Eyes for Little things

Did you ever wonder how the person issuing you a token at the metro station, looks like? Or the cobbler who polishes your shoe occasionally? I am sure most of us, while travelling in a rickshaw everyday to college, fail to even look at the face of the guy who is pulling us. Modernisation and Globalisation have failed in increasing the value of the low class people in society, without whom our lives would have been insane. Their income levels might have changed but the perceived value of their work to fellow human beings, is yet to be recognised.

I came across a guy from my class who has a thing for observing everything around him- from the number of tiles in a marble to noticing people where ever he goes. This not only keeps him busy but this also helps him to build his knowledge about many aspects of life, which others fail to grab.

I also know a girl who is so much into her thoughts that she never notices the person standing next to her. Getting deeper into one’s own thoughts is not wrong but what we fail to understand is  recognising a few simple things which might give us a sense of knowledge and belonging to the place we frequent.

Noticing others helps you to not focus too much on one’s own self. This, strangely, builds confidence. Noticing things will always help you, some way or the other. It is always a plus point even though it might not give you instant results. Smiling and thanking people for their small labour provided to us, gives them a sense of encouragement and lights up their day.

Being bold

It is fascinating to notice the varied attitudes towards menstruation in our lives. On one hand, we’re expected to give out no hints about what is happening inside our bodies  to the people we interact with and on the other hand, we are expected to feel empowered about using an advanced sanitary napkin.

As a child I used to like shopkeepers who packed my sanitary napkins in a paper and gave me in black cover. The usual embarrassment as a child to talk about such things in front of male counterparts, and griping over periods is considered natural in any girl’s life. But why,after all, should we feel so embarrassed about menstruation. A biological process as simple as menstruation is stigmatised and is used by patriarchy as a weapon against women. 

I wonder why the advertisements telecasted about sanitary napkins show the color of fluid to be blue in color? When an advertisement of an ointment that heals wounds is shown using the blood.Every grown up male and female understands clearly what the fluid indicates. Then why this hypocracy about a woman’s sexuality? A woman’s reproductive cycle is a part of her biology and should not be played down in such a ridiculous fashion.

In today’s India where women are granted liberty to explore nightlife ,wear the clothes of their choice and share a drink with their male contemporaries then I am sure one need not get embarrassed about menstruation any longer. There is nothing wrong in asking your dad, brother , boyfriend and male friends to get you sanitary pads when you need them. Its time that we rid ourselves of the embarrassment ,get confident about our bodies and be vocal about our period.

A Linguistic Proposal

“India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.” -Shashi Tharoor.

Past 66 years of independence and 64 years of written constitution and being the largest democratic country in the world, it still remains an underdeveloped country (developing country). I have been given this topic in my GD ‘What are the things India should change at this point of hour to become a super power?’. Of course being a commerce student, my mind worked in economic factors, but when I sat back and thought, I observed a very minute disorder in the society around me which made me think about how equality is understood in the largest democracy.

I am not here to talk about gender equality or racial equality but geographical equality. We Indians cannot be fair when it comes to the debate of south Indian vs North Indian. How many more years does India take to establish a good rapport between these two extremes?

Language is one thing which binds people together. Even if one cannot speak the same language as the other, respecting each other’s language is the whole crux of equality. The first thing which left  me feeling offended was when I was assumed a Tamilian because I hail from South India. People forget to notice the existence of different languages in different states of India which are completely different from each other. The culture of each state is different. The values, principles, beliefs and customs; all differ from state to state and intra-state differences are also found in a numerous cases. When are people going to accept these huge dissimilarities between people?

We are taught right from childhood to respect each other, but somehow this does not find a manifestation when it comes to respecting the heterogeneity of the Indian society. With respect comes unity, with unity comes strength and a sense of belonging which would help us stand united and lead us on to grow in a holistic manner.

We could learn a lot from the alphabets in a language: some are dull, some are sharp, some are pretty, while some are bright, some have weird pronunciations, but they have all learned to live in the same script.