Panel discussion on Feminism and Cinema

 The Panel discussion on Feminism and Cinema at the 4th Film festival of Rural development at NIRD, Hyderabad.

The fourth Film festival on Rural Development

 The fourth Film festival on Rural Development was organised on 20th November  by National Institute of Rural Development, NIRD. They received fifty five films and a three member Jury, Dr. P. Kennedy from University of Hyderabad and Prof. Rizwan from Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Media and communication Department and C. B. Sriguha, a film maker and editor, selected  the best three documentaries. I really liked the very imaginative way of  introducing the participants to the audience through visuals. The morning session after the inauguration saw a panel discussion on  feminism and Cinema. Though, I have not really studied films as an academic subject my interest  in films has always been there and one can analyse films through a feminine perspective. I found myself in the panel along with women film makers from Bollywood and documentary makers and it was really nice to get to know their issues. The first prize went to the film, Village of lesser God, directed by Anant Narayan Mahadevan, which tells the story of theTalasari Village about 65km from Mumbai and how it was very backward and how a homoeopathic doctor Jatin Nandlal Valia took upon himself to rehabilitate the village and we met the very humble  Dr. Nandlal Valia.  It was very nice meeting Mr. Raj Kumar Upadhyay, who is the ADG of Doordarshan. He shared that Doordarshan is now having a Gender Sensitisation document for its producers and directors. In the afternoon session we also got to see some films. The highlight of the program was that we could watch these films, have a discussion with the directors and understand their journey in making their films. We also saw films made by amateurs on the mobile and it was a good effort. A beautiful program organised by Akanksha, the Head of the Communication and Documentation Centre.

Introduction at NIRD

 I was very impressed at the way my short resume was read out in in the fourth Film festival of rural development at NIRD.  Our resumes are read in many Conferences and meetings,  but here the organisers had really made a lot of effort and with out any inputs from me, had  collected visuals and  used their imagination and made it very pictorial.  Indeed a new experience.

Conference, Faith, Gender and Culture

 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (USA) and Henry Martyn Institute (India) organised a South East Asia Conference on Gender Justice on the theme "Faith, Gender and Culture: Reimagining Just communities ", in Hyderabad. This was a very interesting conference for Feminists by and large have ignored religion and what it means to women. Today  gender injustice is  a matter of critical concern and challenge within our communities. This Conference saw the participants coming from  Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, and the United States.This was an attempt at  speaking and listening to one another. My paper was on  Hinduism and gender, Shahida Murtaza focused on   Islam and gender. There were also talks  and papers on Sikhism and women by Dr. Raminder Kaur and Christianity and women by Dr. Shiluinla Jamir.  It was interesting to note that inspite of the difference in  relgions there was a commonality  with regards to women for all these religions were interpreted and developed in  a patriarchal society.

The Picketian 72 meet, 2019

 We have a group of school friends with whom we all connected , thanks to the internet after  forty years and we continue to be in touch  till today after forty nine years. It is a pity that though we could connect to many of the boys very few girls who were professionals were connected and there was no trace of the others. After school,1969-1972,  we all had trodden different paths, our lives had taken different turns  and yet some thing that bound us together was the time spent in school, the teachers who taught us, the pranks we played together and the punishments we had received together, or in short  the wonderful time that we all had at school.  Some of these students served as Doctors, Engineers, CEO’s of Companies, Directors, Ship Captains, Senior Officers in Railways, Army, Navy and the Air force,  National Geological survey, the Airline, academicians and in many other senior positions.  They were spread all over India in Bangalore, Chennai, Poona, Hyderabad, Delhi  and in the USA, Canada  and  Australia. When we meet it is as if time had stood still. We just forgot that we were all now sixty three and above.  When we interacted with the other it is as if we are still fourteen or fifteen years old.We meet once in a while and on this Saturday we had another get together and friends flew in from Bangalore, USA. It is a great bonding with friends from school that continuesand makes our lives very meaningful.

Dr. Suresh Pande was honoured

 Dr. Suresh Pande was honoured at the Plenary session, by the 19th International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC2019)  for his contributions to crop protection in India. This Congress  is being  held at the Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC), from  10 -14 Nov 2019. The IPPC is held every 4 years under the auspices of International Association of Plant Protection Sciences (IAAPS). Over 750 delegates from 60 countries are participating in this  5 day event. The Plant Protection Congress is being held for  first time in India, in its history of over 100 years. The next Congress in 2023 will be held in Athens, Greece. The Congress is very well organised and in the  Plenary session many praised the hospitality of India. Congratulations to Dr. H. C. Sharma and Dr. Rajan Sharma, Dr. Shivali Sharma for organising  a very successful Congress. They have been working on this  since the last four years after they won the bid in Berlin. Proud moment for the country and for Plant Science. Great job indeed.

Win for Interfaith

 India wins.Not an individual faith but our Judiciary that is a winner in this case. A strong believer in Interfaith dialogue, I welcome the decision. Mandir to be constructed at the disputed land and alternate land of five acres  to be given for the construction of a mosque. Very proud of our Judiciary. I do not think this is a judgement for any one religious group but a decision based on historical records, on testimonies and not just on faith. Temple construction to be handed to a trust. Proud to be an Indian and we can send a message of living in harmony and faith. Let us all welcome this decision and close this file of a long dispute and move on with our lives where social and economic issues are very important.

Niyati Shah

 A wonderful and productive meeting with Niyati Shah, the  Senior Gender Consultant  and Team lead of the Office of Maternal and Child  Health care and nutrition and the office of the Infectious disease, from USAID, Washington DC. She has come here in Hyderabad to attend the 50th Union World Health Conference on Lung Disease. It was interesting to know that USAID has  many projects in different cities in India but hardly any in Hyderabad. We had a lot to discuss regarding Occupational health and it was my work related to Beedi workers and their health issues that was the reason for this meeting. I was very impressed that USAID had a good home work done on my other interest on Gender and Violence, which is their second focus.

Anita Gopesh

 An old friend, now a Professor at the University of Allahabad, Zoology Department shared this picture. Thanks Anita. Such a beautiful memory. Must be around 1974,when I was doing a Russian Diploma and our teacher, Prof. Gopesh, Anita's father was the bridge that connected us. Prof. Gopesh was a wonderful and great human being and  had immense impact on us as a teacher and helped mould and shape our world view our perspectives and our very lives.