India Untouched: a comprehensive look at Untouchability

By portraying the gravity of discrimination featuring in eight states and four prominent religions, ‘India Untouched–Stories of a People apart’ acts as a wake-up call for all those who deny the existence of untouchability in India today. It critiques the justification of this systematic oppression through the flawed interpretations of Banaras scholars who claim that Dalits have no right to education, and Rajput farmers who proclaim that no Dalit may sit in their presence and that the police must seek their permission prior to pursuing complaints against atrocities.

As long as the notions of ‘pollution’ and ‘purity’ linger in the minds of people, caste-discrimination will prevail in India, the way racism still survives in USA. The film presents a vicious circle of lamentations of the ostracized, with little to say about the historical or present-day political realities of their situation.

With 1.22 billion Indians following multiple cultures, traditions, religions and etiquette, we might not need a revolution to end this social evil of 4000 years. The answer lies in accepting the simple one liner that ‘All Humans are Equal’.

 –Reported by Sajan Tom, I PSEng; Edited by Vidya MG, II CEP

When those thoughts are voiced!

Name: Elizabeth Rani

It is very difficult to run the family with the meagre income that we get. My children have been studying well for three years now. They have improved a lot. Yes! I am a part a Sanga. Leaders are elected every year. The organisation is very good. It helps us in getting loans. My only prayer is that my children should not suffer like us and should settle in life.

Name: Amrutha S

Our income is low but we are happy nonetheless. We cannot pay for tuitions with the income that we get. The CSA tuitions are really good. Gents cannot be advised by us. I hope our children will come to the forefront; they should be independent.

Name: Reeta Mary

The waves of joy and sorrow are inevitable in life. If not for Again, we wouldn’t be existing today. They help us a lot. The more the principle, the lesser the interest. We want our children to stand in their own legs and enjoy life. We are suffering now due to lack of education.

Name: Rameshwari; Class: 9^th

I am learning English from the volunteers and I’m very happy about that. They have helped me overcome the embarrassment in speaking English. In the past, I used to roam around, doing nothing. Now I have changed a lot, thanks to CSA. I aspire to be a doctor. I want to be a good and a respectful person. My thought about life is “First correct yourself before advising others”.

Name: Shwetha; Class: 9^th

During my free hours I used to lounge around lazily watching TV. But now, I can feel myself changing. I often find myself studying and doing my home work. I feel more responsible now. I want to change this slums, drain the wastes, lay roads, etc. I want to be well educated. I find a leader in myself. Education is the most essential feature in life. The biggest problem in this slum is illiteracy.

Name: Santhosh; Class: 8^th

The library is very useful to us. After tuitions, I am motivated to study. The volunteers teach us new concepts, and have an engaging way of teaching. In school, we segregate wet and dry waste. Also, my friends and I have formed a group that is spreading awareness about proper disposal of waste in other schools. I will be a good leader and role model for all.

 Name: Neelanjali; Class: 6^th

We have various activities like playing football and learning spoken English. Earlier, I could not find enough time for my school work after all the household chores I was required to do. However, since the tuitions have started, catching up with studies is becoming easier. I want to be a teacher like the CSA volunteers.

 Name: Padma; Class: 10^th

CSA provides us with books, bags and other materials that we need in school. The volunteers clear all our doubts. I want to be a doctor and provide free medication and proper treatment to poor people so that they do not die of easily curable diseases.

–as told to Madhu Kumar and Divya

Where service to Man is service to God

Arvind, who has lived only a decade of his life, is the son of a poor daily-wage labourer and a grief-habituated mother. They lived in a small room, walled from all sides by rugged canvas and rusting tin sheets. The roof was roughly draped with a piece of cloth, and the front yard gave an impression of a dumping ground. Animal excreta and loose dust had rendered the atmosphere literally unbearable according to urban or rural standards. No one would willingly wish to have a home in such conditions. They were living in an earthly hell, where all happiness was sucked out from, permanently.

But the hope was not lost. Arvind is being sent to the local communal school, which was established to provide quality and gratis education for children who are unable to pay for their willingness to be educated. His parents wished that he must not toil like them, and must enjoy all those experiences that would make a strong and self-sufficient man of him. CSA is such an association, providing all the pushing momentum that will catapult such people towards realizing the value of their life with proper education, for all members of the family, equally.

Education will not only help people to get the deserving payback of their labours, but will also empower them to think of their own benefits. With our support, this horror might get milder; this darkness lighter.

It is always Us :)

The shackles of pain, misery and servitude are a binding force upon many sections of society. The gravamen of this reality hits no other group harder than the children of underdeveloped communities. Deprived of opportunities and starved of a holistic childhood upbringing, the children are encapsulated into a narrow outlook bound by limited capabilities. CSA has thus embarked on an endeavour to provide these children with platforms to showcase their talents and launch themselves into seeing a world full of possibilities.  CSA conducts various programs throughout the year such as sports day, talents day, exposure camps and other activities which acts as avenues of expression for children. The child sponsorship program aims at communities getting directly involved in sponsoring these children.

Change is always something that is easier said than done. But when change is actually brought about, it can not only revolutionize many lives but also create a better society.

Education is all about being in-sync with the evolving world and updating ourselves with the perpetually growing knowledge of the world. In doing so, it takes a lot of effort to sensitize the people about the need to keep pace with today’s “fast track”. And so, to make it an easier task, we target the kids of our project areas for the Computer Courses to help them connect the real and the virtual worlds and know the “know-hows” of various things they learn in their classrooms. After all, kids are the future “world”; teaching them symbolises molding our future for the betterment of mankind.

Anything we do, anywhere we do, ultimately boils down to all of us sharing the same home – the same space in this world. This means that whatever we do, in turn affects our planet. In this transient existence of ours, we are indebted to it for all that it has given us and will give us. And as our moral duty, we need to take into consideration the consequences of our actions and tailor our actions in such a way that it does not affect our mother earth. To pass on this message to the public, we plan to hold various street plays in the project areas by which the kids who are a part of the Eco Club will send out the message of being environment friendly.

The Media and the Man: talk by Mr Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Media is the reflection of our ‘noisy, chaotic and anarchic country’. But do media always portray the truth? Is it corrupt? These questions were addressed by veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta in an interactive talk on 22^nd February. The talk was organised by Samvedita aiming at spreading awareness about modern media and its facets.

Media often shows the tainted truth. Despite being a democracy, news on radio is still a monopoly of the government of India. Though 72,000 publications are currently registered with The Registrar of Newspapers of India, only less than a hundred cater to more than two-thirds of the population.

Defying conventional norms of capitalism, the intensification of competition in the media has been accompanied by a discernible lowering of ethical standards. The race to grab eyeballs has seen a simultaneous ‘dumbing down’ of content as TV channels have become prisoners of a highly inadequate and flawed system of TRPs (television rating points) to ascertain audience sizes. ‘Dumbing down’, sensationalism, trivialization and an unhealthy obsession with the four Cs—crime, cricket, cinema and celebrities—have become the norm.

The talk, followed by an interactive session, shed light on the audience’s perceptions about media, most of which were misconceptions. In spite of measures being taken by The Press Council of India, an improvement in the content being aired is far from visible. That, certainly, is a propaganda for the future.

–Reported by: Priyanka Chakrabarty, I PSEng; Edited by: Vidya M G, II CEP

The Event: a walk to transform Waste to Wow

Prayatna ’13 on February 24^th saw the volunteers from both the campuses being united to spread awareness on waste segregation and management in the community.

An inspirational talk by Johny Sir and an inaugural speech by the Chief Executive Engineer of LR Nagar marked the start of the campaign. We started off the rally from west LR Nagar and proceeded towards Rajendra Nagar through Ambedkar Nagar, shouting slogans and being accompanied by kids and adults of the area. On the way, the Eco Club kids of the project areas performed street plays, doing an amazing job despite the scorching sun.

Once the rally got over, the volunteers paired up to visit and sensitize households about waste segregation. Though skeptical at first, we did get a fair response from the residents. They admitted that they were guilty for dumping their trash, knowing well that it was an unhygienic and dangerous practice. However, as the BBMP trash collectors were not regular in their job and since they didn’t know what else to do with the waste, they did the next best thing possible—to dump it where everyone else did.

By the end of the campaign, we were positive that at least a few people would follow our lead, breaking the walls of helplessness and self-pity on their own.

–Reported by Suganya Velumani, I PME; Edited by Vidya M G, II CEP

A Day for Talents Onstage

Talents Day on 10^th February was another exciting event on the CSA calendar where the kids from the project areas showcased their innate talents onstage. And, like every other time, the volunteers were up and about and had headed towards the respective areas by 8 am to pick the kids up. Meanwhile, the other volunteers were preparing for the day.

The kids reached the campus by 9.30 am and were seated in the PU quadrangle. The day began with the inaugural ceremony, where the kids, facilitators and volunteers lit the lamp, marking the beginning of the event.

Creative Writing, Rangoli, Drawing and Dumb Charades competitions were happening simultaneously, and the kids took part in all of them enthusiastically.

After refreshments, Public Speaking and Quiz were conducted. Then happened the most exciting event of the day—dance. The kids were amazing dancers who enjoyed dancing and the audience cheering for them.

After the prize distribution, the kids were sent back to their respective areas. At the end of the day, everyone was happy, no matter who won or lost.

–Reported by Sapna Keeliputti, I BCZ; Edited by Vidya M G, II CEP

Queer Campus Bangalore: Where Differences are Respected

On 2^nd February, around 40 CSA volunteers got an opportunity to listen to and communicate with people holding different ideas and ways to carry themselves off in society.

Queer Campus Bangalore, initially consisting of only four people, started functioning on 22nd October, 2011. QC is a comfortable space where one is free to discuss anything; it is a shelter where one needn’t hide who he/she really is. Their identity is best described by a rainbow-coloured umbrella which symbolises inclusiveness.

In most parts of India, even today, the queer do not enjoy the right to exercise their will freely. They find it difficult to gain respect, education or employment in the society. However, a recently established transgender employment scheme in Tamil Nadu has enabled three queers to work in the media field.

QC clarified the concept of ‘queerness’, polishing our notions of sex, gender and sexuality. NAS foundation case against carnival intercourse was also discussed. Further brainstorming and discussions brought out newer concepts such as pan-sexuality.

They told us the inspiring true story of Famila, a transgender of about 17 years of age who attended the International Transgender Conference in Delhi. However, notwithstanding the humiliation from society and rejection from her own family, Famila committed suicide.

After a feedback and question-answer session, we left with the insight that each person is different and important and needs to be respected for what he or she is. Each one, like us, has the right to live freely in our society.

–Reported by: Ritu Bachani, II EPS; Edited by Janice Vaz, II CEP

Want to know more? Contact: bangaloreqc@gmail.com, or visit: qcbangalore@wordpress.com.

Drishti’s Waste Management Drive: a step towards a cleaner Bangalore

With the zeal to spread awareness on waste management around Bangalore and with the hope that our small steps will make a difference, Drishti headed towards Janakiram Layout—one of the first locations on our mission checklist.

Personifying ‘Kasada Rakshasa’, the demon of ever-increasing garbage, diseases and pollution, Lokesh opened the play to the crowd.

Chandrika brought to life a character we can easily relate to—that of an inconsiderate woman who dumps waste in front of her neighbor’s compound. This leads to a heated argument between the ladies of the two households and in turn, that between the men. The sensible Harshith who overhears them briefs them on BBMP’s works which aim towards the city’s cleanliness.

The focus then shifted to the insensitivity of people who care little about the cleanliness of their surroundings and dump garbage in inappropriate places, thus failing in their duty as responsible citizens.

The potential of waste segregation to turn ‘waste’ to ‘wow’ was highlighted by Narad (Madhu) who teaches Kumbhakarna (Raghavendra) proper waste segregation during their tour of the planet.

The day’s task complete and a sense of work well done, our bus sped back to Christ. This was just a beginning!

–Reported by Mariyam Begum, I BCZ; Edited by Aishwarya Ramasethu, II PCM and Om Nirvan Bhoyroo, I EPS

CSA stall for Career Day: an informative tool to talk our work

CSA’s stall for Career Day (23^rd January 2013) covered minute details about the organization, ranging from self-help groups to child sponsorship, rural exposures to awareness campaigns, events and camps to foreign exchange programmes.

The ‘Big Book’ detailing the mission, vision and objectives of CSA was the major attraction of the stall. Photographs of CSA’s events, testimonials from volunteers and foreign-exchange students, and 3D models depicting the various branches of CSA enriched the stall.

Around 200 students and staff from the junior college and the university visited the stall and filled in the feedback forms. The stall played an important role in informing and sensitizing the management and students of the university on the work and reach of CSA.

Reported by: Shobhit Khaitan,  II B.Com; Edited by: Anupama John, I  EPS