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UPSC topper Kanishka Kataria was recently trolled for crediting his girlfriend for his success, and the nasties all came out of the woodwork.
The UPSC recently announced the results for the civil services final examination and the topper Kanishka Kataria, a BTech from IIT Bombay, was in news not because of this academic/competitive feat but more because of the following comment he made to the Press:
“It’s a very surprising moment. I never expected to get the 1st rank. I thank my parents, sister & my girlfriend for the help & moral support. People will expect me to be a good administrator & that’s exactly my intention.”
Soon all social media including Twitter went viral commending and glorifying him for being “brave” and “liberal” for granting credit for his success to his girlfriend, and he was hailed as a trendsetter of sorts.
In the process however what could have been normalised- adults opening acknowledging their pre-marital relationships, has been either glorified, or criticised as disrespect to parents, family and “Indian values.”
In 2017 Australian lawmaker Tim Wilson proposed to his gay partner Ryan Patrick Bolger, who was sitting in the public gallery, at Parliament in Canberra and more recently US Vice President Mike Pence hosted Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his same-sex partner.
But not too long ago in 2015 the IAS topper Tina Dabbi was trolled for her relationship with colleague and fellow rank holder Athar Khan. When the couple publically declared their relationship the national secretary of The Hindu Mahasabha even went to the extent of calling it “love jihad” and wrote a letter to Dabi’s parents saying that while they are happy about Tina’s achievements, her father should reconsider the match.
Similarly Anushka Sharma the then girlfriend and now wife of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli was mercilessly trolled for his bad performances on the field while no mention of her was made when he played a good innings. He once tweeted,
Shame on people for trolling @AnushkaSharma non-stop. Have some compassion. She has always only given me positivity pic.twitter.com/OBIMA2EZKu — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 28, 2016
Shame on people for trolling @AnushkaSharma non-stop. Have some compassion. She has always only given me positivity pic.twitter.com/OBIMA2EZKu
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 28, 2016
So what are then our norms of propriety as a society?
Whereas successful adult men might be “allowed” the privilege by a majority to acknowledge a relationship in public, would we be equally accepting if it was a woman making such an announcement and acknowledging her boyfriend along with her siblings and parents? Or what if the successful man/ woman have a same-sex partner?
Do we want women only as scapegoats? Or can the women “behind” successful men only be mothers and wives, no girlfriend/live-in partner/casual friend allowed?
We need to rethink as a society about how we view adult relationships and their acknowledgement in public.
Image source: YouTube
Pooja Priyamvada is an author, columnist, translator, online content & Social Media consultant, and poet. An awarded bi-lingual blogger she is a trained psychological/mental health first aider, mindfulness & grief facilitator, emotional wellness trainer, reflective read more...
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Recent footage of her coming out of an airport had comments preaching karma and its cruel ways, that Samantha "deserved her illness" because she filed for divorce.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu fell from being the public’s sweetheart to a villain overnight because she filed for divorce. The actress was struck with myositis post divorce, much to the joy of certain groups (read sexist) in our society.
A troll responded to Samantha’s tweet, “Women Rising!!” by adding to it “just to fall”. She replied, “Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend.”
Here’s another insensitive tweet by BuzZ Basket showing fake concern for her autoimmune disease. “Feeling sad for Samantha, she lost all her charm and glow. When everyone thought she came out of divorce strongly and her professional life was seeing heights, myositis hit her badly, making her weak again.” Samantha responded, “I pray you never have to go through months of treatment and medication like I did. And here’s some love from me to add to your glow.”
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