Dear Colleagues,
Seasons change every 3-4 months, every year; and random reflections come to you every month:
- I look forward to my visits to Lucknow for many reasons, but these days, one of the main ones is the high quality of 'Paan' (betel). A wide variety of betel leaves are popular for 'Paan' in these cities...Maghai, Sounfiya, Banarasi etc. The quality of betel leaf is important for the good taste of 'paan', as a digestive after a big Awadhi dinner. The tradition of 'paan' in this region is very old, and cultivation of betel leaf and nut is also an old practice, though it has been grown in southeast Asia since more than a century ago.
- In anticipation of the arrival of my 18 months old granddaughter from UK, I went around town searching for good quality books for toddlers in Hindi. To my great surprise and disappointment, most book shops stocked only English storybooks for this age group. The Hindi language books were more words than visuals. I could not find any book in Hindi that had musical tones, playful features and shifting cutouts. On checking with shopkeepers, I was told that there is no demand for such creative books for young toddlers in Hindi!
- There is a general impression that quality of schooling in Delhi is very high. While this may have been so in an earlier era, disruption to teaching (and other school activities) has become very frequent in Delhi. Most teachers of government (and government-aided) schools have been put on voter listing tasks under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for the past three months, taking them away from their primary responsibilities of teaching. This is compounded by visits of international dignitaries which cause further disruption with schools being shut down (as happened during the BRICS Summit last month).
- There appears to be a shift in the way public is using their visits to various shopping malls these days. The busiest places in the Malls are no longer the fancy retail shops, but the food courts. More people seem to eat in these food courts than doing shopping. Cinema halls within the Malls are another major attraction. Actual retail buying appears subdued in the Malls, partly due to rising prices?
- When a woman in our family faced it, we immediately approached local police with the help of RWA; then we realised that sexual harassment has become commonplace while walking in public parks even in residential colonies in Delhi. Such harassment has been commonplace for women traveling in public transports. Now educational campuses and hostels have also increasingly become sites of such harassment and violence. Measures at restricting women's movement (for example discouraging them from going out after dark) allows male behaviours remain unchallenged.
Stay well, sincerely
Rajesh
About the Author
A Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA) and an electronics engineer (IIT, Kanpur) with a graduation in management (IIM, Calcutta), Dr Rajesh Tandon is an internationally acclaimed leader and practitioner of participatory research and development.
His journey with PRIA started in 1982, as a young IIM graduate wanting to do more than just complete his PhD fieldwork.
