Make it work for working women
The sexual harassment bill is a step in the right direction. But can laws alone change the male mentality? Asks Namita Bhandare. HT Image A bill to protect women from lecherous bosses is whipping up fear and loathing, at least in some quarters. In DNA newspaper Nirad Mudur writes about the Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill: “I — and all male employees, for that matter — better fear the workplace.” In Bangalore, an organisation called Save India Family Foundation says the bill will, ‘endanger genial gender relationship in workplace (sic)’. And in office canteens the buzz…
Young, but definitely not restless
Of all the seductions of youth, perhaps the most enticing is its potential for change. We associate youth with transformation and an ability to shake the status quo. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Of all the seductions of youth, perhaps the most enticing is its potential for change. We associate youth with transformation and an ability to shake the status quo. None of this is the exclusive prerogative of any age, of course, but it is the young who seem to have agitation hardwired into their DNA. That is why the unknown student stopping tanks in Tiananmen Square remains a…
Wander off, rediscover yourself
People travel for a variety of reasons. Some travel to discover new places, others to reunite with families in distant lands. Some travel on work, others take religious pilgrimages. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image People travel for a variety of reasons. Some travel to discover new places, others to reunite with families in distant lands. Some travel on work, others take religious pilgrimages. There are those who want action-packed adventure vacations, some don’t want anything more strenuous than the spa. Some believe, philosophically that we travel to get there, others insist that we get there to travel. And then there…
We’ve gone by the book too long
If education is to go beyond a piece of paper, India must produce indigenous institutions with imaginative curriculums. Our testing systems have to move beyond exams to continuous evaluation, as has been done for the 10th grade. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Pop quiz of the day: The purpose of education is to (a) get a good job (b) earn a degree (c) win the respect of peers and family (d) create wealth or (e) learn skills to lead a productive life. The good news is there is no wrong answer. An education is indeed about gaining skills that will…
There’s someone listening
Since our distaste for politicians is so palpable, I doubt if any tears will be shed for Amar Singh now that the Supreme Court has lifted a ban on the airing of his phone conversations. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Since our distaste for politicians is so palpable, I doubt if any tears will be shed for Amar Singh now that the Supreme Court has lifted a ban on the airing of his phone conversations. The conversations with Bollywood actresses, politicians, businessmen and actresses-turned-politicians aren’t new. Transcripts of these first made the rounds four years ago. Now, they are open…
The doctor’s not in anymore
These days, we often end up seeing doctors to whom a patient is a number, not even a name, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image I’m a bit of a doctor junkie. Listed in my phone book are numbers for various specialists. I could direct you to a cardiologist, endocrinologist, oncologist, pediatrician, gastroenterologist, gynaecologist. But ask me for a family doctor and I will draw a blank. Growing up, most middle class Indians had one; some lucky ones still do. Mine was genial old Dr Vibhakar who literally had his finger on the family’s pulse. When one of us fell ill,…
RIP: The literary piano
I’ll feel a twinge when the last typewriter heads to the museum, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image News of the imminent death of the manual typewriter sent romantics all over our interconnected planet into a state of gloom. Neither the demise of the vinyl record nor the unsung departure of the rotary dial telephone triggered the sort of lamentation set off by a news report in the Business Standard: Godrej & Boyce, the last frontier for the manual typewriter, was stopping the production of its last brand, the Godrej Prima. The report went viral, inspiring requiems from Auckland to Vancouver.…
State of the sisterhood
Women at the helm in politics at the national and state level might not immediately usher in a new deal for other women everywhere. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image The headlines are euphoric. Mamata Banerjee, J Jayalalithaa, Mayawati and Sheila Dikshit, just four women now rule over 400 million Indians. Three cheers for gender justice. Yet, there is no skirting the big question: are they about to swing a new deal for India’s women? Some would argue, don’t hold your breath. “They might not be game changers for other women,” says Akhila Sivadas, executive director, Centre for Advocacy and Research.…
We’re all in it together
Midway through swotting for her geography exam, Ananya, my 15-year-old looked at her watch and said, urgently: “9pm. It’s time to pray for Japan”. I frowned at this unwarranted interruption. We were locating India’s various nuclear power plants from Kaiga to Narora on the map. But this stop-pray-for-Japan had a powerful appeal that went beyond geographic borders. The thought of a world collectively empathising – at the same time – with a stricken nation was hard to resist. We stopped and prayed. HT Image Midway through swotting for her geography exam, Ananya, my 15-year-old looked at her watch and said,…
No spark to light our anger
The middle class, the one-time custodians of moral values, isn’t vigilant enough anymore, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image At what point in our collective history did we lose our capacity for outrage? I am talking of middle class placidity in the face of outright corruption that seems to be piling up faster than the debris in Delhi’s national stadiums. Some, like the ongoing Commonwealth Games with new scams unfolding by the hour, will cause raised voices in drawing room conversation. Yet, today’s headlines seem destined to becoming tomorrow’s footnotes. We lurch from scam to scandal, but life goes on. Rs…
Will our real heroes stand up?
There is no dearth of role models in India. But those who get recognised are rarely deserving, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image I’m in search of a hero. By hero I don’t necessarily mean someone of the male persuasion; anyone with heroic qualities that I can look up to and point my children towards will do. Anyone at all — male, female or transgender; Indian, Ethiopian or Belarusian. My search received new impetus after the hero-dom of Steven Slater, the flight attendant who jettisoned himself via emergency chute off his aircraft following an altercation with a passenger. Slater was arrested…
We must agree to disagree
On national networks, anchors with no pretence to journalistic objectivity jump onto the national/anti-national bandwagon over the Kashmir issue: demands to dilute army presence are anti-national. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Salman Khan tells a Pakistani TV channel that 26/11 was hyped because the elite were targeted. He is branded an anti-national. Arundhati Roy has admittedly extreme views on nearly everything from Naxals to big dams. Her condemnation of the Indian state leads to the charge: she is an anti-national. Congress MPs say the Commonwealth Games are linked to ‘India’s prestige’, criticism, therefore, is anti-national.Unfortunately for them, the evidence of…