Ladybug's field notes

The other day I posted a news about Sitar Maestro Ravi Shankar and Annapurna Devi on my Facebook page.  A newspaper reported Ravi Shankar was uncomfortable with his wife's superior talent and that lead to the wife not playing publicly anymore. This was confirmed by the wife. I  used that example to highlight a deep seated problem of masculinity which is to remain superior in a marital relationship. I thought I was being cautious while putting up the post as I lamented saying, "Why men, in general" instead of "Why all men...". It seemed later, I was not cautious  enough. I t caused some hurt around. Not so much with the male readers, at least not to the extent that they felt the need to defend their creed. In one response/reaction I was told, I was generalizing. I, on the other hand thought, I was pretty conscious, most of the time to avoid unnecessary generalization,  based on isolated facts. I n this case, I defended generalization. I  soon however, remembe...

1. How do you know the students/women/rape survivor/villagers/displaced people were right in their manner of protest? Why were they using sanitary pads to write their messages? 2. How do you know they are not wrong in raising the issue? 3. Why are they raising it NOW? Why are you supporting them NOW? 4. How do you know this is not political in nature? (I know it is. So? You lose your case. ) 5. Have you heard the other side of the story? 6. Have you protested against all the bad things that are happening in all the other parts of the world? (I am sure you did not against the afforestation in Central Africa which is causing the current Ebola epidemic! What! you did not hear about that causing it? See. I told you!) 7. Did you stand up for that particular incident 10 or 20 years ago that happened in your college campus in the 1990s? You did not? You have no right to feel bad about anything that happened thereafter. 8. In such and such part of such and such country if women/student...

We grew up in an industrial township. My life has been my field of learning (and unlearning) in that way. My father worked as a laborer in a steel factory. No. He was not an officer. He was a steel factory worker. It would not have been so much fun otherwise. Officers had ground floor bungalows, separated from others' bungalows by boundaries. We grew up with other steel factory workers' children. They were our brothers, sisters, friends, love interest and idols. Imagine a whole world made up of steel factory workers and their families! We   all had the same two room flats known as "quarters". We had two rooms; the "inside room" (bhetorer ghar) and the "outside room" (bairer ghar). The household often poured outside these two rooms. Backyard gardens of the ground floor quarters were used to store coal for fuel. Stairs going to the roof used as shoe-racks for two quarters on the second floor. When I fell in love with the boy next door, I used to...

Are your reactions always linear? Can people read into your reactions? Are they always transparent? For if they are, you are really evolved. Most of us remain confused in our thoughts, perceptions and hence in our reactions too. The issue that I am going to talk about is not discussed as much as it should be though it has gained much attention after Pinki Virani's book Bitter Chocolate, which I will never read. No. I don't think it is not worth reading. I have every reason to believe it is a very good book but I do not have the courage to read about more ordeals than what I have heard already. In the following paragraphs I will mostly use first person narrative but all that are written below are NOT my personal experience. I have felt them with the person who narrated them. I thereby assume the right to narrate in first person. I also think a person should have every right to choose when they want to tell their story and how. I should not take away that privilege j...

How do you know Konkan? Have you checked it in the map for your next holiday? Have you visited Konkan to enjoy the beaches? Which one you like the best? Srivardhan? Are you from Konkan? I would be envious. Its a beautiful landscape. Does not matter whether you like sea-beaches or hills, you will love Konkan. I have roamed in Konkan to meet Katkaris and Thakars. I walked in different parts of Roha, Mhasla, Mangaon to visit villages with exotic names. Taraygar (house of stars) is one such example. Katkaris are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) who till some time ago were a Primitive Tribe Group (PTG) and before that a De-notified Tribe Group and till British were here they were a Criminal Tribe. In all these changes of names on paper, their real status never changed. Thakars are even less known. It was almost always difficult to hold a meeting in the Thakar-wari (Thakar hamlet) after sundown. No prizes for the guessing why! They say it rains a lot in Konkan. Weather...