Epilogue; Of cats and men

Oh, I wish I had a photograph of them!

We have two cats, or should I say, the two cats have us. The female gave birth to three kittens a couple of months ago. Two of them, the rough and tumble kind, were given away to friends a couple of weeks ago. However, we still retain the runtiest and cutest one, named Larima by my son. (Why? Well, that’s another story.) From the beginning, we were afraid about how the uncle/Mama (imagine such baddies as Kansa) tomcat would react to the kitten. So we largely tried to keep the ‘man’ out of the house during these trying times. Whenever, we went out, we would lock the kitten and the mother in and keep the uncle/Mama/Sheru on the other side of the shut windows.

But then we started noticing something. When we put food or milk out for the cats, uncle Sheru would wait patiently for his sister and niece (?) to finish eating before he poked his maw in. Then we noticed something else. Larima could intimidate Uncle Sheru. When she (we’re guessing she’s a she- no positive confirmation though) moved her tiny self towards him, he’d move his bulk out of the way pronto.

STAGE THREE
Once we were reassured of Sheru’s intentions, we stopped locking the windows when we went out. Coming back from a wedding a few days ago, we were amazed to see Larima curled up in Sheru’s lap, sleeping blissfully- the mother to be seen nowhere.

THERE’S STILL ANOTHER STAGE
This evening, the funniest sight of them all met my eyes. Sheru was vigorously grooming Larima.

If cats can do it, so can us men surely!

P.S.
Three cats is one too many in our small home. If any responsible person wants to adopt Larima, please contact me.

Events -10th December, tired feet behind leather boots

The evening rush hour, coupled with diversions around Connaught Place made the traffic around me imitate the turgid bowel movements of a particularly constipated duck. However, whenever there was any opening, each individual vehicle seemed to transform into a spermatozoon, rushing to fertilise some imaginary egg, trying to push, shoulder and shove all other spermatozoa out of its way. And there I was, stuck in these alternating rhythms of crawl, careen and crush, wanting to reach Maya Rao’s performance on time. Behind me was this blaring bus with the blazing letters ‘Panic Kar’ (or was it Panicker?) somewhat prophetically painted on it.

Anyway, to cut a long journey and story short, I arrived at the venue (Abhimanch, Bahawalpur House) some twenty minutes or so late. I entered the hushed theatre to find the projection of a giant smoking cigarette rather obviously imitating the antics of a penis. Then came cut outs, episodes of ‘maleness’ under various circumstances, hands over fists. The show, to quote “ combined live sound, text, action, song and video come together to draw out, lay bare and reflect on the theme of masculinities and the many ways it lies embedded in our sense of identity, relationships, work and attitudes. Contemporary theatre artist, Maya Krishna Rao has created a series of episodes that have grown out of improvisations with multiplemedia artists Ashim Ghosh and Amitesh Grover. Episodes, some funny, some introspective, some disturbing and some pointing to the often unspoken and unexpressed…”

Frankly, while I found some of the improvisations to be a little simplistic, others were excellent. I think the combination of multimedia and traditional theatre was melded together seamlessly. Maya’s acting, voice and singing were great. I particularly liked the poignant episode where the man comes home to sleep on the ‘double bed’, but just does not possess the wherewithal to reach out emotionally or physically to the other person lying on it. That, believe me, is truly where manliness leads us- alienation. The setting for this sketch was also particularly interesting. While Maya as the ‘other person’ on the bed was projected on a film screen which began at floor level, Amitesh as the man stood on the other side of the screen in a manner that he seemed to be lying on the other side of the bed. Nice innovation, but at its core the appeal (at least to me) was that the awkward yet graceful movements of the duo, their holding together of a tragi-comedy seemed to be something straight out of Charlie Chaplin.

The ending was also (again in my eyes at least) Charlie Chaplinisque- tired man feet dancing inside boots and finally coming or liberating themselves out. It seemed to be a nice little reversal of the ‘iron hand behind the velvet glove.’

Maya Rao is a woman, but she got into her ‘manly’ role with great gusto.

Events for 10th December

10TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

11.00 am – 6.00 pm Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

10TH DECEMBER 2007
NATIONAL SCHOOL OF DRAMA

THEATRE


6.30 pm Hand over Fist
Perspectives on Masculinities: A Multi Media Performance
By Maya Krishna Rao
Abhimanch Auditorium, NSD

Events- 8th December, pictures waiting for words

Due to mitigating circumstances (my daughter's fifth birthday do) I was unable to attend the literary evening, but I hope to have a report in soon from somebody who was very much there. Meanwhile there are a couple of photographs from the evening- in case pictures speak louder than words!

Events for 8th December

8TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY


RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

11.00 am – 6.00 pm Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE de DELHI, Lodi Estate


LET’s TALK MEN

6.00 pm A Literary Evening (In Collaboration with Zubaan)
Readings and Conversations with
Rana Dasgupta, Anjum Hasan, Mukul Kesavan and
Geetanjali Shree
ML Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Francaise

Events- 7th December, the long and winding journey

The same man sitting on the podium in the morning (scratching his beard abstractedly) was jumping up and down excitedly in the evening (hooting and whistling). Seeing these two very different faces of Rahul Roy made me realise the long and winding journey that the day had made as its axis shifted from the intellectual to the visceral, from a head stirring round table discussion to a foot tapping musical concert.

The roundtable discussion took place under the aegis of the UNDP/UNIFEM/UNFPA on What policies can inspire more men to end Gender based Violence? The panel included Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Director of Gender Team / Bureau of Development Policy, UNDP, New York, Mr. Dean Peacock, Co-Director, Sonke Gender Justice Network, Cape Town, South Africa, Ms.Socorro L. Reyes, Chief, Asia-Pacific and Arab States Section from UNIFEM HQ, Dr. Kalyani Menon Sen, Feminist activist, Researcher and Trainer, India, Mr. Alan Greig, Consultant on Gender, Violence and HIV/AIDS, USA, Dr. Abhijit Das, activist, and Mr. Rahul Roy, independent filmmaker. The meeting was a pretty important one as it was kicking off a region wide initiative in South Asia by the United Nations and partners. This joint programme hopes to consolidate the strengths of leading United Nations institutions into a singular endeavour to support violence prevention in the region and to help ensure boys and men are part of the process.

The panelists were an interesting mix of people who ranged from those who worked closely on the ground with men and women on gender issues, to film-makers and activists. The discussion was moderated by James Lang, Programme Advisor Gender, UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka who had to tread the fine line between working with the regional governments and tapping the potential of the NGOS as well as those who were vocal opponents of the prevailing state power.

Ms. Winnie Byanyima spoke of her experiences of working with different grass root and policy making organisations in Africa. According to her gender biases were self-evidently prevalent to the extent that they were accepted and encouraged by those in authority. She felt that any decisions on policy must take these into account if they were to be effective.

Ms.Socorro L. Reyes, Chief, Asia-Pacific and Arab States Section from UNIFEM HQ stressed the point about how gender sensitisation must begin from home and then spread to other areas of policy making.

Dr. Abhijit Das contrasted the ease with which radical policies could be framed and legislated with the immense difficulties that arose once they were sought to be implemented, the Domestic Violence Bill being a case at hand. According to him the ground had to be well prepared before the seeds were sown. This means that a lot of grass root work must be already in place. He supported a region wide initiative on the ground that while the political regimes in South Asia were varied, their societal bases were very similar.

Mr. Dean Peacock shared some vignettes of his work at the grass root level in South Africa. He was quite appreciative of the work done by UN agencies to get tough fought campaigns through. He was appreciative of the fact that even the most radical legislation on policies may not work on the ground due to lack of resources and training.

Mr. Alan Greig gave the example of America to show that while domestic violence at the individual level may have diminished as a result of legislation, institutionalised gender/race/class based violence had simultaneously got depoliticised to the level that it had stopped being a part of the discourse. He emphasised the complexity of the issue and the necessity of male participation in the process of bringing about gender equality.

Dr. Kalyani Menon Sen stressed on the patriarchal, homophobic, and militaristic nature of the state. She spoke about how all gender equality issues and policies had to be pushed and defended against the current.

Mr. Rahul Roy was quite emphatic about the fact that a lot of gender related issues were either missed or misunderstood. For example, he felt that it was not meaningful to have a division between positive and negative masculinity. All masculinity in the patriarchal system was problematic. He also spoke about democracy in India having a political and a social side. While political democracy was vibrant, social democracy was weak and all policy on issues of gender equality would have to be fought in the social arena.

After a brief question answer session with the audience, the hall became hushed, curtains were drawn, and lights shut off. It was time to see two short films made by children. The first film explored the question of anger and what makes people angry. It was largely in the form of interviews and came up with some very interesting answers. The film was made by children in Delhi. The second film, this one by children in Karachi had them enacting the patriarchal behaviour of their elders in different situations. It raised the question of violence, gender relations and patriarchy as seen from the eyes of children.

The evening- and it was time for the singing caps, warm clothes and dancing shoes. It was time for the musical concert, Rock the Boat. I was frankly sceptical of putting on my boogie boots. This is because the atmosphere of the lawns of IIC, where the concert was held, is normally staid, even somewhat stodgy, but events proved otherwise.

Between the ferocious Friday traffic and getting my two kids ready for the show, I unfortunately missed the first performance. This was by Musadiq Sanwal, a musician and journalist from Pakistan. However I heard a CD of his songs later, at a friend’s place and found Musadiq’s voice to be extremely soulful and melodious. Since the early eighties he has been singing and composing songs of Punjabi and Saraiki Sufis, the poet-musicians of the valley of Indus. Mainly self taught his vocal style is that of a rural musician performing popular raags of Sindh and Punjab.

I met the singer later on during the concert and found him to be a nice, soft spoken gent who was coming to India after a gap of twenty one years. Clad in jeans, he looked much younger than the photograph in the brochure.

I was just in time to catch the concluding section of Ustad Naseeruddin Saami’s performance. He hails from the Qawwal bacha dilli family. Ustad was singing ‘Piya ke ghar’ with great gusto. Ustad Saami is a strict follower in the style of his family tradition-keeping 'Sur' as the most important component of his singing. His singing is peaceful and calm. Heartfelt rendition of the raga, manifesting the emotions, which are mentioned in the bandish, is one of the main aspects of Khayal Gayaki, in which he excels. He shows his versatility by also singing, Sadara, Thumri, Tarana, Dadra and Ghazal in the Khllm.

Then it was time for the bands to burn the night with their mix of blues, rock, folk and funk.

Soulmate from Shillong had the rocking Rudy and extremely trippy Tips belting out the blues. Then came Nepathya from Nepal, whose charismatic lead singer Amrit Gurung, whose mix of rock and folk in Nepalese had the crowd dancing and swaying to the swishing of his long ponytail. Finally Banga from Bangladesh with their fusion of Bengali folk (essentially Baul) and jazz-rock crowned the night with the mesmerising voice of their singer Anusheh Anadil. And all this, as Anusheh put it ‘for the cause of sensitising men towards their masculinity’, something she admitted she had not conceived would come to pass. But it did and the night and all the events of the earlier days and of the days to come are living proof of it.

Some images from the Musical Concert

Events for 7th December

7TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY


RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

11.00 am – 6.00 pm Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU



7TH DECEMBER 2007
CHINMAYA CENTRE OF WORLD UNDERSTANDING, Lodi Estate


ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

11.00 am – 12.30 pm What policies can inspire more men to end
Gender-based Violence?
Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Ms. Renuka Chowdhury,
Mr. Imran Aslam, Justice Kalyan Shrestha, Moulana
Abul Kalam Azad, Mr. Dean Peacock, Dr. Kalyani Menon
Sen, Mr. Alan Greig,

Hamco Auditorium


12.30 pm – 1.30 pm Videos by Children
Hamco Auditorium



EXHIBITIONS

11.00 am – 1.30 pm Expressions : Girls & Boys say No to Gender-based
Violence
Men & Masculinities by Dr. Radhika Chopra
Masculinities in India by Jason Taylor
A Little Book on Men by Rahul Roy, Anupama Chatterjee
Hara & Sherna Dastur

Tapovan Hall



7TH DECEMBER 2007
INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE


ROCK THE BOAT

5.00 pm – 10.00 pm Music Concert
Bangla, Nepathya, Soulmate, Ustad Naseeruddin Saami
& Musadiq Sanwal

Fountain Lawn, IIC

Events for 6th December

6TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY


RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

11.00 am – 6.00 pm Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

Events - 5th December, historical blunders

“History repeats itself twice, first as tragedy, second as farce.”

In a sense, I was witness to both the tragedy and the farce in the span of a couple of hours.

The scene of the first repetition was the seminar room of Ramjas college where a panel discussion took place on Making Public Space Safe, organised by Jagori. The panellists included Mr. Anil Shukla (DCP, South District), Mr.Anshu Prakash (CMD, DTC), and Dr. Kiran Walia (MLA and Ex Chairperson, DCW). First, I must say the public face of the DTC and the police has been really spruced up. Young, smart, bilingual, they speak a language that is peppered with words like patriarchy and paradigm. And they speak it with as much (or almost) élan as any professor. They can spew statistics with machinegun regularity. The DCP said that the focus was not on moral policing but safety. There DTC CMD gave promises of more and better buses, and more gender sensitised personnel. There was talk of better policing of public as opposed to private spaces, better quantity, quality and design of DTC buses etc. etc.
But behind the assurances and commitments for change, there was ample evidence that not much had actually changed since the time that I used to hop onto U Specials over two decades ago. Buses are still overcrowded, women are still molested with chilling regularity, public spaces like parks are still as unsafe for women, and they are still given the same old patriarchal claptrap about appropriate dress code and behaviour (as a recent pamphlet taken out by a police personnel about women students from the North East proves).
Both the DCP and the DTC chairman reeled off statistics about more personnel, more women recruits in the police, gender sensitisation trainings, and better buses. They also provided some practical suggestions about safety for women students, such as have a ‘Safety Buddy’, not walking behind but in front of parked cars, taking out the keys to a vehicle in advance rather than searching for it at the last moment, and feeding in the ‘Emergency’ and ‘Complaint’ numbers into mobile phones. However, as Mukul Manglik and Dr. Kiran Walia pointed out (in very different contexts) that just not enough assertive action was being taken by these departments. Till this happens, the history and the tragedy will continue to repeat themselves, ad nauseum.

As Marx said, the second time history repeats, it is as a farce. So, now for the farce (if not the history). When I came into college in the morning in a tearing hurry, I found that the college’s parking lot was packed. The moustachioed security head asked me to park outside on the kerb. In response to my question about towing etc, he assured me that it had never occurred before. He also muttered something under his breath about the DCP being there inside. Reassured, I rushed in. When I returned, I found the kerb car-less. On being confronted, Mr. Moustache nonchalantly informed me that the non occurrence of an event in the past was no guarantee of its non occurrence in the future. Such a deep philosophical discourse left me with no choice but to find the police station, pay the fine and retrieve the vehicle.

I found a rickshaw whose puller turned out be somewhat aurally challenged. He kept hearing ‘Crane’ as Train’ ‘and ‘Police Thana’ as ‘Barf Khana’. So till the end, I was unsure of whether I was going to end up in the Metro Station of Barf Khana, or the crane towing department of the Police Thana. Anyhow, I did reach the correct destination and paid a fine of 800 rupees, a steep and hefty sum for a day’s parking! Come to think of it, the incident might have been a farce for everybody else, but it was quite a tragedy for me.

Apart from the panel discussion, the exhibition on masculinities witnessed its last day in the Ramjas College Lawns. Film shows were held at various venues in the three universities. The art show Relocating Masculinities, continued its exhibition of photographs and installations at the School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Events for 5th December

5TH DECEMBER 2007
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI


ALT SPACE


10.30 am – 6.00 pm Exhibition on Masculinities
Ramjas College, DU

12 noon – 1.30 pm Panel Discussion
MAKING PUBLIC SPACES SAFE
Dr.Kalpana Viswanath, Mr.Anil Shukla, Mr.Anshu
Prakash, Ms. Barkha Singh,
Delhi Commission for Women
MENSPOTTING Film Festival

1.00 pm Manjuben Truck Driver (52 min / India / 2002)
Dir. Sherna Dastur
Indraprastha College, DU

2.15 pm SHE Creates (53 min / India / 2007)
Dirs. 25 children
Indraprastha College, DU

2.00 pm Yeh hui na mardon wali baat
(35 min / Pakistan / 1999)
Dirs. Farjad Nabi & Mazhar Zaidi
Kirori Mal College, DU





5TH DECEMBER 2007
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA


MENSPOTTING Film Festival


10.00 am In the Pit (84 min / Mexico-USA / 2007)
Dir. Juan Carlos Rulfo
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

11.45 am Manjuben Truck Driver (52 min / India / 2002)
Dir. Sherna Dastur
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC


2.00 pm When Four Friends Meet (43 min / India / 2000)
Dir. Rahul Roy
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

3.30 pm Simple Past (71 min / Brazil / 2007)
Dir. Gustavo Pizzi
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC



5TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY


MENSPOTTING Film Festival


3.00 pm I am a Man (60 min / USA / 1998)
Dirs. Byron Hurt
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

4.30 pm My friend Su (55 min / India / 2001)
Dir. Neeraj Bhasin
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU



RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

11.00 am – 6.00 pm Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

Events- 4th December, juxtapositions and positioning hands

Witnessing the events of Fourth December, I was stuck between a connection that seems to exist between masculinity and hands. For instance the props in Pranab Mukherjee’s theatre performance, Man to Man Talk (Delhi School of Economics, 2.00 pm), largely consisted of close-up photographs of hands- hands holding scissors, hands pushing needles, knives, hands, hands and more hands surrounding a single severed leg. Pranab was himself gesturing, pointing, gesticulating, inviting, accusing...

Then in the evening, at the art show, Relocating Masculinities (School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU, 6.00 pm inauguration) there was again that show of hands in the exhibits- hands folded over genitals, hands gripping hips, hands holding instruments as diverse as knives and cameras. It was almost like Old Mac Donald’s farm with a hand hand here and a hand hand there. And in the central panel (curving artistically around the middle of the room), there were those male hands again trying to wash off blood- gripping, scraping, cleaning with flowing water. The video installation Retakes of the Shadow also had (apart from other themes of lotuses, Godhra and goddesses) hands drumming/pumping in furious rhythm.

So what is it with male hands and masculinity? Are they the handles of masculinity or its windows? Do they provide the tactile surface through which masculinity feels its power as well as its powerlessness? After all it is the hands that pinch, grope, hold the instruments of authority and death and fold in apprehension and appeasement. I can’t say, but somehow hands seemed to hold a mystical power in them today.

Apart from the hands, the art show Relocating Masculinities also had various other photographs and a couple of installations depicting, deconstructing, displaying masculinity. These were by renowned artists like Atul Bhalla, BV Suresh, Kirti Arora, Rameshwar Broota, Sheba Chhachhi and Sunil Gupta. The curators (all young students of the department) spoke about the tough but satisfying journey they had made while putting together a show focussing on the theme of masculinity. The show is on till the Fourteenth of December and can be seen by all who are interested.

The day also included the Exhibition on Masculinity at the Ramjas College lawns and a fare of movies spread across various locations.

There was a lively panel discussion at Kirori Mal College on Gender-based Violence: will the tide turn? The discussants included participants from ICRW, who showed some striking spots that they had done for a TV campaign a few years ago. Their presentations revealed the horrendously high percentage of domestic violence (over forty percent) in Indian households. They emphasised the fact that until underlying gender inequities were addressed the tide would not turn. Their conclusion was that young men usually shared a stereotypical view of what masculine and feminine behaviour should consist of and acted according to these norms. Often young women also shared these belief systems. Both men and women had to act together to dispel myths surrounding human relations for gender based violence to be minimised if not end.

Poster, Poster, where art thou?

If imitation is the best form of flattery, cutting out a poster/plex is surely a sign of the success of a campaign. Somebody carved out this poster in the dead of the night from Ramjas College. I hope it was not merely for decorative purposes, but helps him/her to become the agent of ‘change’.

Events for 4th December

4TH DECEMBER 2007
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

ALT SPACE

10.30 am – 6.00 pm Exhibition on Masculinities
Ramjas College, DU

12 noon – 1.30 pm Panel Discussion
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE: WILL THE TIDE TURN?
Ms. Nandita Bhatla, Dr. Priya Nanda, Dr. Ravi Verma,
Ms. Swati Chakraborty, Ms.Vaishali Mahendra
Kirori Mal College, DU

2.00 pm – 3.00 pm Theatre Performance
Man to Man Talk by Parnab Mukherjee
Delhi School of Economics, DU


9.00 pm – 11.00 pm Workshop
UNDERSTANDING MASCULINITIES by MASVAW
Ramjas College Hostel, DU



MENSPOTTING Film Festival


2.00 pm When Four Friends Meet (43 min / India / 2000)
Dir. Rahul Roy
Kirori Mal College, DU

3.00 pm Simple Past (71 min / Brazil / 2007)
Dir. Gustavo Pizzi
Ramjas College, DU

4.30 pm That’s what my Dad used to Say!
(35 min / India / 2007)
Dirs. Sharat Katariya, Vikram & Laalit Lobo
Ramjas College, DU




4TH DECEMBER 2007
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA


MENSPOTTING

11.00 am Beyond the Border (71 min / USA-Mexico / 2007)
Dir. Ari Palos
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

12.30 pm Who can speak of Men? (32 min / India / 2003)
Dirs. Ambarien Al Qadar, Gazala Yasmin & Nihal
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

2.15 pm Our Boys (42 min / Bangladesh / 1999)
Dir. Manzare Hassin Murad
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

3.15 pm That’s what my Dad used to Say!
(35 min / India / 2007)
Dirs. Sharat Katariya, Vikram & Laalit Lobo
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC

4.15 pm I am a Man (60 min / USA / 1998)
Dir. Byron Hurt
Media Resource Centre, AJK MCRC



4TH DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY


MENSPOTTING Film Festival


3.00 pm In the Pit (84 min / USA-Mexico / 2007)
Dir. Juan Carlos Rulfo
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

5.00 pm Majma (54 min / India / 2000)
Dir. Rahul Roy
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU


RELOCATING MASCULINITIES

6.00 pm Inauguration of Relocating Masculinities
An Exhibition of Photographs & Video Art
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

Events- 3rd December, the beginning, the beginning!

The Exhibition on Masculinity is being held in the lawns behind the main building of Ramjas College. When I arrived there at ten something o’clock, what first struck my eyes was a space cordoned off by half- Shamyanas (if that is what they are called, I mean those man height poles with thick cloth strung between them) with bright buntings, and brighter posters. Inside there was a sprinkling of stalls and students, with many more looking in curiously from the corridors of the science bock and the auditorium that flank the lawn on two sides.

Soon the sprinkling became a steady stream as the students’ curiosity got the better of them. They patiently moved through the exhibition of photographs exploring masculinity from Karol Bagh to Kolkata. Striking photographs of everyday lives of men and their underlying subtexts were up on display. Also on display were the giant size pages of Rahul Roy’s ‘Little Book on Men’ a readable and interesting book that draws on text, drawings, and video frames for its telling.

There were also various stalls displaying books, kits, and even games that centred on the question of masculinity. These stalls were ‘manned’ by Tarshi, Yoda Press, Independent Press Group, Jagori and Men’s Action to Stop Violence Against Women (MASVAW) among others.

While observing all this, I was jerked out of my reverie by the sudden laughter and excitement that erupted out of one of the stalls (the MASVAW one). Moving there, I saw that in place of a carpet there was a giant game of snakes and ladders. Students were throwing a dice the size of a stool and hopping from square to square, some of which led them to climb a ladder or slide down a snake. A closer look revealed that while the principle behind the game was the traditional Snakes and Ladders carrot versus stick divide, the climb up or slide down was based on the plus and minus points of masculine behaviour. Very interesting! The exhibition is on for another two days. I suggest that you should go and check out its various offerings.

Eleven o’ clock and it was time for the theatre performance, Man to Man Talk, by Pranab Mukherjee. The venue was the Ramjas Canteen, much spruced and brushed up since I had eaten stale samosas there over two decades ago. The performance itself turned out to be snippets that resembled a play, and other snippets that were in large doses monologues, diatribes, ramblings all stitched around the theme of masculinity and the politics it involves. I was noticing the students while the play was going on. While a small minority seemed to be amused by the attempt, a good number were riveted by it. When I was leaving, I heard one student asking another, “Are you zipped up?”- zipped up being a term that Pranab had used to connote curbing of aggressive masculinity.

Twelve o’ clock and it was back to the lawns for a panel discussion on Understanding Masculinity and Violence. The original venue had been the Seminar room, but it was felt that it would be more appropriate to have it in the middle of the exhibition where more students could participate. The panel consisted of Dr. Deepak Mehta, Dr. Abhijit Das, Dr. Kalyani Menon- Sen, Dr. Prem Chowdhry, and Rahul Roy as moderator.

Each of the participants interpreted the axis between violence and men in their own unique manner, based on their experience and research.

Dr. Deepak Mehta who has worked with riot victims in Mumbai and elsewhere drew a link between communal violence, masculinity and nationalism. He underlined the connection between such riots and the fact that over eighty percent of the victims were men over eighteen -as an attempt to emasculate (literally in many cases) the ‘other’.

Dr. Kalyani Menon-Sen’s talk centred around the violent sense of love that envelopes masculinity and gives it an almost mystical haze if not a halo. It is as though ‘tough love’ is accepted as a man’s prerogative and preferred over ‘wimpy love’. Women are also complicit in this construction. She drew on folk songs and traditions as well as modern mediums such as films as reinforcing such a construct.

Dr. Prem Chowdhry, with her research on the males of Haryana, drew the connection between rampant unemployment and masculine violence.

Dr. Abhijit Das talked about his personal experiences that led to his involvement in the
Men’s Action to Stop Violence Against Women. He spoke about his shift from a ‘supportive’ role in the feminist movement to an active role in the men’s action against violence on women.

Despite the somewhat thin attendance, the panel discussion was enriching and provided quite a few insights.

Two o’ clock, no lunch, and it is time to rush off to Kirori Mal College for a screening of I am a Man, by Byron Hurt. It turned out to be a pretty interesting film on Afro-Americans and their interpretations masculinity. There was an animated discussion on the meaning of masculinity and the privileges as well as burdens that it entails.

I could not attend the screening of In the Pit, by Juan Carlos Rulfo, at Ramjas College as the timing overlapped with the earlier film, but I believe it to have been an absorbing film.

All in all it was a packed day filled with fun, insight and information. I am looking forward to more tomorrow.

Events for 3rd December

3 DECEMBER 2007
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
ALT SPACE
9.30 am – 5.30 pm EXHIBITION ON MASCULINITIES
Ramjas College, DU

12 noon – 1.30 pm PANEL DISCUSSION
Understanding Masculinity and Violence
Dr. Deepak Mehta, Dr. Abhijit Das,
Dr. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Rahul Roy
Ramjas College, DU

11.00 am – 12 noon THEATRE PERFORMANCE
Man to Man Talk by Parnab Mukherjee
Ramjas College, DU

MENSPOTTING FILM FESTIVAL

2.00 pm I am a Man (60 min / USA / 1998)
Dir. Byron Hurt
Kirori Mal College, DU
3.00 pm In the Pit (84 min / USA-Mexico / 2007)
Dir. Juan Carlos Rulfo
Ramjas College, DU

3 DECEMBER 2007
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

MENSPOTTING FILM FESTIVAL

3.00 pm Beyond the Border
(71 min / USA-Mexico / 2007)
Dir. Ari Palos
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU
4.30 pm Our Boys (42 min / Bangladesh /1999)
Dir. Manzare Hassin Murad
School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU

Curtain Raising Event

When does the boat rock?

"Men have all the stakes,
Men have what it takes,
Men don't have heartbreaks,
Men are just drifting rakes,
No. Men are masculine fakes."
Anon

So, what does it take to be a 'melancholy manly man'? All the stakes? A conquering mentality? The 'alpha' patriarchal quest? Are all these roles that men take on because they are endowed with masculinity? Or are some of these just postures, and others forced and fake? Are these the same for all men? Or are they hierarchical? Do they not engender violence that ranges from physical and sexual to verbal and psychological abuse? Are men and boys just perpetrators of such violence, or also equally its victims? Will such violence ever end unless men and boys are made active agents in its prevention?

UNDP, UNIFEM and UNFPA in the Asia region has initiated a networking, consultation and programme formulation process for a regional programme on gender-based violence prevention. As a result of this process, an Asian regional joint programme is now being finalised for 2008-11. The expected result of the joint programme is a reduction in the incidence of men’s violence in Asian countries through a focus on the roles and responsibilities of men and boys in prevention. The programme will be launched over the 16 Days of Activism in 2007 in a curtain raising event in New Delhi, India (as well as additional locations across Asia by combining the launch with other planned events). Aakar, a Delhi based Trust is designing and coordinating the launch of the joint programme.

This curtain raising event is being hosted across various venues in December. Apart from policy discussions, it will include:

• The release of a demand by a thousand (maybe more!) children for a violence free world during the Panel. 7 Dec, 2007
• The panel preceded by four videos made by children from different economic.backgrounds on their experience and understanding of gender based violence. 7
  Dec, 2007
• After the Panel, a music concert by musicians from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. 7 Dec, 2007
• The opening of an art exhibition on masculinities…curated and with a catalogue…the opening will have a solo performance by an experimental dancer who will interpret through his/her performance the works on display. 4 –14, Dec, 2007
• Reaching Men and Boys on GBV: A space with material developed on the theme of masculinities: the UNIFEM exhibition/blown up panels of the little book which are ready/other stuff from MASVAW and various other sources and a book sale on gender and allied areas. 3-5, December, 2007
• Inauguration of an international film festival of documentaries on masculinities. 3-5 December, 2007
• A literary evening of readings from south Asian poetry/literature on gender based violence/masculinities. Participants will include prominent writers and poets. A moderated reading with discussions and comments. 8 Dec, 2007
• A theatre performance on masculinities and gender based violence. 10 Dec, 2007

Musings... Memories of a Male Hostel- Part 1

"For seven years, I dwelt in the loose palace of exile, playing strange games..."
Well, not really, but I did dwell (and for seven whole years) in the hostel of an all boys, all boarding public school.

Come to think of it, it was exile as the axis of my existence shifted from mother and father to matron and master and from home to Colvin House.

The horroreality of departure really struck me when the black trunk arrived. Its front announced my name and destination in bold white letters. I still remember that the hinged top alternated between raised black slabs and troughs, also black. Into this trunk went drab uniforms in sorted rows of safas, jodhpurs, white pants and gray shorts. There was also striped peppermint toothpaste, a red toothbrush, a kit bag for used clothes, smelly red hair oil, Feradol, Lifeboy soap and plenty of tears accompanied by a strong vernacular accent. I was as ready as an eleven year boy could be for exile.

Being a somewhat absentminded and forgetful lad, I soon parted company with many of the uniforms and sundry other possessions. These were inadvertent losses.

Two things I learnt to lose deliberately though- the tears and the vernacular.

For if there were any rules to the place, they were, "Little boys who are going to be big men- DO NOT CRY (at least in public)." And , "Only LOCALS and those lower in the social order speak in vernacular." Hell, public schools must be the only places on earth where even Bongs converse with each other in English and not Bangla!!

This was my first encounter with upper middle class male morality.

A laid back macho ethic permeated the place. It is beautifully caught in one of the immortal legends of the school, which goes thus:
Parents of a new boy were lost somewhere in the huge school campus. They came upon a lad resting under a tree. Hesitantly (in Hindi) they asked for directions to the Principal House, Central Ground or wherever it was that they wished to go. Our hero (allegedly the head monitor) spat out the stem of grass that he was chewing and from his reclining position drawled, "I don't know nothing maan. I'm just a lonesome cowboy."

Huh. And here I was in this land of dandies, knowing nothing and without any directions or map as to how to navigate in this alien territory. But I learnt enough to survive seven years, even thrive in some ways....

I can't say I ever became adept at the law of public school survival - strut and stride, abide or hide (or lose thy hide). I just managed to bungle my way through this boy jungle.

(To be continued)

Test Post

This is a test in more ways than one,
by the end I hope to discover whether
I'm a natural or man-made sun-of-a-gun.
Meanwhile it does not really matter
as I'm writing this nonsense verbiage for fun.