With the AIR family, Vijayawada

For the first time, I entered the premises of All India Radio office in Vijayawada, located just on the main road that runs through the city center - which I saw several times when I passed by, down the years. The entire community that lives(works, in a formal sense) within this quiet building appeared to me as a cheerful family. They welcomed me, greeted me and shared valuable time with me. It was unexpected and came as a sweet surprise this day.

I thought I was called just to record an interview but realized that there was a bigger picture only when I saw the entire family shared thoughts from experiences and there was an emotional bond amongst like-minded people. Like-minded coz, they were members of a happy family as I wish to see everyone as. There was exchange of thoughts, intellectual ideas at the micro-scale and almost thirty people did get an opportunity to voice little ideas - very valuable to me. I shall treasure this experience for the warmth and affection of uncles and aunts there - for being one among them for a while on this special day.

There were different flashes from their daily life - the recording room, the FM station. I found them to be quite well-equipped in comparison to the commercial stations which are housed in less than a normal-sized room space. Everyone took turn to say a word of encouragement and little caution and also gave me a feel of a sense of responsibility.

I did carry back home the images of the women staff in the office, along with a big garlanded portrait of Indira Gandhi. The unit was home for some reason, maybe for the smiles and warmth of all the members, who accompanied me and treated me like a daughter. Happy I was a family member there today.

Yester Evening Felicitation

Had great time last evening. Acquaintances and friends in Vijayawada gathered for a party and there was festive mood at the Swarna Palace. I delivered my first speech as an I.A.S. selectee, apart from the row of interviews I gave last week to the media people. Spoke from my heart, as a woman. Spoke about my existence, my identity, Mr. VIJAYA KUMAR's eldest son.
My entire family was present there. Thanked everyone who wished me this success and had faith in me. It will surely remain a sweet memory. My parents were crowned on my achievement. I owe it to them, their blessings and prayers.

Several people did hint me on the assignments I have to take up in future and the Minister for Rural Development, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has graced the occasion and delivered a good piece of lecture.

A day I looked forward for ages...it did happen. A dream come true indeed!

HRD Minister felicitated on Saturday

The Hindu : NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : Purandeswari's patfor IAS ranker

Ex-CM came home!

The Hindu : NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : Naidu pats Hepsiba

I banked upon THE HINDU

The Hindu : NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : Credit goes toThe Hindu,says Civils ranker

Success or Subservience...?

I had a thought this morning. What do men want most from their women or from the man’s woman for life? Do they wish for success unparalleled or success in obedience to the supreme Lord of their life?

Strangely men who lack mystery wish for women to be submissive to them and be successful in life as a meek receiver of the bounties of being one’s wife. But surely men with utmost courage and undying trust in their partner will desire for a successful wife – unparalleled to the contemporary ladies and an inspiration for the kids at home and in the locality at the least. Men are often dreadful of successful partners for they become more conscious of their identity vis-à-vis the woman which if low, is still considered as demeaning in the Indian society.

Now, what kind of men do women have to wish for, in such a state? Wish for a man who desires her to be less successful than Him or compromise on the career goals and keen ambitions she nurtured since childhood? Some women discard all the high ambitions to cherish the love of her man unto eternity (though not assured for all subservience), while others expel ideas that can strain families and surrender in meekness for the glory of being called the faithful wife for life.

Suddenly, the contemporary woman is in a fix – unsolvable and uncertain, for nothing can be predicted perfectly about relationships and private affairs. Ultimately, it happens that the man has his will asserted to solve the fix and resolves the issue for his woman most responsibly – which may not be the wishful choice of the follower of the man for a lifetime.

Sad, but very true in case of most women in our society and the contemporary women ought to strive for victory at home first before they leap to experience the joys of accomplishment as they aspire. And genuinely, the successful woman/the man’s wife will want to share this joy with the man of her life and in his praise blissfully.

Shaky Reality: Must read

The Hindu : Opinion / Open Page : Our farmers are dying, to hell with the World Cup

Murhabazi Namegabe is the Winner

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Congolese activist wins World Children's Prize

alternatives...

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : An alternative to nuclear power

not a Memory...but a Warning!

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Twenty-five years after Chernobyl

Imagine...
The world, our home, that is free,
And not a home to nuclear lobbyists,
But greener for children to spree,
It is the hour to join the peace activists,
With genuine concern and contemplation,
To voice the cause of mutual association,
And reiterate,
The cause for the survival of the humanity.

You Needed Me by Anne Murray

Accents in the Eye....

         Thomas Hardy remarked – ‘It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs’.

           Interestingly, the entire history of the mankind has been scripted by great men. It has been the story of MANKIND by MEN. While they did script the moral fiber for the women and fabricated her disposition in totality – they have probably denied her ‘her space’. She did not voice her anguish for several ages; she was an incarnation of the suppressed sounds; and silence was celebrated as the essence of her existence. In spite of her concealed nature (imposed concealed nature, I must say), she passed down history through the memory lane, and certainly she has been the wheel who channeled all communication and imparted us the “MOTHER TONGUE”.
           The paradox here is that she was voiceless….and the feelings were let out in the MALE tone – chiefly made by men, to express their emotions. Pondering over this thought for some time, I comprehend that – though women were mediums of communication and transmitters of vocabulary since times immemorial – they have neither sought to patent their terminology nor attempted to colonize the spaces of speech. They were limited to the quiet spaces, re-imposing the subtleness of the “woman’s nature”, yet again.
          Dialogue and discourse are still not the qualities of women. She still enjoys singing soothing songs for her little ones – lullabies, and perseveres to preserve the gentleness of her tone of voice effortlessly. Her emotions lack natural accents, are influenced by the mainstream noise (of the men around) and she stays alive with her sweet voice, fitting perfectly into the established notions of being a WOMAN.
          Men lack mystery, people often say. May be it could be related with this very denial of expression of the right of being heard for the womenfolk. While men have designed vents to their ideas and ideals in the mainstream voices, women lack this natural pleasure. Only the privileged lot, among the fairer sex seems to voice their opinions in the present times. Truly, a great effort, worthy of all appreciation.
          One of the famous quotes of Thomas Hardy that I cherish the most, is a reminder of the mystery that women possess to the entire MANkind. Men fail to listen and acknowledge, not just the audible speech, but the entirety of the woman’s emotions persistently – an array of emotions, uniquely hers. Thomas Hardy remarks – “There are accents in the eye which are not on the tongue, and more tales come from pale lips than can enter an ear. It is both the grandeur and the pain of the remoter moods that they avoid the pathway of sound”.

Jan Lokpal: A Super-monster-in-making?

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Jan Lokpal: an alternative view

Copy Editing - Through Quality Writing

What do copy editors do? I have had this doubt lingering in my head for some time. Finally, I gather some ideas and give them a form here. And I ask myself again: what do copy editors do? Do they summarize or paraphrase documents or have distinct goals as editors do?
Yes, I believe they have distinct goals like editors generally do. They review, choose, select and fit in the finest substance in the final stages of a document. They possess the art of Quality Writing – which has a uniqueness of its own. Writing, with no errors in the content’s spelling, logic, grammar, grasp or structure, and fabricating the subject matter to speak out and be clear, as if the subject matter has a life and personality of its own.
Copy editors essentially do thorough analysis with respect for the writer’s accent. The editor’s exactitude – exactness, precision and accuracy, comes through extensive experience and meticulous reading. Editors have to gain the trust from their writers, for their content; ensure that the writer’s voice is not detracted; sustain the stylistic consistency and the writer’s distinctive voice.
Standard copy editing functions include corrections for spelling, grammar, including rephrasing sentences, references and footnotes, for technical accuracy and placement of citations, captioning to illustrate the essence and ensure consistency – the presentation and usage of all the elements of a the text.
A style sheet or a layout is the crony of an editor undoubtedly. Scrutinizing the subject on the editor’s style sheet will maintain accuracy and achieve excellence in texture and design. Querying carefully, respectfully and appropriately will promote the articulacy of the writer to a great extent.
The essential point the editors have to bear in mind constantly throughout their exercise is that the writer or the author is the final authority. The editor’s expertise should do no harm for the intent and enunciation of the authors. Discerning the intent of the author and articulating the accents lies at the heart of all copy editing.

Cancer Biography wins Pulitzer - 2011

The Hindu : Arts / Books : Indian American’s book on cancer wins Pulitzer Prize

Indian-American physician Siddhartha Mukherjee’s acclaimed book on cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, has won the prestigious 2011 Pulitzer Prize in the general non-fiction category.

According to the Pulitzer citation, the book by the New York-based cancer physician and researcher is “an elegant inquiry, at once clinical and personal, into the long history of an insidious disease that, despite treatment breakthroughs, still bedevils medical science“.

It is a profoundly humane “biography” of cancer — from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the 20th century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Environment Issues

The Hindu : States / Kerala : India should join consensus on Endosulfan ban: Vandana Shiva

Female Literacy in India - Short Notes

Just jotted down few lines....someone prompted me to give a small write-up on female literacy in India....some notes on the issue.

With the enumeration process steadily recording data of our country, a quick idea of the last census is essential. According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.
       Though this seems to be hopeful, we are yet miles away from the vision of establishing a KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY – a dream shared by our former President Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam too. The Right to Education is now a constitutional right to ensure the creation of a knowledge community – of both men and women. Yes, Women!!! The women populace of our country has not progressed like their male counterparts. The National Literacy Mission lists a variety of factors to be responsible for poor female literate rate historically in our country, viz, gender based inequality, social discrimination and economic exploitation, occupation of girl child in domestic chores, low enrolment of girls in schools, low retention rate and high dropout rate.

 The level of literacy has a direct impact on women’s lives, on their families’ lives and on their country’s economic development. Several studies show that literate women have low levels of fertility and mortality, better nutritional status, higher earning potential, and more autonomy within the household. Autonomy is defined as decision making power within the home, economic and social self-reliance, confidence in interacting with the outside world (Jejeebhoy, 1995). A woman’s lack of education also has a negative impact on the health and well being of her children. For instance, a recent survey in India found that infant mortality was inversely related to mother’s educational level. Additionally, the lack of an educated population can be an impediment to the country’s economic development.

          It could be observed as a matter of fact that the states which recorded low female literacy rate than the female literacy rate at national level (Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar and Jharkhand) are also the states with average literacy rate lower than the national average of 65.4%. Literacy rate of SC females compared to general population was much lower in the states of Bihar (15.58%),Jharkhand (22.55%),Uttar Pradesh (30.50%) and Rajasthan (33.87%) in 2001 and continues to be worrisome in the case of the ST females in many states. The percentage of learners of SCs and STs under literacy Campaigns are 23% and 12% respectively concluding the need to promote effective literacy missions among the less-privileged sections of our population and with a special focus on the females is essential beyond any doubt.

          The 15^th census provisional population totals are available, and it is time for adequate action in this direction to improve female literacy. The literacy rate for males and females works out to 82.14 per cent and 65.46 per cent respectively. The increase in literacy rate in males and females during 2001-2011 is in the order of 6.88 and 11.79 percentage points respectively. It is encouraging to note that out of total of 217,700,941 literates added during the decade, female 110,069,001 outnumber male 107,631,940.

More relevant statistics in this regard is to analyze the gap between male and female literacy rates. The gap of 21.59 percentage points recorded between male and female literacy rates in 2001 Census has reduced to 16.68 percentage points in 2011. Planning Commission has set up target of reducing this gap to 10 percentage points by the year 2011-2012. The States/Union Territories which have achieved male-female gap in literacy rate of 10 percentage points or less are Chandigarh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Lakshadweep, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The effective literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh has improved from 60.5% in 2001 to 67.7% in 2011. There has a significant increase in the effective female literacy rate in the state from 50.4% in 2001 to 59.7% in 2011. The effective male literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh has also shown a gradual increase from 70.3% in 2001 to 76.6% in 2011.

A revision of the population figures after a decade calls for a re-look at our policies and missions to secure the future of the girl child. Education remains the right move in the right direction by consensus. There is an urgent need to enhance the access to education amongst the female population. Amartya Sen aptly calls Development as Access. And all efforts deliberated to expand and strengthen the access will certainly mark the realization of the developmental goals at the grassroot levels.

Urbanomics: China Vs India on demographic dividend

Urbanomics: China Vs India on demographic dividend: "The one area where India scores decisively over China - being on the right side of the long-term demographic profile. Its working population..."

Jai Bhim!!!

April 14th....undoubtedly, a day of celebration for the depressed classes across our country. Several people choose to garland statues of Ambedkar and speak on his victorious life. This morning I chose to sit and read one of his writings to celebrate the birthday of a champion.

I googled for some time...read an article in wikipedia....where i found a link to his incomplete book "Waiting for a Visa". Not much available on wikipedia about this book - just 4 lines or so. I was eager to read this particular book...as it was not edited or published but existed in his original writing/language.

Finally, I was lucky to find excerpts, quite detailed, from the book in the following link:

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_waiting.html

Thanks to Prof.Frances Pritchet for making the writings available and the bracketed descriptive titles.

Six short experiences described by Ambedkar, very absorbing and thought-provoking. They depict the real histories of millions of our ancestors. Worth reading...give it little time.