Thursday, May 19, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Feminism
One of my favourite topics....
The most common definition of feminism states that it is 'a doctrine that advocates equal rights for women'.
That was probably how feminism, as a concept, got a kickstart. Later on, various types of feminism emerged, focussing on every aspect of life, and provided the 'feminist's view' on things that varied from education to what later came to be known as 'socialist feminism'.
As with all movements, or concepts that were nourished in people's minds for over decades, feminism drew its own set of 'extremists'. These were proponents of feminism in its most extreme form, advocating a life that totally centered around career often labelling marriage as a 'way to slavery'.
In today's world, where there are many 'liberal feminists', some issues still exist. As far as India is concerned, although women empowerment is observed in many areas, much needs to be done. This might well turn out be a Herculean task , in a society which, traditionally, does not breed feminist virtues.
There are still women who are being deserted and those being simply used as objects of pleasure. A logical and practical alternative needs to be considered to stem these injustices. Education is an important factor. It brings a sense of self-worth and improves one's sense of judgement pivoted on the stronghold of reason. Financial independence provides a sense of security. These two, combined together, lend women the courage to face life head on.
Over the years, the ideals of feminism have been diluted and modified to suit different needs. The cry to ban fashion shows is one such. Ideally, everyone can choose their profession. If the models are fine with taking to the ramps, I don't see why anyone should object. Such variations make the definition of feminism relative wrt people, the society in question and of course, time.
In my opinion, feminism should not be distant concept or an idea awaiting implementation by NGOs or the Govt., it should be a way of thought that permeates through all ranks of society and is expressed by all individuals, be it male or female.
This calls for a drastic change in the mindset of the society. A quantitative analysis of women empowerment does not help the cause of feminism as we perceive it. What is needed is a qualitative assessment of women empowerment plans.
The most common definition of feminism states that it is 'a doctrine that advocates equal rights for women'.
That was probably how feminism, as a concept, got a kickstart. Later on, various types of feminism emerged, focussing on every aspect of life, and provided the 'feminist's view' on things that varied from education to what later came to be known as 'socialist feminism'.
As with all movements, or concepts that were nourished in people's minds for over decades, feminism drew its own set of 'extremists'. These were proponents of feminism in its most extreme form, advocating a life that totally centered around career often labelling marriage as a 'way to slavery'.
In today's world, where there are many 'liberal feminists', some issues still exist. As far as India is concerned, although women empowerment is observed in many areas, much needs to be done. This might well turn out be a Herculean task , in a society which, traditionally, does not breed feminist virtues.
There are still women who are being deserted and those being simply used as objects of pleasure. A logical and practical alternative needs to be considered to stem these injustices. Education is an important factor. It brings a sense of self-worth and improves one's sense of judgement pivoted on the stronghold of reason. Financial independence provides a sense of security. These two, combined together, lend women the courage to face life head on.
Over the years, the ideals of feminism have been diluted and modified to suit different needs. The cry to ban fashion shows is one such. Ideally, everyone can choose their profession. If the models are fine with taking to the ramps, I don't see why anyone should object. Such variations make the definition of feminism relative wrt people, the society in question and of course, time.
In my opinion, feminism should not be distant concept or an idea awaiting implementation by NGOs or the Govt., it should be a way of thought that permeates through all ranks of society and is expressed by all individuals, be it male or female.
This calls for a drastic change in the mindset of the society. A quantitative analysis of women empowerment does not help the cause of feminism as we perceive it. What is needed is a qualitative assessment of women empowerment plans.
Business as usual...
A realization that life as an intern is gradually drawing to a close has made me want to document as much as possible so I can relive these glorious days..atleast in print!
It was half past ten when I logged on to my machine..I was surprised to see a good number of interesting forwards and spent the next half hour(or was it one hour?!) checking all mails and orkut and what not...I stumbled upon a blog with pictures of Pilani taken by someone who has recently visited BITS...Link after link and I found I was busy doing a number of things EXCEPT my project...
Post lunch, the informative browsing continued, and it resulted in a posting..By then it was already close to three...I realized I hadn't checked my inbox for about an hour...A look at the inbox and I could see what activity I had missed...There was a string of mails..from my roomies...I would not like go into details of the subject, suffices to say that they were considering a (costlier) substitute to a glass of milk, namely, liquor...I broke into a laugh...Their knowledge about all this was limited to naming a few brands, which they had learnt from ads....!! Quietly hidden in that chain of replies..was Jo's..'What's wrong with Anu?! Havent got her usual call yet!'...I could sense the concern..She is one person giving me company in this cruel world of workaholics...A person who believes vettiness is the path to enlightenment..!! (In all these months of PS, I had almost made it a habit to call everyone everyday..soon after lunch...the time when I felt like going home for a good crash! ) The next mail read..'Anu..are you WORKING or something?!'...I smiled as I pictured her astonished face if she came to hear that I had WORKED....I decided it was time to soothe her troubled mind..and mailed her about all that I had been upto...As a mark of respect for our combined state of perpetual vettiness, I sent her the links to all the sites hallowed by my visit... A refreshed inbox showed something new..Aishu was on a hattrick..She had mailed at 4:23,4:24 and it wasnt yet 4:25...Not wanting to waste that precious minute I typed out a mail asking her to complete the hattrick...She responded with a mail..The mail server played spoilsport and sent it after a good 7 minutes delay..'What a waste..' I thought..I could only feel sorry for Aishu for having missed a great opportunity that would have propeled her to greatness overnight!
When all this had died down, I looked at my watch..It was 5:30..I double checked the time..Surely, I couldnt have spent such a looooong time doing NOTHING...!! 'Time to work'..I decided and opened the code that had been troubling me the whole of Friday...I tried debugging a bit, but the errors persisted...Some adjustments here and there..a few if statements (needless, but I dont know why it worked!!) and my code was running like a marathon winner in his last lap....
This is what is called 'job satisfaction'...albeit on a smaller scale!
It was half past ten when I logged on to my machine..I was surprised to see a good number of interesting forwards and spent the next half hour(or was it one hour?!) checking all mails and orkut and what not...I stumbled upon a blog with pictures of Pilani taken by someone who has recently visited BITS...Link after link and I found I was busy doing a number of things EXCEPT my project...
Post lunch, the informative browsing continued, and it resulted in a posting..By then it was already close to three...I realized I hadn't checked my inbox for about an hour...A look at the inbox and I could see what activity I had missed...There was a string of mails..from my roomies...I would not like go into details of the subject, suffices to say that they were considering a (costlier) substitute to a glass of milk, namely, liquor...I broke into a laugh...Their knowledge about all this was limited to naming a few brands, which they had learnt from ads....!! Quietly hidden in that chain of replies..was Jo's..'What's wrong with Anu?! Havent got her usual call yet!'...I could sense the concern..She is one person giving me company in this cruel world of workaholics...A person who believes vettiness is the path to enlightenment..!! (In all these months of PS, I had almost made it a habit to call everyone everyday..soon after lunch...the time when I felt like going home for a good crash! ) The next mail read..'Anu..are you WORKING or something?!'...I smiled as I pictured her astonished face if she came to hear that I had WORKED....I decided it was time to soothe her troubled mind..and mailed her about all that I had been upto...As a mark of respect for our combined state of perpetual vettiness, I sent her the links to all the sites hallowed by my visit... A refreshed inbox showed something new..Aishu was on a hattrick..She had mailed at 4:23,4:24 and it wasnt yet 4:25...Not wanting to waste that precious minute I typed out a mail asking her to complete the hattrick...She responded with a mail..The mail server played spoilsport and sent it after a good 7 minutes delay..'What a waste..' I thought..I could only feel sorry for Aishu for having missed a great opportunity that would have propeled her to greatness overnight!
When all this had died down, I looked at my watch..It was 5:30..I double checked the time..Surely, I couldnt have spent such a looooong time doing NOTHING...!! 'Time to work'..I decided and opened the code that had been troubling me the whole of Friday...I tried debugging a bit, but the errors persisted...Some adjustments here and there..a few if statements (needless, but I dont know why it worked!!) and my code was running like a marathon winner in his last lap....
This is what is called 'job satisfaction'...albeit on a smaller scale!
Monday, May 09, 2005
Passing it on....
When I first landed in Pilani, approximately five years ago, everything seemed alien...right out of a new planet on a distant galaxy. The kind of people, the type of 'food', and all those things even remotely related to a residential institute...
But what made life interesting in those first few weeks was the endless list of BITSian lingo we were introduced to. Classes were to be 'gus'ed and tests would be 'rod' unless of course, it happened to be Sym Log which is definitely 'sac'! 'Insti' is where you would go if you got tired of sitting in your room...Night outs and 'lachcha' sessions were common in 'wings'...and I am at a loss of words if I have to explain the funda behind the 'T' wing , or the 'H' wing or even the 'Pi' wing...Those werent in MB...
The end of the first year signifies a defining moment in a BITSian's life. It's a well earned promotion from being the instructed to becoming the instructor(!). With great zeal, second yearites, 'get to know' or 'just interact' with the juniors..There's more addition to the existing lexicon...Your 'school-ju' is my
'd-ju' and my friend's 'id-daughter'..! 'Sac-out' is what is on all second yearites' lips..as they come to terms to 'assocs' during 'oasis', 'apogee' and find solace in 'going senti'...
By the end of four years, the BITS-tionary becomes part and parcel of thinking, talking, writing and so much more...that you start wondering what words you had used to convey the same meaning as 'gus', before you were initiated to it..!
The lingo-fever is a communicable disease(!!!)...(Usage is an exponential function of familiarity and acquaintance) I was pleasantly surprised one day, when I was talking to my mother over phone, she said..'I gussed work today...'..'You WHAAAATTTT??!' I couldnt hide the astonishment..'You mean you GUSSED work?!?!'...'yes I did..' she said matter-of-factly... 'Oh...my lingos have rubbed on you too..!!' I was delighted.. 'Isn't that ob?! I've been hearing those for such a long time now..!!' That should have prepared me for the other 'ob' things..like how junta in my sister's class were going senti and how lots of fundoos in my brother's high school class made 'zukes' in a recent maths test, while he maxed it..!
Passing it on...truly!
But what made life interesting in those first few weeks was the endless list of BITSian lingo we were introduced to. Classes were to be 'gus'ed and tests would be 'rod' unless of course, it happened to be Sym Log which is definitely 'sac'! 'Insti' is where you would go if you got tired of sitting in your room...Night outs and 'lachcha' sessions were common in 'wings'...and I am at a loss of words if I have to explain the funda behind the 'T' wing , or the 'H' wing or even the 'Pi' wing...Those werent in MB...
The end of the first year signifies a defining moment in a BITSian's life. It's a well earned promotion from being the instructed to becoming the instructor(!). With great zeal, second yearites, 'get to know' or 'just interact' with the juniors..There's more addition to the existing lexicon...Your 'school-ju' is my
'd-ju' and my friend's 'id-daughter'..! 'Sac-out' is what is on all second yearites' lips..as they come to terms to 'assocs' during 'oasis', 'apogee' and find solace in 'going senti'...
By the end of four years, the BITS-tionary becomes part and parcel of thinking, talking, writing and so much more...that you start wondering what words you had used to convey the same meaning as 'gus', before you were initiated to it..!
The lingo-fever is a communicable disease(!!!)...(Usage is an exponential function of familiarity and acquaintance) I was pleasantly surprised one day, when I was talking to my mother over phone, she said..'I gussed work today...'..'You WHAAAATTTT??!' I couldnt hide the astonishment..'You mean you GUSSED work?!?!'...'yes I did..' she said matter-of-factly... 'Oh...my lingos have rubbed on you too..!!' I was delighted.. 'Isn't that ob?! I've been hearing those for such a long time now..!!' That should have prepared me for the other 'ob' things..like how junta in my sister's class were going senti and how lots of fundoos in my brother's high school class made 'zukes' in a recent maths test, while he maxed it..!
Passing it on...truly!
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