Have you heard a woman saying "..she is not my mother-in-law but she is like my mother..". I have often heard this in movies. I have come across a few women who insist that their daughters-in-law call them mother and not mother-in-law. This saddens me.
I know all the bad rap the mother-in-law tag has. Why not live in a way such that mother-in-law means something good.
Most of us hope to get married once and stay married to that one person. So the chance that you will get to call a woman a mother-in-law will also be only once. So why not call her a mother-in-law and why bring in the tag of mother? Can you imagine calling any other family member by a relationship that they are not?
Improve the relationship, if it has to. But do not change the name of the relationship.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
36 Vayadhinile
Yes yes I loved it. Jyothika was awesome. It was light-hearted with a strong message. No tears atleast no ugly tears. Thank you, 36 Vayadhinile team. It definitely passes the Bechdel Test.
This post would be incomplete if I didn't mention the original Malyalam movie starring Manju Warrier. But ignorant me knew about it only after getting to know about this movie.
If we want the quality of our movies to improve, I strongly believe that women should go out to the theaters and watch movies. We should voice out our opinions about these movies. Otherwise, we will be bombarded with lousy and regressive movies. We do not want that, do we?
This post would be incomplete if I didn't mention the original Malyalam movie starring Manju Warrier. But ignorant me knew about it only after getting to know about this movie.
If we want the quality of our movies to improve, I strongly believe that women should go out to the theaters and watch movies. We should voice out our opinions about these movies. Otherwise, we will be bombarded with lousy and regressive movies. We do not want that, do we?
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
I love Historical Fiction
Yes, I love historical fiction. It has become my favorite genre. I spend hours reading about them. This has been my favourite genre for the past three years.
I picked up rather started listening to Philippa Gregory's White Queen out of curiosity and now historical fiction has become my obsession. I always loved history and I like it when historical fiction portrays the emotions and struggles behind that history.
I realized that there are many people who do not agree with Philippa Gregory's take on history. There are people who do not like her style of writing too. She introduced me to this genre and I find that her writing very engaging. In an interview she said that she spends days imagining what her characters must have gone through. This is very evident in her books.
I accept that as a school girl, I watched old movies for their lovely gowns and dresses. Slowly as I grew up and recognized social injustices, I started noticing how the society evolved. As the feminist in me grew, I was able to recognize the position and treatment meted out to women. But at that point books about history were not labeled historical fiction. At least not that I was aware of.
Yes, I have read more about English history than Indian history because I see less of propaganda and more of history in their books. Have you noticed that these days Indian history discussions revolve around maligning people from the pages of history. It is presented as though the intention is to correct history but it leaves a bitter taste. Yes, I am all for recognizing for their deeds. Yes, Indian history specially the freedom struggle resembled the corporate environment where the most "visible" ones were the most recognized and loved. As a somewhat introvert, I appreciate all those lesser heard names. But to do so we do not have to malign the popular ones. With the exception of Indu Sundaresan, I have rarely come across Indian authors who are fair to all the sections of the Indian society.
An interest in this genre has led me to discover a few fascinating things. I started following many pages about history on Facebook. Going back to English history, it was amusing and surprising that the Britishers feel so strongly about their royalty. There people who love Tudors and who hate them. There are blogs supporting Richard 3 or Edward 2. People defend and love them with a passion that I have not come across Indians. I wonder if the Indian royals would have continued the way they did in UK, we probably would have felt the same way too. It is interesting to read the discussions anyway. Another fascinating find was this website - http://www.frockflicks.com/ The women in this website discuss the costumes and their podcasts and blogs are quite eye-opening.
I picked up rather started listening to Philippa Gregory's White Queen out of curiosity and now historical fiction has become my obsession. I always loved history and I like it when historical fiction portrays the emotions and struggles behind that history.
I realized that there are many people who do not agree with Philippa Gregory's take on history. There are people who do not like her style of writing too. She introduced me to this genre and I find that her writing very engaging. In an interview she said that she spends days imagining what her characters must have gone through. This is very evident in her books.
I accept that as a school girl, I watched old movies for their lovely gowns and dresses. Slowly as I grew up and recognized social injustices, I started noticing how the society evolved. As the feminist in me grew, I was able to recognize the position and treatment meted out to women. But at that point books about history were not labeled historical fiction. At least not that I was aware of.
Yes, I have read more about English history than Indian history because I see less of propaganda and more of history in their books. Have you noticed that these days Indian history discussions revolve around maligning people from the pages of history. It is presented as though the intention is to correct history but it leaves a bitter taste. Yes, I am all for recognizing for their deeds. Yes, Indian history specially the freedom struggle resembled the corporate environment where the most "visible" ones were the most recognized and loved. As a somewhat introvert, I appreciate all those lesser heard names. But to do so we do not have to malign the popular ones. With the exception of Indu Sundaresan, I have rarely come across Indian authors who are fair to all the sections of the Indian society.
An interest in this genre has led me to discover a few fascinating things. I started following many pages about history on Facebook. Going back to English history, it was amusing and surprising that the Britishers feel so strongly about their royalty. There people who love Tudors and who hate them. There are blogs supporting Richard 3 or Edward 2. People defend and love them with a passion that I have not come across Indians. I wonder if the Indian royals would have continued the way they did in UK, we probably would have felt the same way too. It is interesting to read the discussions anyway. Another fascinating find was this website - http://www.frockflicks.com/ The women in this website discuss the costumes and their podcasts and blogs are quite eye-opening.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
That Affected Me??
I have been wondering about my writing hiatus. There has been no dearth of topics. Everyday I can think of something to write. But I just could not sit down to write.
I could identify a few reasons. But the most silly of them is my desk or writing place.
Earlier, when I was fairly regular with my blogging I used my desktop to blog rather than my laptop. Later I started solely relying on my laptop. Which meant I didn't use a table and chair. I was lazily lying on my bed. The first thing that you want to do when you are lying on a bed is to do some major time pass activities like facebook and chatting before drifting off to sleep.
I am able to focus better sitting at a desk. I realized it very late. I am not blogging regularly but I am able to browse and read up information that cannot be classified as time pass.
So what affects your writing?
I could identify a few reasons. But the most silly of them is my desk or writing place.
Earlier, when I was fairly regular with my blogging I used my desktop to blog rather than my laptop. Later I started solely relying on my laptop. Which meant I didn't use a table and chair. I was lazily lying on my bed. The first thing that you want to do when you are lying on a bed is to do some major time pass activities like facebook and chatting before drifting off to sleep.
I am able to focus better sitting at a desk. I realized it very late. I am not blogging regularly but I am able to browse and read up information that cannot be classified as time pass.
So what affects your writing?
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Writers Write
I wanted to create a goal or a mission statement for this blog. Just like I have been meaning to write a personal creed. We all know how well that is going. I wanted something elaborate and fun. Something that would reflect my ambitions for my future. But I am just not sitting at my desk for enough time to put it down on paper rather laptop. The other day, it struck me that I have to keep writing. Thats what writers do. We write. Thank you, thank you. I know this is such a deep, reflective post. I am floating on air in my padma asana posture. :)
Friday, March 15, 2013
Family
What is your definition of a family? Ideally and traditionally it should be a father, mother, and children with a lot of support from extended family. But some people are luckier than some others.
I was browsing and found this quote about family but I forgot to save the link-
“There is love in the household and that the children can depend on the adults to nurture them, guide them, and protect them. That’s family.” I thought it was a very good definition of a family. But I realized just now that it is a non-inclusive one. I think that is the best definition of a healthy family environment for children. Without getting too sentimental, I think a family is one where people are nurtured by each other. Period.
I was browsing and found this quote about family but I forgot to save the link-
“There is love in the household and that the children can depend on the adults to nurture them, guide them, and protect them. That’s family.” I thought it was a very good definition of a family. But I realized just now that it is a non-inclusive one. I think that is the best definition of a healthy family environment for children. Without getting too sentimental, I think a family is one where people are nurtured by each other. Period.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Psst.. come closer
Its Friday today and do you know how I start my weekends every Friday evening? I drool over this awesomeness - Apartment Therapy, I love you. It takes me to far away land where I live in a country house or a cosy cottage. It keeps my fantasies alive. Ok, that was a stretch. It is feast for my eyes. Ok shhh.
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