White Sand

 

The white sands came up suddenly 

Engulfing us

Of course I had read about the Rann

And seen images of wild asses running 

In my geography book in school

Later Nat Geo and Discovery told me things

But nothing matched the stories that the white sands told me

 

They told me that Kutch was an island till a couple of centuries ago

An island once the rains came in

The Indus flowed furious in those months

Enveloping the land on two sides

While the sea played on the other shores

 

For seven months it was an island

Then the sun beat down

Dried the waters

First it changed to a marsh

Finally only the white salt was left behind

Then the dust would blow up

The salt started to turn brown

Till the rains came and the land became an island again

Why it is better to live in the North

Aakar Patel often writes interesting stuff on the Mint. Yesterday he had a different take on the North India-South India debate. He claims it is better to live in South India. I though why not rebut this point by point and look at the other side - why I like living in the North :)

1. Aakar claims that south Indians are more knowledgeable about music. Ok. But ask them about Sufi music or Qawwalli. Zero. Name me one singer in this genre from the South.

2. He claims that the south is more inclusive about North Indians and Bollywood. In actual fact Tamil Nadu has long run a campaign against Hindi and actually discouraged showing of Hindi films till a decade ago.

3. South Indians are more tolerant of other communities. I have no idea where this come from. Karnataka has a bad track record in this regard in the last decade. And Tamil Nadu? Please refer to previous argument. Tolerance here should not just mean other religions but also other cultures. Now Kerala might be tolerant but then so is West Bengal. They do things differently there.

4. He accepts that North India's high culture is influenced by Islam. So what is the equivalent of Urdu in the south ?

5. He claims that south's vegetarianism is not oppressive. This may be true. The only eating joints in Delhi you can find beef are mallu joints.

6. Another argument is intellectual. Apparently the south is superior. Yes but they also keep to themselves and do not interact with other communities. North Indians tend to be gregarious and sharing in social interactions. How long can I discuss Coleridge when I cannot borrow sugar from your kitchen?

7. As a last salvo he puts forward this theory that south Indians know another language from a neighboring state. This is bizzarre. My father knows Tamil and understands Telegu because he migrated for work and lived in these communities. The average south indian is not more interested in learning languages. I know of north Indian families who are conversant in Punjabi and Telegu since they live in Hyderabad. In the north if you travel from Bihar to Haryana you can do with Hindi. 

He signs off by comparing Mumbai and Bangalore and giving the latter a thumbs up. And what about the winters of Delhi? How can anyone beat that?

What say ?

Men, Fatherhood & the Internet

A lot has been written on women writing and blogging about their experience as mothers. A couple of my friends have been very consistent about sharing their lives for the past year.  

Many people argue that the Internet has seen an increase in women writing on motherhood whereas some say that women were always writing about this even in a non-digital age. Still others say that it is a new trend - women who have active careers writing about motherhood.  

But what happens to men when they become fathers today? How do they look at this experience? Is it any different from my Dad’s generation? I started thinking about this when my parents observed how my brother spends a lot of time with his children. When pointed out that Dad was equally involved with us while growing up the discussion  became very confused. But question still remained - what do men think of being a father today?

Since my brother does not blog, I started to look  among friends. But none of them actually write about  fatherhood. Two men whom I have know for some time have a different approach. One of them actually has his FB identity as his “child’s father”. That according to me is the ultimate celebration of fatherhood online. Where your online personality only exists as your child's father. 

The other friend has opened an FB account in his child’s name and regularly updates photographs about activities in the child’s life. They do not have other FB accounts where they write updates about themselves. Am sure you would know of such fathers around you. The photographs they upload have a lot to tell.

When I talk to young parents, both men and women agree that parenthood has changed them but the way they express it online is very different. Women are articulate about their experience whereas men generally do not want to discuss their inner stuff.

Oh.

Women want to talk about it. And men would rather not open up.

That sounds very familiar.

The 8pm curfew

Even as people are up in arms with the 8 pm curfew for women allegedly suggested by the Gurgaon police to prevent rapes, I have a simpler idea.

What about an 8 pm curfew for men in NCR?

Yes. Men.

With that kind of a curfew there would a huge reduction in crime, jaywalking and anti social behavior. Not to mention triple riding and broken noses.

The rule would be that all men should reach home by the aforementioned time or should be on the metro getting back home.

Men could still man police, security and essential services but women would replace them over the next year. After all if only women are allowed to be on the streets after 8pm then we would only need women to protect them. Right?

Men would get home prepare dinner, tuck their kids into bed, and watch sans bahu serials waiting for their wives to arrive. In the morning they could wake up early, get the kids ready for school and leave for office. Since most would not know how to cook, there would a transition period where on Sundays their wives and girlfriends would teach them.

Women would wake up leisurely and report to work late. The idea is to prepare everyone for a two-shift system in the long run.

Men would work mornings and afternoons. And then get back home to take care of domestic things. Women would stay out late and party.  Since most establishments now work two shifts this would suit them. Sarkari offices in any case do not work beyond 4 in the afternoon.

We could try this out for five years and review if there is a drop in crime and whether our cities have become safe for women.

What say?