Feminist Rantings

Last few months have been hectic in Assam. Apart from confirming my desire to live in South-East Asia valid, it has given us – me and some similar suffering souls - endless trouble. The good thing is humour is at ready hand. The bad thing is jokes are getting crueler as situation gets worse. Come June and come flood. Estimated 2 million affected. I had to walk through deep water pulling my pajamas up to indecent heights and reluctantly baring my Thai food fed midriff to complete strangers in day time at public places. Not good news for anyone. While we were busy figuring out relief work, a group of Indian experts on disaster insisted on visiting. They told us they can set standards of relief work for us. They ordered a meeting of all people who wants to do flood relief work and told us what happens to people during floods. They have seen that in Bihar it seems! In my father’s village I have seen people getting out of their home through the roof during the floods on a yearly basis...

This article was first published with the title This is Not Fair in Seven Sisters Post ( http://epaper.sevensisterspost.com/ ) in two parts on 19.07.12 and 20.07.12 The recent incident, of a mob attacking and molesting a girl coming out of a bar in Guwahati, Assam, has been occupying television prime time, drawing room conversations and facebook walls of the Assamese and Indian people with fervor. People have been voicing a range of concerns starting from the role of media, state of law and order in the state to questions of morality and the so called ‘modern’ or ‘western’ influence in our societies. In this particular 10 th July incident some of the popular reactions have been to demand that the police arrest the culprits immediately, and give them severe punishment which will be so exemplary that such incidents will not take place in the future. Also this typical reaction demanding punishment to the culprit is like a stock reaction people of India has for every incidence o...

World Environment Day came and went. My Facebook was full of messages and thoughts on the world’s environment and its condition. I spent it in Imphal, watching other people plant trees. I must admit, there was a point when I was wondering, looking at people clearing jungles, digging pits, carrying saplings, planting them – ‘I have not lifted a finger in this thing. Does this make me a complete idiot?’ My friends’ 10 year old daughter made me feel better. When I met her just after WED, she blurted – ‘You know Mamu Miss, they are so stupid, they asked us to carry chart paper to school on World Environment Day. It is going to do more damage to the environment na. Because you have to cut more trees to make the chart papers.’ ‘You must not call people stupid.’ – Her mother reminded her.  Her elder sister chimed in the stories. ‘You know Mamu Miss, we were asked to make posters. One boy from my class drew something and wrote  - How Are We Going to Save The Enviro...

I am in my favourite place of being again. For Manipur is not just a place where you live. Here you be, a part of things happening around you. Some inspiring and some unpleasant. And you laugh at everything.   I am here after what feels like a long time. In the meantime some economic blockade of the highway has happened. The congress won the last state elections completely. One sided. ‘No opposition?!’ I express my worries of basic western democratic understanding. ‘But many young people have won and 3 women MLAs too for the 1 st time’ - I am assured. Thing in Manipur is never one sided. The first meeting, I invite myself to, is the meeting of the Manipur Cycle Club – MCC as they like to call themselves. They are having their annual meeting and the elections for the new board. Ram my friend has already received domestic threats of divorce from his wife Nandini if he becomes the president. Going by the feel in the air, some lawyers might be able to make money if Nandini a...

Bangkok, to my North-Eastern existence, is a very unreal place. It is the biggest city I have ever seen. Even if you consider the fact that till I was about 16, I had actually not seen a city and from then on have seen only a few, it still is a very big city. According to some scientific study there are more than 3700 7-11 stores in Bangkok. This automatically means that there are more than 3700 street corners in Bangkok. And that makes it a very big city. The convenience of 7-11 aside, it is ranked as one of the best cities in the world by most travel magazines. Tom-Yam-Goong (famous spicy tangy flavourful Thai prawn soup) is a proof of this. When I am not either looking up at the tall buildings or looking down into my Tom Yam bowl, the city has never ceased to surprise me. In a very pleasant way. Known as the food capital of the world, the city must have millions of eateries. Most of them on the streets. And yet there is no garbage lying on the street. How is that possible? ...

A guy called John Pead came to teach us last week. He is from Australia. So far in the course, I have had it till my snooty post-colonial nose from the ‘western’ teachers really! How much of white peoples’ understanding of Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan can you take without insulting your post-colonial intelligence you tell me. They speak as if the only beings with an occupied (as opposed to vacant/empty) spherical body part above the shoulder in Afghanistan are the ones that considerably lack in melanin. I will not go into the debate of occupation and vacating for some might take it as a downright insult. Not that I mind insulting anyone at all. Just that this is not the purpose of mentioning John Pead. Overall the whole experience has been so colonial that I have considered calling up Achille Mbembe and Gaytari Chakravarty Spivak to complain. My urge to call and complain has suddenly increased in the past few weeks. When I discovered the next module was to be Trauma and Self-Care. I ...

Last night I popped a green pill that I should not have. I knew that pills do horrible things to me. But my throat was hurting mad and I thought why not. And that’s not the only why. It’s also true that I had checked on the net and it said Bormhexine makes you dizzy and hallucinate. I must say I gave in to temptation, but a lesson that I never learn is, drugs are not ice creams. They are mind fucks. And just like fucks, although it can be really nice sometimes (and this is what tempts you all the time) sometimes it can go horribly wrong. I pay my price of course. By dreaming of people in white canvas shoes, carrying multi-coloured plastic sacks and boarding a train to go to America. Earlier in the day, we had gone to visit an organisation that facilitates safe migration. The place is called refugee processing centre. As we waited for the official to arrive to show us around, I see people strewn about. Some lying on hammocks, children playing around and some sitting around waiting. S...

27/02/12 Yesterday I was sitting under a tree at the Darma centre. It was so tranquil. Well, at least for some time. There I was, lying down, reading, sitting up, drawing, in beautiful harmony with the old trees and the still pond. A cool breeze made the hot afternoon feel like a tiger balm. You know what I mean? When it is warm and soothing? Birds were singing in the trees. The cuckoo kept on going coo-coo and I wondered if it has flown from home or is going to go home for Bihu. I mean overall it was like a very meditative scene. And at the Darma centre too. But alas! Like Budhdha says (or does he really?) happiness like other emotions in life are momentary. What he did not say, I think, is that the moments can travel at break-neck speed in some and particularly urban settings. Hardly had I finished drawing the trunk of the tree that a monk started preaching on the mike. I admit he was no where near shouting (like the hindu and muslim bastards when they get their hands around a mike...

Saturday was the football match between Chulalongkorn and Thamasat University, Bangkok. This was the 68 th time they played each other. Naturally the stadium was packed. There were a few firsts there too for me A pink football team The revelry outdid the rivalry For a football crowd it was so polite, it made me feel like I am sitting in a kindergarten school annual function. No one pushed, shoved or shouted any ones eardrums burst. Combining football and carnival, this is Thailand’s answer to Brazil! For every day of the week, there is a colour in Thai culture. Sunday – Red, Monday –Yellow, Tuesday – Pink, Wednesday –Green, Thursday – Orange, Friday – Light Blue and Saturday –Purple. Because they do not have such notions as pink is for girls and blue is for boys, you see people of all gender wearing all colours. Yes, you also see people of all gender, wearing all colours, in all directions, doing all kinds of things. Rather nice. This all gender thing and those boys in pink. Remind...