GENRE: Voices

Recently, the virtual abuse of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, for supporting an interfaith couple, drew attention to the chilling phenomenon of 'trolling' that has seen an exponential rise since the advent of social media. The minister suffered not just verbal, but also relentless sociopathic, emotional slander. In a way, it has been a democratising trend. No one is spared. Anyone who holds a point of view that is different from that of the establishment or the troller has been subject to continuous, intense harrassment and verbal assault on online platforms. A number of well-known names such as Barkha Dutt…

The amount of waste generated while caring for a tiny baby is truly mind-boggling. From single use wipes to disposable nappy pads and diapers, the list is practically endless. Rough estimates suggest that a baby goes through 7000 diaper changes between the ages of zero and three on an average, contributing close to 1,500 kilograms of landfill. Provided it is exposed sunlight and oxygen, a disposable diaper takes somewhere between 200 and 500 years to decompose, making it one of the longer term residents of a landfill. If your head isn’t spinning already, disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid…

This question has been haunting me since 2011. So, I went about trying to understand where all these terminologies come from. Since we live in a device-driven world, let us first look at what is the fundamental difference between electronic and electrical devices. Electrical devices convert electric current into another usable form of energy (e.g., an electric car will convert it into motion), whereas electronic devices manipulate the input power to produce usable outputs (e.g., a laptop that does a myriad of things). Now, when used in plural, electronics as an adjective could either refer informally to an engineering discipline…

Promoting the use of soap nuts to control chemical detergent pollution in lakes is an admirable green initiative. But it is wrong to project that it would totally eliminate the foam at Bellandur lake. This not only is false, but it also deflects the focus away from the real issues plaguing Bellandur lake. The Government of Karnataka has allocated 50 crores to the tasks outlined in the National Green Tribunal's Expert Committee Report. The work on those fronts needs to start soon. The foam issue is very minor compared to heavy metals in the water, which poison both water and food,…

Stories can be told through sound, words and visuals.  Stories expressed through sound are mostly songs and spoken tales.  Novels, short-stories, ballards and poetry are stories expressed with words. Finally combining words, sound and visuals are stories that are told through films, television series, plays and musicals. In today’s context, we could even include videos and other forms of digital content.   "Writing has no barriers. All you need is passion", says Bhavna Singh, a debutante writer. Her book, Story Express, a chronicle of short stories for children, was launched recently. Bhavna Singh is an ardent believer in  inculcating values…

On June 8, Delhi’s peak electricity demand broke all previous records, hitting a new high of 6,934 megawatt (MW) at 3:28 pm on June 8, which was 6 per cent higher than last year’s peak. This is surprising because even though Delhi crossed the 2017 record four times since June 1, it was not even the hottest day of the season! The earlier record of 6,526 MW was set on June 6, 2017, which was a hotter day than June 8, 2018. In fact, Delhi's peak demand has been consistently higher than that of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai taken together during this…

The residents of Sarjapur Road are spoiled for choice. How would you like to get run over today? A speeding bike? An auto? A car or a SUV? Even a truck if you’re lucky. All plying on the WRONG side of the road. It all started when the stretch of the road from the Sarjapur Road Fire Station to Iblur junction was made a no right turn zone - no break in the median for about a kilometre or so. This was done to ease traffic hotspots elsewhere and it HAS served its purpose. The side effect however, given our…

2015 வெள்ளத்திற்கு பிறகு தொடர்ந்து கூவத்தையும், அடையாற்றையும் மீட்டெடுக்கும் பணி குறித்து நாம் தொடர்ந்து எழுதி வருகிறோம். அதில் இருக்கும் சவால்கள், சிக்கல்கள் – குறிப்பாக கூவத்தின் ஓரமும், அடையாற்றின் ஓரமும் வாழ்ந்த மக்கள் மறு குடியமர்த்தப்பட்டதை குறித்தான கட்டுரைகளை நம் தளத்தில் எழுதியுள்ளோம். (இணைப்புகள் கட்டுரையின் முடிவில்) நீர்நிலைகள் மீட்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்பதில் எந்த மாற்றுக்கருத்துமில்லை. ஆனால் அதே சமயம் இங்கு வாழ்ந்த மக்கள் மறுகுடியமர்வு செய்யப்பட்ட அவர்கள் வாழ்விடத்தில் இருந்து தொலைதூரத்தில் உள்ள பெரும்பாக்கம், படப்பை நாவலூர், கூடப்பாக்கம் ஆகிய பகுதிகளில் எப்படி வாழ்கிறார்கள் என்பது மிக முக்கியமான ஒன்று. அடிப்படை தேவையான கல்வி, சுகாதாரம், வேலைவாய்ப்பு – இவை மக்களுக்கு சரியாக கிடைக்கிறதா என்ற கேள்விக்கான பதில் மிக மோசமானதாகவே இருந்து வருகிறது. பெண்ணுரிமை இயக்கம் தொடுத்த வழக்கு குடிசை பகுதி மக்களுக்காகவும், வீட்டு வேலை செய்யும் பெண்களுக்காகவும் தொடர்ந்து போராடி வரும்  பெண்ணுரிமை இயக்கம் இது…

In a city where real estate has been soaring and there is a strong timber lobby, Dipika Bajpai has a tough job. The Deputy Conservator of Forests of Bengaluru has the responsibility to protect the forest blocks of the city and to work on the afforestation project to keep the city green. In a telephonic interview with Citizen Matters, the officer spoke about the lack of a green policy, its repercussions and the challenges of protecting land in a city where space it at a premium. Can you summarise the status of urban forests in Bangalore, their preservation and the…

Living and practising medicine around the IT corridor in Chennai, I get to see many young women, who come to me seeking help for their gynaecological problems. These are women whose educational qualifications would be, at the very least, a basic bachelor’s degree. Many of them hold responsible positions and have a promising career ahead. And yet the one thing that strikes me as completely discordant is their complete lack of education and awareness about their general health, and more specifically their reproductive health. I emphasize on reproductive health not simply because I am a gynaecologist, but because a majority…