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The simple act of walking on the streets reminds us that we are not truly free. Here's a take on the freedom to walk.
The simple act of walking on the streets reminds us that we are not truly free. Here’s a take on the freedom to walk.
The #FreedomIs campaign asked readers to share their idea of what freedom is, and what freedoms they wanted, through a selfie with a message. The results were varied and beautiful. You can see the collection of #FreedomIs selfies here. Don’t forget to send in your own!
I am a big believer in freedom – all kinds of freedom. It can be to eat, drink, dress, to choose your lifestyle, partner, religion etc, The list is endless. If it makes you happy, you do it! It is freedom for you. Live and let live. I was shaken from this so called freedom of mine when I discovered that like so many other things in our country, this freedom too, is misleading.
I was walking on the posh walking plaza near my house last week. I do it occasionally; I am not a regular walker and that is my freedom – to walk whenever I want to, at whatever time I want to, and whereever I want to.
I am on the verge of 40 and nowhere close to the “Yummy Mummy” that the media wants us mummies to become. While I am out for my walk, I am the opposite – overweight, unruly hair, sweaty, and maybe just about pretty average to look at. As I tried to get into the rhythm of my walk, hoping to shed my lethargy and a couple of kilos with my brisk walkimg, I realised a few truths
You go the hospital, an orderly or clerk will accost you in a corner. You go to the mall, the watchman will act funny. The lift man tries to be too friendly. The place could be an office, school, market, tailor-shop, swimming pool (god forbid it is a public pool), ration shop, movie hall, a bus or train, or the endless places where a lady might need to go.
Where is the freedom if I cannot walk freely in my own neighbourhood? Where is the freedom if I fear abuse and rape at every step I take? Where is the freedom if I cannot dress as I please? Where is the freedom if men cannot respect our choices?
For me, #FreedomIs walking free.
Pic credit: HowardIgnatius (Used under a CC license)
Inderpreet writes for her love of writing, edits manuscripts and reads endlessly. An authors' editor with a decade of experience, she provides manuscript critique, linguistic editing, substantive editing and developmental editing for fiction and nonfiction. read more...
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A nature lover, Usha Rajagopalan set up a trust called the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in June 2010.
While there is a glint of adventure in her eyes and a chuckle in her voice, there is also an unshakeable determination to achieve her goals which, she says, she has had from her college days. That’s Usha Rajagopalan, well-known Bengaluru-based author.
But these days her writing has taken a backseat as lake conservation has become her passion. The 67-year-old spirited senior citizen has made it her life’s mission to save the Puttenahalli Puttakare lake near her home.
Usha Rajagopalan likes calling herself a “lakeika” – a lake activist and a writer (‘lekhika’ in Hindi). “I am a writer by choice and lake conservationist by chance,” she says with a smile. Creative writing has always been a passion and she has published several books.
How come a man working 9 to 5 "comes home tired" but a woman coming back home after work is expected to do the household chores, manage the children and other stuff too?
I came across this line recently in a Tanishq advertisement (ad) and it immediately caught my attention. The ad basically demonstrates a woman as “superwoman” as she does all the professional and personal work simultaneously, she manages the social circles along with the family, she manages everything with a smile. The actual twist comes at the end when the same superwoman says that before a superwoman, I am a human first; I get tired also, I fail also and at times I am helpless too.
I feel all working women will relate to the subject line. We women are expected to be superwomen, but we are normal humans. How come a man working 9 to 5 comes home tired but a woman coming back home after work is expected to do the household chores, manage the children and other stuff too?
There is a beautiful video shared by Jaya Kishori Ji, a motivational and spiritual speaker, wherein she says, “ki hum chahte hain hamari betiyan chaand par jayein par jaane se pehle 4 paranthe or 2 cup chai banakar jaaye (we wish for our daughters to go to moon, but before going we want them to cook 4 paranthas and 2 cups of chai),” why this is so? Why are the expectations so different?
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