Stand Together

This article has information I may have missed in my previous post Repatriation to Hyderabad . I traveled to Hyderabad, India from Johannesburg, South Africa on a repatriation charter flight organised by the India Club in Johannesburg On the Day Travel All passengers will be asked to assemble at a designated location, where you will register. You will each be assigned to a bus and the bus number will be communicated to you before the day of travel. In the bus you may be provided with masks, gloves, sanitisers and lunch. You may also be given a Govt. of India form, please ask for three such forms per person as you will need to submit these at your destination airport. At O R Tambo International Airport When your bus reaches the airport, you will each be given a Department of Home Affairs  (DHA), South Africa, form to fill, before you get off the bus. All your luggage will the be lined up outside the airport and you will be asked to locate your luggage and leave your cabin ...

I traveled to Hyderabad on 21-22 June 2020, from Johannesburg, South Africa, on a repatriation-chartered flight organised by India Club South Africa , the  High Commission of India and Satguru Travels . This was not a Vande Bharat Mission flight. If you, like me, are forced to book your tickets through Satguru Travels, there is information in this article that will reduce some travel induced stress. No matter what quarantine options Satguru Travels offer you, you will be given better options at Hyderabad Airport. Now, let’s begin… When Your Flight Lands Have lots of patience. When your flight lands in Hyderabad, stay in your seat as the airport staff will distribute the necessary forms you need to fill while you’re still in the plane. Fill the forms with a clear handwriting when still in the plane. This is the clever thing to do and ensures smooth processing. You will be asked to fill two forms and three copies of each of the two forms, which is six forms per passenger,...

My first memory is that of a hot summer day, when I walked among the green fields in the village, where there was always plenty. In that fond memory, I am clearly not alone, there are other children and some adults, all sitting under a massive tree and resting. What a stark contrast to the construction site where I lay bricks and concrete now. It is another hot day but Mumbai’s humidity makes it unbearable. The sun catches the silver ring on one of my fingers and I am reminded of Mamatha and the tree under which I teased her for putting the ring on my finger. There was so much greenery and I never appreciated it. The nostalgia helps me through the day and allows me to hope that I can return to the green fields when my job at the construction site is done – return home, at least for a few days of rest. Mid-March It is just mid-March, but the heat and humidity already affect me. I am dehydrated and yet I need to work to send money home. I am worried. What worries me are the stories a...

Most nights I lie awake thinking of all the stories I read in the day, of women and children being prosecuted and abused, and how I could do nothing to help them. Last night I lay awake thinking about the days when I didn’t have to struggle with such thoughts. The only time I didn’t have such thoughts is when I was in primary school. As always, one thought lead to another and I began to marvel at the fact that my school was run only by women – a diverse group of catholic nuns and women teachers. I spent 12 years at St. Ann’s High School Tarnaka, from the age of 3 to 14 – the foundation years of my life, and I spent them in the company of girls from different backgrounds, all of us being educated by the same set of empowered nuns and teachers. I had taken for granted their ability to run a school of about 3000 girls, because they always made it look so effortless. Today, as a working professional, I realise, what a mammoth undertaking it is to successfully run a large school and ensur...

What kind of a disgusting world are we living in, and what sort of a despicable population we are that we are finding it alright to encourage the already deep-seated misogyny in the name of fun. For the uninitiated, “Aunty Aun Kya” shouting events and flash mobs are based on one of the crassest music videos featuring a primitive cave man with the narrowest and the most pervert mind-set ever – just like most Indian men. I am not linking the said music video to this article as I find it thoroughly revolting. In the video, this idiotic moron describes in full perversity the body of a middle-aged woman, her clothes, and how he plans to rape her in order to rock her world. I couldn’t get through most of the video as it sadly made me want to violently shake up the dimwit who created this video and the millions of idiots who have endorsed it. Yes, India is endorsing this junk by participating in shouting events and flash mobs. Here is why I think it is wrong. The video: Object...

Men have always found ambitious women intimidating, which is why in most cases they cannot accept us. My interaction with most men leaves a sour taste as I don’t allow them to takeover or lead a conversation. This is the daily reality of women in leadership and management positions around the world, but when we are your client, we do expect you to shut-up and listen, as you would listen to a client that is male. In less than a month I have had two hilarious encounters with male representatives of companies that my organisation is looking at as potential partners, vendors or suppliers. Before I tell you a couple of silly stories, allow me to give you a background on where I work. I am employed at one of South Africa’s biggest training companies , which is owned by a woman and has an all-woman staff. The reason they are no men in this company is because the aim is to help bridge the enormous pay gap between men and women and different races, and also to promote gender equalit...

I and my husband have created a family tradition out of movies. On each of our birthdays we get to choose a movie to watch in the cinema, and the other will just have to watch it irrespective of the genre. On my birthday a few days ago, I chose the movie ‘The Viceroy’s House’ , directed by Gurinder Chadda.  My husband is a South African man of Indian ethnicity. The history of his country is not the history of my country and he is not really aware of India’s colonial past. He does not yet know how magnificent India was before the British invaded us, but he is aware of the legacy of colonialism. Movies such as ‘Lagaan’ showed him that the British were racist, unjust and evil, but ‘The Viceroy’s House’ told him a different story. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie my husband said his blood was boiling in anger at the way Indians were being treated in their own country. His reaction to the movie was an eye opener for me and I felt a cold stab because I was only watchi...