Lockdown receipes

 Trying a hand at the traditional laddu. So many friends have been sharing their recipe on face book during the lock down that to night, I was also tempted to try my hand at making something. Not a great cook or a foodies, and the big joke that my husband has is that I like every thing. It was fun to try this It took me an hour and a half and three times my son came in saying, what is this,why are you wasting your time. I am not going to eat it. I told him do not worry, it is for me. I realised at the end of it that it does gives one a lot of satisfaction and at home after all the labour spent, one does get a good result and definitely, it would be much better than that we can buy  in any sweet shop, at least for me. I am only hoping others in the house also like it.

Pooja Chetry : A second Covid Ph.D.

 A second Covid Ph.D. Today, my Gender studies student Pooja Chetry had her Ph.D viva on line in Skype,  during the lock in period and became the second student to get her Ph.D in these difficult times.Very happy to share that the network from Assam also supported us during this period and things went in smoothly. A very sensitive girl by nature Pooja has done wonderful work on , Trafficking of women- in the Borderlands of the Eastern  Himalayas. We have published a paper on one of this aspect in  South Asian review a Sage Journal, which is freely available online. I am very happy to state that Pooja has now joined as an Assistant Professor in the Cotton University in Assam in the Centre for Women's Studies, before the lockdown began.  Thanks Prof. Vindhya, Dr. Sheela and Dr.M.N. Rajesh for all your support. Congratulations Dr. Pooja Chetry. Very proud of your achievements and wish you many more such success in the  future.

The Mango season

 The mango season is here. Nearly twenty five years back we had planted two mango saplings in front of our gate. Except giving  water there was not much attention that they needed. Down the road they grew along with my children. When the children were in school and College they would climb it and be so excited collecting the mangoes which could number in thousands. Today, the birds have flown the nest and the children have left the home and the son  who is with us, is, very busy in his work and does not think it exciting to collect the mangoes. So except the few which are reachable most of the mangoes are eaten by birds and parrots. There is a regular chirping of birds in the garden, thanks to Suresh spending so much time in it and keeping water and grains on a regular basis for the birds. When, I see these beautiful trees, it is but natural to become very philosophical and  admire nature for giving us so much and asking nothing in return. The trees teach me that no matter how big you grow one has to be rooted on the ground.

karan Palsania : Ph.D degree in the lockdown

Today, my student Karan Palsania took part in the Ph.D viva and got his Ph.D. Congratultion Karan for being my 17th student to get his/her Ph.D.  Due to the lockdown our University had decided that it is not going to wait till the opening and those students whose reports have come in, can face the interview and get their degrees.This was facilitated by my University when it accepted  the reports in the form of a soft copy.  I marvelled at the technology but was  also a bundle of nerves last night, prior to the interview and could not sllep. I was having nighmares that the current has gone out, the internet has failed at the last moment, my lap top crashed and I could not complete the process. However, by God's grace, every thing went on very smoorhy. There were five scholars sitting in different parts of India and yet we could conduct the interview.I am very happy to share that Karan has carried forward my work on women Bhaktas. When I wrote by book in 2010, I was hoping some student join and does work on a particular region and bring out the local sources. Karan carried his work in  Rajasthan and Gujarat and has looked at a large number of writings in the regional language. Today after the interview, i also got another good news and the Cambridge scholar publishing has sent me the soft copy of my manuscript  on women Bhaktas which it wants to being out in a paper back edition and it is hoping to release it the moment the lockdown is over.  A wonderful day and thanks Karan for doing well and once again a big congratulation Dr. Karan Palsania. 

Admission into the Gender Studies programme.

 Very happy to share that the University of Hyderabad is calling for applications for  Gender Studies M. A. Programme with 20 seats. This is an interdisciplinary programme and is open to students with an undergraduate degree in Arts, Humanities and Sciences. 

 M.A Programme in Gender Studies

The intake in the M.A. Programme is 20. 

A) Minimum qualifications for admission into M.A (Gender Studies) Programme:  With at least 50% marks in the Bachelor’s degree in any stream from Social Sciences or Humanities or Sciences with a minimum of 50%.

B) Entrance Exam Pattern: The entrance examination will be for 100 marks. It will consist of 100 multiple choice questions of one mark each.  The question paper will be on Concepts related to Gender, Women’s Movement, Women & Work, Violence and Health. The following is the pattern of the question paper.

S.No. Subject Marks

I Comprehension 

II Concepts related to Gender 

III Reasoning and Interpretation related to Gender 

IV Gender Awareness 

V Contemporary Gender issues 

          Total Marks 100

 University of Hyderabad - Admissions 2020

Last date for online application: 3rd May 2020

Suresh's birthday celebration at the time of social distancing

 Suresh's birthday celebration at the time of social distancing. My neighbours daughter Samaira could not let go her Nanus birthday with out a celebration. She and her friend, Avanthi, another neighbours daughter made a beautiful card with lot of effort and labour of love and we cut the cake in the evening and had a quiet dinner.

The Time of the Pandemic- a time for reflection and reading

 Amidst all this news of the pandemic and the havoc that it has  caused  around the world, I have found time for reflection and  reading. I could finally start reading the Valmiki Ramayan, which I had always wanted to read but could never do so due to lack of time. Now, I have found the time to read it and get deep into  exploring it more and more through the various writings and websites. 

Today, I got a good news that brightened my evening that Cambridge Scholars Publishing is going to bring out a paper back edition of my book, Divine Sounds from the Heart on women saints ,  published in  2010. There were few Indian publishers who wanted to publish this but CSPis bring ing out the paper back edition.  I hope this will be a cheaper edition and one that is easily available and will reach a large number of scholars and students  of  history, Indian religion  and women's studies.