A call for change!

Anna and his team may have won the first round against corruption, but there are several battles waiting to be fought in India. Anuradha Varma asks some eminent voices to tell us about the change they want to see.


Anna, broaden your battles!
Gurcharan Das, author & management expert

"Anna Hazare has been successful because he has focused single-mindedly on one issue — corruption. The Lokpal is only a beginning. It will catch crooks after the act. What you need is to prevent the disease. To make a real difference, you need to reform the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and the electoral system. These reforms should be next on Anna Hazare's agenda. He should not get distracted by other problems, such as education, health, drinking water. Obviously, there is corruption in the delivery of these services — one in four teachers is absent in a state primary school; two in five doctors are absent in a primary health centre. But the answer is to make civil servants accountable — government teachers and doctors are civil servants, after all. The overhaul of the bureaucracy, for example, will entail reduction in administrative discretion; swiftness and certainty of punishment in disciplinary proceedings; reduction in rent seeking opportunities; penalisation for delays; elimination of the seniority system. These ideas are not new —every administrative reforms commission has recommended them ,but the bureaucracy has sabotaged them. So, we need Annaji to focus on them."

Let Kashmir be heard

Shobhaa De, writer

“The sudden cancellation of the much looked forward to Harud Literature Festival in the Kashmir Valley once again proves how divisive forces win over those advocating a peaceful dialogue via non-political platforms. Pressure groups are overactive these days, and free speech comes with inbuilt reservations about security issues and safety. This is ridiculous and a real threat to the democratic process which guarantees plurality and liberalism in all walks of life. That a handful of protestors could browbeat organisers to cancel what would have been an important exchange of vibrant ideas and voices, is an indication of growing intolerance, not just in Kashmir, but across the board. I am fundamentally against browbeating of any kind... no matter how ‘noble’ the intentions. There is no room for suppressing the freedom of expression through such bullying tactics. The more one gives in to such elements, the weaker we become as a nation.

What about healthcare & education?

Sohaila Kapur, theatreperson

"The country has focused on corruption, but there are several other issues that need to be addressed and speedily. For instance, health and education. A visit to any of the municipal hospitals confirms that. Pregnant women, wounded men, diseased children await attention and rooms. And why just government hospitals? The problem is not much better in private hospitals. You have to make a down payment before a patient is admitted. My father once experienced a heart attack while I was away from the city and our driver rushed him to the very hospital where he was once a senior and respected pediatrician. The receptionist refused to give him a room, even while the poor man was gasping and in great pain, until Rs 2 lakh was deposited there and then. Someone should move the RTI in hospitals. As far as our education is concerned, things have not changed much from our time when we learnt everything by rote. Instead of droning on and on about matter that is already in text books, teachers need to challenge young minds through relevant questions, quizzes, experiments and yes, even theatrical exercises. One could go on and on about what needs to be done, but it's time it all jumped out of the paperwork and worked itself into active agendas."

Stop sexual violence

Vidya Reddy, child rights activist

“The Bill to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse has been put up before the parliamentary standing committee, but it hasn’t even been introduced in the Parliament for passing. I recently recommended that the police in Chennai start a training module on handling such cases. We have decided to call it ‘Investigating Sexual violence’ — it needs to be said outright. We must stop using euphemisms when dealing with sexual abuse and stop clubbing them under crimes against children or women and trafficking. Nobody sees it as a standalone problem. When it comes to sexual violence of children, first of all, very few cases get reported. Nearly 88 per cent of the victims don’t talk about it. We lack an effective response mechanism in society or in the system. Forget sensitivity, at least put protocols in place that can be followed. According to a 1996 study, even judges, MPs and the police are uncomfortable around cases of sexual violence. We need a special prosecutor in court to address such cases. Doctors are also not trained in these issues. Recently, a boy who was sodomised was tossed around an entire day in the hospital from departments of neurology to paediatrics and finally psychiatry. Whether it’s men, women, children or the LGBT groups, everyone has to be protected from sexual violence.” 

Fight for the environment
Raaja Bhasin, author & historian

"Every time there is a problem, a Gandhi, a Jai Prakash Narayan and an Anna Hazare cannot be pulled out of the woodwork. Systems must be strengthened — systems of redress and systems of appraisal. Of all the issues that now face our country, the biggest fight is yet to come. This fight is for our environment that will decide how we will live, and if we will live. The interventions that have taken place have been too severe and too irreversible. This will have to stop, if we do not want to create two nations within the same geographical space (as happened in England during the Industrial Revolution), the rich and the poor."

Shelter land rights of poor
Usha Ramanathan, legal expert

"The vexed question of land is seeing a churning around the country. It is now at least 25 years since coercive acquisition, forced evictions and mass displacement reached national attention. It is local resistance, in multiple locations around the country, which has forced the state to rethink its strategy of how it will use its power to take over land. There is a draft Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Bill 2011 currently up for debate. It reveals a remarkable lack of understanding of why there are all these mutinies all around us, and that a new law will have to limit the powers of the state to acquire, not expand it like this Bill will do. In the meantime, the urban poor are having their shelters demolished ruthlessly, and the state is acting as if the poor are responsible for their poverty and must pay the price for being poor! The persistence of 'extraordinary' laws is a scandal. Chhattisgarh, Kashmir, the North-East see them in their rawness, to which the unmarked graves bear testimony. Irom Sharmila has become a symbol of a state that does not care either for its people or for the rule of law. These laws have to be systematically, and urgently, weeded out."

Radhika Vaz — Unladylike!

Born in Mumbai, Radhika Vaz moved to New York and realised she wanted to be a stand-up comedian. Touring India, with her popular show Unladylike, she talks about what gets her going

Do you remember the moment you realised you wanted to do stand-up comedy as a career?

I probably wanted it all my life. What woman doesn’t want a room full of people to sit there and pay close attention to her every word. 

 
How much of the script for Unladylike is written by you? Do you generally write your scripts? 

The first draft of the show was mine, my director Brock Savage stepped in after that with a lot of suggestions. And yes, so far I write all my own stuff. 

Tell us about some popular lines from your shows that have tickled the audience. 

The line about how I hate giving blow jobs gets a laugh; it goes something like this: As far as I am concerned a blow job is like cooking, I have no natural flair for it and on top of that I am operating from a recipe that was handed down to me years ago by another woman who didn’t know what the f*** she was doing either.

How did the Indian audience react to the humour, ‘obscenity’ and four-letter words?

I use “f***” once the entire show, the show isn’t obscene to be honest — politically incorrect is more how I would describe it. Indian audiences, especially the women (who I expect will be the bulk of my audience) are quite sophisticated...I think they can handle it.

How unladylike are you in real life? 

I am just barely a woman.

What do you think of Indian men?

I am married to a Jat. I am too afraid to say anything. 

Anything you experienced here, while in India, that you would like to use as part of your routine later?

Definitely. Conversations with my girl-friends always lead to material.

Have you watched any Indian comedians, such as Vir Das, Papa CJ, or any others? Internationally, which stand-up comics make you laugh the most?

Only on Youtube. I’m a fan of comic actors - Anupam Kher in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Paresh Rawal in Lucky Oye (or whatever that film was), Lillette Dubey in Monsoon Wedding... As far as stand-up goes, my opening act in Bangalore is a funny lady Aditi Mittal. I am a big fan of shows like Little Britain, The Catherine Tate Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm; the writers and performers on those shows are just terrific.

How is it being a woman in a field that's largely associated with men?

It’s what it is. Like any other field, we have to make a little more noise to be heard, but I never had a problem with that.

Often comedy makes a serious point. What’s the point of Unladylike?

Don’t let anyone define your role as a woman.

Tell us what else you enjoy… what are the books you like and movies? What about Bollywood?

I love reading - fave book of all time is The Jam Fruit Tree. I love movies and TV shows — one of my favorite shows is called Six Feet Under. Bollywood is changing fast; there seems to be more smart comedy (like the two films I mentioned) — I like that.

How much do you keep in touch with India? Has it changed much since the last tiem you were here? 

My family and friends live here – it’s home. I would say the biggest change is the flyover they built near my parents’ home in Bangalore; it has changed our lives!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/I-am-barely-a-woman-Radhika-Vaz/articleshow/10038937.cms

Born again!

If you’re looking for spiritual purification and release of personal traumas, try rebirthing.

Are you suffering from anger, fear or sadness? Could it be related to the trauma of birth? Like many others, you can get relief through rebirthing — a therapy which uses breathwork to release negative emotions. Rebirthing is a term coined in the 1970s by American Leonard Orr. He called it “the most powerful form of prana yoga”. This New Age technique has many takers in India.

Spiritual Purification

Sujata Malik, who took this therapy, sums up its benefits: “As part of the spiritual process, it’s important to shed emotional baggage and relieve knots from the past. As we revisit an experience and go through the pain again, it helps in resolving the problem forever.”

Practitioners tell you that rebirthing unravels all human trauma in our present life as well as from past lives, and helps optimise our skills and talent. Rhythmic breathing is the key to releasing negative blocks and filling one with an abundant life force. The process accesses subconscious realms, leading to spiritual purification and a feeling of connectedness with the world around.

Sheeba Loganey was introduced to the art by Orr one fine day, 15 years ago. She remembers, “I took my first rebirthing session the same evening and the experience was profound. I felt my whole body pulsating with energy, the breath having taken over after the first few minutes, and I relived my entire birth process which had been very traumatic because of the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck.

I actually saw the whole birthing process, the layout of the hospital room, along with the people present in the room at the time, the doctors, my father and my aunt. My mother later confirmed the details. I had finally released my birth trauma and my claustrophobia disappeared completely. I felt calm and energised. After this, I was ready for the second session the next day!”

Loganey explains how it happens: “Almost everyone who undergoes this therapy feels a tingling or vibrations all over the body after about 10 minutes and this continues for one to two hours. It then gradually recedes and leaves a person feeling calm and tranquil. Every physical ailment has a psychosomatic reason behind it and when we heal the mental and emotional reasons, we heal the physical problem too.

A client was looking for a life-partner and it was after only the sixth session that she met her would-be husband at the airport while travelling from Delhi to Bangalore.

Another, who wanted to sell his property which was under dispute, resolved all issues with his siblings amicably. One, who had aches and pains all over his body and the doctors found nothing wrong with him, healed completely after 10 sessions.”

Rohini Chopra also witnessed miracles during her rebirthing sessions, she says, “Past-life regressions, which have sorted out issues in this lifetime, profound insights, a deeper connection with the self, a deep sense of well-being, an effortless letting go of blocks without intellectualisation, facing and transcending fears…and so gently and effortlessly. It’s an honour to be a rebirther and witness it hapen, with minimum interference on one’s own part.”

Who Can Undergo Rebirthing

There is no age limit; anyone suffering from fear, anger or emotional problems can take recourse to the therapy, but pregnant women should avoid it. Also people suffering from diagnosed depressive disorders should choose rebirthers with care say practioners.

Can one undergo rebirthing on their own, unsupervised? Says Rohini Chopra, “After doing a few sessions under supervision, you can do regular sessions on your own to keep the energy system clear.”A good rebirther should teach you how to continue at home, she says. According to Loganey, a person needs 10 to 20 sessions with a rebirther before they attempt to do it on their own. Each session is five to seven days apart.

The sessions involve using the elements of earth, air, water and fire. Says cosmetic surgeon Sandeep Bhasin, who came across rebirthing in 1999, “We use this breathing technique in dry sessions or in underwater sessions. The same breathing can be done near fire or by being under earth, and with each element, the release of emotions and issues is different.”

He maintains, “Rebirthing is a highly revolutionary method as it releases memories of childhood and past life at a tremendous speed, which can take psychoanalysts years to explore. It has really changed people’s lives. I, too, used to be very submissive and found it difficult to express myself.

Rebirthing made me assertive.” A client, he claims, went from being meek to gregarious and positive, after recalling and releasing the trauma of being sexually abused in a past life.

The key lies in breathing right and in consciously working out troublesome issues!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/view-article/Born-Again