Learning to Unlearn

Miss Geller & Miss Green are back to our favorite audience. Over this month, we noticed the movement of a great initiative that grabbed our attention. Rtr. Aditi Sharma, Chairwoman of Taskforce, came up with an initiative called ‘Failing Feminist’; that highlights those learnings that are still to be unlearned by our generation. Response to which is covered by us! We have mentioned a few equally feminist entries from our fellow Rotaractors in the club.

“It is much more important to be oneself,

than anything else.”
~ Virginia Woolf

Failing Teenaging!

-A Failing Feminist column

They say wine

is like a bottled poetry.

I did intend to understand a verse once,

But turned out, my bottle was already empty

To us, we are referred to as sociopaths,

Not because we make reels on Olivia Rodrigo’s break up anthem (alright somewhere)

But because we have an insane need to characterize nuances.

It’s not black, white or grey anymore,

It’s Racist, Facist, or Narcissist, and more

It ain’t “come on baby light my fire”

It’s “come on baby, haven’t you done this prior”

Anxiety and peer pressure mount so high that we imply,

We lost June, we lost July. In August we look into the mirrors and want to die.

It’s true, we’re a generation that speaks numbers even for an artistic movie,

But is it our fault

That you ask us as what we do for a living so you can calculate the respect to give to me?

~ Rtr. Palak Sharma

Ab Soch Badal Lo!

-A Failing Feminist column

Aaj kal ka waqt, na jaane kaisa ja raha hai

Zamane bhar ka boj, inpar kyu aa raha hai.

Ye samay hai badlav ka,

Pahochne agle padav ka.

Wo ladte hai har din apne haqq ke liye,

Wo ladte hai har din apne samman ke liye.

Iss dunya ko aisa bana do,

Har ek dukh ko uske jadd se mita do.

Nafrat ki dhoop hata kar, pyaar ke beej bo lo

Aurat ko anjaan nahi, bas apne samaan samajh lo

~ Rtr. Tausif Patel

How much can you tell by a look?

– A Failing Feminist column.

She kept staring and staring right where it hurt the most / cause what she saw wasn’t even a whole / mere half, broken, crooked / smile. I wouldn’t judge you for a second if your mind wandered around the first two statements, a little south. If you haven’t noticed, it is how we, the young generation perceive it.

“That’s what she said” or “Vicky Pleaj” I would not dare to call us dirty minded; after all, owing to sexual pleasures is a sign of healthy discussion. But is it necessary for us to categorize every story with shame? I looked at you, you looked at me. Ji, zarur ho gayi mushkil, kyuki “this look” just got you into trouble now. How do you know when somebody is looking at you, what their intentions are? How can you be so sure whether that smile is evil or that mind is cunning or that line is misleading?

How can we know if he/she intends to rape or simply likes your cape?

-The answer is you don’t.

We are living in a society that is so paradoxically fearful that any ideology beyond the conventional norms is not acceptable to us. Women fear traveling in general compartments because of the “male touch” How do we classify a cold shoulder rub as deliberate or a mistake? How do we classify “a push” as intentional or coincidental? A typical Saturday night calls for clubbing scenes with some friends and a sound sleep the next day. But is waking up next to somebody pre-planned?

“We met at the bar for the first time. I saw her looking towards me and she raised her glass in cheer… I took that as a sign”. Signs and hints, flirting and simping, gracing or touching, cuddling or smoldering- how do you know what the other individual wants?

The answer is simple, you don’t.

So, the next time you find yourself relying in any such situations, don’t judge them for being a guy or a girl, nor judge them for having noticed you.

If asking for consent is your duty, then asking their intent dignifies your beauty!

~ Rtr. Palak Sharma

Unlearning Forgotten

– A Failing Feminist column.

Important it is to bring this now,

A session of thoughts hushed around

Making my existence unheard

Those cowards fooled around

Wanting to demand the equal rights

I forgot the fact my earned penny was not mine.

Toiling toward my dream

Decision-making is the key

and will never be my charge.

Ordered to behave pleasingly

Satisfying the ego of some fool.

For which treating me inferior is the certified rule.

‘I’m known for my work’ can never be my attitude

As it will break many such solitudes,

In front of the goddesses, they’ll bow

finding themselves as some protagonist

Unknown to the fact that they’ve become the antagonist

Ghar ka kaam hi karna is the only expectations

Multi-tasker me gets surprising reactions.

Feeling pity for such graduates.

Who might have learned ITR and Calculus

but forgot to unlearn the wrongs in attitudes!