Author: The Metrognome

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Diaries

Celebration of the year

Nothing celebrates Mumbai like cinema can. The Bollywood Art Project does just that, with an emphasis on community visual art.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Concluding part of the Yearender Diaries

You can’t really divorce Mumbai from its film industry. It’s like one is a function of the other, inviting every person for a tantalising glimpse of the fabled world that is a remote as it is seemingly within grasp. And whatever the degree of trouble we’re in, or whatever the level of our happiness, we are diverted fully by the escapism of Bollywood. Heck, sometimes we’re even totally divorced from our own realities by those in Hindi films.

So what better way to celebrate the city than to celebrate Bollywood?

That’s how the Bollywood Art Project (BAP) was born.

Started this year by artist Ranjit Dahiya (read up on him here), the BAP is “a social community project which aims to remind, recognise and exhibit Bollywood in various art forms.” Speaking to The Metrognome, Ranjit said, “I came to Mumbai in 2008 and started living here and working with a website. I was always in awe of Bollywood, and I loved the brand of escapism our films provided – only in our films could you find a hero who would still be alive after being shot five times!”

Ranjit was invited to Paris in 2009 as part of a cultural fest, in which the Hindi film industry was to be honoured. Later, he had a Bollywood showing in another French city. “This made me understand the impact that our films have even on people outside India, because at both places, there was a lot of interest and knowledge about Hindi films and its actors and directors. When I returned home, I felt that we should celebrate Bollywood in Mumbai before we take it to the world,” recalls Ranjit.

The idea for this celebration came only this year. “Since the film industry celebrates 100 years of cinema next year, I decided to do something to contribute to the celebration in my own way,” Ranjit says. The specific idea for this, however, came after the death of yesteryear superstar Rajesh Khanna in July this year, when Ranjit painted a full wall depicting Khanna in all his glory, at Bandstand, Bandra (see pic on left). “It was well-received, and several people remarked that nobody was painting film posters any more,” he muses. “The city lacks the sort of visual art culture that it rightly deserves. Apart from The Wall Project, there is not much happening in terms of visual art anywhere in Mumbai. Besides, there is an instant connect between the city and popular faces in cinema. And when I paint on walls in public spaces, the area comes alive.”

The BAP aims to create visual spaces for people to come and glimpse popular moments and people in Hindi cinema, and hopefully, offer a few minutes of nostalgia as well. “The only film-related landmarks in the city are stars’ homes and film studios, and the general public can’t access both. So the BAP aims to make cinema instantly accessible to the people, and to promote a culture of discussion about cinema on the streets. It’s a community project, so everybody’s invited to come take a look and participate,” Ranjit says. “When I had finished painting Anarkali (featuring Beena Rai and Pradeep Kumar), a Muslim woman stood staring at the painting and whispered, ‘Mashallah! Yeh aapne banaya? (Did you make this?)’ It feels great to have people stop and watch, it adds a whole new vibe to an area,” he says.

For know the latest work under BAP and to sponsor the project, check out www.facebook.com/BollywoodArtProject.

(Pictures courtesy Ranjit Dahiya. Featured image by The Metrognome)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year.

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Event

A workshop for Muslim women

The Jamat-e-Islami Hind’s Ladies Wing organised a pre-marriage workshop for Muslim women yesterday. A pitch report of the timely event.

“The rising number of rapes and divorces (talaqs), rampant cases of dowry, unhappy marriages…all are due to lack of respect for women in society, and the lack of aims and objectives of marriages,” said Salma Baig yesterday, in a workshop aimed at pre-marriage councelling. The workshop was held for girls and women yesterday at Scholar High School, Jogeshwari, by the Ladies Wing of Jamat-e-Islami Hind.

The uniquely-designed programme was attended by more than 900 young girls and women.

“The purpose of this programme was to educate girls and women about the importance of institution of family and marriages. The present world is realising the importance of human values, and specifically values towards women. The current turmoil on different rape cases is one of its examples,” said Salma.

While enlightening audience on the importance of love, Tanveer Khanam, a participant said, “Love is within everyone as it makes a person respect and take care of others.” Another woman, Jabeen Choudhary said, “Women are not just a item for play; the world shows her as an object, which is the reason why we see deteriorated condition of women everywhere.” She added, “The existence of a woman is not to be an object of display for lusty eyes, but in living life with pride and dignity, in the Islamic way.”

This one-day programme was much appreciated as many expressed the need for more such events to boost the morale and dignity of women in society. “It’s a enlightening programme; we got to know about the importance of women in society and how to live happier lives,” said Aiman, a student, who participated in this workshop.

The programme was coordinatetd by Salma Baig, In-charge, Ladies Wing of Jamat-e-Islami Hind.

 

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Diaries

Trend of the year

Moving from armchair activism to armchair argumentativeness, we bared our souls on social networks, and hit back hard in disagreement.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 10 of our Yearender Diaries

They say a society unites in times of collective crises. That crises struck us, again and again this year, and in several different forms, was a fact nobody could have missed even if they wished to. Corruption. Scams arising out of corruption. Dismaying crimes. Absurd arrests. Several freedoms curbed repeatedly. Apathy from the authorities in the face of demonstration. Forced imprisonment inside our homes as somebody’s funeral cortege passed through the city. Women being murdered inside their homes by building security men, or by men they knew.

And we protested in the best way we possibly could. We logged on to Twitter and Facebook.

We’ve been so good at protesting online, that we’ve actually assumed an entirely new social role on the Internet – we have a reputation on Twitter and Facebook, and we work really hard to cultivate that reputation and keep it consistent. If we’re a weepy kind of soul, we tell everybody on our friends list about our latest heartbreak (even if it’s a cooking disaster in the kitchen). If we’re the demonstrative kinds, we put up pictures of everything happening in our lives. If we’re the ‘keen, media professional types’, we demand that others put up pictures of everything happening in their lives, as proof that it happened at all.

And out of this last, arose the Trend Of The Year – general argumentativeness over social networks.

This was also the Year of Short Tempered Sniping. The moment somebody said something even remotely sensational or contrary, there were 99 people vehemently disagreeing with that person or calling him/her an ass, and one person demanding a Twitpic or it didn’t happen (this ‘How many snipers does it take to pull down a Tweeter?’ joke tells itself). If a stand up comic made a joke out a situation that saddened everyone else, everybody united to call that stand up comic a joke on humankind. If a celebrity died, everybody was supposed to say ‘RIP’, not ‘I’m so glad he’s finally dead.’ Any behaviour not adhering to these norms was swiftly censured and publicly humiliated.

It’s like we’ve forgotten the time when we weren’t so combative. When we actually took the time to understand a contrary point of view and have a healthy discussion about it. When we, even when we wondered if somebody was telling the truth, gave them the benefit of doubt and gossiped only amongst our friends. When we didn’t butt into conversations two other people were having, only to either say one or the other party was being really funny, or being an idiot. When we still had some manners and didn’t count the general mood of society through the number of ‘Likes’ on a page, or the numbers of Retweets. This year, we challenged others’ opinions with impunity, staunchly defended our own and demanded that others agree with us as well, besides ganging up against those whose words or actions did not fall in line with ours.

This year, we shot down the message, the messenger and everybody else in the vicinity. Then we sat back in our armchairs and felt morally superior, because we’d actually gone out there and ‘done’ something.

(Picture courtesy theaggressor.blogspot.com)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Look out for Celebration of the Year tomorrow.

 

Categories
Trends

Mumbai drinks the most energy drinks

Bangalore and Delhi rank second and third in the country; survey reveals that more boys than girls consume energy drinks.

This is party season, and while the New Year approaches, the nation is looking for ways to stay up all night and party hard. And one way to do this is by consuming energy drinks.

But a recent Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) survey reveals some staggering truths about energy drink consumption in the country. Titled ‘Increasing demand of energy drinks among youngsters’, the survey reveals that energy drink consumption has grown by 45 per cent in Mumbai, the highest growth rate anywhere in the country, followed by 42 per cent in Bangalore and 40 per cent in Delhi.

“The use of energy drinks increased with age, especially in boys, with almost 55% of 12th grade consuming energy drinks to boost their game…about 71 per cent of adolescents in urban centers of India consume energy drinks which leads to seizures, diabetic, cardiac abnormalities and behavioural disorders,” the survey reveals.

ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF) team conducted the survey in major states-cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Haryana, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow, and interacted with around 2,500 adolescents (almost equal number of males and females) in the age group of 14-30 years. The respondents admitted that they consumed energy drinks for such promised factors as boost in energy, appearance, performance, improved immunity and overall health.

“Over 85 per cent of school and college students said, these drinks are easily available easily available in the market like retail stores, bars and pubs etc. The target buyers for energy drinks continue to be the young and working Indian population,” reveals the survey.

“Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages containing caffeine, guarana, glucuronolactone, taurine, ginseng, inositol, carnitine, B-vitamins, etc as main ingredients that act as stimulants. These drinks contain high levels of caffeine, which stimulates the nervous system,” said Dr BK Rao, Chairman, ASSOCHAM Health Committee.

“These drinks include high levels of sugar and up to 270 calories in each bottle – in addition to potentially harmful levels of caffeine, which has been linked to seizures, heart problems and behavioural disorders,” said Dr Rao.

“Among 82 per cent teenagers, admitted that they opt for energy drinks during exercise for ‘extra energy’, 61 per cent for ‘better hydration’ and 40 per cent as they ‘prefer the taste’. The consumption levels and situations in which people are consuming these energy drinks are worrisome,” added Dr Rao.

(Picture courtesy thinkpress.org. Picture used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Diaries

Controversy of the year

Vasant Dhoble played Bad Cop to the hilt this year, riling Mumbai citizens but gaining popularity with the anti-pub brigade.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Part 9 of the Yearender Diaries

As policing went, this was a strange year for Mumbai. Crimes against women went through the roof in 2012, but while the police showed ineptitude in preventing these crimes, there were a few notable and quick arrests within days of most of these crimes occurring. Similarly, the police had some success in nabbing certain chain-snatching gangs, house-breaking units, Nigerian drug peddlers, and Bangladeshi immigrants living in Mumbai without valid paperwork.

On the other hand, there was Vasant Dhoble.

Dhoble (57), heading the Social Service Branch (SSB) of the Mumbai Police, made a terrific noise this year, armed with his ‘special’ brand of discipline using a hockey stick and video cameras. He conducted raids at several city hotspots this year, Cafe Zoe and Shiro being the most notable examples, while also allegedly attacking the manager of Amar Juice Centre at Juhu with a hockey stick for conducting his business after midnight.

As far as logic went, Dhoble’s was simple – “We are only enforcing the law. We have not told anybody not to enjoy the nightlife. But nobody, citizens or establishment owners, must break the law,” he said, when we spoke to him earlier this year. “And if I am to be blamed for enforcing archaic laws, what can I do? As a member of the police force, I have to lay down the laws that are framed, I cannot change the laws on my own.”

So the city’s popular night spots witnessed raids on grounds of playing loud music and disturbing the peace, DJs playing music without the licence to do so, establishments admitting more patrons than allowed to, patrons consuming alcohol without valid liquor permits, and so on. On some occasions, patrons were rounded up for questioning, and in one case, two women who were rounded up with several others after a Dhoble raid, later pressed charges for defamation. “The women were soliciting customers at the bar,” Dhoble said, even as protests erupted about the women being wrongly detained and defamed as being prostitutes.

The cop’s seemingly high moral compass – he famously said early this year that it was the police’s job to protect the young from corrupt influences such as drink and drugs – would even have been grudgingly appreciated save for the glaring blemishes on Dhoble’s career. He was suspended from service in 1989 for accepting a bribe while on a posting in Pune. Five years later, his role in a custodial death landed him with seven years in prison and a Rs 1,00,000 fine, but he got away without serving the jail sentence. Dismissed from the force that year, he was reinstated two years later. A few months later, he was also accused of being lax with an important file related with a Dawood Ibrahim investigation.

Most officers in the police force did not agree with Dhoble’s methods, especially the hockey stick he carried on most raids. When asked why he kept a hockey stick in his office, he shrugged and said, “I like to play hockey.” However, then Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik was a staunch supporter of Dhoble, who is also said to be extremely well-connected in political circles. Which was why, despite Mumbai outraging over every successive Dhoble raid, there was no reactive response from the Police or the State Government.

Before the city woke up to the cop’s antics in earnest, Dhoble even gave a few interviews in which he spoke against the youth adopting lifestyles that were against Indian culture, wearing clothes that demeaned their parents and took up habits that corrupted society, and that he would not allow the young to be “influenced” and that they must be “saved”. However, following the backlash to these comments, he quickly adopted a man-of-few-words stance, replying to reporters’ questions in practiced one-liners, not revealing details of raids conducted, and explaining in detail only the laws and sections of the law that he and his team tried to uphold.

Even as protests against him grew, especially on social media, there emerged an equally strong lobby for Dhoble. This largely comprised members of housing associations that have been campaigning for years against the nuisance caused by pubs and bars in residential areas of the city.

Then Patnaik was shunted out following the Azad Maidan riot this year, and the new Police Commissioner, Dr Satyapal Singh, wasted no time in getting Dhoble out of his SSB posting. Dhoble is now ACP of the Vakola Division.

(Picture courtesy mid-day.c0m)

‘Diaries’ is a series of stories on one theme. The Yearender Diaries seek to capture the most telling moments, happenings and people in the city this year. Look out for Trend of the Year tomorrow.

Categories
Event

Fortis Hospital sets Guinness World Record

Hospital performs highest number of cervical cancer screenings; over 750 women screened in eight hours.

Fortis Foundation set a Guinness World Record recently, for the highest number of cervical cancer screenings. Fortis Hospital at Vashi, Mumbai, screened over 751 women in an eight hour marathon screening, as part of its ‘Teal To Heal Together’ campaign, beating the earlier record of 350 participants held by Kaiser Permanente, San Diego (USA) achieved on January 29, 2011. More than 50 gynaecologists and oncologists worked together to screen the participants in more than 20 OPD rooms.

Speaking of the record, Varun Khanna, Regional Director (East & West), Fortis Healthcare said, “Although cervical cancer ranks as the number one killer disease in India, it is breast cancer that has received utmost attention. Through the ‘Teal To Heal Together’ campaign, Fortis is aiming to revolutionise the manner in which cervical cancer is perceived and prevented nationwide. The golden rule of prevention being better than cure is the guiding principle that has driven this campaign.”   

Dr. Vandana Gawdi, Senior Consultant, Gynaecologist, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi, said, “Cervical cancer is both preventable and curable if detected at the HPV virus stage, Oncogenic HPV infection in Indian women varies in different locations. Studies have brought out certain demographic and other lifestyle factors on the development of abnormal cytology in Indian women.  This justifies the need for screening women for cervical cancer including Oncogenic HPV testing (HPV infection among various Indian women).”

Cervical cancer in India accounts for one fifth of the cervical cancer prevalent globally. On an yearly basis, over 1,30,000 new cases are detected and it is estimated that the number of new cervical cancer cases in India will increase to nearly 2,26,000 by 2025. Due to the lack of awareness and social stigma, the mortality rate among patients suffering from cervical cancer has risen from 74,118 reported deaths in 2002 to 2,70,000 reported deaths at present. Over 10 per cent of all cancer deaths annually are attributed to cervical cancer.

These mortality numbers can be partly attributed to the lack of awareness of the prevention techniques and the need for early detection through periodic health check-ups. Although cervical cancer is known to have a higher mortality rate than breast cancer, it is not yet perceived to be a social killer. It is widely and wrongly believed that the disease is transmitted only through consummation. The social perception attached to the disease, therefore, is a common deterrent for many women to come forward for a preventive examination. However, awareness amongst healthcare providers and women for the need of pap screening and preventive services is a must and should go a long way in alleviating the problem.

Improving the nutrition of the girl child, avoiding early marriage, a monogamist lifestyle, engaging in personal hygiene (to prevent HPV infections) and routine checks can prevent the occurrence of the disease to a great extent. For a developing country like India, as per the WHO norm, all women should undergo at least one pap smear test before the age of 40 years and preferably at least once in three years from the time of consummation of marriage or first sexual intercourse. If all the women between 35 and 65 years of age are screened at least once in two or three years, the frequency of cervical cancer can be greatly reduced to 93 per cent.

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