Tag: mumbai

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Deal with it

Parents, step up to save your child from abuse

What are you doing to save your child from being molested, abused? Start by being responsible for your child’s safety.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

Of late, newspapers are becoming a seriously scary read, especially for parents, as every other day there is news of molestation and sexual abuse, or rape of children. What is more appalling is that it is happening in schools, the so-called temples of learning. Schools are places where we send our children to learn and love life. Parents trust schools and send their beloved children there believing that the care and trust promised by schools would actually be provided.

Until now, many news items spoke primarily of horrendous men who committing such heinous crimes on innocent children, but there was a recent news item about a female school worker who sexually abused a small girl. I was shocked. So far, we have been shouting hoarse at schools to employ female attendants to deal with children, but now, I have to wonder: with whom are our kids safe?

The tiniest of bruises on our children makes our eyes well with tears. A smile on their faces brightens our day, and we strive to make their world a happy place. Every parents puts his or her best food forward for their child. But even as we try to shield them from the evils of the world, we have to step back and ask ourselves: For how long can we protect our children? One day our little one will grow up and be on his own. So far, we’ve taught our children to trust their elders in schools. Now even that myth has been rudely shattered. So what do we tell our children now?

I really wouldn’t mind home schooling my child, but who will monitor the tutor? There have been recent incidents of home tutors mercilessly beating up children as well.Stop child abuse

It is time for parents to take matters in their own hands. Firstly, however, parents must realise that abuse happens with little boys, too. Our concern towards the girl child as a potential victim somewhere dilutes our attention towards the male child. Some people think that abuse doesn’t happen with boys, and if it does, it is not such a serious matter. Well, hello – a child is a child, boy or girl. Some parents are also guilty of not reporting abuse that their little boys face.

As the days go by, we must strengthen our resolve to save our children from sexual abuse of any nature, verbal or physical. It is not merely enough for parents and teachers to say that they have educated their children about good touch and bad touch. I’ve got some ideas that might help:

  • Parents should make permanent groups which work towards such causes. When going to PTA meetings, wear badges that say this:
SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN

 

If every single parent walks into school with such badges, schools will be pressurised to take extra care for our children’s safety.

  • Insist on written guidelines regarding safety from schools.
  • If some parents are well versed with training, join hands with schools to regularly conduct training sessions for teachers as well as school bus conductors, drivers, mausis and all staff on the school campus.
  • Conduct safety weeks in schools. Ensure that the school calendar does not make safety concerns just an annual feature.
  • Voice out your own experiences.
  • Those parents who send their children to school in private vans with no attendants, must try out the school buses provided by schools as a safety measure. However, try and closely monitor the behaviour of the attendants as well.
  • Be attentive to any behavioural changes in your child and trust what he or she says.
  • Teach your child to stand up without fear and report and untoward incident. Children should also be encouraged to report incidents of abuse they may have seen in school or other places.

Make a start. Take your child’s safety very seriously. Your child will thank you for your concern.

Dr Pooja Birwatkar is currently pursuing post doctoral research and working in the area of science education. She has been associated with the field of education in the past as a teacher educator, and her area of interest is research in education. 

(Pictures courtesy www.nation.lk, newshopper.sulekha.com)

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Listen

Attend: Vocal recital at the NCPA

Hindustani classical vocal exponent Arati Anklikar Tikekar will present ‘Shyam Rang’ to celebrate Lord Krishna and Janmashtami, on August 8.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

On the occasion of Janmashtami, the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) will present ‘Shyam Rang’. The programme is a Hindustani vocal recital that will celebrate the legend of Krishna, the dark one, through music.

In this concert, renowned vocalist Arati Ankalikar Tikekar will present a bouquet of compositions in various genres of classical, semi-classical and light music related to the theme of Krishna. She is currently recognised as one of the top vocalists of the younger generation. Being a disciple of famous singers such as Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni, Kishori Amonkar and Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, among others, her singing style is a rare combination of great qualities from various gharanas. She has received training in Agra as well as Gwalior-Atrauli gharanas.

The recital will take place at the NCPA on August 8, 2014 at 6.30 pm. Tickets are priced at Rs 250 and Rs 300. 

(Picture courtesy www.last.fm)

Categories
Trends

Is Mumbai the TB capital of the world?

Curable diseases like TB, malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid continue to kill several Mumbaikars. So who’s got the solution?
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It’s the season for illnesses, most of them waterborne. While Mumbai laments the lack of good roads and a bigger lack of cleanliness every monsoon, here’s a report that quantifies the grim state of affairs in the richest city in India, when it comes to prevention and treatment of curable diseases.

As per a white paper released by Praja Foundation, 7,650 Mumbaikars died in the year 2013-2014 due to diseases like tuberculosis, diarrhoea, cholera, malaria, dengue and typhoid. Additionally, tuberculosis alone has claimed 46,606 lives during the last six years in Mumbai.

This high number accounts for 8.55 per cent of all Mumbaikars’ deaths during these six years.

The report says, “Over the last six years, 7,768 people have died from TB every year on an average. TB, if detected early and if the prescribed treatment is taken, is curable. Such a high mortality rate clearly shows that a lot needs to be done and on a war footing if we want to create a healthy Mumbai, else Mumbai may well become the TB capital of the world.”

The report further states that only 34 per cent Mumbaikars use Government and civic hospitals and dispensaries for treatment of the above diseases, while the remaining 66 per cent use private hospitals and charitable trust-run clinics. On an average, Mumbai households spent about 7.9 per cent of their total income on hospital or medical costs in 2014.

Read the entire report on www.praja.org under the section ‘White Papers’.

(Picture courtesy www.hindujagroup.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

Parenting in big, bad Mumbai

It is tough to devote quality time to our children, but only parents should shape their children’s lives, not technology and media.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

The other day my six-year-old boy was humming a song. While I was straining to catch the lyrics, he suddenly stopped and asked, “Mom, what is ‘wohka’?” To my blank look, he explained by humming a line, ‘Char bottle wohka, kaam mera roz ka’.

I was shocked and fumbled for an answer. I quickly went into a mental overdrive: how did he hear this song, we never play music channels on TV or in the car, he is not exposed to any TV content except restricted cartoon and news channels. So how had he heard this song? And when?

Lectures in child psychology sprang to my aid and I remembered what I had been taught: always tell a child the truth. So I told my son, ‘wohka’ was actually a drink for adults. He seemed satisfied with the answer, but I continued to be agitated, shooting a volley of questions about where he had heard the song. He finally said he had heard someone singing it and caught it.

Then I sat back and wondered: how long can I confine my child to spaces I have earmarked for him? I can physically control the TV set, expose him to less silly cartoons, but for how long? Most parents complain that their kids watch too much TV or are always on the mobile phone. Then they admit that they are unable to make much time for their children, thus resulting in the latter getting the run of the house.

Everybody’s right, parents and children, too. A place like Mumbai eats up valuable time for most parents commuting to and from work. On reaching home, there is no time to restSpend time with your children and play with their children. So we try to compensate by taking our children out to malls over the weekends, and feel that we are helping them create special childhood memories by giving them money to play in game zones.

What stops us from going to gardens and playing cricket or another sport with our children? Or just going to a beach and having a good game of Frisbee with them? Sure, Mumbai is very crowded and there’s no place to do anything. But the city is not short of nature and public parks – not using these spaces to bond with your child is criminal, and a cop-out.

Technology has invaded our lives and we can’t always stop our children from being exposed to its ills. What we can do is modify our own behaviour – and we can start by setting good examples of ourselves in front of our children. Don’t play on our phone or be hooked to social networking sites when you are home. Just think: a year ago, when you didn’t have as many apps on your phone, was your life not good enough? Do you really need all the new apps that are available?

A child who sees a parent devote more time to his phone than to the people inside the house is not going to obey when that parent tells them not to play mobile phone games. If you are going to shake your body to meaningless item songs with titillating lyrics, or worse, take your children along to watch an A-rated film, you lose the right to tell your child that these songs and films are bad for them. Children model themselves on their parents – it is a cliché, but you must practice what you preach or suffer the consequences.

After all, it is easier to reorganise our own lives and help our children make better choices, than to deal with disgruntled teens and young adults who would later blame you for not investing in their overall development, and leaving them to figure out their own way of living. It is not a question of whether I want my child to know that words like ‘vodka’ exist, but I want him to learn about these things in a scientific manner, rather than being exposed to them crudely. There is still time to undo the damage – rise up to the challenge, gear up for it, and don’t complain.

Besides, who said parenting was easy?

Read another take on the same issue here.

Dr Pooja Birwatkar is currently pursuing post doctoral research and working in the area of science education. She has been associated with the field of education in the past as a teacher educator, and her area of interest is research in education. 

(Pictures courtesy www.parentingnation.in, www.wikihow.com)

Categories
Trends

Mumbai sees drop in hiring for telecom, marketing, advertising

With markets improving, hiring is on an upswing in other parts of the country but low in Mumbai and Chennai.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It seems that more jobs are available in the market, or rather, companies are willing to hire more talent, if a recent survey by ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India) is anything to go by. The survey finds that hiring was on an upswing in sectors like telecom, marketing and advertising in the first half of year 2014 across the country, except in Mumbai and Chennai, which registered a drop in hiring.

“Post-Budget 2014, aided by investment friendly measures like Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) and prospects of easing of interest rates, the construction sector has also slightly improved in terms of hiring plans. The Budget focus on infrastructure has proved to be morale booster for the infrastructure but would still take time for on-the-ground action”, adds the ASSOCHAM survey.

Hiring in IndiaDeciphering the trend, DS Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM said, “While the industrial production growth has pleasantly surprised for May with the manufacturing showing signs of uptick, the employers would like to see a definite trend line before firming up their hiring plans. Somehow, the marketing and advertising remain in relevance even in difficult times with the only difference being that marketing requires hard sell”.

“Marketing and advertising professionals emerged as the next best in terms of demand profile during January to June 2014. On the other hand, manufacturing and automobile sectors reported stable hiring figures due to slowdown in the sales of vehicles and launch of new models,” adds the survey.

The inputs were tracked on a daily basis for vacancies posted by about 2,500 companies via job portals like timesjobs.com, naukari.com, monster.com, shine.com and others together with advertisements offering job opportunities published in national and regional newspapers across about 32 prominent cities and 20 sectors.

Who’s hiring the most?

Among the top locations, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad reported the most active location during the January–June 2014. Some of the Tier-II and Tier-III locations (Surat, Vadodra, Nashik, Allahabad, Udaipur, Agra, Ajmer, Kota and Meerut) which have emerged as high growth markets, retained their position.

During January to June 2014, the demand for mid-level candidates was upbeat. However, the demand for talent at senior levels with 10-20 years and over 20 years of experience, recorded flat to negative activity across industries. It further shows that organizations are only looking to hire on demand, and hiring is restricted to niche skills. Focus is more on up-skilling available talent rather than sourcing fresh talent, reveals the ASSOCHAM latest estimates.

Telecom

As per the ASSOCHAM findings, Delhi-NCR region have recorded an impressive 54 per cent increase in hiring during January –June 2014 period followed by Bangalore at 38 per cent and Hyderabad, which reported a 32 per cent increase in hiring. On the other hand, Chennai and Mumbai reported a drop in hiring for the same period, recording a 15 per cent and 28 per cent drop, respectively.

BPO/ ITeS
The survey points out, the falling rupee has also helped the overall outlook of the ITeS industry in India, as outsourcing becomes a cheaper. Marketing and advertising profiles reported highest increase (48 per cent) in demand for talent. Customer service/Tele-calling profiles witnessed a drop of 8 per cent in demand during the same period. Hiring was upbeat for junior level candidates as the demand for the senior personnel came under pressure. However, those with skills in cutting edge technology stayed in demand.

Among top locations, Bangalore recorded a maximum growth (43 per cent) in hiring BPO/ ITeS professionals. Chennai reported highest drop (26 per cent) in demand during the period as compared to similar months last year. Candidates with experience of 2-5 and 5-10 years, reported maximum increase (22 per cent) in hiring in the BPO/ITeS industry. Candidates with over 20 years of experience saw highest drop (35 per cent) in demand in the BPO/ ITeS industry.

Consumer Durables/ FMCG
Consumer Durables/FMCG sector are expected to witness more than 10 per cent growth during this fiscal. Delhi-NCR (39 per cent) followed by Bangalore (37 per cent), Ahmedabad (23 per cent) witnessed a whopping 35 per cent increase in demand. Reasons for cities have picked up their hiring activity is because several chains are increasingly working towards expanding their businesses, and therefore talent requirement has gone up. Mumbai and Chennai, on the other hand, witnessed a negative demand for talent, a dip of 15 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI)

The Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI) industry reported the highest growth in demand in the month of January 2014. The positive hiring movement in June (12 per cent) is significant, considering a major dip (16 per cent) February 2014, another dip in demand expected around fourth quarter.

Among the key locations, Delhi–NCR, Hyderabad witnessed maximum growth in demand (over 30 per cent) as compared to December 2013. In the insurance domain, demand for future hiring will be for frontline sales personnel with less than two years experience.

(Pictures courtesy indiatoday.intoday.in, zeenews.india.com)

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Watch

Watch: ‘Waiting for a storm’

The Films Division of India will premiere Prachi Mokashi’s debut film that documents the lives of people farming on ‘chars’.
by Medha Kulkarni | @VeryMedha on Twitter

This Saturday, July 26, 2014, the Films Division of India is hosting the premiere of a film by Prachi Mokashi, titled Waiting For a Storm. Made this year, This film was made possible with an Early Career Fellowship awarded by the School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS and is Mokashi’s first film.

A young, independent India believed in the panacea of technology to address the crisis that nature often imposed on the nation. The Films Division archives has painstakingly documented that vision by making films on the building of dams, on the production and use of fertilisers and pesticides, on modern farming techniques and use of high yielding seeds. The 1957 film, Defence Of Dibrugarh, produced by Films Division, documents the taming of the river Brahmaputra – therein lies the solution to the crisis of this tempestuous river.

Prachi Mokashi sets out to the document the lives of the people who live and farm on chars, the temporary islands formed by the ever shifting Brahmaputra. The river is not the adversary, not for the filmmaker and nor for the subjects of her film. Waiting For A Storm tries to inhabit life alongside the river through breathtaking visuals and a rhythm that draws from the ebb and flow of the river. Within this world, the filmmaker’s gaze rests on embattled lives of those who live on chars and the issues of citizenship and ownership that marks their existence.

The 14 minute film, Defence Of Dibrugarh, will be screened first, followed by Prachi’s film.

Head to RR II Theatre, 6th floor, Phase II building, Films Division, Peddar Road. The films will be screened on July 26, 2014 at 4 pm. Entry is free and on a first-come-first-seated basis.

 

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