Taboo - periods

Taboo, in simple terms it means a type of situation that is generally not acceptable by the current mode of society. When I say current I mean something that was expectable in 1900 might not be acceptable as of now and hence that is a taboo. Here I am trying to pull in few topics of taboo that are grossly present in Indian society and share my thoughts on the same. So, first topic that I going to pull in is “periods / menstruation” or however you want to term it as.

All of us bleed, at times on our own mistake or at times due to mistake of others, but girls bleed as its her creation and not a mistake. Its just a biological process, something same like a guy masturbating every day just the difference is we enjoy and they don’t.

A mere mention of menstruation takes us a million years back into the dark ages and beyond, we can only see a cloth fill of blood and not a girl in paid. It just disturbs us and nothing more. What is menstruation, a normal bodily function of a healthy female body such a taboo? Why should any girl face humiliation, shame, denial, seclusion and ridicule because her body is performing a biological function that enables her to reproduce someday? Don’t guys have a night fall?

We can think of a hundred and one issues that need to be looked upon, but menstruation isn’t one of them. Little girls who experience their bodies change and grow need guidance and not ignorance, information, help and access to hygienic solutions. Little boys and not so little men need to be taught sensitivity and acceptance towards the plight of their female counterparts. Families need to be rid of superstitions and rigid myths that cause long term harm to a girl’s psyche when she is at her most vulnerable. We are bunch of hypocritical and misogynistic prudes and nothing more than that. We love the beauty of a girl, we want their vagina to satisfy our pole but when she bleeds we turn our face away from her. Is this the love that we commit to her?

How many of us have heard from our parents to change the channel on tv when a advertisement on wisper or stayfree is coming. What should we do, should we go ahead and tell our children also to change the channel or we should sit and explain them that is a medical situation, all girls (beautiful or gul, young or old) suffer this. There is no option but to face this pain. Also, who in India has not heard from mom saying to ur sister that not to step in kitchen or not to visit the temple, when I was young I never got that, but as I grew up, I figured out that girls egg have a history saying that they make her body untidy and impure and hence cant visit temple, what the fuck is this. We consider this to be impure, do we realise our birth is the only time when mother does not bleed, does that mean we are also impure as we are creation of that impurity only. The body which is suppose to be worshiped is disrespected like this? Are we guys ever going to come over thing and feel the pain that breaks her for those 5 to 7 days.

70 percent of women in India cannot afford sanitary napkins, and only 12 percent of the 355 million menstruating women in the country use them. Just 2 percent of women in rural India use sanitary napkins, even though three-quarters of the population lives there. Why can’t we simply accept the fact that menstruating is as natural as rains in the monsoon? Why can’t we support the women during their periods, instead of ignoring them, snubbing them, asking them to stay out of religious shrines, and adding to their pain and misery? We women did not choose their periods, it is just how we are engineered. Besides, periods are not exactly a walk in the park, and these restrictions that are unreasonably imposed upon women only make matters worse.

I have taken lot of stuff from the various articles that I have read over time & I truly feel cleaning of hearts and mind from such impure thoughts is way more important than cleaning your floor.

Be positive to periods! ***

Lanterns, fireworks, lamps and more

A very awaited thought, a festival of light followed with darkness, opps such a sad start to the write up. Nah, I am a lover of all the festivals in India and at same time I have always felt a shine of sadness among people when the festival is on. When we define our country from days of early independence till now, some things that is common is that “rich get richer and poor get poorer”. Who does not agree with this and so the celebration of a festival also changes the trend. Diwali is a festival of light being a symbol of victory of goodness over evil, lighting of lamps across to welcome the goodness and greeting the goddess laxmi so that the money god can stay with us. But is that what happens now? Things have changed, just think of a busy day in streets of Kolkata, I will not say people are not excited but every ones excitement is for a different reason though common cause is Diwali. Rich are busy spending with their high purchasing power leading to increase in price of each possible item that could be bought for few pennies, but who understands time value of money (not all are CA’s). The later u go to buy the products nearer to the even the prices for u as well as others will be doubled as ur need is now way high and time to compromise the need is not there. So rich people this does not matter and they buy all possible items as needed may be requested by the grand mom or the pundits to the requests by the kids at house. All get what they ask and a major puja is conducted burning all that was bought in the havenkundh and then hugging each other wishing happy Diwali. The young blood of the rich people who are not interested in so called pujas burn the money spending on the fire crackers and the kids of the lot are busy looking at the expensive lightings and ladoos. Now the other side of poor people, there are 1000 of comments all across FB saying not to buy the Chinese lamps as that’s detrimental to the benefits of Indian economy, but what will a dad of a small middle class family will do ? He can only afford to buy such lights as that’s the only thing that will get smile on his kids face. Fireworks will burn holes in his pockets and high calostrol ladoos will surely suck his blood. Few earthen lamps and some small crackers for his kids and smile on the kids face is the only happiness that parents have on the day of Diwali. Middle class and lower call also does puja but there havenkunds are not supported by the desi ghee and saffron. Nothing against the puja or why it’s conducted, the message of Diwali is very clear that to throw the evil within you and get the good human infront. That is what geeta says and that is what all the religion says. It’s a festival we all have rights to celebrate in the way we want but the best way would be to share and to spread the happiness, rich people can spare some ghee for the sweets of poor people and that will be the Diwali that God will also celebrate with us. The human is the god and the day God within us is willing to love all other humans near himself that will be the day this yog can be refrased as a satyoug !! may be its written in all possible religion that this is a kaloug and will end soon, but we are mankind of most developed era, let us all challenge the willingness of the destruction and to make sure we win and turn this kalyog to a place where there is kindness and equality. That is what is required, all religion are same and everyone following any of it are also same, so love all and spread the kindness across the globe...