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In our first Writing Story this month, Deboshree Bhattacharjee says that she writes for delight’s sake. Read on and be delighted!
Writing story 1
Deboshree, in her own words: Stories delight me and I tell them often. They lurk everywhere, around us and in hidden crannies. I like to look for them and then set them going. When I am not doing that, I am reading and reviewing books, travelling and studying media.
I remember reading of a girl who wanted to be a photographer so she would always have a camera. That way, she would never miss out on a moment of happiness. We may have become used to our cell-phones and the camera that comes with the package. But the delight of flipping through moments frozen on paper, unchanged by memory or time, is no less. My tryst with writing started on similar lines. From the desire to capture stories from my life, set to a background score of words, I have come to love telling tales of my own. Tales with people I carve and in places I construct.
It is a journey of its own, writing is. One that rouses me from the slumber of a worn-out day and takes me to vacation in foreign lands with bejewelled lakes. When the adage about being the master of your own destiny is all said and done, there are times in life when you are left helpless. At an utter loss. How can you then cultivate the strength to recreate your dreams and weave some more? For me, that strength comes from writing. By lending colour to a character’s life, I grow to believe that the colours will splash on to mine too. I get the power to dream, to do. To be liberated and carve a world just as I please, with all the freedom the heavens can muster.
I write about anything that strikes me as unusual or interesting. An incident at work, a goof-up with the clothes iron, an expectation that went downhill. Sometimes, when my world clouds over, it is only writing which stays by my side. Complete with words I had put together in happier times and hopes I had penned down for the days to come.
Sometimes, I dread the keyboard not cooperating. The thoughts not translating as I would like them to. And these are moments I am frightened of. But, when the December fog descends on a chilled Delhi, I reminisce the warmth that writing means to me. I recall the laughter on mom’s face when she reads about the antics of my neighbour’s dogs. With every page that is flipped, I relive the sights, the sounds and smells of that time in history – of that time in a world fondly imagined. It invigorates and enthralls me.
If for nothing else but the delight that reading a tale years down the line brings, I write.
Deboshree wins a gift hamper from Notex, a paper based stationary brand that makes high quality books, diaries, writing pads, 5 subject books and other products! You can check out Notex products at Shopo, Flipkart or Homeshop 18.
*Photo credit: Jude Doyland (Used under the Creative Commons Attribution License.)
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If her home and family seem to be impacted by her career then we expect her to prioritize her ‘responsibilities at home as a woman’ and leave her job.
The entrenched patriarchal norms have always perpetuated certain roles and responsibilities as falling specifically in the domain of either men or women. Traditionally, women have been associated with the domestic sphere while men have been considered the bread winner of the household. This division of roles has become so ingrained in our lives that we seldom come to question it. However, while not being questioned does give the system a certain level of legitimacy, it in no way proves its veracity.
This systematic division has resulted in a widely accepted notion whereby the public sphere is demarcated as a men’s zone and the private sphere as belonging to women. Consequently, women are expected to stay at home and manage the household chores while men are supposed to go out and make a living with no interest whatsoever in the running of the household.
This divide is said to be grounded in the intrinsic nature of men and women. Women are believed to be compassionate, affectionate and loving and these supposedly ‘feminine’ qualities make them the right fit for caring roles. Men, on the other hand are allegedly more sturdy, strong and bold and hence, the ones to deal with the ordeals of the outside world.
Investing in women means many things beyond the obvious meaning of this IWD2024 theme, as the many orgs doing stellar work can show us.
What does it mean to invest in women?
Telling the women in our lives how great we think they are? That we value the sacrifices they have made? (Usually though not necessarily only – a sacrifice of their aspirations, careers and earning potential in order to focus on family).
No, thank you. Just talk is no longer going to cut it. Roses and compliments are great, but it’s time people, leaders, organizations put their money, capital, resources on track instead.
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