Positive Externalities: Lessons from a Participatory Workshop on Heat and Mental Health
Anecdotes can spark new research Our interest in heat and its impact on mental health has been shaped by our belief in the power of storytelling and collaborative inquiry as part of evidence-building. This interest partly emerged from our previous project that focused on the lives of women who work in public spaces. During the […]
The Dailiness of Violence
There is a specific way in which we react to a gruesome sexual assault in India. From Nirbhaya to the recent Kolkata case, we come out in protest against the victimization of women, and our outrage, anger, and arguments are about justice, crime, and punishment. We want a solution from the State. We want to […]
A Bus Journey
Travelling by public transport, especially BMTC buses is something that I have been doing for a long time – about 8 years now. I take one of the traditional bus routes in Bangalore (Mysore Road) which has cultural and historical significance [1] and thus embarking on this bus journey is an adventure that encloses a […]
Fighting the Good Fight: My Journey as a Feminist Researcher
“The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be. More than ever before we, as a society, need to renew a commitment to truth telling.” bell hooks This month of March is quite significant for many of us in […]
Union Budget and the health of Democracy
I am writing this note after listening to the Finance Minister’s speech, which was accompanied by the thumping of the ruling party on the floor. After listening to the very carefully crafted rhetoric that was put before the citizenry, I (as a citizen of this country) want to present my position vis-à-vis the much-emphasised spending […]
Remembering Nehru
Nehru’s death anniversary – May 27. I recall going, like so many others, to Teen Murty. An opportunity to reflect on Nehru’s achievements and failures. Acknowledging several failures, I see his overall contributions as positive, importantly positive. Today, ‘Nehru ke Aulaad’ has become an abuse. This is tragic. He is accused of awarding himself the […]
The question of difference (Part three of three): Poverty of Imagination
Feminist or a Womanist? . . . Those in the middle get caught in the cross—fire away at the other side. If you are not for us, then you must be against us. If you are not for us, then you must be against us. People get scared enough, they pick a team. Be it […]
The question of difference (Part two of three): Meaning of difference
Sleeping, turning in turn like planets Sleeping, turning in turn like planets rotating in their midnight meadow: a touch is enough to let us know we’re not alone in the universe, even in sleep: the dream-ghosts of two worlds walking their ghost-towns, almost address each other. I’ve wakened to your muttered words spoken light- or […]
The question of difference (Part one of three): Two stories
Postcard from God – I Yes, I do feel like a visitor, a tourist in this world that I once made. I rarely talk, except to ask the way, distrusting my interpreters, tired out by the babble of what they do not say. I walk around through battered streets, distinctly lost, looking for landmarks from […]
How has Beti Bachao Beti Padhao fared in five years?
One of the flagship programmes of the Narendra Modi Government that has created a lot of buzz is Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. However, the scheme has fared well neither in its design nor in its implementation. The scheme majorly runs in two components; mass media communication and multi-sectoral intervention. I will be commenting critically on […]
My experiences with the UPSC Civil Services examination – From an ex-aspirant’s perspective
UPSC Civil Services examination is probably one of the toughest experiences one can go through. More than the technical aspects of the examination, overall as an experience, it can be challenging and takes a lot away from our personal lives. It offers people job security and in general, there is a lot of honour attached […]
Just Another Tea-Break Rant
Being in love with tea is the most committed relationship I have ever been in. I have been accused of romanticizing tea by the whole world and I am not shy to admit that I am indeed, guilty as charged. Each cup of tea brings a sense of tranquillity that awakens all my senses together. […]
The Many Faces of Participatory Methodologies
At our recently concluded annual seminar, Prof. Rajagopalan, of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B), mentioned that the idea of “participative approaches” has gained currency within development work and literature. Stating this, he pointed to how participatory approaches are seen as the panacea for all ills that plague development-related work. A significant point […]
A Tribute to Sandhya Rao
…Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise… Maya Angelou. I heard about your death the afternoon before I was to leave for Bihar. I couldn’t believe it. I kept reading the message on my cell phone over and over again, thinking it has […]
Fitting into My Own Shoes: Reflections from the Field
Reflexivity is customary in social anthropology and resultant epistemology. George Herbert Mead defines reflexivity as “turning back of the experience of individual upon (her – or himself)”. Reflexivity is always retrospective and hence this blog post is about what I was looking for in the field, what I found and how I perceived it then […]
Brexit: Mad Dogs and Englishmen
The recent referendum in the UK reminds me of this classic Noël Coward song, cheerfully sung also by Danny Kaye ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ [1]. Mad dogs and Englishmen [2] Go out in the midday sun… It’s such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see That though the English are effete They’re quite impervious […]
Reflections on Fieldwork
One of the new aspects of my job at CBPS, which I have enjoyed, has been field work. The GrOW project, in particular, has provided me many opportunities to do field work. Previously, I had either worked on secondary or primary data, which I had played no role in collecting. This experience led me to […]
Life Imitates Art – Cinema and Violence against Women
Life imitates art far more than art imitates life – Oscar Wilde In the normal course, it is art that imitates life. The art forms – literature, painting and cinema – for the most part depended upon and depicted reality. It was art holding up the mirror to life in the description of pastoral England […]
Let us save our dear Mother India!
More than two decades ago, when I made a phone call home using a public booth near Ganga dhaba close to my hostel in JNU, my father casually informed me that the police verification for my passport was over! First I did not understand what he was referring to, as I had not yet applied […]
The Nobel for Poverty
Angus Deaton, a professor at Princeton University, has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in economics, for his econometric work in three fields: the estimation of demand systems, the use of microeconomic data is estimating aggregate consumption, especially his innovation of ‘pseudo panels’ based on cross section data, and his use of household consumption survey […]
OSR! OSR! Where’s my OSR?
“Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: That alone should encourage the crew. Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.” The Hunting of the Snark By Lewis Carroll These thoughts come after my attending two mega meetings, on ‘Own […]
Subsidise LED lamps!
When should subsidies be used as a policy tool? Can we use subsidies to encourage ‘desirable’ behaviour’, assuming for a moment that we agree on what it is. Would encouraging energy saving behaviour be a candidate for a subsidy if it can be shown to be in the larger public interest? There is an improved […]
It Takes Two to Tango
Governance is often seen as what the government does, which is only partly true. Although governance has been variously defined, most of them recognize that governance has two aspects – one, it is exercise of power and authority and two, it is about the government’s ability and capacity to effectively fulfill its mandate (for a […]
Conflict of Interest – The Bottom Line
The Asian Development Bank defines corruption quite concisely as ‘abuse of public office for personal gain’. Conflict between personal interest and the public interest is implicit in all incidents of corruption. Any corrupt act invariably compromises the larger public interest. Whether it is the frauds in Commonwealth Games, the allocation of 2G, denotification of government […]