Stand Together

I am a frequent user of Meru cabs in Hyderabad. At times I choose them over the more economical Uber and Ola services. Due to the non-stop rains in Hyderabad, I choose to book a Meru to go from Nagaram to Hitec city at 6:10 AM, which is a 34 kms route. Firstly the driver came 5 minutes late and I didn’t complain, like I usually don’t. On the route, he wasn’t just driving fast, he was also arguing with other vehicle drivers who were driving slowly on potholes filled roads. At Trimulgherry junction I asked the driver to take the left towards Paradise but he insisted that the Kukatpally route was faster. I begged him to go on the route I was asking him to take because I was getting late for work. He wasn’t listening so I let it go. At Trimulgherry junction, we waited for the traffic lights to go green for three minutes and I asked the driver once again to go my way. At this point he started shouting at me. If anyone knows me, they know I have very low tolerance for misbehavior, in...

Yes, we women have very alert antennas that keep throwing red flags all day long. There is no escape from this because that is what the world has trained us to do. I remember when I was a child my smile was just a smile, my hello was just a hello and when someone smiled at me I took it as just a smile and when they said hello it was just a hello. Today’s brutal world forces me to overthink. I am well aware that when I smile at a man today it may be interpreted as an invitation to something I don’t want to experience. But I know this does not apply to all men, just those who are guilty of believing that women are not their equals. As an adult I am guilty of questioning the ulterior motive behind the smile of a man, more so when my instinct tells me what kind of smile it is. Women trust their instincts; sometimes our instincts can be wrong. The world has conditioned the minds of women to be alert all the time, even in our sleep. We end up becoming uncomfortable and start overth...

I’m not a movie critic but watching the 60s Bollywood blockbuster Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965) (When Flowers Bloom), has turned me into one temporarily. I used to always think that the period of 1960s-70s was really cool in Indian cinema and the long musical movies always kept me engaged. Jab Phool Khile was successful in thwarting my notions that India was progressive back then. This movie was so successful that the makers of Raja Hindustani (1996) didn’t change the core of the plot while remaking it. Like all the stories back then, the oarsman, who owns a boathouse in Kashmir, falls in love with a rich, America returned educated girl. The girl, played by Nanda comes to Kashmir on a holiday and does everything that an individual on a holiday does. She even chides the oarsman on multiple occasions for not knowing how to behave around women. As suddenly as she arrives, she departs too. The oarsman (the charming Shashi Kapoor) is so smitten by her and wants her to fall in love with...