200 years and we still go where the puck has been .....
The year 1799 - The setting Rajashthan in India - The image Kings, Palaces, War Heroism , Courage & Chivalry
The local tour guide says " Yeh Mahal Raniyon ke liye banaya gaya tha " ( This palace was made for the royal women ) and the pride in his voice cannot be missed. Hawa Mahal- the palace of winds- is a palace in Jaipur built by SwaiPratap Singh in the year 1799 . In fact, Hawa Mahal was a continuation of the Royal City Palace and extends to the " zenena " ( women's chambers ). It was built on the edge of the City Palace at the heart of the city.
The first question that came to my mind was why this palace is specially built for the queens. I asked the same to our guide and the answer from him increased my respect to SwaiPratap Singh. During that period, Rajput women, including the royal ladies, had to obey a strict Purdah system. A Purdah system prevents a woman from going out or see outsiders specially men. Being a woman, I felt their misery immediately. The royal women of that period were unable to see the daily life outside their palace rooms; even they couldn’t see colorful royal processions in the street. In one word, they missed all the fun out there.
But here was something different. Purdah at that time was a common fact. What was uncommon was a king felt and understood the restrictions, the sufferings which were created only for his queens. What was commendable - The poet-king SwaiPratap Singh not only built this palace for the royal women he also took care of their comfort here. The articulately created " Jharokhas " ( Home Windows ) provided Royal ladies view of the day-to-day life of the city while unseen from the public outside on the street. It is also a Palace which is airy even in hot summer days. The framework also allows cool air from the Venturi effect to pass through the complex design creating an air conditioning effect to the whole area during the hot and humid summer days.
Most of the Rajput kings in that era were unaware of their queens’ sufferings. Standing at that time it was a revolutionary work of the Poet king to give a change to his queens to view the outside life.
The facade of the palace ( Image Source - Google )
A view of the Interiors of the palace ( Image Source - My Camera )
One of the innumerable windows that let the air from outside come in - the relief to the inside world
( Image Source - My Camera )
One of the many windows that let the eyes inside go out - the escape to the outside world. ( Image Source - My Camera )
# NOT ALL MEN - # Some didn't follow the tide - # Some thought to stand apart
The year 2017 - The setting - The so called cosmopolitan city Bangalore, India - The Image New Year's Eve Shame
Bangaluru (Bangalore ) is traditionally thought of as one of India's safer cities for women. The southern megacity-sometimes known as the Silicon Valley of India-is the epicenter of India's technological revolution. Young, educated professionals from all over India and surrounding countries have moved to Bangalore to work in the rapidly growing IT industry, causing the city to double its population in the last 15 years. As a result, the women of the city have long enjoyed a degree of freedom not afforded to their sisters in other cities.
All this makes the events of New Year's Eve more shocking. The events began to unfold at around midnight. Women out celebrating on a main street at the heart of the city's festivities, MG Road, Brigade Road, have reported being groped and sexually assaulted by groups of men forcing some of them to literally take off their stilettoes and run for help. Photographs showed visibly distressed women being comforted by female police officers; in another, a group of men were seen surrounding a frightened woman.
And thus New Year began on a horrifying note for many women. Now what sparks outrage is the comments that followed where politicians and moral police continue to blame everything and everyone." These kind of things happen on New Years Eve. What do you expect when people follow the Western Culture not only in mindset but in clothing too. " , " Women wearing short clothes are 'naturally' inviting trouble. They must not create situations that force men to attack them "
Given that clothing doesn't cause sexual assault any more than burning toast contributes to air pollution-the only thing ever responsible for a sexual assault is the assailant themselves, ridiculous responses and the evident lack of action that makes it so difficult for women to breathe in this highly masochist society which places the onus of not being assaulted on them. As the news gained momentum on the social media another section of people joined in to make one thing clear. In case the women were forgetting , they wanted everyone to know # Not all men are depraved predators.
It isn't the first time that when women bring up instances of sexism in everyday conversations, their male friends jump in with " I have never done that. Not all men are perverts. " The instinctive behavior is never to hear the woman out but to clarify that they aren't one of those who molest. Every single woman knows that not all men want to hurt her, just as every single woman knows that at some point atleast one man has. Whether it be groping , cat calling, flashing , sexual abuse, rape. That gives her the prerogative to be angry, to talk about it and to worry about it. That's it. They are not talking about every single man on the planet wanting to hurt women. Then why are random men trying to prove their sainthood because they never molested anyone. How is this even relevant ?
What do the # Not All Men - ers want ? A medal for being decent humans ? For standing apart - for being different ? For being a minority among a majority that still follows a sexist patriarchal mindset that might have suited the life 200 years ago ? For being evolved from caveman practices and thoughts ? What they forget is that while they may not be rapists or assaulters ... by derailing a conversation about women's safety they are gaslighting women, dismissing their feelings and concerns, and thus pepetrating rape culture.
( Image Courtesy - google )
We continue to travel in the path where the puck has been for ages and it continues to stagnate at the same spot. We give credit to men who stood apart 200 years ago and we are continually expected to do the same after all that time. Can't it be the done thing for men to be empathetic ? Are we not supposed to move forward in thoughts and actions. Are women supposed to be confined to their homes ( even that isn't safe by the way ) or rather some unventilated room to experience safety ? Are we supposed to be elated that some men are gentlemen while many beasts are out where we want to be ?
It is time all men and women skated to a place where the puck is meant to go. A better a safer place. A novaturient generation is much needed.
( This has been my entry for Week 4 of LJ Idol - I don't skate where the puck has been. I skate to where it is going. Concrits as always is appreciated. )
The local tour guide says " Yeh Mahal Raniyon ke liye banaya gaya tha " ( This palace was made for the royal women ) and the pride in his voice cannot be missed. Hawa Mahal- the palace of winds- is a palace in Jaipur built by SwaiPratap Singh in the year 1799 . In fact, Hawa Mahal was a continuation of the Royal City Palace and extends to the " zenena " ( women's chambers ). It was built on the edge of the City Palace at the heart of the city.
The first question that came to my mind was why this palace is specially built for the queens. I asked the same to our guide and the answer from him increased my respect to SwaiPratap Singh. During that period, Rajput women, including the royal ladies, had to obey a strict Purdah system. A Purdah system prevents a woman from going out or see outsiders specially men. Being a woman, I felt their misery immediately. The royal women of that period were unable to see the daily life outside their palace rooms; even they couldn’t see colorful royal processions in the street. In one word, they missed all the fun out there.
But here was something different. Purdah at that time was a common fact. What was uncommon was a king felt and understood the restrictions, the sufferings which were created only for his queens. What was commendable - The poet-king SwaiPratap Singh not only built this palace for the royal women he also took care of their comfort here. The articulately created " Jharokhas " ( Home Windows ) provided Royal ladies view of the day-to-day life of the city while unseen from the public outside on the street. It is also a Palace which is airy even in hot summer days. The framework also allows cool air from the Venturi effect to pass through the complex design creating an air conditioning effect to the whole area during the hot and humid summer days.
Most of the Rajput kings in that era were unaware of their queens’ sufferings. Standing at that time it was a revolutionary work of the Poet king to give a change to his queens to view the outside life.
The facade of the palace ( Image Source - Google )
A view of the Interiors of the palace ( Image Source - My Camera )
One of the innumerable windows that let the air from outside come in - the relief to the inside world
( Image Source - My Camera )
One of the many windows that let the eyes inside go out - the escape to the outside world. ( Image Source - My Camera )
# NOT ALL MEN - # Some didn't follow the tide - # Some thought to stand apart
The year 2017 - The setting - The so called cosmopolitan city Bangalore, India - The Image New Year's Eve Shame
Bangaluru (Bangalore ) is traditionally thought of as one of India's safer cities for women. The southern megacity-sometimes known as the Silicon Valley of India-is the epicenter of India's technological revolution. Young, educated professionals from all over India and surrounding countries have moved to Bangalore to work in the rapidly growing IT industry, causing the city to double its population in the last 15 years. As a result, the women of the city have long enjoyed a degree of freedom not afforded to their sisters in other cities.
All this makes the events of New Year's Eve more shocking. The events began to unfold at around midnight. Women out celebrating on a main street at the heart of the city's festivities, MG Road, Brigade Road, have reported being groped and sexually assaulted by groups of men forcing some of them to literally take off their stilettoes and run for help. Photographs showed visibly distressed women being comforted by female police officers; in another, a group of men were seen surrounding a frightened woman.
And thus New Year began on a horrifying note for many women. Now what sparks outrage is the comments that followed where politicians and moral police continue to blame everything and everyone." These kind of things happen on New Years Eve. What do you expect when people follow the Western Culture not only in mindset but in clothing too. " , " Women wearing short clothes are 'naturally' inviting trouble. They must not create situations that force men to attack them "
Given that clothing doesn't cause sexual assault any more than burning toast contributes to air pollution-the only thing ever responsible for a sexual assault is the assailant themselves, ridiculous responses and the evident lack of action that makes it so difficult for women to breathe in this highly masochist society which places the onus of not being assaulted on them. As the news gained momentum on the social media another section of people joined in to make one thing clear. In case the women were forgetting , they wanted everyone to know # Not all men are depraved predators.
It isn't the first time that when women bring up instances of sexism in everyday conversations, their male friends jump in with " I have never done that. Not all men are perverts. " The instinctive behavior is never to hear the woman out but to clarify that they aren't one of those who molest. Every single woman knows that not all men want to hurt her, just as every single woman knows that at some point atleast one man has. Whether it be groping , cat calling, flashing , sexual abuse, rape. That gives her the prerogative to be angry, to talk about it and to worry about it. That's it. They are not talking about every single man on the planet wanting to hurt women. Then why are random men trying to prove their sainthood because they never molested anyone. How is this even relevant ?
What do the # Not All Men - ers want ? A medal for being decent humans ? For standing apart - for being different ? For being a minority among a majority that still follows a sexist patriarchal mindset that might have suited the life 200 years ago ? For being evolved from caveman practices and thoughts ? What they forget is that while they may not be rapists or assaulters ... by derailing a conversation about women's safety they are gaslighting women, dismissing their feelings and concerns, and thus pepetrating rape culture.
( Image Courtesy - google )
We continue to travel in the path where the puck has been for ages and it continues to stagnate at the same spot. We give credit to men who stood apart 200 years ago and we are continually expected to do the same after all that time. Can't it be the done thing for men to be empathetic ? Are we not supposed to move forward in thoughts and actions. Are women supposed to be confined to their homes ( even that isn't safe by the way ) or rather some unventilated room to experience safety ? Are we supposed to be elated that some men are gentlemen while many beasts are out where we want to be ?
It is time all men and women skated to a place where the puck is meant to go. A better a safer place. A novaturient generation is much needed.
( This has been my entry for Week 4 of LJ Idol - I don't skate where the puck has been. I skate to where it is going. Concrits as always is appreciated. )