1
EDITORS’ NOTE
Dear Readers, Here is the first edition of The Beat 2022. It has been two years since the pandemic struck and disturbed the social, mental and economic equilibrium of the world. Now, as we try to recover from it and make up for the losses, and given the benefit of hindsight, there is one question that begs an answer: Did the pandemic play favourites? Or, in other words, has the idea of a level playing field receded further? The stories we present in this issue are about where the people, struck by the pandemic, are left after three crushing waves of Covid-19. How they are, if they are, trying to rebuild their lives; and what are the odds piled against them. From issues around neglected mental health to financial recovery, we look at issues that are central to the healing of a society. The stories explore how India is coping with the loss of more than 2.3 million people and the devastating implications it has on mental health. We look at budgetary allocation for mental well-being in post-pandemic India. We find out if the argument of individual autonomy, posed by anti-vaxxers, holds any water in the context of a highly infectious affliction. Where do the rights of an individual end and where does the right of the community begin? The loss of two years of quality education has resulted in imbalanced development among children. Schools too are grappling to bridge the two-year gap. How are they equipped to do that? This is a question our story tries to address. The pandemic also acted as a catalyst for the already increasing wealth inequality, as witnessed by the meteoric rise in demat accounts compared to the slump in the economy. In all these stories, our reporters have gone beyond just numbers and have strived to present the human face of the problem. We hope they shine a torch on what it will take to rebuild. In the art and culture section of this issue, we explore current trends across social media, movies and travel. We explore the history of the hijab, a garment that is at the eye of a communal storm in the country. Through a photo story we take you on a coffee tour of Bengaluru. We hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as we did putting them together. Arshreet and Ayndrila Editors
2
CONTENTS 4 PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Apeksha Priya
9 MENTAL HEALTH
No money, no peace
5 MEDICINE
Mandatory vaccination from an ethical point of view Kashish Sharma
11 COVID DEATHS
Pandemic funerals
Shristi Achar
Simran Sharma
16 PHOTO ESSAY
18 SOCIETY
Kaapi and its foreign cousin Shristi Achar
20 MOVIE REVIEW
Gangubai Kathiawadi Simran Sharma
Hijab: A choice or a mandate? A brief history Ayndrila Banerjee
21 YOUTUBE
Infrastructure goes viral on youtube Arshreet Singh
7 EDUCATION
The trials and tribulations of schooling post pandemic Ayndrila Banerjee
14 ECONOMY
How does a K-shaped recovery look like? Arshreet Singh
19 CULTURE
Mythology as tourism- the mysterious land of Nidhivan Kashish Sharma
22 PERSONAL ESSAY
Navigating politics at home Ahna Prakash
3
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns left the street vendors to go fend for themselves. After facing unprecendented challenges, the vendors are now finally returning to the streets of Bengaluru | Credit: Apeksha Priya
4
MEDICINE
Mandatory vaccination
A tug of war between Individual rights and Community rights A man in Bihar who took 12 doses of vaccine in a year and an unvaccinated Canadian folk singer who died of Covid-19 after intentionally contracting the disease brings the autonomy of the human body into question, writes Kashish Sharma
Mandatory vaccination is never about an individual but about a community and its rights | Credit: Apeksha Priya
N
idhi Jackson, a woman in her late twenties, recently found her way back to her home in India. Born and bred in the United States, she firmly believes in exercising her democratic rights to the fullest. Immersing herself in spiritual practices and believing in her body’s natural ability to heal, she shared her mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry and how it made her sceptical about the Covid-19 vaccine. “I decided to not get vaccinated because I believe there are natural ways of developing immunity with the right amount of exercise and consuming natural healing herbs,” she said. Are we informed?
Nidhi believes that Covid-19 came like a storm and there was hardly any time to make sense of it. All the information available about the virus, she says, is scattered and incomplete. There is no conformity to protocols. Some wear N-95, while some are simply putting up cloth masks to match the outfits, she says. There is no common tune and everybody is singing their song. Besides her mistrust towards the pharmaceutical industry which, she believes, pharmaceuticals see financial opportunity in the entire situation, she said that aggressive treatments had stretched people’s bodies over a threshold and made them suffer for months. Nidhi says that her
grandfather, Michael Jackson, in his young days had cured his cancer through natural self-healing practices and by voluntarily defying medical assistance. Understanding the grey-space between individual rights and community rights over vaccination, she believes in well-informed consent. Mandatory vaccination programmes across borders have raised questions around individual rights to refuse treatment and having well-informed consent. With the recent anti-vax protests in some countries, the question of the autonomy of the human body has become all the more relevant. As per an article, Mandatory vaccina
5
vaccination in the backdrop of the European Court of Human Rights (2021) observed that countries often opt for indirect enforcement of vaccination like linking one’s vaccination status to social functions like work and travel. The social consequences of not being vaccinated cannot be dissoAnti-Vax protesters swarm the streets in the United States, asking for ciated from an bodily freedom| Courtesy: Shutterstock individual choice. tion: legal, justified, effective?, pubSome vaccines may contain ingredilished in 2021 by the International ents like porcine gelatin which might Bar Association (an association of ingo against the religious beliefs of ternational legal practitioners and law some religious communities and may societies) the fear around vaccination interfere with their right to practice comes from obscure areas in scientific the religion of their choice. and medical research, where insufficient information is available about Bhagyashree, a resident of Devager the long term effects of the vaccine. village in Bengaluru shared how iniThis, the report says, becomes a hin- tially she and her small group of other elderly women were told about the drance in decision making. dangerous side-effects of the vaccine The article also shows that providing by their community head. However, full disclosure of all the risks associlater, they were forced against their ated with the vaccine can also cause will to take the vaccine. resistance to it. What about the community? The naysayers: When the disease is transmissible, Zain Ansari (name changed), a the risk goes beyond a single individ24-year-old young man in Bengaluru, ual and it comes well under the state’s shared his story of how living without realm of protecting the community. a vaccination certificate through three Dr Vandana Kalra, an ICU Head in consecutive waves of the pandemic Rainbow Hospital in Agra says that made him feel like a social outcast. He vaccination is the best way to fight the was debarred from all public venues pandemic. like malls, restaurants and theatres. “At last I decided to take the vaccine “There is no absolute freedom. Your last December. It was against my will freedom ends where the freedom of but I had to take it to access certain others begins. Mandatory vaccination places. My family however stands is never about an individual, it is always about saving a community. We firmly on not taking the vaccine.” are interdependent beings, it is our Zain’s fear of the vaccine comes from democratic responsibility that no one videos that claimed that the vaccine gets infected because of us,” said she. could cause infertility. He felt unsure of its ingredients and on which ani- Dr Vandana says that for those who seek it, there is no dearth of informamals it was being tested. tion in the public sphere. One may not An article published by the ICL Jour- understand all the medical intricacies nal (Vienna Journal on International but can always fall back on experts Constitutional Law) on mandatory who are ready to provide clarity.Dr
6
Vandana says that an unvaccinated body is a playground for the virus and a breeding ground for avoidable mutations. For her, prevention is always better than cure. According to experts, countries aim at establishing herd immunity against a certain pathogen. There are high-risk groups that are purposefully left out and cannot be immunised due to underlying health conditions. Mandatory vaccination is the only way out. The controversy around the deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia and his firm stand on vaccination has raised many questions about bodily rights. Djokovic defended his position on ethical grounds. The Guardian, meanwhile, reported in January 2022 that the sports star had bought an 80 per cent stake in a Danish biotech firm QuantBio Res that is developing a treatment for Covid-19 that does not involve vaccination.
“Unvaccinated body is a breeding ground for avoidable mutations” No person is an island Advocate Sujan Singh, who practices in the Allahabad High Court, points out that the Constitution provides us with the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, but the State also has the right to exercise measures that protect community health. “Infectious diseases are not an individual concern but they affect an entire population. The government will never force vaccines upon an individual physically. One is entitled to bodily privacy in all ways, but it can exercise control over social rights that apply to all. One can choose not to take the vaccine but there would be social limitations one has to comply with,” he says. Justice Ravindra Yadav, a retired judge affiliated with the Allahabad High Court said “If you are exercising your freedom beyond a limit that interferes with the freedom and rights of another person, then you are committing a punishable offence. You can choose not to get vaccinated but infecting another person is not a choice.”
EDUCATION
The trials and tribulations of returning to school after the pandemic While students are glad to be back, teachers think it’s going to take a while to bridge the learning gap, writes Ayndrila Banerjee
A digital divide which came in strong during the pandemic when schools resorted to take online classes has left its imprint to the current scenario of education as schools have finally opened up | Credit: Prantika Ghosh
T
he school bell rang for recess and children huddled to eat their meals. One could feel the excitement in the air. Both teachers and students appeared to be relieved to be back in school. Studying in a physical classroom in the presence of a teacher, casually chatting in between classes, taking notes, and learning lessons had all been a distant memory for these students. With schools opening up after the third wave of Covid-19, children are finally returning. “I am very happy to be back in school among my friends. At my residence I don’t have many friends, but in my school, I am pretty popular,” said Devina Rathore, an 8th standard student from Sriram Millennium School, Noida. Sohan Singh, who attends the Government Sarvodaya Boys Senior Secondary school in Delhi, expressed similar feelings.
The experience of online learning was different for a private school-going student compared to a government school-going student. Anwesha Sen who studies in class 11th from St. Andrews Scott School, Delhi —a private school, said, “Online classes were pretty relaxed. Our teachers handed out notes to us and we didn’t really put in the extra effort of taking notes.” Students like Anwesha and Devina, who come from an economically stable background, had access to their personal laptops and used to attend online classes in a separate room. Meanwhile Roshni Kumari , who studies in the 11th grade from Government Sarvodaya Girls Senior Secondary school in Delhi, said, “I used to attend my online classes from my father’s mobile phone. There were frequent power cuts in my home. I couldn’t study in a peaceful
environment as we live in a one-room home.” Along with low accessibility, in terms of electronic devices and a stable internet connection, most government school students complained that their teachers were not particularly helpful during online classes, compared to offline classes. Student-teacher connection was at an all-time low for girls like Roshni who said that teachers turned a deaf ear to their doubts and questions. That has led to a learning gap now that she has returned to school, she feels. Teachers, both from government and private schools are now met with a new challenge: bridging the learning gap. Regardless of the accessibility or inaccessibility of online classes, most students have endured an academic gap during these two years.
7
Returning to school translates to catching up on the lost years.
earn an extra buck. Some of the girl students have been married off.”
The teachers were not expecting this much damage. Smita Ghosh, a teacher at DAV Public School in Kota, said, “The biggest issue that I have faced is in writing. Because when they (students) were online usually all the paper, even the board papers were of MCQ (multiple choice questions) type, where they just had to choose an option. Because of this the habit of writing is completely lost. I was quite shocked to notice that most students couldn’t even hold a pen properly. Writing speed has been compromised for even class 12th students.”
Sohan confirmed that a lot of his friends don’t attend school anymore as they have found employment and their parents prefer them to continue with their jobs instead of going to school.
Papia Sarkar, a government school teacher, who teaches the 8th standard, pointed out a conceptual gap. Her students may have forgotten to write and even properly recognise words and numbers, she fears. What’s more, many of Papia’s students have dropped out of school owing to low family income or loss of jobs during the pandemic. “Out of 40 students, 16 have left school permanently. Upon asking their parents, they said that many of them lost their jobs during the pandemic and hence have pushed their children into employment in menial jobs to
8
According to a recent Times of India report, 7.6% students from classes one to five have dropped out of school in 2020-21. The reason cited in the report holds the pandemic responsible.
“I was quite shocked to notice that most students couldn’t even hold a pen properly.” In the absence of a mandate for students to attend offline classes, a few who have the liberty and privilege to keep attending online classes have chosen to stay home and continue with the online mode of learning. Most students from higher classes think it’s a waste of time to attend offline classes now as board exams are approaching. They prefer to stay at home to focus more on the exam. There are some who are reluctant
to travel to their schools on their own since some schools haven’t yet resumed transport facilities. Shashi Kumar, an educationist and general secretary of the Associated Management of English Medium Schools in Karnataka, said that along with students, teachers also need to put in extra effort to identify each student’s problem and address it individually. Moreover, he said that as an educationist, he and his team have recommended a slash in the syllabus to the government to alleviate some pressure for both students and teachers. These efforts however, have been in vain. Meanwhile, some schools have made the effort to counsel students and discuss the academic problems they are facing since schools reopened. Teachers think that it would take as much as six monthsfor students to get back on track, provided things don’t go haywire again which forces the government to shut down educational institutions yet again. Government school teachers are concerned about the dropout rates and are taking steps to ensure that students return to school and continue their education instead of seeking employement in jobs that will fetch them some bucks.
MENTAL HEALTH
No money, no peace Lack of resources and inefficienct public mental health programmes pose a challenge with the mental health ‘pandemic’ in the country, writes Shristi Achar A
C
handrakala runs her home of four in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Along with taking care of her husband, daughter and son, she has set up a shop outside her house selling basics like tea and cigarettes to college students nearby. While the family wasn’t new to hardships of a meagre-income life, a tragedy befell, one they hadn’t expected. “My daughter was trapped in an abusive marriage for so long…. it was painful. We had pulled all the stops to make her wedding as per the groom’s wishes. Yet he tortured her to no end,” she said. Chandrakala brought her daughter back home, ending the marriage. But the process of getting her daughter to live normally again was challenging. On asking if she ever approached any mental health professional for assistance, she just asked, “Who is there around here for us to go to? If we have to find someone like that, it will be far off in the city in some private hospital. How can we afford that?” Her daughter endured domestic abuse, her son dropped his education to support the family, her husband is ill and Chandrakala herself has her
Courtesy: Pixabay.com
own stories. Yet, the family still lacks access to psychiatric help or therapy. “It is not that we didn’t know about such things, we did. But people… from our doctor, relatives to even our lawyer, all were focused on just closing the matter off than anything else. The stress is just a part of life and that’s what everyone expects us to treat it like,” she added. This isolated event is just one of a sea of similar stories across the country, where mental health issues aren’t a novelty anymore. Covid-19 brought forth a mental health pandemic along with it. The extended lockdown, financial distress and health issues, caused widespread anxiety and other psychological issues.
The union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced a national tele-helpline for mental health in the Union Budget 2022. The majority of allocation however, has gone to NIHMANS, Bengaluru, totalling ₹560 crores, which is up only from ₹500 crores last year. Simultaneously, the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) has received a meagre ₹40 crores. Of this, only ₹5.5 crore and ₹3.9 crore are allotted for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes respectively. Centralised allocation of funds only seems to cast more doubt on any real impact it can make to alleviate psychological distress and other associated issues faced by the masses.
The budget estimates for the respective departments in four years Year
Ministry of Family Health National Mental and Welfare (in ₹ crores) Health Programme (in ₹ crores)
NIMHANS (in ₹ crores)
2022
83,000
40
560
2021
71268.77
40
500
2020
65011.80
40
434
2019
62659
40
450
Source: www.indiabudget.gov.in
9
The India Inequality Report of 2021 by Oxfam shed light on the inequity in mental distress. It mentioned in its report: “Households with an income of ₹30,000 or less experienced feelings of anxiety (41.4 percent) and sleep deprivation (32.3 percent) more than the higher income groups where 12.2 percent experienced anxiety and 22 percent experienced sleep deprivation due to the pandemic.” Dr. Mohan Issac, former Professor of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, and currently with University of Western Australia, told The Beat that economic poverty has been well established as a social determinant for mental illness, in both academic and lay literature. So the fact that they are more vulnerable is obvious. Thus, despite the proof of lower-income groups suffering from mental health issues, the Union Budget 2022 seems to have done little to address this specifically. However, experts in the field say that while the inequity in fund allocation is something to take note of, its effective utilisation would be of more concern. Vandrevala Foundation, based out of Mumbai, runs a national free helpline for those who are mentally distressed. Its CEO, Arun John, explains why the effective application
and not the size of resources should be monitored. “Private hospitals felt overwhelmed during the pandemic because that is where people ran to solve their issues. Only those who couldn’t afford the costs went to government establishments. It applies to mental health issues as well,” he explained. “Often, in a state-run institute, there will be someone on an eight-hour shift waiting to finish their day’s target and go home. There is a lack of a monitored system where their actions and history are recorded to enable a recurring support system. Psychological issues aren’t a one-time occurrence, and people hence need constant support. If the government can’t provide such support, what use would any amount of money given would do?” he asks.
“There is a larger need of understanding that the mind isn’t separate from the body, and the ailments are interconnected, only then the healthcare given would be comprehensive” — Dr. Mohan Issac, former Professor of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bengaluru.
Dr. Mohan opined that while tele-support is a novel method to tackle psychological issues in present times, it is yet to be seen how effective it would prove, considering there is still a massive digital divide: “One must consider that it still might not be accessible to all. Multiple reports in the pandemic showed that people climbed on rooftops and tree branches to get signal to attend their classes or work. So tele-support won’t be the end solution.” “People from low-income groups source their stress from lack of security in life. So the solution should stem from that as well,” he added. “Is it to say that the underprivileged don’t consider mental health as important? Certainly not,” Dr. Mohan said. “When the help is provided properly, through grassroots professionals, people are receptive. They know the concept of depression and anxiety and other such issues, and are willing to address them. It would be a rather laidback attitude that one would be unaware simply because they don’t earn enough.” There is a larger need of understanding that the mind isn’t separate from the body, only then the healthcare given would be comprehensive, he further added.
While the common man might have a phone in the hand to avail the tele-medicine programmes or online therapy, but the prevailing digital divide in soceity still poses a challenge to ensure the effectiveness of such programmes. Mental health experts in the field have pointed out the necessity for efficiency in state-run mental health issues, and not just inteoduce one-off schemes | Credit: Shristi Achar
10
11 Crematoriums saw multitudes of lifeless bodies overflowing while frontline workers set fire to makeshift pyres | Courtesy: Shutterstock
COVID DEATHS
Pandemic Funerals: Lives lost, not forgotten
With pyres burning incessantly and people fighting over medical resources, catastrophe knocked India down in the second wave, writes Simran Sharma
W
atching the pandemic bulletin on television, Veena Saraswat still hears her late, 63-year-old husband’s voice calling out for help. She rushes to his room only to see an empty bed with him nowhere to be found, she bursts into tears.
“I still see him as if he is around.I want him to be around one last time so I could do things the right way”, she said while weeping. Six months back, India saw exhausted frontline workers cremating multitudes of lifeless bodies irrespective of their identity. People fighting over oxygen cylinders, empty hospital beds, and medicines had become a routine sight. They witnessed their loved ones go to the other side without bidding them goodbye. It was the second wave of pandemic when India wept collectively for its countless dead. There were stories of multiple members dying in families, children being orphaned and pyres burning with unseizable fire. Anurag Sharma chronicles the last good memory of his brother he lost in the pandemic. “What happens when you experience sleep paralysis? Your mind wakes up and your body is inactive and helpless. I lived that in this living breathing reality in the evening when I got a call from my sister for help. Her husband’s oxygen dipped below 60 and he had to be carried to a hospital immediately. I was lying panting on my bed trying to gather some strength, to get up to only feel weaker and weaker. With a stoneheart, I recall saying no to her. I tried my best to make arrangements from the bed. It was the worst battle I had to fight in my life —the one between love and duty. I was bound by circum-
12
stances at that time. The pandemic left me helpless and guilty. Not many days had passed when I got the news that my eldest brother passed away. I saw his body burning on the pyre from a distance. I couldn’t say goodbye to him and that’s the only thing that is still there with me. But I know he had to go and he did. I miss him and these memories still come to me but I know this is life.” The dignity of the dead was nowhere to be found in the pandemic. The crematoriums flooded with lifeless bodies, while makeshift pyres were being made for them. Bodies were covered in plastic bags and covered faces left no chance of a last glance. It left the families with a vacuum in their hearts. The government’s advisory restricted large gatherings, which deprived many people of attending their relatives’ funerals. Many were not able to perform the last rites and the rituals after the death. Deepa Patil a psychiatrist said, “ When you lose a loved one you want to see the person one last time, Covid took that away from many. They couldn’t get that closure by bidding them a final goodbye.” Given Covid restrictions, many families took to apps like Zoom, Google Meet and many other such applications for gatherings and prayers post funeral. Arun John, founder of Vandrevala Foundation, a non-profit organisation, said, “In Hinduism, people have the tradition of takingback the ashes home but pandemic deprived them of doing that as well.People were sceptical whether the ashes they got were of their relatives or not. Some were even unsure if the final rites were performed properly or not. I
remember someone saying that his relative’s body was dumped in a pit dug by a JCB.” Veena Saraswat remembers trying to drag down her husband’s body from the bed to wrap it in clean clothes. After multiple failed attempts she sighed and quit trying. “I felt alone and helpless,” she said.the couple stayed alone here in India. “I wish I could change his clothes and clean his body, I wish he could be carried by his family members on four shoulders rather than by some strangers in a van. I just wish I could have arranged a hospital bed for him. It feels like I threw him out like garbage. I don’t even know whether they cremated him properly or not. What if the ashes I got are not his? I don’t know the answers but I know that I have to live with what I have been told. This pain and guilt of not being able to perform the rituals properly will last till my last breath,” she added. A report by the Centre for Study of Traumatic Stress stated that the grief of losing a loved-one manifests in different ways.Strong feelings of anger, guilt, loneliness, or questioning faith and religion are some ways how grief expresses itself. It also affects physical health by loss of appetite and loss of sleep. Acute grief can be disorganizing but the intensity of the emotion diminishes after a year of losing a loved one. Although the emotion never dies, it just gets decentralised with time. Shruti Desai, a grief counsellor at KMH hospital explained, “Grief as an emotion is very strong and if it goes unresolved it gets displaced to other aspects of life. It will make a person anxious, insecure and helpless. When someone loses a loved one the very first emotion that comes out is grief.
India lost more than five lakh lives in the second wave. Ashes have turned cold but the pain lingers | Courtsey: Shutterstock
Losing someone makes us feel hopeless and hollow. Although attachment might be a cause of grief, it is one of the things that can heal it too.” “Why me?”, “I treated other people but couldn’t do anything for my family”, “I couldn’t cry” were common phrases said on call, Desai remembers. Swiss psychiatrist Kubler Ross gave us the cycle of grief. The initial stage is denial where a person is shocked and confused about what is happening. Then kicks in the stage of anger and frustration. Post that comes the bargaining phase where the person
starts making negotiations to normalise things. After this the person gradually comes out of the depressive state and tries to stabilise their emotions and re-enter reality. Covid has deteriorated the mental health of people. Arun John informed that their NGO saw around 18,000 to 20,000 distress messages a month. “Hearing sounds of the ambulance, crying in the family, images of crematorium were some common complaints. Some had not eaten in three days while some used to cry through the night. But now people are gradually coming out of this state.”
Survivor’s guilt has been seen in many cases post-Covid. A doctor whose wife was a diabetic caught Covid from him and died. “Survivors’ guilt was prominently seen in cases where a person brought Covid and infected his family or someone with co-morbidities”, said John. India has lost more than five lakh lives in the second wave of the pandemic. However reports suggest that the actual death toll was way higher. With the pandemic waning away, life is coming back to normal but the lakhs of lives lost have left a gaping hole-one even time cannot diminish.
13
ECONOMY
What does a K shaped recovery look like? Disparity in the economic recovery and rise in new retail investors hints at a K-shaped recovery, writes Arshreet Singh
Credit: Arshreet Singh
S
tock markets in India added more than 26 lakh new demat accounts every month in the financial year 2022, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The average for 201920 stood at only 4 lakh new accounts every month.
the 18-36 age bracket. Previously, the growth in new retail investors came from metro cities, but since the pandemic, tier-2 and tier-3 cities have increasingly contributed to the pool. Internet-based trading surged by around 70% between FY20 and FY21.
The momentous growth in new retail investors after the pandemic is attributed to low interest rates —which make savings accounts less lucrative, and reduced bureaucracy in opening a demat account thanks to apps like Zerodha, Upstocks and AngelOne.
Sandeep Singh, who owns a small barber shop, takes his investing tips from his customers while giving them a haircut. “One of my regulars told me about investing. He set up my account about one year ago and invested ₹5,000 in Adani Power.”
Nadar Sharma, a 20 year old student of economics invested ₹30,000 in JP Power and Devyani International about three months ago using the app Upstox. “My profits reached a high of ₹9,000 but are now down to ₹5,000 due to the recent downturn in the markets,” he said.
Stock market is not always the safest avenue for investment, however. “I made more than ₹20,000 profit last year but this year my profit has dwindled to ₹8,000. I check the app every morning to see if I will ever go back to ₹20,000” Singh said.
Upstox, a popular investment app, in a reply to an email said that more than 80 percent of its user base is in
14
When asked if he was aware of other investment options, he mentioned fixed deposits. Fixed deposits have a high barrier of entry and do not
promise the quick returns that keep millions of investors like Sandeep hooked. Apps like Zerodha have no minimum amount to invest, only a ₹500 registration fee is needed to open an account. Junofy Anto Rozarina, founder of the India Behavioural Economics Network, attributed the rise in the number of investors in the stock market, traditionally considered less safe than other investments like real estate or gold, to the ‘illusion of control’.
“A perceived notion of control makes the stock market appear safer than it really is” “Just like you have no control over the roll of a dice, markets are also controlled by external factors that are not in the investor’s control,” Rozarina said. Low stock prices during the crash of 2020, induced by Covid-19 could also
Number of new demat account holders more than doubles in the past three years. At the same time, the economy saw its deepest contraction in six decades.
be the reasons for the upsurge in new retail investors, according to Rozarina.
account for a third of total AUM According to a report by SEBI, individual investors under the income slab of ₹1-5 lakh account for 61 percent of all individual investors, while their share of total AUM stands at 24 percent. On the other hand, investors under the income slab of ₹1-5 crore account for only 0.73 percent of total investors, yet their AUM stands at 30 percent.
counts were created between January and November of 2021, according to a report by The Mint.
The Beat talked to daily-wage labourers and hawkers across the city. Most of them did not know they could invest in the stock market. Even if they did know, they complained that their disposable incomes after the pandemic’s devastation were not enough to invest.
“This is what a K-shaped economic recovery can look like. One arm of the ‘k’, the one that goes up, denotes the stock market. While the other arm which goes down denotes the real economy,” said Dr. Parvathamma K, professor of economics at the Bangalore University.
Share of retail investors in mutual funds grew by 16% between February 2020 and February 2021.
“If it costs ₹500 to register, I am not going to open an account,” said one hawker. “I am worried about feeding my family, not about the stock market,” he added.
Less than a percent of investors
Twenty-seven million new demat ac-
“The National Stock Exchange alone saw retail investors share grow from 33% in 2016 to 45% in 2021. While millions of new investors joined the stock market after the pandemic, millions more lost their livelihoods,” he added.
“Although there is no study that shows increased risk aversion after the pandemic, young men are generally more risk-taking,” she added.
Mutual funds are considered safer, but the barrier to entry is still high for many Gurpartap Brar and his brother received ₹2,000,000 each to invest from a relative. “We used the Groww app to invest in mutual funds as they are considered safer than the stock market. We have no time or interest in checking the stock markets everyday,” said Brar.
According to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy, more than 53 million people were unemployed as of December 2021
15
PHOTO ESSAY
The Kaapi and its foreign cousin
B
By Shristi Achar
engaluru is no stranger to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. A kaapi with idli or dosai was always the welcome that people found in homes and restaurants. And while the city had always had this golden brew in brass or steel tumblers, the advent of suave corporate employees and globalization brought with them a culture of cafes as well. An array of espresso-based drinks became synonymous with coffee, ultimately evolving into a community in its own right. Yet, the city is privy to a parallel culture of both types of the beverage, each having its own charm and niche.
The kaapi crowd is more of a breakfast community, often found in the type of restaurants called Darshinis. (in frame: MTR, Lalbagh)
The ‘coffee room’ in MTR perhaps is the perfect representation. Joggers and employees rushing to work, all enjoy the filter kaapi. Standing, with not much time, the hot concoction is the perfect morning ritual.
The consumers’ rushed energy is matched with the ones who concoct it. The kitchen is abuzz with cooks churning out the drinks and quick breakfast orders. The café, in contrast, is a more laidback place. People look to spend time in the vibe of the place, catch up or work. And with the onset of the pandemic, and the work from home culture, the trend to work in a cafe has picked up with a zest.
With the array of brewing techniques they have, cafes sometimes require the barista to employ some theatrics on your table, to explain the process and significance of your drink. The barista in Third Wave Roasters here was explaining how to brew the perfect french press coffee.
16
In the midst, there is a third wave in the city, with brands finding a mid-way between the two coffee cultures (in frame: Hatti Kaapi stall near Lalbagh metro station)
It combines the theatrics and options of a cafe, while having the essence of a darshini, serving the quintessential ‘kaapi on the go.’
However, as varied the coffee’s forms might be, it is still the drink that warms the air and the hearts alike.
17
SOCIETY
Hijab- a choice or a mandate? A brief history
A look back into the history of the Hijab explains why women still find it relevant to wear the veil, writes Ayndrila Banerjee
T
he word ‘Hijab’ has taken a considerable amount of space in the media. Before the controversy even blew up, the significance of the veil was confined to the women who wore it. Now, “the row” - as the mainstream media calls it – has, after dividing society, left it at the doorstep of courts. Hijab in Arabic means “veil” or in broader terms “something that covers”. Contrary to popular belief, veils existed before Islam was founded, that is, before 7th century. According to historical literature, Hijab was worn among women in ancient Rome and Greek cultures, wherein it was considered part of jewellery. In Courtesy: KPN News the Mesopotamian civilisation, the veil represented high status and was a tool to set apart slaves and ‘unchaste’ women. After the inception of Islam by Prophet Muhammed, post 7th century, only the Prophet’s wife and upper caste women were allowed to wear the veil. This was because, Muhammed, owing to his popularity, had many foes who threatened the safety of his family. So, the veil provided a shield for his wives. It protected them from his enemy’s gaze and concealed their identity. After the demise of the Prophet, all women, regardless of their social
18
status, started wearing the veil. Soon after, veils were accepted in Iran and elsewhere, and women were obliged to respect it. It is even argued that the veil allowed them to break free from isolation in those highly patriarchal societies. By covering a part or most of their body, women were now allowed to enter the public domain.
The Quran is unclear about the question of veiling women who practice the religion. However, some verses of it suggest that veils should be seen as something that ‘protects’ women rather than suppresses her. The formal mandate that enforced women to wear a hijab came from Afghanistan when the Islamic fundamentalist group, Taliban took over the country in 1996. But when their rule ended in 2001, some women chose not to give up the practice of wearing the Hijab since many of such women didn’t mind wearing it as it caused no harm. In recent times, with
a second round of Taliban invasion that took place in 2021, the group has directed all women workers of the country to cover themselves up “even with a blanket”. What do present day women feel about this garment? “For me Hijab represents freedom. To me it is my identity and a part of my personality. I want to be identified as a Muslim woman. By wearing a Hijab, I don’t have to conform to the beauty standards set by the society”, said Nasreen Shaikh, a student. Another young woman Ishana Rafel Islam said: “I think Hijabs are beautiful. I personally wouldn’t wear one on a regular basis except at some occasion which requires me to wear one. Saying that, I don’t think any woman should question her choice of wearing a hijab.” To get in tune with an emerging world of fashion and with the increasing acceptance of the veil among Muslim women, Hijabs are now available in different colours and designs apart from the plain black which used to be the original colour. The way a Hijab is worn also differs from region to region with more styles coming up day by day, to get a break from the traditional plains.
CULTURE
Mythology as Tourism
A powerful belief envelops the place, the presence of divinity can be felt at its very doorstep, writes Kashish Sharma
tends to visit it during late hours on Radha Ashtami Utsav when there is a procession. It is believed that this day is an exception to the rasleela. Bankey Bihari Sharma, a priest, says the food, water, flowers and betel leaves that they leave in the Rang Mahal every night, is consumed overnight. He also said that his friends who lived in close vicinity of the forest, compulsorily shutter closed their windows that face the temple.
Rahul Trivedi, who runs Blessed Tour and Travels in Vrindavan said: “This is a divine phenomenon, not a myth. Everybody believes in it. Even the animals, Every night the food prepared by the priests is consumed by unseen forces| Courtesy: Shutterstock birds and insects vacate the forest after dusk. Not even one creature is present hile many places are built of It is believed that people who dare to stone and brick, some are witness the divine dance are blind, in the place. People who live nearby also hear the tinkling of anklets at sewn in myth and legend. deaf or mentally challenged. Nestled in the mythical land of Vrin- The Hindu reported in 2021 about the night. It is a common observation in davan, Nidhivan garden in Mathura arrest of a Youtuber Gaurav Sharma the place.” attracts tourists throughout the year. who was arrested by Vrindavan poGurudutt Kaushal, another tour guide, People come for divine reasons as lice for secretly sneaking inside the informed that the property is not an much as for the mystery that suppos- forbidden forest in late hours of the archaeological site but is run by famedly surrounds this space. night and trying to record a video of ilies of priests. For him, the story is the place. questionable as nobody has witnessed This forest patch said to be the abode of Lord Krishna, is believed to host the Amit Awasthi, a man in his mid-for- the dance with their own eyes.The be‘Rasleela’ (Krishna’s amorous dance ties and an ardent devotee of Krishna, lief boosts tourism in the holy city as with Radha and the gopis) every says: “Being a Brajwasi, I can say that people come in flocks with a desire to night. The myth has been efficiently the place was never ordinary. It was be heard. perpetuated over the years. What’s the resting place of Swami Haridas, Traditional studies show how supermore peculiar is the fact that entry to the spiritual sage who was also the stitions are formed due to a connecthe place is prohibited after 8 pm. teacher of the great Tansen. It was this tion existing between two non-related powerful sage who had discovered the events which may have a positive or The forest area has short basil plants young talent while he was mimicking negative outcome. that are found in pairs and have enthe birds,” he said. tangled branches. The branches that Whether it is the fear of getting killed move downwards are said to trans- He believes that Swami Haridas with that prevents the people to quesform into ‘gopis’ at night. The garden his devotion had manifested Lord tion the grave old belief or the place houses a palace called Rang Mahal Krishna and that is how his presence in truth hosts a divine presence, the where Krishna and Radha supposedly is “felt” every night. Amit has never question can only be answered by the spend time. visited the place after dusk and only brajwasis who occupy the city.
W
19
REVIEW
Movie Review: Gangubai Kathiawadi
With magnificient sets and a dramatic tone, Bhansali brings out the grim reality of prostitution in India, writes Simran Sharma
I
nspired by S. Hussain Zaidi’s book The Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt, is a polished take on prostitution in India. It is the story of the transformation of Ganga Harjivandas, the daughter of a barrister from Kathiawadi, into Gangubai of Mumbai’s infamous Kamathipura. Ganga leaves her home for Mumbai to become an actress. Instead, she ends up in a brothel when her lover Ramnik Lal (Varun Kapoor) sells her for Rs 1000. From how she is forced into prostitution to how she emerges as the leader of sex workers in Kamathipura is well knit in the course of the movie.
Sets decorated with pastel hues look like anything but a red light district. The director seems to have polished the raw edges with romantic picturization, thus taking away the real and offering what seems distant. Bhansali’s penchant for excess is, however,
The movie through Gangubai’s story asks the question of how prostitution is seen in society. The deep-rooted issues of girl trafficking and forced prostitution are the larger problems the movie deals with. Young girls standA still from the movie ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ | Courtesy: IMDB ing in doorways and beckoning customers, is Kamathip- balanced out by Alia’s acting skills. ura’s reality, as depicted by scores of Bhatt’s is the centre in the movie. movies before this. Whether forced or Vijay Raaz brilliantly plays the role by own will is a story only they can tell. of the antagonist (Raziabai) but the The film is in line with that depiction. character has not been explored to its But the direction slips a bit in places. full potential. The segment of rivalry It is tough to keep Bhansali away from between Gangubai and Raziabai ends creating a rose-tinted narrative. as soon as it starts. It is as if Bhatt’s
20
character had it all too easy with Raaz’s character not holding much ground. The brooding Rahim Lala, played by Ajay Devgan, is promising, but gets very little screen time. Shantanu Maheshwari who plays the role of a local tailor has done a fairly good job. Seema Pawha playing the role of the madam of the brothel is a break from the usual characters she has been seen playing. Jim Sarbh’s character does play an integral role in the movie despite little screen time. The dialogues do not hide the grim truth of this profession. A few speeches do seem to get an unrealistic and exaggerated response. The broad bindi look in the latter half of the film brings out the mature Gangu, in contrast to the timid Ganga we saw in the beginning of the movie. Alia being cast for the role brought a lot of apprehensions that she would look young for it. The songs also do a fair performance in the movie. Despite a lot of efforts being put in makeup and attire, there is still room for better performance. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has created a larger-than-life character through the petite Alia Bhatt. The movie despite its many drawbacks, is worth a watch.
YOUTUBE
Infrastructure goes viral on Youtube New category of Youtube videos has captivated millions, writes Arshreet Singh
W
ho ever thought videos on infrastructure projects could go viral. But yes, a new category of Youtube videos, watched millions of times by people hungry for infrastructure news, has fuelled the growth of many ‘Infra-Youtubers’ during the pandemic. This niche category provides news updates on big ticket infrastructure projects such as expressways, bridges, tunnels, freight corridors and light-rail. And they have captured the imagination of many.
30,000 views per day. In India, Infrastructure projects have a habit of getting delayed, often leading to massive cost escalations, said Adri Roy Chowdhury, who started the Metro Rail Blog about 4 years ago. His channel is about to touch 100,000 subscribers. “Navi Mumbai
and documents the progress of big-ticket infrastructure projects. His video on the Chandni Chowk redevelopment, a ₹99 crore project aimed at decongesting the Mughal-era market, garnered more than half a million views. His video on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Nitin Gadkari’s ₹1 lakh crore pet project, has more than
An increase in both the number of new infrastructure projects, and the number of people with internet access may have upped viewership, according to Aakash Bhavsar, who runs a popular Youtube channel. The government’s capital expenditure for the financial year 2022 increased by 41.4 percent year-on-year, while the total number of internet users rose by 20 percent between 2018 and 2019, according to the World Bank.
“Content creators are actually getting a lot of good content that people are interested in watching” Aakash Bhavsar started his Youtube channel 6 years ago and is pursuing it as a full-time career. The channel, run by a team of two, has more than 3,80,000 subscribers. A daily show hosted on the channel, called Infranews, reports on infrastructure and business news averaging over
Courtesy: Metro Rail Blog
Metro, Kolkata Metro, or projects of the Indian Railways are all delayed. People have to wait decades to see a project completed,” said Chowdhury. After being delayed for more than a decade, the Navi Mumbai Metro which covers a distance of 5 kilometres, is expected to start this year. “People are eager for infra-updates but they are often ignored by the media. The media is interested only in politics. You hardly see infrastructure being covered on TV,” said Chowdhury. Another popular Youtube channel, RS Live, has over 70,000 subscribers. The youtuber, who was not available for an interview, drives around in his car in the National Capital Region
250,000 views. If the comments section of these videos is any indication, the popularity of channels in the infrastructure category is also driven by the fans of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Modi hai toh mumkin hai” and red-coloured flags, among thank you notes to the Prime Minister, populate the comment sections “We try to cover all sides by focusing on the negatives as well,” said Bhavsar, whose videos’ comment sections were more balanced than other channels in the category.
21
PERSONAL ESSAY
NAVIGATING POLITICS AT HOME: LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTRE
Most difficult and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about politics begin at home, writes Ahna Prakash
Courtesy: Feminisminindia.com
T
he pandemic forced most of us to stay at home. That meant home-cooked food, a cosy bed and a lot of uncomfortable dinner table conversations. Or, call it a clash of political opinion,. not to mention Arnab Goswami in the background with, “the nation wants to know”. Well, what the nation really wants to know is, while we are stuck at home, how much is your personal, political? One can agree that people from different generations in a family can’t share the same opinions or ideology. And it’s not uncommon for parents and children to argue over different ideologies. And, these arguments over politics were usually forgotten the next day. However, in recent times, when the media that we consume has become so polarized, it is tough to calm down when you see false news and propaganda making its way in your own home. It feels like one’s moral responsibility to make your parents or siblings see the real picture. But when your point of view is unheard, it leaves you frustrated. That leaves you with two options, either you somehow try to convince
22
yourself that no matter how strongly you feel about an issue, your parents will never understand as they aren’t ‘woke’ enough. So, every time you see your parents forwarding some misinformation on WhatsApp, instead of explaining things to them, you feel that peace at home is more important than ideology. The second option is engaging with them in difficult political conversations. You challenge their opinion and sit with them and argue over ideologies hoping that one day they will change their mind. So, every time you see elders in your family laugh at a communal joke, you point out their mistakes and tell them that they are wrong. While this may take a long time. Neither of the two options is easy for young people who want to stand up for their ideas and against injustice, and still want to maintain harmony at home. While experts like Kenneth Cloke, mediator for Mediators Beyond Borders and Vaile Wright, psychologist and researcher at the American Psychological Association,
say that discussing politics with one’s family is helpful in the long run, there is a certain way to go about it. So how do you convince your parents that your political opinions should not be dismissed just because they consider you way too young to understand politics? According to experts, the first step is to avoid all verbal attacks and judgment. The second step would be just to shut up and listen to them instead of screaming at them for their orthodox mentality. You have to be the best listener out there if you want to change something. Third, when talking about political issues, you are more likely to convince people of something if you point out the positives rather than appealing to their fear. Don’t tell your family members all the adverse outcomes of trusting in a particular ideology. Instead, tell them all the positives of believing in a different ideology. Even after doing all this, you might not get a positive outcome at all, but don’t let it demotivate you. We can’t lose hope. After all, it all boils down to the change that begins at home!
23
24