Patterns of assumptions and stereotypes manipulate collective responses. Patterns based on things we refuse to acknowledge or even are aware of. “Strong man”, “Caring mother”, “damsel in distress”, “hen pecked”, “old coot”, “shrew” and more aren’t just common terms, they are common ways in which we see people and there are patterns. There are scales of gender, …
Today is holi, and my heart is heavy with grief at something precious lost. When I was a kid, I lives with my grandmother and grandfather. We used to plan for Holi for AGES. We used to buy enough water balloons so that we didn’t run out of supplies. We used to make sure we …
Talk of mixed perspectives. A few posts I made recently have set me thinking about how many of us supposedly neither right nor left political inclinations actually have swallowed a lot of left and right. The recent turning upside down of terrorism as an Islamic speciality by Hindutva enthusiasts provided many such opportunities to notice …
Just recently read a news article from Pakistan where a girl went to some party which had boys and returned late. She got raped. In the debate that stormed in the comments, two prevalent views came forth. The first was when someone commented that if she was going to wear revealing clothes and go to …
Was talking with someone about the problems wildlife sanctuaries face with local populations. On one end, there is the need to conserve the wildlife, to ensure that natural life survives in an increasingly crowded world. On the other hand, what happens to all those people who live in close proximity to nature? Over the years, …
Yesterday, my mother-in-law got a phone call from “Bajaj Electricals” which is a well known company in India. She was asked three questions (which she answered wrongly). Her answers were declared correct and she was invited to claim a gift vouchers from some “Bajaj office” in the evening. It sounded like she was getting to …