holds high esteem in Madras. The mosque is multi-domed and is one of the largest mosques in the country. The story behind the name of the mosque is that there is a need of thousand lights to illuminate the assembly hall of the mosque.

Another mosque was added, reflecting west Asian influence.

The mosque had domes that were curved inside and the whole mosque is embellished with quotes from the Koran. In this structure, there is a main hall in the ground floor for men and a separate room for women. It’s a common place for all Shia Muslims. The best time to visit the mosque is during Moharram, as they all gather together to participate in Matam.

The place is a classic piece of architecture and religious practices thus making it an appealing yet an interesting thing to look forward to.

it an outstanding piece of history.

Lord Shiva and his glory Kapaleeswarar Temple, the altar of Lord Shiva, is a masterpiece of Dravidian architecture. The temple has a giant gopuram (tower) and is considered one of the famous temples in Chennai. The temple is situated in Mylapore. The story behind the name is Parvathi, the wife of lord Shiva, offered herself to Shiva in the form of a mayil, or peacock. Thus the place got its name Mylapore. The temple is very different from others.

The temples features number of vahans (vehicles) believed to be the form of vehicles for the gods.

Some of them include the bull, the mythlogical adhikara nandi, the elephant, the bandicoot, the peacock, the goat and the parrot along with a

golden chariot. Another interesting piece is the bronze covering of the sahivante saints that is present in the temple.

The temple paints a complete picture of how the culture of the religion is and accompanying it are too many beliefs and traditions that would leave us mesmerized and would want us to visit the place and experience them.

Not just that, there are other places to visit, including the Freemasons Hall, Kamaraj Memorial House, Elliot’s Beach, Crocodile Bank, Mahabalipuram among many more, that gives us the essence of how Madras has succeeded in carrying forward the tradition and the culture for centuries together.

Courtesy of Wikimedia

A church for every religion The Santhome Cathedral Basilica is the most famous place in Madras.

The place is meant for people from all religion, cast and creed. The church offers an intoxication that makes it a must visit for any tourist visiting Madras. The church was nothing but a “small settlement” for the Catholic Christians who settled in Mylapore. But as days passed and the popularity of the church spread, it became the holy place of all the Catholics.

The church got its name from St. Thomas, who was believed to be one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He was buried in this place, and the church is an accolade for him. The architecture is of neogothic style. There is also museum that portrays some peculiar artifacts.

There are remains of the corpse and also bones of St. Thomas. Another interesting thing that is displayed is the spear that is believed to have killed the saint.

The church is a blend of everything.

It has emotions, devotions and religion attached to it, thus making

Glimpses of Chennai March 2015 | The Beat

43

Citylights: Mumbai

Mumbai: A tale of seven islands

By Gaurav Sarkar and Noah D’Mello The Gateway of India, Bandra-Worli Sealink, Juhu Beach—these are the first things that pop up in our minds when one talks about Mumbai. Everybody enjoys a hot vada pav at Ashok Vada Pav in Dadar.

A stroll along Marine Drive is what every Mumbaikar wants to do. This “Sapnon ki Nagari” (City of Dreams) is home to Bollywood, which attracts hundreds of aspiring actors from all over the country to be part of the glamour word.

But does a person who has never been to the Island City (one of its other nicknames) know anything else? I can confidently say no.

The Portuguese influence The 12 million strong population that lives in the neighbouring urban Thane and Palghar districts still can be considered to be part of Mumbai.

This population is dependent on Mumbai for susten-ance and surviv44

al. About a year ago, I too was one of the 12 million people who used to be part of the daily grind, living, enjoying and surviving this beautiful city.

has several churches and chapels as well as several watchtowers with safe staircases overlooking the Vasai Creek, separating this belt from the Island City.

My friends always made fun of me and told me that I was not part of Mumbai, because my postal address does not mention Mumbai at all.

They were right. But Mother Mumbai never treated me like a stepson.

The regions beyond the suburban limits of Mumbai and those living along the coast are mainly characterized by the East Indian culture.

East Indians are Christian Maharashtrians, comprising mainly Kolis (fishermen), Wadvals (farmers), and Agris (salt pan workers/owners).

One question about East Indians always perplexed me: If they live along the western coast of India, why are they known as East Indians?

I used to live in the Vasai-Virar Belt of Palghar, which is famous for Bassein Fort as well as the East Indian culture.

The Bassein Fort, which is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and then later taken over by the Marathas in the 18th century.

The Bassein Fort, initially named Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim, or the Fort of St. Sebastian of Vasai,

March 2015 | The Beat

History tells us that there was immense competition between the local Catholics and those who migrated from Goa for jobs in the East India Company. The locals asked the queen of England to be called East Indians; this privilege was granted to them. And thus, the name East Indians.

A home to migrants Mumbai is ever expanding as it promises job opportunities and hope for a better future. This is why my parents moved in from a small village in Karnataka to the mega city Mumbai. Because of the increasing number of immigrants in the city, Mumbai needs to be expanded. But how much more can a city expand when the Arabian Sea prohibits westward expansion? Immigrants who see a future in this city, now first look at the adjacent urban districts of Thane and Palghar. The affor-dability and connectivity to the city is what drives all the immigrants to this region.

An advantage of living beyond the suburbs is that after a long tiring day at work, one can reach home from the main railway station in less than 10 minutes in a bus or rickshaw. Traffic is not an issue in this part of the town. To commute the same distance in the city, one will easily take around half an hour, all thanks to the traffic.

Mumbai’s lifeline Every Bollywood movie based on Mumbai will have at least one scene that depicts its lifeline, the local trains. The trains transport approximately 7.5 million every day from the homes in the morn-ing and

transport the same crowd back in the evening. If one has to truly experience Mumbai, a ride in the Mumbai local trains should top the list.

This is one place where you can find people from all castes, religions, regions and races under “one roof.”

The railway line in the city, which works almost throughout the day and night, is one of the main reasons why people say that the city never sleeps. For people like me who used to live in the Vasai-Virar belt, trains are the only medium that could connect us to the city.

I used to struggle and adjust in the trains, fight the traffic in the city, feel suffocated in the pollu-tionfilled air of the city to reach my workplace. But by the end of my long and tiring day, I would always prefer coming back home outside the suburban limits, to a place that is still immune to the hustle and bustle of the city, but still feels like Mumbai.

The western suburbs Let’s now look at another side of the seven islands—which though relatively old—has in recent times become home to more than 6 million suburban home owners. Over the last two decades, the western suburbs of Mumbai have developed an identity of itself, and are nothing short of posh Bandra or retro Cola-

ba. Although Bandra has existed as a separate town for as long as the city it-self, this in itself has become the reason for it attracting an overdose of commercial attention. As a result, the western part of the city was ignored. In fact, most of the area in Andheri and Versova were just mangroves and wild vegetation that were never attended to.

Lokhandwala Complex is a perfect reflection of how the western suburbs have developed over time, from marshlands to multistory buildings. Named after the proprietor of Lokhandwala Con-structions, the primary developer of the area of Versova (which Lokhandwala is a part of), the land has an interesting history of how it was founded.

In 1978, Siraj Lokhandwala spotted this huge area, covered in mangroves and muck, and decided to buy it for development purposes.

He was strongly advised against doing so by practically all the brokers in town, who claimed that residents would not want to live so far away from the center of Mumbai. Back then, areas such as Lower Parel and Kurla, which belong to the Central Suburbs, used to be the epicenter of trade and com-merce in the city.

But with the advent of Lokhandwala’s success, other developers too looked to turn rags into riches in the magic land of the western suburbs.

The western suburbs of Mumbai Left: Bassein Fort March 2015 | The Beat

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Most of them did manage to find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but also—in their endeavour for commercial profit—managed to create a community that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Central and South Mumbai.

Consisting of a main market, which is flanked on either side by lanes housing residential buildings, Lokhandwala shows us the success of the common man. The area is home to some of the most well-known actors of Indian cinema as well as numerous film producers and struggling actors, who come from humble backgrounds.

However, its charm lies in its simplicity.

A progressive society The shops in the market are almost as old as the area itself, and are owned mostly by residents of the area. Each morning, owners of their respective establishments go to work, but return home not pompous, but humble. That’s because these “businessmen”—who run stores ranging from selling provisions to luxury clothing— had nothing once upon a time.

Today, the area of Lokhand-wala has developed so much due to their endeavours that the real estate prices in the market have gone through the roof. Fellow Mumbaikars might argue that Lokhandwala will never have the “old school” representation that Bandra or Colaba does, but then

again, they forget that this is exactly what the area and its community stands for—progress.

Unlike areas such as Mahim and Bandra, which have a majority of Muslims and Catholic households, respectively, Versova and Andheri have a balanced distribution of people of different faiths.

In fact, gated communities such as Millat Nagar and Malcolm Baug exist in close proximity to Lokhandwala, and have always had healthy trading and business relations with each other. The former serves as a society for Muslim families and the latter for Parsee houses. This peaceful coexistence and integration is possibly what a small part of what people refer to as “the spirit of Mumbai.”

As we move southwards within the western suburbs, Juhu, which is well known for the infamous Juhu Beach, also has a similar story to tell. Originally called “Juvem” by the Portuguese, this area was developed by the pioneer of Tata Industries, Jamsetji Tata, in the 1890s. The area’s close proximity to the Harbour Railway Line, as well as the presence of the famous ISKCON temple—which attracts flocks of Krishna devotees from all over the world—makes Juhu one of Mumbai’s finest localities. Home to much of the upper-middle class that comprises management level corporate employees as well as a large sector

of the business community, the area could be described, in my opinion, by the acts of one exemplary individual who lives here: Amitabh Bacchan.

Simplicity at its best Bacchan, who hails from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, is one of the most revered Indian icons of Indian cinema. Son of famous poet Harivansh Rao Bacchan, he came to the “city of dreams” in the early ’70s looking to becoming a Bollywood actor—and if luck was with him—a superstar. After a number of repeated flops at the box office, he finally broke the barrier to national stardom with films like Deewar and Zanjeer.

But this is not the reason as to why he is admired by his fellow residents of Juhu. Every Sunday, whenever Bacchan is not out of the city shooting, he makes a brief appearance (without fail) on his balcony between five and five thirty, with his cup of evening tea, and waves to the masses of fans that assemble opposite his house.

These people, most of whom comprise of Sunday beach-goers and city tourists, flock in hundreds to catch a glimpse of him. Bacchan serves as an example of hard work and perseverance to the layman, as a destination for the directionless, as the pin-nacle of success. Although I have seen this act innumerable times by now— as well as experienced a fair share of traffic jams due to it—it has never ceased to fascinate me.

And it has never ceased receiving the praise of his neighbors, who respect him as a guardian symbol of the area.

They say “attitude reflects leadership.” In both aspects, Mumbai has been exceptional. People view the city as only the country’s commercial capital—which no doubt it is—and focus on its leading businessmen, but fail to notice the people who treat the city rightfully for what it has always been: home.

Picture courtesy of Meena Kadri, Wikimedia

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan

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March 2015 | The Beat

My story

But you’re a girl!

By Sharangee Dutta Sometime during the winter of 2013, a friend of my father who I’ll call Tarun came to visit our house. It was a chilly afternoon, and I was quite engrossed in watching a documentary about Charles Manson on YouTube.

The bloodshed created by him and his “Manson Family” left me terrified, so I was relieved to get a short break. As an important part of Indian tradition, I quickly bowed down to touch his feet to show my respect. He rubbed circles on my head and said, “God bless you my child.” My mother brought two cups of tea and some biscuits on a tray as he and I sat on the couch for a conversation that turned into a heated argument.

“So now that you have graduated, what are your future plans?” Tarun asked me after taking a sip of tea from the cup.

I informed him about my plan of pursuing journalism. The word “journalism” visibly shocked him, and he regarded me with furrowed eyebrows.

“Do you know that it’s a job involving great risk?” he asked, tilting his head to the right. His facial expression portrayed a very confident look, as if he was accustomed to everything in the world. I replied calmly, expressing my passion towards the subject. Out of the blue, he started laughing. I felt insulted and extremely annoyed. My eyes clearly portrayed my annoyance.

My mother eyed me from one corner of the room where she sat on a chair, mutely signaling me to control my temper.

“What is with you girls these days?” he asked me. “Passion is insignificant because you are a girl. Your safety is a greater issue.”

I could not decipher what he meant by that. Furrowing my own eyebrows this time, I asked him: “Why? What can happen to me?”

He took another sip and said journalism was not only risky, but also “unfit” for girls. My anger had been tripped beyond hope now. My mother kept on eyeing me in fear that I might end up saying something offensive as a reply.

“People should always pursue something that makes them happy. Journalism is my passion and it is also a noble profession,” I retorted firmly with a flat face.

He didn’t seem convinced at all, instead, he advised me to look for teaching or banking jobs as he termed them “proper” and “suitable” for women. When I asked him about what he feels is the definition fit for those terms, he explained that journalists do not have an average ten-to-five job like teachers or bankers, considering the fact that they will have to get married someday.

I understood the direction his “lecture” was heading towards.

I figured out that he belongs to the category of people who have a mind-set of judging women on the basis of their jobs, dressing sense and relationship status. If a woman works in a call center or, for that matter, anywhere that requires her to do night shifts, or dressing up “inappropriately” and is unmarried till 30, then she is a woman whose dignity can be questioned.

Proving my judgment right, he mocked, “I don’t understand the reason why you girls need so much liberty these days? Isn’t it enough that your parents are allowing are providing you with money for education so that you can get a job? What else do you want?”

I flashed a tiny grin and answered that everyone is free to have their own identity, and no one needs to seek “permission” while choosing any profession.

He was reluctant to accept the fact. He fired another question at me with an annoyed look on his face.

March 2015 | The Beat

“Why are you hell-bent on pursuing journalism as a career?” he said.

With complete disregard towards his statement, I replied, “Writing is my forte, and traveling is something I cherish, and journalism gives me the access to both of them, which is so much better than those ten-to-five jobs. Thus, I want to be a journalist.”

His next statement was entirely unanticipated. “You could always travel with your husband after getting married,” he said. “Why do you need to be a journalist for that?”

I was shocked and speechless for a moment.

After recovering from the shock of hearing his statement, I turned to look at my mother, who gestured to me to keep quiet at that moment. I glimpsed at the clock and saw that it was 2 p.m. The time for my father to return from work was nearing, so I said quietly: “With due respect to what you said, I am really doubtful if any of your advice will be useful for me. For the past 20 years, I have been taught again and again, not to give up on my dreams. Having an identity and being unique is everyone’s right. I guess you would have understood that had you done something yourself in your life.”

His face dropped and so did my mother’s who by now had surely made her mind up to give me a lecture on behaviour after he left. I crossed my legs and fixed my eyes at him. I recalled a lesson my dad taught me: “Always stand up for the right thing.”

I nodded my head discreetly as the quote reverberated in my mind. I knew I did the right thing and felt proud to be a woman who wants to bring change to the society with the help of journalism.

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Commentary

India sends a big message with

By Sumedh Bilgi The Oval cricket ground is one of the most overwhelming international cricket venues.

As the great Geoffrey Boycott always says in his royal Yorkshire accent, “the hair on the back of the neck stand up when you walk into the oval from the pavilion end”. Venues like this on more occasions than none tend to make the visiting team’s knees wobble. It is safe to put a stamp on the fact that it stays the same at all venues in England. With the dark red Dukes ball moving for almost a whopping 18 centimeters in the air, at fairly decent pace, you’re in for some dancing way before you hit the disco over the weekend, and I’m not talking about break dancing.

A lot like this happened with the new look team India that toured England from late June to early September, winning just one test match at Lords cricket ground out of five played in the tournament. The presentation ceremony at the Oval after the final test was a terrible sight for any Indian. Young and fired up team India faces who landed at Heathrow a month and a half ago, brimming with confidence and self belief were staring into obscurity; in disbelief of how miserable their performance had been. Branded as the next country to dominate world cricket, M.S Dhoni’s men were tamed by the three lions, doing away with every inch of their world champion muscle the team had pumped itself with. India’s next big test was the Aussies down under and performances ceased to improve there as well. The team lost all of their test and one day matches in Australia. Toes broken by Mitchell Johnson, hopes shattered by the bat of Steven Smith, team India looked hapless after the Carlton Mid

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tri-series ended as the men in blue failed to beat even a mediocre English side with its fair share of in house trouble. Every single Indian, perhaps even the team members themselves doubted India’s chances at the biggest cricketing spectacle on planet earth that stood in front of them, the ICC Cricket World Cup. The key to going further in ICC tournaments is having specific roles to every member of the eleven and the members executing those roles beyond their potential. Every game demands performances beyond usual level of performances, concentration levels beyond normal levels of focus and self belief that tears through the opposition’s momentum. Team India did exactly that with wins over Pakistan and South Africa. Now, all of a sudden, everyone is talking about the team going all the way into the tournament.

What did the team do right?

The first thing that MSD’s men got spot on in the first two wins was to see off the new ball. The white kookaburra moves of the deck in the early overs and zipps off the surface, making it exceedingly difficult to attack the bowlers in the first 10 overs.

Ever since the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag and the Gautam Gambhir began opening the innings, a key strategy of the Indian team is to take advantage of the fielding restrictions in the beginning of the innings and put the pressure on the opposition. However playing in conditions abroad, doesn’t really allow such an approach at the top, especially in Australia.

Despite having a run rate of 4 runs per over, in each of the games, the top order managed to up the ante in the middle overs and get to power scores at the end of the innings. Apart March 2015 | The Beat

from outstanding performances from the top 3 batsmen, the bowling department stuck to its plans and bowled with their tails up. Mohammad Shami has been the stand out bowler, with Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin not losing their discipline too much.

World cups are won by teams that field well and take their catches when they come.

Dhoni’s men saved at least 20 runs through great stops at cover and backward point and dismissed South Africa’s big names- Ab de Villiers and David Miller through run outs registering India’s first win over the Proteas in the competition’s history in the process.

How does team India take it further?

I’ll be a little brutal here and say that the business end of the tournament is yet to come. Winning games versus arch rivals Pakistan and ‘strong favorites’ South Africa is a huge boost to the team and will do a world of good to their confidence. The format of the tournament is such, that even if India had lost to the above two, and managed to beat UAE, West Indies and Zimbabwe, qualification would be a guarantee. The good part is, winning the first two games with a strong net run rate allows team director Ravi Shastri and co to experiment with the lower order which has struggled to finish the good work started by the top order and strengthen the bowling as well. Taking into account the windy conditions at Wellington and Auckland, where India has high chances of playing their quarter final game, Stuart Binny could come in handy. The Bangalore lad might not be express pace, but has immense control over his bowling and moves the ball in both directions. He is no muck with the bat either and will add depth to

Pakistan, South Africa wins the batting. If Binny comes in, it would either be Jadeja who will have to sit out because of his poor batting form off late or Mohit Sharma who is a similar sort of bowler to Binny but is not as prolific with the bat as the Karnataka all rounder. A surprise element in the XI can do wonders at the world cup. A lot of countries haven’t seen a lot of Binny; proven how nippy he can be with the ball and dangerous lower down the order with the bat, his inclusion can cause a lot of problems to the opposition.

Conditions can be the biggest help to team India this world cup This might come as a surprise to many, but the biggest boost to team India’s march to defend their crown can be the conditions in the host nations and conditions in Australia in particular. The team has spend a good few months in the country and despite not registering a single victory before the World Cup, MSD’s boys now have a grip about what they can expect from each playing surface. A huge boost is the fact that the tournament is being played at the far end of the season.

Despite intensive care given to drop in pitches at the likes of MCG, Christchurch, the WACA cricket ground, the wickets have shown signs of slowing down and there is a provision now for strokes that batsmen would execute on subcontinent tracks; strokes that Indian batsmen have earned large chunk of their runs from. Majority of India’s stroke makers play spin exceedingly well and are strong off the pads, hence the Indians will need fairly little adjustments to their natural batting style. With lesser pacy conditions except at the GABBA and Perth, negotiating with bullies running in from 30 yards to

break your nose doesn’t seem as tough as before.

India’s group stage games at the MCG and Adelaide saw a lot of bat pad appeals, especially with Ashwin who got the slip fielder into play. The rock hard tracks in Australia have shown signs of crumbling as the games have progressed and because of that, slow bowlers and spinners become extremely important. Team India has the added advantage over opposition countries of playing Ashwin and Jadeja as the full time spin bowlers and Suresh Raina can roll his arm over for 7 overs as well. Balanced side? Sounds like!

The 12th man will play a huge role Every World Cup winning side has had one stand out player who carries the team all the way. The onus this time is on Virat Kohli, who is quite frankly, a class act. There are unjustified doubts over the team being heavily reliant on the team India test captain for runs, but if Kohli continues to come out and bat like a champion, it will take something special to stop the Indian batting order to put up decent totals. All rounders play key roles in all limited overs cricket sides and Suresh Raina can be the Yuvraj Singh of India’s success at the 2011 World Cup. He has the knack of picking up crucial wickets and looked in good touch over the first two games.

India have set targets and defended them effectively in the first two games and should look to try chasing totals in the remainder of the group games as chasing totals involves a whole different strategy in pacing the innings.

Zealand in the past. Eden ParkAuckland will be a key venue where India will play Zimbabwe in the group stages and also the first semi final if the men in blue get through. – The drop in pitch at Eden Park has been known for its slow conditions, which will help the Indian bowlers. At the world cup, at the biggest stage of them everything boils down to how a team plays on the day. And when 50,000 Indians fill in an entire stadium and pack a punch to every kiwi in Auckland and every ‘mate’ in Melbourne, things can go in India’s favor. Let’s sit back and enjoy a good month of cricket.

It won’t be around for five more years!

Semi finals and quarter final venues and dates:Quarter finals:SYDNEY -1st quarterfinal. Wed Mar 18 MELBOURNE- 2nd quarterfinal .

Thu, Mar 19 ADELAIDE- 3rd quarterfinal. Fri, Mar 20 WELLINGTON- 4th quarterfinal.

Sat, Mar 21 Semi Finals:AUCKLAND- 1st semifinal. Tue, Mar 24 SYDNEY - 2nd semifinals. Thu, Mar 26 Finals:Melbourne Cricket Ground- Sun, Mar 29

Indian teams touring New Zealand, have put in some reasonably good performances in New March 2015 | The Beat

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Is watching pornography

By Asmita Kundu “What the f***!” or “Haven’t you watched porn ever?”

Do you use slang and abusive language to express yourself? No. Why? The answer is very simple.

You are in India.

In a democratic country like India, people cannot watch porn or talk about it. There is a nationwide belief that watching something which has even a little intimacy in it “spoils” Indian culture. Guess the irony? Well, India’s population rate is soaring high.

India is a country where the KamaSutra was written, but watching pornography or talking about sex or porn is still a taboo here. India still believes in the system where a woman is worshipped as devi (goddess). So the devi can get raped under the pretext of being married (or not) and do everything that makes her family happy.

However, it is “morally incorrect” to portray her in a visual intimate moment.

Do I really have to point out the double standards here or is it evident?

There are some incidents which are the icing on the cake. Three ministers of Karnataka, among which one was the minister for women and child development, were caught watching porn in Karnataka Assembly house in 2012 and all of them were from Bharatiya Janata Party. As a result, the Karnataka State Assembly just banned private TV cameras in the legislative chamber and one 50

minister quit.

illegal.

Not only had that, even after Narendra Modi became prime minister, his government took a strong initiative in line with the “Swach Bharat Abhiyan” (Clean India Campaign) by blocking several porn websites. Telecom & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said porn might be legal in other countries but “it needs to be viewed in the context of Indian culture and moral obligation towards society.”

So what are these moral obligations that our politicians repeatedly talk about? According to them, the judicial system of India can take its own time to sentence a person convicted of rape, but when someone watches something that is their subjective choice, the moral police suddenly stand up in attention because being utterly confused about what is really criminal and flinging their hands around for absolutely unnecessary reasons is their obligation toward society.

Well/educated advocates have petitioned the Supreme Court, requesting a ban on online pornography because it “encourages” rape, sexual harassment and molestation of

According to an India Today survey conducted in 2013, 26.4 percent people living in a metropolitan city watch porn and 26.1 percent non-

Courtsey of Shubhang Saurav

women.

Watching or possessing pornographic material is legal in India, although the distribution of such material is illegal. Also, Section 67 of the Information Technology Act deals with “publishing obscene information in electronic form.” This law has been interpreted to criminalize the posting of pornographic content online. However, accessing “obscene” content privately is not March 2015 | The Beat

metro people watch porn, among which 29.7 percent are female.

The word “porno” is a Greek term for a prostitute and it might be said that pornography is as old as the “world’s oldest profession.”

In India itself one can see the beautiful erotic sculptures of Khajuraho, which were built in the 12th century. Devadasi, temple prostitutes still work in India in the name of devotion. Again,

still a taboo in India? we have an issue in defining the meaning of a term. Hand them a dictionary, someone.

It is often heard that porn is objectifying females strongly in the society. A woman is objectified in getting intimate with a man on screen, but she is not objectified when she is subjected to abuse.

Again, the importance of a dictionary comes into view.

In the Delhi fatal gang-rape incident, offenders reportedly watched porn before committing that brutal crime. People often cite pornography as another reason for increasing atrocities against women.

Movies with a strong social subject that contain intimate scenes or extreme violence like BA Pass, Miss Lovely, Rang Rasiya, Gandu and Gangs of Wasseypur have to go through some real trial by the Indian Censor Board in order to make it to the big screen, even if they are rated as adult-only. Sure, it is OK to show a woman whose only aim in life is to look pretty, but the real thing should be limited

to downloading instead of going to the movies.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” that has recently been released across the globe based on the most famous and erotic novel of E.L. James draws flak. People are calling it “porn” now, but where were these moral policy when the book released? The film has tried to rebrand violent behavior in form of romance by showing intimidating behavior between a man and a woman.

Here, I am not only talking about India, I am talking about a global scenario. After shaking up the box office by $300 million worldwide (according to a Forbes report), still some movie review site like Rotten Tomatoes, rated it with only one star. But film critic John Powers of Vogue magazine wrote, “Fifty Shades of Grey Is Not About Sex— and It’s Surprisingly Good.”

Coming to pornography, recently in 2014, Google banned those bloggers from its network that ran advertisements for online porn websites.

March 2015 | The Beat

Pornography is partially or fully permitted in countries like the United States, France, Italy and Britain. But there are some countries like Egypt and Pakistan, where watching pornography is totally illegal and offensive.

In India, anyone can watch porn in a private place but cannot watch it in a public place or distribute it.

People are often confused between pornography and nudity. In rural areas, watching Hollywood movies is quite equal to watching porn.

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report of 2013, India has over 720 million active mobile users. Considering the amount of internet connections, how is it going to be possible to track the number of porn downloads?

Why should this matter to anyone, anyway, is something that needs to be debated.

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We Review Get your perfect coffee blend @Leo Coffee

Film: Badlapur

By Sneha Saha

By Samreen Tungekar

Rating: 3.5/5 Star cast- Varun Dhawan, Yami Gautam, Huma Qureshu and Nawazuddin Siddiqui Sriram Raghavan’s recent film, “Badlapur- Don’t miss the beginning” is a crime thriller with a’ happy family’ beginning that is not be missed but ends up abruptly at the audience’s awe, screening an actionfilled journey of the

Coffee lovers, your search for finding the ultimate coffee blend to suit your taste buds and your coffee maker is finally over. The famous Leo Coffee of Tamil Nadu has recently opened their flagship store in Bangalore!

Leo Coffee is a well known brand and has coffee plantations in Palani Hills, Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu. Not only do they sell their blends in ready packets, they have German coffee grinding ma-

hero turned villain, Raghu .

Raghu (Varun Dhawan), Mishti (Yami Gautam) and Robin (their son) are a happy family until a sudden storm ends the fairy tale when Mishti and Robin are shot dead in a bank robbery. Laik (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is one of the accused in the robbery case and is caught by the police. Raghu takes help from several people and tries to avenge his family loss. As the film proceeds, Raghu tries all possible means, good or bad, in order to reveal the truth.

But does he get justice?

Badlapur is a revenge drama and is about retaliation and forgiveness. The film leaves the audience curious to see what comes next and stages a cold war between the hero and the villain, but lacks its grip in the climax.

The film moves to a sequence which shows Raghu fighting for the justice of his wife and son’s death even 15 years later. With twists and suspense in good timing, the film keeps the audience hooked.

As the film proceeds, the line between Raghu and Laik begins to fade. It shows how the ‘Bellona’s bridegroom’ Raghu’s character evolves and takes different twists, to quench his thirst of revenge.

The film ends with a thrilling note and the director completely leaves it on the audience’s interpretation.

Varun Dhawan in his new stubble looks will surprise the audience with a powerful performance, enough to make girls drool all over him. Yami Gautam does justice to her role and Nawazuddin Siddiqui is as usual brilliant!

Badlapur ends by showing how ugly good can be and how good evil can turn. This film is definitely a must watch.

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Courtesy of leocoffee.co.in

chines so that you can choose your coffee beans in the quantity that you want and voila! You will have your ground coffee.

Leo’s signature blends are Special Peaberry, Special ‘A’ and House Blend, out of which the house blend is the moderately strong one. It is refreshing and really tasty, without making your mouth too dry and is aromatic enough to raise any caffeine lover’s spirits high. While the House blend is a traditional favorite, the Special Peaberry blend is a preferred favorite out of the three.

They also have roast and ground pre-packed coffee, which is said to be made from pure coffee beans for the coffee as well as blends of coffee and chicory so coffee lovers who like either will find the right kind of blend and can enjoy it. Pure coffee blends are Top Blend and House Blend while the ones mixed with chicory are Madras blend, Degree blend and Breakfast blend.

Leo coffee is indeed a refreshing twist to the coffee culture of Bangalore and allows you to absorb the coffee culture of South India even better. Every caffeine lover should definitely give this store a try and it will not be too expensive too!

Rating: 3.5/5 Cost: Starting at Rs. 115.

March 2015 | The Beat

We Review

Go Turkey with some kebabs @Istanbul Doner

By Saheli Sen Gupta Want some authentic Turkish food? Come to Istanbul Doner! Nestled and well hidden in Indiranagar, it is one of the only two restaurants in Bangalore which serves Turkish food. Keep your eyes wide open in order to spot it because it is very easy to miss.

The food is fresh and the chicken shish tawook skewers are to die for.

If you are a lamb lover, you must try the lamb doner here. Soft, juicy and grilled to perfection, this traditional Turkish delight is served with a refreshing sauce.

Because it is pretty small and has limited seats, takeaway or home delivery might be a better idea than sweating and gulping down their amazing food. Their services are limited to a radius of 3 km but it’s fast and reliable and the food is delivered hot.

Courtesy of zomato.com

The Grilled Chicken with Rice, although laden with chicken kebab pieces, was a little dry but the grilled vegetables were fresh and crunchy and added a nice flavour to the dish.

The sandwiches served here, unlike most other eateries, contained more meat than veggies but were a little on the soggy side.

The highlight in the menu has to be the Chef’s Special section which has all the best dishes served here. The Grilled Chicken Breast is a personal favourite, delicious, tender and fragrant with all the right spices.

The best part about Istanbul Doner is the availability of good food at very cheap rates. You can have a full meal here for just Rs 350 with a starter, a main course and a non-alcoholic beverage.

Next time you are tired of all the burgers and wraps, come here for some snacks with a twist. Remember to feast on doner kebabs, shawarmas, hummus with pita bread, grilled chicken and grilled lamb with some iced teas, mocktails or perhaps the traditional Turkish drink, Aryan.

27, 7th Cross, Off 2nd Main, 1st Stage, Off 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore Cost for two : Approx. Rs 450 Charming point: Good food at a nominal rate Rating : 3.5/5

Tea time at its best @My Tea House

By Samreen Tungekar Tea lovers, English breakfast fans et al, there is one place in Bangalore you should really stop at for a lovely evening filled with food, tea and conversations! My Tea House offers a grand variety of snacks and there is something for everyone here.

The breakfast menu of this place is beyond awesome. They have a widespread right from English breakfast, Continental breakfast to yummy aloo parathas with yogurt. Have this with your kind of tea and it is a lovely morning!

If you want to satisfy your hunger, do not miss the Chicken and Cheese burger. The patty is the right kind of soft and the burger is filling and really easy on the pocket.

Courtesy of burrp.com

Sit in their peaceful outdoor ambience and have the Ginseng Oolong green tea with some scones!

126, KHB Colony, 1st ‘A’ Cross, Jyoti Nivas College Road, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore Price: Rs. 600 for two (Approx) Charm point: The variety of tea

March 2015 | The Beat

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Events Galore ART Gasté in India 1905-1910 This is a joint photo exhibition of Alliance française de Bangalore and National Gallery of Modern Arts in Bangalore. George Gasté was a French painter who died in Madhurai. This exhibition is a project that will comprise of 34 of his remarkable paintings during his stay in India.

NGMA, 49, Palace Road, Bangalore March 6-26 All day Free of charge Photo: bangalore.afindia.org

CINEMA Felix and Meira is a complicated love story of Felix and Meira, two individuals from completely different backgrounds. They belong to different communities and try to overcome their differences for their love. This screening is a part of the Francophonie Week, a celebration for French lovers all around the world.

Alliance Francaise Auditorium 7.p.m.

March 19 Free of cost 104 min

Photo: bangalore.afindia.org

MUSIC Arijit Singh Live concert Arijit Singh is one of the most famous playback singers in the Hindi film industry at present. He rose to fame with his songs in the film Aashiqui 2 and has been appreciated on Coke Studio as well.

Phoenix Market City,Whitefield Rd, Singayyanapalya, Mahadevapura 6.p.m.

March 7 Tickets: Rs.300 to Rs.1,000

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March 2015 | The Beat

The Beat Team

Samreen is very energetic, bubly and enthusiastic. All these qualities can be seen in her work as well.

Sharangee may be tiny, but hell hath no fury like this girl’s scorn. Efficient and determined, she is one earnest girl!

Nikunj lightens the mood when the team is under stress, but no one can lighten his mood when he is designing pages. That is how sincere he is.

Aadhira is the most sorted member of the team. She is funny, enthusiastic and energetic. She pulls the team together in full power.

Darshan is the positive vibe of the team. No one can be stressed out for too long around him as he spreads ‘magic’ with his vibe.

Raya is hard working and puts her heart and soul into whatever she does. She is usually spotted talking on the phone, as there is always a story to work on!

Asmita is a cricket freak and believes in positivity. She doesn’t talk much but when she does, she’s praising Virat Kohli.

Sreemoyee is thoughtful and a music-lover. Dedicated to her work, she pays attention to every little detail and always strives to bring out the best content in her stories.

Sameer’s knowledge of the world around him is unmatchable. He loves discussing politics and religion.. He wants to be a political journalist.

Mark is particular about the kind of work the team does, but is very encouraging when it comes to the kind of stories anyone wants to do.

Girish has the highest level of patience a technical advisor could have, when he is dealing with a team that may just ask the same question repeatedly! He is always there for the team’s designing woes.

March 2015 | The Beat

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March 2015 | The Beat