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Talk at Women's Studies Dept., BU

In June, this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at the Women's Studies Department, Bangalore University, thanks to my friend, Sudeshna Mukherjee. Sudeshna has been there for many years now, is a seasoned scholar, and steers the department beautifully. I spoke about my own research and how I had made some unconventional choices, quite fearlessly, stated what my worries were, and what prices I had paid and so on. I encouraged the students to list these even as they were doing their MA or PhDs. To know what is at stake before taking important decisions about one's work is definitively empowering. It was an interesting afternoon session, with students hailing from LSE to nearby villages. They had interesting questions for me on ideology, interpretation and feminism. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Sudeshna--her insights into classroom dynamics, recruitment issues nowadays that plagues the Social Sciences and Humanities, and the surprises teaching Women&#
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A man called P

P was a great guy. The care he showed to his grandmother, made me think that he was a loving guy. The girl who marries him was a lucky one, I thought to myself. "Jesus Christ", he would say every now and then, I carried that habit with me to India, and curse myself upon saying it. P's parents were separated. I looked closely at him, to see if it had scarred him. Nah, he said. And you? He asked. "I too was like you for many many years, until it got to me." He shook his head in dissapproval. I spoke of my research and told him it was about enlightenment. We began to say something about Meditation together. He then gave me what was the most cynical expression his face could ever conjure up, saying "it leads nowhere". I smiled. I wished some Buddhist or Zen techniques helped us connect things and take off from Patanjali Yoga. That would do so many people good. 6 years or so ago, my brother and I would have given that same cynical look to anyone seem
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Before Sunrise, Before Sunset

First WB and then World Movies showed Before Sunset and Before Sunrise some months ago; two movies that can be seen independent of each other but are also good when watched sequentially. This movie manufactures tears in my body, but does not help with expelling it. Such is its sense of humour. Not sad at all, not happy surely--and not classifiable in those terms at all. The colour this movie splashes about is the colour of truth. An exploration into the myriad forms of love, disappointing relationships and my favourite part: a prophecy lived out. I seriously recommend this movie to those amateurs among us who have seen few movies, little life and even less of relationships. I cannot help saying that, and sounding imperious! Art makes us better and these movies are ART. But, of course, it takes a long long time to even understand art and then benefit from it. Like everything else, it also possesses the ability to violate us. Art makes better human beings because it provides for us
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