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Idea of the year

Two Mumbai men on a mission to plant trees across the country, and involve the nation’s young while doing so. This was the best green idea this year.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 7 of the Yearender Diaries

On October 10, two Mumbai men started out on a cross-country tour, armed with basic essentials and a simple idea – travel the length and breadth of the country, visit educational institutions and plant trees with a lot of youngsters watching and participating.

They call it ‘Project 35 Trees’.

We interviewed Hari Chakyar (26) – one half of the duo, the other is freelance filmmaker Anthony Karbhari – a few days before they started out from Mumbai, and till date, they’ve been to several places, from Chandigarh to Puri, from Jamshedpur to Bhilai; the tour is planned for all the States and Union Territories and will be complete in four months. When we spoke to Hari last, the duo was packing to leave and was tremendously excited to be going.

Since then, the duo has met with several youngsters in the places they’ve been to, held interactive sessions to illustrate their point, and yes, planted trees wherever they’ve been. “Project 35 Trees is about planting trees in all 35 states and union territories of India. It is also about educating students about the need to plant trees and other environmental problems that the world faces,” Hari said, and he’d been quick to point out that though Anthony and he were the initiators of the idea, “…this is a community project that belongs to everybody.”

A typical session starts with a documentary screening about degradation of natural resources, a talk about Project 35 Trees and a Q & A session where students can ask questions. This is followed by a tree planting programme.

Prior to leaving, Hari and Anthony had drawn up a list of schools and colleges where they would be visiting, a list that would grow as the trip progressed. Such a trip also necessitated finding hosts to stay with in almost all the places they would visit. “We are and will be collecting funds for the trip. People can contribute via the Wishberry.in page,” said Hari.

What is the duo’s expectation of the Project? “I would love it if even a few students I speak to decide to take up initiatives to know more and act for the conservation of the environment. We will be ready to help these schools set up a nature club in their schools or colleges, like for a class assignment. It’ll also be awesome if people could plant trees on their own,” Hari said. “For us, Project 35 Trees is also about understanding what environmental problems the country faces. Meeting people who are doing good work in conservation will also help.

Awareness programmes must be included in the scholastic syllabus. Students must be encouraged to participate in awareness and conservation programmes. This will help them make informed, sensitive choices as adults.

A lot of simple human actions affect the environment adversely. When you purchase shells and conches from Kanyakumari, you don’t realise that those creatures are caught live in the waters and boiled in the hundreds to ‘clean’ and beautify them for your showcase. Some women want ivory jewellery made from the tusks of painfully-slaughtered elephants. Did you know that sharks will soon join the ranks of endangered creatures because some of us want shark fin soup for dinner? It’s time to stop taking the world around for granted and finding out which of our actions are causing great distress elsewhere.”

The duo aims to collect Rs 5,00,000 via donations. Till date, they’ve got close to Rs 1,45,000 through 80 donors.

Follow the duo’s progress through the country on www.facebook.com/35trees. You can contribute to the cause at http://www.wishberry.in/Support-Project-35-Trees–14320

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Look out for Heartbreak of the year tomorrow.

 

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Issue of the year

There was a dramatic increase in crimes against women this year. Jatin Sharma explores the psyche behind these terrible crimes.

Part 6 of the Yearender Diaries

Did you ever hear a man say, “Kya maal hai,” and he was not referring to some object that he saw?

Did you ever hear a man say, “Kya item hai, boss!” and both were missing, the item and the boss?

Were you ever a part of a discussion where people talked about bosoms and butts?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, I would like to congratulate you, as you have just become a member of the ICBART. For the uninitiated, ICBART stands for I Can Be A Rapist Too.

The main problem with the whole rape issue is that most of the rapists have not done it because of a sexual urge. It’s mainly because they wanted to punish someone or humiliate them. Rape is an attitude of a mind that says that girls are not worth anything. And they have seen girls always as an object, or someone who doesn’t have a right to even walk on the road freely.  Most rapists have had an upbringing that mainly speaks about girls as victims. They have been brought up in an atmosphere that has given them to understand that boys can do whatever they want, because ‘Ladka hai na,’ and that girls can do only a few things in life, because ‘Ladki hai, zyaada mat udd’.

But the main question is, why do we as a society fail to respect women? I think it’s because of something called ‘raw power’.

This raw power makes a man feel that women are inferior to them. And stop right there before you think that this is just a rural mindset. Wherever we may be, in cities or in villages, directly or indirectly, we are all guilty of passing on these messages to our generation. Even the learned have set different behavioural mores for their sons and daughters.

Ladka hai, night out maar sakta hai.

Ladki hai, dus baje tak ghar pe aa jaana.

These biases are so strongly instilled in us, our ideas of what a boy should be like and what a girl should be like are so entrenched, that even when we are proud of our girl child, we appreciate her by saying, “Yeh toh mera beta hi hai!” It speaks volumes of us a society if our pride in our women is measured in terms of success parameters that are defined by men.

Isn’t it the very foundation of the whole debate that speaks about the superiority of men over women?

The entire nation is boiling with shame, and everybody’s blaming the rapists. But all of us are responsible for this rape, and many more that are happening around the country. We have clapped when Duryodhan molested Draupadi in front of everyone, and we listen, thrilled, when a colleague comes to us and tells us about what kind of an butt or bosom a girl in the office has.

All of us are rapists. It cannot be stressed enough that if we want to stop crimes against women, then we should stop demeaning them, even if we’re doing it in our minds. The next time you hear people discussing women as objects, stop them from doing so. It’s all about becoming more responsible for the women who give you love and respect in your life.

Start respecting the womb that bore you for nine months. Start respecting the womb that will let you prove your manhood by giving you a child. Start respecting women.

Jatin Sharma is a media professional.

(Picture courtesy futurity.org)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for Idea of the Year tomorrow.

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Politician of the year

Prithviraj Chavan learnt the ropes very quickly in Maharashtra. He was a key player in the State’s politics this year.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 5 of the Yearender Diaries

Prithviraj Chavan took over as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister at a really tumultuous time in the State’s political scene. The other Chavan – Ashok, of the Adarsh Housing Scam – had just been removed as CM, several names in the Government were tumbling out of the closet for their complicity in the Scam, and the Congress urgently needed to appoint a new, squeaky clean CM.

The question was: who was non-controversial enough to take over the CM’s post?

Reportedly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was upset over the idea of sending his trusted lieutenant, Prithviraj Chavan, to head Maharashtra. Chavan had been Singh’s main troubleshooter for the longest time in Delhi, but the decision was finally made and Chavan left for Maharashtra.

Says a Government official who worked with Chavan when he first assumed the CM’s office, “He actually wasn’t well-versed with Maharashtra and its ways. He didn’t know most of the State’s politicians, apart from the very prominent ones. It took him a while to match the faces to the names.”

Satish Lalit, the CM’s chief PRO says, “He came from a very structured working background in Delhi, where everybody met him only after prior appointment. Over here, people just barge into ministers’ offices, and any appointments happen by sending a visiting card to the CM five minutes earlier. He (Chavan) found this really strange.” Adds another official, “He still does not like to meet people all the time, but he has made his peace with it.”

Those in the know will testify that Chavan works very late nights – Satish says his staff works till 10.30 pm daily – and that he watches the news on TV till the wee hours of the morning, before sleeping awhile and waking up for a game of badminton before starting work. “I have not seen too many politicians in his position keep abreast of the latest happenings the way he does,” Satish says. “He is always reading and researching; I think this comes from his BITS Pilani background, but there is no denying that he is uncommonly astute and a very quick learner.”

There is no doubt that Chavan has not only learnt the ropes of a gigantic State quickly enough, but he has also become a dependable face in Maharashtra politics at a very testing time – the Congress in the State is increasingly at loggerheads with its ally, the NCP (despite Chavan’s good ties with NCP chief Sharad Pawar), the irrigation scam is still an unresolved issue that Chavan will have to answer for sooner than later, and he is said to have several enemies within his own party. There are also rumblings, on and off, about him being recalled to Delhi.

Overall, this year belonged to Chavan, with a number of important decisions and incidents to his credit. He took a couple of tough decisions that impacted the builder lobby in Mumbai, but overall, showed remarkable keenness to drive foreign investment to the State. Another development that can be credited to him was the long-pending Indu Mill land transfer early this month. But his biggest achievement this year was the total secrecy he and his office maintained over the hanging of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab till it actually happened; this made Chavan an instant celebrity all over the country, with the media marvelling at the two-week silence over the operation. His Government was also credited for its efficiency during the mammoth funeral for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in November.

Observers say that Chavan has mastered the trick of being highly visible while at work, without appearing to do so, and that he knows how to capitalise on an issue and muzzle his detractors.

Besides all of this, there’s something about the man that inspires confidence. He is tremendously fit at age 65, he is a sharp dresser, he is extremely articulate (he switches easily between Marathi, Hindi and English, unlike most State politicians) and he is not known to pass flippant comments or be anything but politically correct. “You have to read between the lines when you’re speaking to him,” says an official. “He is not given to verbosity at all. And if something false or derogatory is written about him in the papers or shown on the channels, he doesn’t get rattled by it.”

One thing people do fault him for, however, is that he almost always reaches late for any event. “He is always late,” chuckles a journalist. “But it seems that he is constantly working, always travelling, sometimes covering two or three places in a day.”

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for Issue of the Year tomorrow.

(Picture courtesy jaimaharashtranews.com)

 

 

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Personality of the year

Sailesh Mishra, senior citizen activist, went to the UN, participated in Satyameva Jayate, and helped lost elders find their homes.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 4 of the Yearender Diaries

A disclaimer: at The Metrognome, we don’t subscribe to the idea that year-ending lists must comprise only the famous and the newsy. The man we chose as Personality of the Year was a walk-in for the title, anyway. Incidentally, Sailesh Mishra, elder care activist based in Mira Road, Mumbai, is both famous in his circle, and this year has certainly been a newsy one for him.

We featured Sailesh in October this year, days after he was back from a fruitful stint at the United Nations’ Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Ageing Convention. The interview with him took place at a suburban cafe, and Sailesh bubbled over with enthusiasm about the Convention, and the chance he’d been given to speak on the floor of the House – a lucky chance indeed, because Sailesh got the opportunity to refute the Indian ambassador’s remarks. “The Ambassador had said, ‘Why do the elderly need rights? Their development is the responsibility of the society and their families. What can the government do?’ When I got the chance to speak, I gently refuted what the gentleman had said, and I stressed the need for the government to be more proactive in implementing several schemes for the elderly in India,” Sailesh grinned.

We’ve met several activists over the years, and have been repeatedly disappointed when so many of them have lost their way after being involved with some truly marvellous initiatives. However, Sailesh continues to hold steady in his work, mostly because he does not ever speak of himself or his NGO. “It is the cause of elder care in the country, and how the present policies are unfriendly for our elders, that is important. I don’t ever talk about my NGO, even when invited to address conferences, because I don’t want to focus the spotlight on myself or on Silver Innings,” he says.

Sailesh’s philosophy is to look at senior citizens in a positive, happy vein. “Why do we treat our elders like they are useless, or like they need to be protected? We make no effort to integrate older people in our daily activities, we keep them away from most things. I am against this isolation that is imposed on our elders,” he says. His NGO, hence, organises events where senior citizens can register to dance, sing or participate in other social activities, while also mingling with others like themselves.

Last year, a woman from the creative team that put together Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyameva Jayate, contacted Sailesh for inputs on an episode dedicated to senior citizens. “After I heard the brief and what they were looking to discuss, I flatly said to the lady that she could tell Mr Khan on my behalf, that I was not interested in doing a show that would become a sob story about senior citizens. If they wanted to discuss the positive aspects of ageing and tell some inspiring stories, I could help them,” Sailesh says, adding that not only did the team tweak its narrative to include his idea, they also took his inputs on the rest of the episode as well.

He is also a part of the think tank that is pushing the Government of Maharashtra for a legislation that will give elders in the State a set of rights. “What you must understand is that whatever we push for at the present moment, is not about to benefit the current crop of senior citizens. Unfortunately, their time is gone. When I reach out to youngsters, I emphasise that all our present efforts towards securing elders’ rights will actually help when we become senior citizens ourselves.”

With life expectancies rising in India every year, naturally, the numbers of its senior citizens are also dramatically rising. “We must push for employment opportunities for able senior citizens, architecture and infrastructure that is easy to use for them, better communication with the police and support groups, and of course, activities that help keep them occupied and in touch with their peers,” Sailesh says. When he’s not touring the country delivering lectures and helping like-minded individuals and NGOs set up elder care facilities, his NGO runs an elder care counselling centre, organises activities, and most recently, helps in the search for senior citizens who have inadvertently wandered out of their homes.

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for Politician of the Year tomorrow.

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News event of the year

The Palghar Facebook arrests showed us the foolhardy side of police action, thus forcing the Government to make swift reprisals.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It was an innocuous post on Facebook, as most posts go. A student from Palghar, 21-year-old Shaheen Dhada, was upset over the total lockdown of Mumbai and its outlying suburbs after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on November 17, 2012. Taking to Facebook to vent her anger, little did Shaheen know that a simple post questioning the logic behind the shutdown would soon get her arrested.

Similarly unaware of the impending storm was her friend Rinu Srinivasan, also 21 and also a Palghar resident. Rinu ‘liked’ the post.

And there the matter would have rested.

However, the post was brought to the attention of Bhushan Sankhe, Palghar’s Sena shakha pramukh,  who was suitably upset by Shaheen’s remark and Rinu’s appreciation of it. Very soon,  a mob of Shiv Sainiks was mobilised into action, they went to Shaheen’s house, vandalised her uncle’s clinic, and that night, Shaheen and Rinu were arrested.

These arrests marked a watershed moment in a year that saw the imprisonment of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi and the taking down of his website, the jailing of a Kolkata professor after he forwarded a cartoon of Mamata Banerjee over email, the abrupt cutting off of video channels like Vimeo at the hands of entertainment giants like Reliance and the mass blocking of Twitter and Facebook accounts in the aftermath of the Assam violence, to name a few.

The public, already bewildered by the seemingly indiscriminate clampdown on its internet freedom on various pretexts, was pushed past the boiling point after the two girls were arrested. Already furious over being forced to wait out Thackeray’s funeral in their homes, the city erupted in protest after Shaheen and Rinu were not just arrested, but a local magistrate awarded them a 14-day judicial custody term.

Spurred into action by the rising protests, first from Mumbai and then from all over the country, the State Government ordered a probe into the matter, then after the police action was deemed inappropriate and hasty. The girls were finally let off, the charges against them were subsequently dropped, and both the girls are now back on Facebook.

But perhaps the biggest offshoot of the entire incident was that the public, used to not voicing its opinions on the Shiv Sena, went full throttle in its criticism of the party’s strong-arm tactics.

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for Personality of the Year tomorrow.

(Picture courtesy indiavision.com) 

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Event of the year

The biggest funeral in Maharashtra this year, after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s in 1956, came with its fair share of controversies.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 2 of our Yearender Diaries 

It was expected to be a funeral of somewhat large proportions. The city of Mumbai was to pay a silent homage, and was told to be off the streets. Some unkind people even said that if you had the money and the muscle power, it wasn’t that tough to get a big crowd together. That fear of retribution would force people to attend the funeral, just as fear had compelled every Mumbaikar to silently take whatever the dead man had thrown at the city all his life.

Bal Thackeray, founder of the Shiv Sena, passed away on November 17, 2012. It was a Saturday, and when the announcement was finally made from his residence, Matoshree, it was 3 pm. In a few minutes, the city began to shut down – first the shops, then its offices, then its transport. As the grieving at Matoshree began, so did another momentous phenomenon: a bandh which the late leader had not called for, for the first time the Sena’s life.

It was probably a fitting tribute to Thackeray; bandhs had characterised his party’s workings for a better part of forty-odd years, and a bandh it was that saw him through on his last journey.

Everything remained shut till Sunday night, by which time the late leader’s funeral had already taken place at Shivaji Park. But those two days of a total lockdown were difficult to get past – most people, accustomed to doing their shopping on Saturday evening, found they had no milk, vegetables or anything to eat. Sunday dawned without respite, and in some places, without newspapers. By evening of that day, all entertainment channels on TV had been blocked. So all one could do was watch the funeral live.

On the other side, there was a genuine outpouring of grief. Not after Dr BR Ambedkar’s funeral in 1956 had Maharashtra witnessed such a deluge of mourners descending on the city in such a short span of time. It would be churlish to say that all of those gathered were Shiv Sainiks and their families alone – the crowd largely comprised Sena voters and Bal Thackeray admirers – and nobody was ordered to be part of the funeral procession.

And even before his mortal remains had reached the cremation grounds, rumblings over what the party would do without his stewardship began. Questions about the Uddhav-Raj equation resurfaced. Declarations of ‘The Shiv Sena is finished!’ were made, sometimes on TV. But all the screaming rhetoric quietened as the body was finally laid to rest. When the funeral pyre was lit, everybody cried.

It has been over a month since his death, but the man is anything but forgotten, and not just because of controversies linked to where his memorial should be, or if people should be arrested merely for stating an opinion on a social networking site. It is said that the measure of a man’s life is made by the numbers of people who show up at his funeral. If the numbers at Bal Thackeray’s funeral were anything to go by, he lived a very successful life indeed.

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seeks to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Watch out for News Event of the Year tomorrow.

(Picture courtesy bbc.co.uk)

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