Saturday, January 17, 2009

Chandni Chowk to Chinese Catastrophe


Yeah....money and time all wasted. Hoped to have a real fun this January with the present King of Bollywood....but sadly enough was completely disheartened!!!
to be honest all curiosity centered around Akshay Kumar, the man who churned out back to back 4 hits in 2007, otherwise seen as a dull year for Bollywood. Not that Akshay completely disappoints....rather in the film what ever moments one would love to remember is presented by this man only!! But what could he do with such a drab and meaningless plot?
Too many spices invariably leads to indigestion...and this one proved the fact only.....
Nikhil Advani used too many chiched Bollywood masala and his film became a complete overdose for us. Two sisters, that too twins seperated when toddler, then they meet, then thet meet their father, then a village oppressed by a tyrant, then comes a reincarnation of their mythcial hero, then a man finding a baby in a basket, then he bringing him up as a dada figure, this eversacrificing dada gives his life to save brother.......isn't that too much?
sita-geeta, mothers of yeater year films making you remember the Nirupa Roy era.........Advani has tried to weave in all in one with a new icing of FENGSHASTRA ( Feng Sui and Vastushastra mixed) and Kung fu....which rather looked like more a camera work than a good action.
Akshay was found in a basket when young by Mithun who brings him up, but Akshay is advised by the Fengshastra master played by Ranvir Shorey to go to China as he is a reincarnation of their mythical hero. Meanwhile Dipika Padukone plays double role, who where separated by goons in China....she has an Indian mother and a Chinese Kungfu expert Father......now Akshay is to save the villagers haunted by Hojo the tyrant, under whom one Dipika works....the other grew up in India, works in Advertisements.
then they meet and all the mumbo-jumbo begins.
Akshay is good. Perhaps the only one "good" in the film....not that there was a dearth of good actors...but they were simply wasted, as is Ranvir Shorey....god knows what made him select this script!!! an actor of his caliber really saddens our heart....this is certainly not a film which is Ranvir's forte, he is made for intelligent comedy or good substantial serious role....he had nothing to do. Akshay does well, really...and we have little doubt about his versatility. Mithun is another one wasted, as he is wasted in the Bengali potboilers. He retains his Bengal's Mahaguru stature with aplomb. Dipika is eye candy....but it would be frustrating if one expects anything more from her. Others are quite forgettable.
Music!!!.....one would not really want to remember once he is out of the theatre......its very very average.
And the much touted action---Akshay again good....but the action heroine???.....its for you to go and watch...

as for how I liked it...

SORRY, Mr. Nikhil Advani...

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Politics Destroying Education

Professor Dipendu Chakraborty is a renowned teacher at Calcutta University , Dept of English. He has retired already, but given his enormous experience, his popularity among the students and his credentials the university decided to keep him on an extension basis.....which means every January he will get an extension for another year.
The students have no doubt gained a lot from this arrangements. He was awarded the prestigious "Sir Gurudas Chair Professor" post.
But recently this old man was simply thrown out of the university just for the reason that he denied to toe the political line followed by the ruling party. Answering on the topic of caste-based reservation in higher studies, to a magazine, he opined that he personally feels reservations should be on the economic ground....caste system should be counted out, precisely that was the fault that sir actually did, and he had to face the music....and ultimate the students are bearing the actual burnt.
The HoD of another department , who happens to be a scheduled caste (with all due respect to them, I have nothing like upper or lower caste beliefs) took this as a personal slur and asked the authorities to look into the fact so that Prof. Chakraborty does not get a renewal of his extension this year.
Understandably enough sir was extremely upset at the turn of the events and he refused to ask for a renewal either. After so many years of contribution, this was absolutely not the kind of treatment that is expected...and interestingly enough none form the English dept stood by him. Another interesting fact may be stated in this place....Prof Chakraborty was categorical in criticizing the ruling party in the Singur-Nandigram issue, though he has long been a member of the party. Even then what more can be expected from a party which is known for showing least respect to veterans....exceptions though are there but only to sadly prove the rule.
But we, the students are made the victim of this political fiasco.
We took Harold Pinter for our special author paper, and only Professor Chakraborty teaches that unlike Eliot or Woolf which is shared by various teachers. No we are left completely in the dark as we are not getting any sort of guidance. Another potent question who will set papers and who will evaluate those?.as no other teachers are appointed for that special paper, if anyone who has no specialization on Pinter will be made to check our answers after the exams....and whats going to come out can well be apprehended.
Why cannot a criticism be taken as a criticism?... Why punish everyone who dares to go the other way? ... why cant these politicians keep their cheap populist activism and their dark desires out of education....why will not this government allow us to have our own decisions?....I can criticize the government...at least I thought so....but Bengal Marxists , I perceive think the other way round....the need a severe booting so that they understand the enormousness of their wrong doings.....Who will be the HoD will be instructed, Who will be the VC will be decided from the party head quarters.....even a new appointment should require the Alimuddin Street stamp....who cares if he is not a Pinter specialist?...after all students will suffer.....they need a psychophant...and the party interest will be served na? They will be able to keep the teachers' body under their control, another supporter at the university will ease their way to the CU Senate...and much more.........
who cares at the dropping status?...who cares about the regularly falling teaching quality...I have no problem in confessing that it is utter torturous to go through some of our teachers' classes....neither they can guide us through the texts nor they can offer us better critical discussions.....so pathetic is the condition...and added to this is the class room politics...or better students politics which is again in some way supported by these teachers.....so that's a different story.....and I'll definite say that any other day
So there lies the importance of a "petwa" teacher....and Prof. Chakraborty's recent criticisms was enough to earn the ruling party's wrath......so this small situation provided them the opportunity ......
shame on this government.....shame on those who are at the helm of affairs, at CU.....they think of their berths only while the betterment of the students would have been their prime concern....but sadly that's simply a back bencher under CPM-ruled Bengal.....sad story indeed....but in Marxist state, politics first stupid!!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Winter On ... Thanda Gone

A new phenomenon is sweeping this land..........Winter on but thanda gone....its so sad na? well its my favorite season....no sweating, no panting.....I mean I hate working, and what can be more precious than a lazy winter day?......easing on my couch with story books or soft music under the warm kombol?......but alas.....no kombol this time....this extraordinarily devilish climate is not allowing me to do that.....where is that thanda thanda cool cool climate afteral?

well.......this is not all about pondering what winter generally symbolise or what images it generally associate with itself......its undoubtedly an issue of grave concern........we, as we do in all other matters, talk too much, show off our intelligense and our superb analytical power......our GYAN to be precise.......but do very very little so as to have the actual desiered effect, put on a grim look and like a sage comment on the impending doom if we fail to check what we all know as global warming......
ask any one....." ki bolen, aj kal thanda temon porchhei na.?".....the prompt answer will be "GLOBAL WARMING dada"....ask whats that......well...never dared to do so....fearing to be left lurching in the dark....lolzzzz
we will lecture others about the evils of global warming....and stepping out of the conference room would never hesitate to light a cigarette....after all we are all intellectuals....and "mathay dhoa na dile thik bhabna gulor prosar hoy na"

so we go on....polluting.....out government with its blind love for kata-tal driven auto....and lojjhore old buses....felling trees....and never bothering to plant a new we are constantly adding to the brown smoke over Asia......and calling our own doom....
how funny it looks na?...when we find people raving storms in tea cups over the issue whether this world will be demolished within next 20 years!!!!!

what a pity!!!
we take heroic valour in devouring over the news paper to see minimum temperature soaring to 19 degrees C on a mid January day...and pondering how that may add fodder to our intellect filled discussions at college canteen....or even intensify the puffs at the office tea table.......

unless we change....officially winter will be on for even a few more years.....but thanda will be absolutely gone for ever before we are burnt to death....not literally....lolzzz

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Saluting Ashapurna Devi On Her Birth Centenary


Sorry......for being late in writing ....as I said earlier.....What I think, reality takes me just in the opposite direction....

I'm late in writing about one of the finest writers of my vernacular literature of the ages.....my favorite author...Ashapurna Devi
January 8, 2009 was her birthday... She turns 100...physically she is no more...but she still lives through her works.....her vibrant advocacy for empowerment of the marginalized.....an endless fight against the imbecile superstitions and malpractices in the name of religion...

Ashapurna was never taught in the established mode of education....she was majorly what is called self-taught. possessing a sensitive mind that she had......it was her pleasure to know people and learn their language ....that is what we get to see....as days changes,,,,her language molds itself,.........but she remains firm in her unflinching loyalty towards uplift of the women and other social issues...
it was early 20th century that ushered in Ashapurna...and quite understandably it was not absolutely free from the superstitions and thinking of the just past century. Not far from then were women made suttee burning her on her husband's pyre, child marriage, inhuman rules for the widows were followed....and her time was even not free from these evils......
even women were denied education.....even if they were allowed then household crafts....but not novels and classics...as women were thought to be intellectually weaker.
Ashapurna was up in arms against these practices.....her writings brings out the pathetic condition of the women.......and how women are used against women by patriarchy!!!.poor women, denied of education internalized what family patriarch taught them and for them even those women who dreamt of freedom and education were forces of evil....Ashapurna is most humane in picturing this day to day mundane routine of the women folk of the society.....and her might lies in her simplicity......we are forced to take notice and think...
She was pushed to the periphery by the mainstream writers during her time as being feminist writer...writing for women only.....and Ashapurna used that to her advantage and declared her tirade against the evils of the phallo-centric society and she gifted Bengali literature one of the most memorable trilogy
Pratham Pratishruti--Subarnalata--Bakulkatha.

In
Pratham pratishruti, Satyabati is none other than Ashapurna herself....we can never know Ashapurna if we cannot delve deep in to the character of Satyabati.....she is not merely the heroine of Pratham Pratishruti, she symbolizes the new aspirations of that time. It was the time of Second World War, and the fierce struggle that Indians fought for independence....and the nationalist movement in a large way brought indian women out from their private space into the public sphare....or at least showed them the way.....so a new hope, a new dream was there for the women....and this new women finds beaituful representation in Satyabati.....isn't she Indian Nora (ref Ibsen's A Doll's House) when she leaves her house to seek her own fortune when betrayed by her husband?
The promise of woman emancipation that was uttered by Satyabati in Pratham Pratishruti, was carried forward by her daughter Subarnalata in
Subarnalata....and that finds a concrete shape in Bakul in Bakulkatha....or does she really finds?
she tries, she fights....but they r still subjugated....but Ashapurna could rise the question at least which down the ages have made the women more and more aware of their rights....and thus remains her contribution to Indian Feminist movement.....in a true way to woman empowerment....she has written more than 100 novels...and hundreds of short stories and her women, her marginalized characters all remains examples of the social injustice......there lies her greatness....she is very much one of us.....in the drawing room adda style she has shown where our fault lies.......its not only through feminist slogans and organizing seminars that i think will be enough to pay homage to this flame of justice....this great author whose pen sang the groly of the most inglorious people......lets internalize the world that Ashapurna dreamt of...and that way we can only salute her....

NAAMHEEN

NAAMHEEN



Aamar Ghormoy Taar Bichoron
Sneho makha duto chokh
Kachhe dakar akhuti...
Kontho swore kokhono shrinkholito nodir torongo hillol
Kokhono ba baNdha heen bishad probahomaan ...
Antohswar shunyo protidhwoni.


Ami take kokhono dekhini,
Kinmba dekhechhi!!
Bhashaheen, nirakar ... sudhu chhayapot
Him sheetol haate elo melo korechhe amar chul.
Sporshe jhonkrito hoyeche amar shorir---
Dhushor thoNter nirob shobdo sunechi kaane...
Se chiro-birajoman
Abornoniyo ek moha-shunyota ...



Jedin se amay chhere chole gechhe,
Tarpor aaro ekjon...
Tarpor eker por ek.......
Sedin esechilo pratham
Shorirer rondhre rondhre ashoriri protichchhobi...
Amake kore khoto-bikkhoto
Nijer theke nijeke bichyuto
Asha- durashar dolachole
ChuNye diyeche shihoron......

Ke se?
Ami jani na---
Bondhu noy, shotruo
Sudhu ek okhondo ondhokar
Naamheen...

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Polluting Autos : Unions and Dirty Politics

Kolkatans now exist as undigested particles in the stomach of the union giant. The pollution spitting auto is still on, thanks to our dadas and didis.....and they will continue to curtail our life span.....with their wonder discovery kata-tel.......and what not!!

Auto rickshaw has already become a kind of nightmare in Kolkata...but even then there are no other choice....given the pathetic condition of Kolkata's traffic. The public transpot system is in shambles and we have a great minister heading the department who turns his own words in to a sad irony. Once this Subhas Chakraborty claimed that he can do anything except making a dead man alive.......what a poor estimation!! He cannot even reign in the reckless auto drivers......he accepts the fact that more illegal autos ply the city's roads than the legal ones...and he does nothing..........

its all dirty politics...these autowalahs have always remained a strong base of the ruling party and annoying them would only jeopardise their constant stay in the state masnad. In the process it has given birth to one of the most arrogant, ill-mannered, law breaking and out right irritating clan of these auto-walahs. And to do their favour has arrived the unions....one thing we can do if not anything else is to form union......select a few foul-mouthed people and make them stand on the dias a shout ear-insulting speeches....and gather some psychophants who only knows how to clap well. The union is formed.....and what these dadas or the didis will say is irrefutable and that will earn the parties their vote...and these people their somewhat livelihood....
This time around.....when the Government seemed to be trying to do something on this polluting auto aspect....the transport minister acted a perfect joker as probably he himself didn't remember what he said the earlier day!!!....and he is perhaps yet to make up his mind which way to go...and that has given rise to an utter anarchy....and in the midst of all these has descended Bengal's favourite didi.......with her never ending penchant for doing good for the poor!!!....
In the process pf this dirty poltics, its the common citizens who are suffering.
The parties need votes and these auto-walahs will do that for them.....and may do even extra.......after all who will carry the voters to the booth for the parties???
but we?...the general citizens?.....probably our fault is we don't belong to any union that will act this way or the other......
but these politicians forget....an invisible common man army acts all the time..... if they think that saving these illegal autos and their handful owners will reap them gains in the ballot-boxes, then simply they are fooling around.......the may save those illegal elements...but common man is always more and more powerful...think for them...that will serve u better,.....

but alas this largest democracy gives us no choice.....even if we don't vote.....these auto-walahs will do that for us....and if we do then for whom?.....no rulers and oppositions here.....its about grabbing unions and all of them are eyeing the same rout....what a pity!!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Ghajini : An Endless Tale of Unbelievable Brutality


My first day of the new year was good.....enjoyed the day with close friends and family members.....and yes watched the new phenomenon in the country...Ghajini.
Aamir Khan movie---that was enough I suppose to pull the crowd and New Empire ran houseful......
the man behind Taare Zamin Par.....the man leading Lagan and Dil Chahta Hain....I was, to be frank waiting eagerly for what this man brings out this time.....and to be more frank.......this new venture was a pretty much forgettable one for me.....
so violent....so brutal.......so inhuman....and so unreal!!!!!
the man who deals so delicately with the issue of a child suffering from dyslexia, the man who gives such a heart rendering Bhuvan, so modern college-goer's story...can really be the same one who plays the role of Sanjay?.....a man with an iron rod penetrated deep in his stomach getting up and beating the villain to death....and that stabbing has no effect at all as he continues to live!!!!.....his hard earned 8 packs are not enough.....he has to turn one villain's head just the other way round to prove his physical prowess!!!
no doubt we would have loved to believe...afteral it was Aamir and he does his job with aplomb every time....a corporate honcho Sanjay Singhania is as lovable as the cold and brutal Sanjay is fearful....his eyes says it all.....such a beastly glance is sure to run a shiver down your spine......
but still....do in real life so many coincidents happen?...
somehow I felt...in the midst of these unreal scenes, Aamir's superb acting has been demeaned....otherwise Aamir reamins always Aamir...
then there is Asin.....truely the discovery of Bollywood of the year.....she is cute....she is beautiful....she is chirpy......she is lovable......she is smart......she is vulnerable....and she is definitely a good actor........Asin is the real gift of the film...and we wouldn't have minded a rebirth for the heroine if the hero can live even after getting stabbed so "horrendously".
And Jiah Khan...the much hyped sensation of Bollywood....who made debut in a more forgettable film Nihshabd against Big B.....she dissapoints...neither she lookes good...nor she acts....I feel she is an absolute dumb.,..and doesn't know what expression is.....

Music is good...though the music in which Asin is introduced is no match with the original Tamil version.....I got to see that portion today only....and surely the Tamil one is better....but "tu meri adhuri pyass pyass"...."behka mann behka" are good.......the locale of the "adhuri" song is a visual feast....

over all its is a good film...but definitely not one which "in my heart I bore...long after it was (seen) no more"..
so much bloodshed and violence...it is a bit aweful......a little less blood would have done better.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Year Will Change....But..........

2008 is heading towards an end.....as usual....all the previous years ended and all the near and dear ones wished their near and dear ones Happy New Year.
Time for that again....some merriment....year ending bash and accepting the new one with a bang......somehow all has become a part of the custom....whatever it may mean....what ever the going year has meant to them....or what ever the coming one may have in store.

2008 for is like a very forgettable year with some unforgettable events............national, international or personal.

the world got a black Big Boss, developed countries crushed and declared bankrupt, India finalized N-deal with USA, Chandrayan reached moon, Manmohan Singh government scraped through after his Left friends withdrew, Bangladesh returned to democracy.......
And India was marred by repeated terror attacks...worst being 26/11.......Mumbai shook the whole nation...and we salute the brave hearts who belittled their lives so that we could wirte and discuss in safety about their valiant deeds....and as usual our politicians established new new milestones in idiotic gestures and callousness.
and ofcourse Nano left West Bengal and Tata blamed Bengal's favourite didi for his exit while ruling dada licking his wounds.....
DADA left cricket...thereby leaving a huge void in Bengal's icon-all identity.
I got a few new friends, lost some, experienced various things, studied as i have been doing for last 20 years....and yes I turned 23 ....lolzz

2009 approaching....and we hope it will be another year of "alright"....I mean....we accept each and every year with a bang....and all leave us in a limbo...what do we really get?
the New Big Boss will start operationg next year with a new team....but will there be any real effective changes in the world politics?
Democratic Bangladesh will work again....but will that stop infiltration and make us a bit more safe?
well 2009 will see America continuing to boss over, Venezuela rebelling along with Cuba, Britains and India following big brother like obedient younger step siblings, India will have a new government under some obscure leader as the country has been having since time immemorial, Bengal perhaps will see new political reallignment...but that for remaining as it is today......terrorists will continue attacking us, our politicians will fight for their share to grab the situation and put their face on the screen reading condolances, Bollywood will give some duds and some mindless box-office hits....some good films and actors will bag good prizes......new scandals will open up.....some good people will again emerge and a few of them will make it to the news papers ....and even fewer will be rewarded....I will get new friends....definitely lose out some......

well well...my MA part 1 results will be atlast published after many many months....(ouch).....I'll sit for part 2 and results for them will also be out(ouch ouch!!)......me, like thousands will go around jobless...and all will be alright!!!
some good cricketers will retire and media will make them living legends while athletics will go on unnoticed....India will slip a few ranks again in football and some Subhas Chakraborty will try to bring Pele to Kolkata this time.........we will continue to live...some will stop doing that

But who can say?...there may be some thing more....something more exciting......monotony is perpetual...but good can happen any time...and we will live hoping for that.....some day good will usher.....and time will take care of all....and all will be fine....
so welcome 2009.....

a warm and Happy New Year to all........
may 2009 prove to be bit different....with a new lease of life....free from this mediocricity ....
all will be well.......

Happy new year again... :-)

Sunday, December 28, 2008

My Tryst With Nothingness...

Nothing happened today. Probably that is what actually happens in the out and out mundane reality of our daily routine...a magnificent NOTHING!!!

Lazy days often tend to get vicious. It drags you down to those muddy lanes that u would otherwise love to avoid. I tried. Really!! But today I couldn't. Sitting idle and leafing through Collection of
Harold Pinter's Plays I kept thinking what I got since I had a tryst with this wonder machine --computer...
A whole new world has opened up no doubt. A book worm that I used to be, tried something new...shuffling through project works and critics' comments clicking on the internet links. But that has made me all the more lazy...I usually spent my afternoons at the R.K.M library or BCL....and those countless cigarettes and pot full teas....often that provided me a good excuse to sneak out with Paramita!!!.....I didn't say about her till then at home!!! How I miss them...lolzzz
I really cannot don enough courage to smoke at home. Also have developed eye infection with my eyes fixed on the screen for so long....

well....this is an obvious change,...but the biggest one i think lies elsewhere......
well I'm blogging.....so getting a bit social i suppose???
To be frank, nothing can match the change it has occurred to me as a social being!!!
It has brought out the other 'me'. I used to be the shy, introvert guy, who would rarely mix. Had a very close group of friends...and everything with them. My world revolved around them only....they were my life....until this ORKUT happened to me!!

Friends after friends...so many people....so many types.....so many dreams.....its a feast. In no time I became a complete addict. Joining communities...chatting....making new fiends....new hopes......and in the process I have learnt a completely new definition of friendship. Really don't know wrong or right....never thought whether good or bad.....but sure I loved making friends....and as I always do....went on doing till I went overboard.
I was just so silly.... never realized what is possible and what is not...never bothered the fact its reality and it will take the reverse turn invariably.....n I'll fail miserably...
I searched for some long long lost relation. Thought I got that. Loved that. Cherished that. And lost......I failed...my fault....couldn't realize that what was for me somewhat reliving my past....and re-loving those memories, that once I loved so dearly....may just be a liability for another!!! Expected too much attention from someone...who even the other day would have been a stranger...never thought of his obligations...or that he may have his own priories. He has every right to do so.....I was on my fantasy spree. Substituted my real identity with the virtual one and in that make belief reality I was only meandering blind alleys till I realized that I was entrapped in an abyss of magnificent nothingness. I usurped reality. I neglected those who probably had waited for me while I was on my fantasy ordeal. And I was punished. No, I am not a victim. I was only made aware that my world, my identity lies elsewhere. I love my friends. really I do. But i think, I also need to prioritize...at least a bit...as once someone said....I cannot balance all, all are not under my control ... even if I can, I cannot make everyone happy. So better make myself happy...what say? A happy me will automatically cheer up my friends. And those who will still remain gloomy?....well they probably were not my friends at all!!! Yet i'll love them...I cannot help....!

Bangla Begums Battle Out

Today is a big day.....for the Bengalis??

well that's surely a question...

ok lets be true to ourselves....today is indeed a big day for their Bengal.

Bangladesh votes today....n its a straight battle between two ladies.

so the two Bengali Tigress....Shiekh Hasina Wajed and Begum Khaleda Zia.
sure the Bengali Begums are fighting for their pie. Hasina, the eldest daughter of the Father of 'their' nation, n Zia the widow of once President.

we often look for symbol....we remain happy that we grant something symbolically to someone n that means a whole lot of things for them....not only the recipient, but the sect that he or she may represent.
that may be the case here also.The Begums are fighting....one will win....be the PM for next 5 years....they had been....but what about those unsung begums...lakhs n thousands of them? fighting their life out daily .....just for living?

Even in our Bengal, some obscure begum Firoza Bibi will take on the mighty administration early next year in Nandigram.....but will that grant her all that she wants?..or the sect she is representing.....rather aspire to represent all that they thrive for?
do they really thrive for anything?...atleast for themelves?

once i came across an article in a widely circulated magazine Desh that majority of our rural women thinks that their husbands enjoy the right to beat them as they earn the bread for the family.....they dont even realise only earning will never do alone unless they r cooked well n their lies her contribution too.
Moreover who has ever said she cannot be the bread earner?
Firoza bibi is a symbol...she the bereaved mother of a martyr.....mother of a son who laid her life in the fight for land.....she has been nominated just for that tag....n nobody has any problems admitting that. But what she is?
a mother who had spent endless nights giving her son a sound sleep...or atleast tried to do so?
a wife who silently followed the orders of the patriarch probably and became a mother?
now a mother who would reap gains for someone else...but why not for her?....why not for those endless number of women who never even think that they are individuals?...that they have a life that they have every right to live in their own way?...why not?

we talk so much....and we remain happy thinking that women r doing so well in every front...but does a Sobhaa De or an Arundhati Roy or for that matter a Medha Patekar or those hugely powerful Bengali Begums do anything for them?
will they ever make them realise what they have achieved, could have been achieved by those unsung heroines if they were provided the same opportunities?..will they ever take part in their daily battles against poverty? against those inhuman strictures thrust upon them by this phallo-centric society?
probably no....because they even relish the fact these women are downtrodden....n just because they are there they have something to do....something to project n reap their own gains.
That may sound harsh, but isnt that true?
Is feminism all about how comfortably a woman can wear a skimpy dress n walk down Garihat Road?...well nothing against a super short dress...but what would a Firoza Bibi know about a male gaze?
its a part of their life, and they unknowingly they know that it happens....why they know not...will these "powerful" women ever take the hardship to let her know that har body is hers only n not for male gaze?
I came across a friend whose family was against love marriage because "the girls who fall in love r voluptuous....good ones wait for arranged marriage".....laughing?
buts its true dear....eradicating this is an uphill task.....it is never sufficient to qiuz a made up beauty about man-woman relationship and male gaze and publish them in Page 1.

today the Bengali Begum will definitely get their due...one will win...another will not lose certainly....
But Begum Bangla probably will continue to fight....unless we the so called voice lenders of women empowerment realise that work lies in the field...and not in those AC rooms......
Firoza Bibis will continue to remain symbolic for someone else's power.....and we will be secured that we have mothers n sisters n wives to reap us our gains but never asking for a share in our glory.