Sexism, like a Tsunami

A short yet effective poem by Krisha Panchal.

----------

People said she was torn
Who knew she was making herself strong.
It was like the storm that changed her life,
She taught herself to cut the criticism with a knife. 
She demands the liberty that he already has,
It is the respect that she wanted to last.
Why differentiate bodies when soul is only one,
She craves for the same place,
Afraid of getting a replace.
Its the battle she faces everyday,
Crossing the path and finding another way.
Inequality being one of her enemy,
Sexism coming across her way like a tsunami.
This has to stop for the sufferers and others,
The world has to change and seize the dominance further.

- Krisha Panchal

Profession is Uni Sexual

A piece that would hopefully encourage people to do what they love and follow their heart.

----------------------
 
A day pronounced it's beginning and Raj was wide awake to pursue his first and very own Fashion Show. His past had some terrible struggle. The kid who was asked to be an 'Army Officer' chose to fight against all odds, do what he loved and become what he wanted to, not what he was expected to.

Raj was the third child of his parents. His Dad was an Army General, a man whose conduct was well known in the whole town. His Dad always wanted him build a rough and tough personality. But he was always inclined towards sketches and designs. 

Time flew and his art became his obsession.
 
He wanted to pursue a fashion designing course. He knew his father's approval will not be satisfactory. His dad said to him " Ab tu ladkiyo wale kaam karega? Tune mera naak kata dia samaaj me. Tujhe apna beta bolne pe muje sharam aati hai."

That day, his passion spoke. " Papa agar yeh ladkiyo ka kaam lagta hai aapko toh phir samjho mujhe aap ladki. Par main jo chahta hu, wohi main karunga."
 

Because profession is not about gender, it is about passion.

- Akash Roy

Dreams never Die

A short story written about a rape victim who is trying to move past the incident but keeps getting pulled back by the society.

 -------------------

“She is that girl, the one that was raped”, she could hear their eyes screaming out as she walked past all those people in the corridor. It was her first day back to college after a year’s gap. Although everyone had welcomed her back with open arms and smiles on their faces, their eyes gave it all away. They didn’t like her, they pitied her. They said she was so brave and strong, but when she looked into their eyes, she only felt belittled by their pity. They felt sorry for what had happened to her, but she didn’t. Well, atleast not anymore..

A year ago, she was found unconscious on a street- bleeding and bruised, not just on the outside but also on the inside. People say, if someone faces a situation so unfortunate that they cannot deal with it, their brain tries to forget it and builds a defense system against those memories. But, everyone had it wrong. She remembered. She remembered every second, every word and every detail of each of their faces. She remembered every agonized scream she had voiced sent into the universe, and how it had sent back nothing- just empty silence. Those 3 hours replayed in her mind again and again and again until she finally lost consciousness while trying to walk back home.

The next thing she knew was hearing her mother’s voice, staccato, in whispers. She was sobbing. As she opened her eyes towards the familiar voice, she realized she was in the hospital, surrounded by her family. The physical pain was treated well by her doctors and her rapists were caught sooner than expected. The wounds on her mind and soul were tended to by her psychiatrist and the people who loved her the most in this world- her family. Of course it wasn’t an easy ride but she knew that from the moment she decided she was not going to let those 3 hours dictate every decision she ever made.

She just wished that everyone would do the same. For once, she wanted to be looked at as just another girl and not the rape victim.

In the past year, she had found out so much more about herself than she had in the rest of her life. She had gotten so close to her family and she had finally gotten to know who was going to “be there” for her when the going got tough. She wasn’t perfect and she knew she will never be, because she believed something perfect has no scope for improvement, growth and progress. She didn’t want to be perfect because she wanted to grow.

But now, every time someone tried to help her out, she could feel that it was only out of pity and not humanity. So many people had come up to her and expressed their condolences in badly formed sentences…

“I’m so sorry. It’s a heinous crime against humanity and I am glad those assholes got caught”,

“I hope you’re doing okay now. Just wanted to tell you I’m here for you if you need to talk about it”

“I can’t even imagine going through all of that. You’re so strong and brave. You’re an inspiration to me”,

“You know you can still lead a normal life. You are such a brave girl.”

She often joked about it with her mother. Everyone treated her as if someone had died, but in truth, she had never felt more alive than right now. She had a second chance at her life, she was back to college and had her whole life laid out in front of her. Life had given her a second blank canvas to fill with beautiful colors.

Her whole life was ahead of her, but people wouldn’t stop pestering her about her past.

So when her best friend asked her what she wished for on her 20th birthday, she only said “I only wished that people would allow me to enjoy the present and look forward to a bright future without bringing up the past”.

 - Shambhavi Kamat

SCARS STILL REMAIN THE SAME

A thought invoking short story penned by Pratiksha Padhi.

------------------

And again, It was the month of October, one of the most peaceful evenings. The leaves had begun to change color to beautiful shades of magma reds and hot oranges. It was as if there was a riot of colors in the trees, looking fiery and magnificent in those shades. Adira turned as she heard the squirrels scrabble through the fallen leaves. It had been over an hour at the park and the canvas in front of her was still empty. She clutched the pencil in her hand, feeling frustrated and empty. Had it been three years back, she would have easily completed her masterpiece by then and filled it with the colors. But, she was dazed, befuddled. October was always her favorite time of the year as everything around seemed colorful, bright and vibrant with a tinge of paleness. The sun was cold and seemed to throw weak streaks of light. Kids around her played ball and chuckled. She smiled and nodded. Adira remembered her early years. 

There had been a time when she was taken to the zoo and oh, how amazed she was by the Tigress. Adira saw her first and was mesmerized. She walked through the long stretch of green with balletic grace, her shoulders gathered. Her smouldering and chatoyant eyes examined the crowd. And that's when her eyes met Adira's. She seemed to look deep into Adira's soul. She seemed to smirk as though she had recognized the fear. Her savaging grandeur, strength, and power couldn't be described with just words. Her fur was shaded with flaming orange dashed with gunpowder black stripes. Everything about her resembled strength. Adira admired her.

Adira began to sketch the image that she had in her mind. Her hands seemed to move with ease. Ultimately her final piece was ready. Proud at her masterpiece, Adira stared at it for a while and that's when she noticed the bruises on her wrists. Pulling at her sleeve to cover it up, she became uncomfortable.She wondered how ironical her sketch was from the reality. She had always wanted to be independent, strong and powerful. Born into this patriarchal society she had become the silent sufferer of prejudices, conventions and ignorance. She was a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister but she had lost her individuality. She could feel the agony and ecstasy at not being able to become what she had wanted to be.

Adira had fallen in love with her childhood friend and also married him later. But soon, things had changed. She was dominated and beaten up upon the slightest things. She had learned to bow her head before the world. Her hands quivered as she thought of those days. Her body was covered with scars and bruises. She could feel the excruciating pain building up inside her. But somewhere deep inside she had always wished to be like the Tigress. But were her thoughts far-fetched or was it the world that had snatched her dreams and desires?

-Pratiksha Padhi

An informative summary of feminism

Nikita has collected efforts to very precisely sum up her passion for the topic of Feminism, majorly dashed with theory and that's how she likes to call it:

Informative Summary of Feminism

People are often confused when we talk about feminism.
Let's have a short summary of what feminism portrays.

What is Feminism?

Feminism is the belief that all beings, both women and men, are entitled to the same civil rights and liberties. Individuals become gendered in society, creating various social based roles, but rights? Rights are meant be equal.

Thus, we can conclude that it is a movement seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment.

QUICK LOOK OVER THE THREE WAVES OF FEMINISM -

The diversity and fluidity of this movement can be summarized into three waves namely -

Suffrage [First Wave] :
This movement took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It concentrated on voting rights, property rights, birth control (that existed at the time - condoms or sponges and, just as important, education about sexuality and how to prevent conception.)

Equal Wave [Second Wave] : This wave began in 1960s and continued into the 90s. This movement concentrated on sexual freedom, legislative work to change sexist law, integration into the workplace, equal funding, integration into the political arena.

Patriarchy [Third Wave] : This wave began in the mid 90s. It concentrated on sexual freedom, inclusion of gendered females, diversity, inclusion of women of color and women from other cultures - plus the issues surrounding both first and second wave feminism.




-Nikita Sontakke

Gender Unbiased

Akash Roy has come up with a beautiful short story and Nihit has sketched those words simply yet powerfully. You'd definitely not want it go amiss!

Morning witnessed her smile. And the sun smiled back at her, the radiant heat had struck every cell of her skin. Every thing in her list was ticked off. Makeup - done, medicines - done, purse - done. Then she saw the photo; and off she went to office. 

What is the story behind the photo? 

April 2014: 

It was her first day at office. She was late. A thought came to her mind, "Maybe the drink last night got too much into me." Her personality blooming with confidence made her an instant star. Everything seemed way too perfect. She got her new project. This girl was the definition of hard work. She strove each day and made the project. Many people were asked to do the same project. Time to select the best one out of all that had arrived.
Everyone presented their work. She was the best and everyone appreciated her work. Then, their  decision came to the fore. Suresh was declared the best and was asked to go for onsite work. Everyone was shocked. Questions were asked worryingly. The manager replied, " Ladka hai, site pe wahi tikega; ladkiya office me theek hai." She asked the Manager to have a conversation with her for 5 minutes.
After that day, the manager was thrown out of the office. His post was filled in by her. No one knows what she said. But her courage that day gave her colleagues a message to remember for their log-drawn future. The photo on her wall was of her first site.

                                                          

- Written by Akash Roy Choudhary; Sketched by Nihit Agarwala

Feminism

It is not just "she", but also "he".

Supporters are for both and not only one,
People need to analyse and change has to be done.
Her soul burns out when she is not counted,
Don't forget she is the only reason why you are counted.
Its the indivisual soul that has to be liberal,
Demotivators are bridges and are the same cruel.
A life has to live irrespective of its kind,
Nothing but the hope keeps us strong that when will society change their mind.
Overpowering is killing one's dreams,
Tears have filled up the wells and thats what it seems like.
Dominance is not only tearing her but him too,
Feminism shelters them both through thick and thin too.
Boy-girl, male-female are building up the barriers,
Things have to stop and should be taken care of by the egalitarian carriers. 
Opportunities should not carry gender discrimination,
Steps have to be taken and go through the process of eradication. 
So feminism is not only for "feminine",
It is a whole new world and it also has a place for the "masculine".

- Krisha Panchal

Just 'Words' Matter

A poem themed around the idea of equality for men and women, expressed flowing thoughts by Krisha Panchal.

Just 'Words' Matter

It was the time when a child had been born,

Happiness took over when the day turned dawn.

The child came out to be the ruling queen,

It was a mere miracle that was never seen.

Years went by and future had darkened,

The smiling face faded and she was broken.

She then learned, it was discrimination,

A mixture of dominance and humiliation.

Questions were spilled out on the human race,

It had to turn and change the powering phase.

"She will not do it" who says,

"Only she can do it" is what it pays.

He needs her and she needs him,

Equality is what matters and that's the rythym.

He and she are just words,

After all its one soul and that's how it works.

Equality and freedom are the new dope,

Two little words that gave us new hope.

-Krisha Panchal