Taking the taboo out of period

As a couple of Indian companies implements the First Day of Period Leave' policy, we garner differing opinions on the issue.

Almost everyone would have faced those ‘embarrassing’ classroom moments wherein either they or one of their classmates had to walk out with a huge red blot on their skirt, followed by murmurs and hushed talks. For long, menstruation and sanitary napkins were mentioned in animated expressions, code words and sign language. Not anymore. After Mumbai-based Culture Machine and two media firms in Kerala announced period leave for their employees and girls took to the streets with sanitary pads and placards that read ‘Do not tax my period’, menstruation has been promoted from a taboo term to something that need not be ‘whisper’ed. There are varying opinions on the turn of events. “In Kerala, the first loud voice on period was heard in 2015 during the ‘Happy to Bleed’ hashtag campaign against a sexist comment made by the chief of Sabarimala temple. 

 “Though women are announcing on virtual platforms that they are not ashamed of menstruating, in real life, many can't still bring themselves to talk about it," observes Arjun Unnikrishnan, a third-year law student, who is part of the Red Cycle campaign for menstrual awareness among schoolchildren. He also says the protest against 12 per cent GST on sanitary napkins was farcical. “The protesters writing slogans on napkins that could not be used, while calling it a necessity, seemed hypocritical to me,” he says. However, he feels the period leave announcement, though a positive step, doesn't call for much celebration. “Positive steps might be coming in, but the barriers are still there. People claim to be progressive, but when real issues crop up they turn the tables and show their true colours, like what happened after Kerala announced the first transgender policy in India. The 'friendly' tag was nowhere to be seen when transgenders faced a real issue. That might happen in this case too.

“In my opinion, focus should be on menstrual awareness among boys and girls in schools, hygienic practices like napkin disposal, the health of sanitation workers who handle menstrual waste, and open discussions in the family level. Anyway, I welcome the move and hope other organisations will follow suit. But still, we have a long way to go,” he says. Divya Geeth, coordinator, Kerala Social Security Mission, too thinks that no amount of speaking out can be effective without a change in public mentality. “Every child, irrespective of gender, should be taught about menstruation from class 5. Give them the example of their own mother whose painful physical processes and reproductive mechanism resulted in their birth. I am sure boys will grow up respecting women,” she feels.

Divya moots the idea of providing proper facilities for women. “In olden days, women had the advantage of taking rest even though they were ostracised in the name of impurity during the menstrual cycle. But now, even if a period leave is availed, how many women can stay at home and take rest? There is practically no resting time. Instead, companies should offer a proper resting space, where one can lie down till they feel better, and a clean, spacious bathroom with a sanitary napkin vending machine. Proper facilities are the need of the hour. The same is applicable for schoolkids and teachers; they too need a space to take rest during cramps and pain,” Divya suggests.

Expressing happiness over pioneering the period leave policy, Devleena S. Majumder, president, People & Culture, Culture Machine, says speaking out makes India progressive. “People are becoming more open about menstruation and it makes us progressive as a nation. By bringing in the policy, our idea was to break the taboo. “People never talk about it. Many women face insufferable pain and have to lie about it to avail a leave. With this step, they can go ahead and ask for a legitimate leave. It's a more conducive work environment for women. Of course, there are negative comments and objections, especially when it comes to implementation from other firms, but we don't pay attention to those because so many positive responses are coming in,” she says. When asked if the new policy is practical in Kerala, Sanjay Vijayakumar, chairman, Startup Village, says, “It is definitely possible across the country. And my view is, why not. I think where this becomes important is in large companies with leave policies in place. In startups, there would be no such strict policy, it would be flexible. If someone is ill, regardless of the gender, we request them to stay at home, be healthy and come back. We prioritise health over work. It is a relaxed culture with no regular system of coming in at 9 a.m. and leaving by 5 p.m.” Period leave is not practical in all fields of work, feels actress Lena. “The move is a proof of people speaking out in the open. A lot of cultural differences over the years have resulted in an open mentality among people. So all these are steps are welcome. However, I am afraid steps like these are impossible in the film industry, which functions not a 9-to-5 basis, but on commitment and cooperation. No person can be substituted in a project and so unfortunately, we cannot enjoy such privileges,” she says. Many have commented, especially on social media, that menstruation, being a strictly personal matter, need not be celebrated and a sick leave would have been a better term. To this, Devleena responds, “See, pregnancy is also very personal. But no one applies for sick leave instead of maternity leave. Renaming it won't help break the taboo. Just accept menstruation as a fact.” If one goes by the 'I-am-proud-to-bleed' theory like she says, no more can any big-screen villain taunt a heroine with the phrase ‘blood on the moon’, ‘red letter day’ or’'that month of the day’. Say the word, period.

(With inputs from Cris)

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 21, 2017

Partners in flight

Childhood sweethearts Sanjay and Riya are a much-loved travel vlogger duo who go by the name Trip Couple'.

Sanjay Haridas and Riya Tony have known each other since childhood. As they grew up, their friendship blossomed into love and with their parent’s blessings, they got married and flew to the US, where Sanjay worked as a software developer and Riya joined for MBA. Till now, it was just another happy story of two childhood sweethearts. What follows is a wonderful journey of two adrenaline junkies.

Every weekend, the couple, both 26 years old, explore new places, make videos, edit those and upload it on their YouTube channel Trip Couple, which has brought the vloger couple a huge fan base. Speaking over phone from New York, Riya says, “The channel was initially named ‘Kantha Njanum Varaam’. But since people here call us ‘Trip Couple’, we decided to rename it.” 

The journeys happen over the weekends. At times, they spend the nights there. Apart from visiting the place, the couple makes it a point to learn more about the place, explore the food, culture and history. “We go with a schedule. I do the research part by planning the places to visit, the less-explored sites, off-road adventures, food and accommodation. We always try to include in the videos interesting trivia about the places. The shoot, edit, graphics and music are handled by Sanju,” says Riya. 

They have explored Boston, Philadelphia, Napa Valley, San Fransisco, New Jersey, etc in the past one and a half years. The most memorable journey was to San Fransisco where they spent two whole weeks. “That was our best trip. It’s beauty everywhere in San Fransisco. We went to the McWay Falls, Big Sur coast, Muir Woods, Alcatraz Island, so on. Many beautiful spots were not frequented by people as they weren’t featured in the lists of tourist spots.” 

The trip was memorable in another way too. At San Fransisco, a purse containing Riya’s passport and Green card were stolen from their car. Till the new IDs were issued, their travels were limited to the borders. The farthest they could travel was to the Canadian border. Not all trips were fun-filled either. Only with a shudder can Riya recall that scary trekking night in Pennsylvania. “It was a trip full of mistakes. We started trekking in the evening by 7 — our first mistake. After almost two hours, we reached the top and while descending, I almost stepped on a rattle snake. I jumped back and both of us fell down through the thorny bushes. Suddenly, it turned dark and we could sense the presence of wild animals around. We couldn’t think of anything, forget lighting the torch! We ran through the pitch black and reached the starting point in just 20 minutes! So, our next video was titled ‘Travel Tips: Trekking essentials’,” she laughs.

They have so far posted 37 videos. Interestingly, all those are not travel diaries. A three-part series is about the Montauk Project, alleged secret government project conducted as part of developing psychological warfare techniques like time travel, at Camp Hero on Long Island, where they live. “There are a lot of conspiracy theories about the experiments conducted in connection with the project. It is said that a ship was attempted to be made invisible, following which many lives were put in danger. The entry to the site was banned and we couldn’t get permission. But we did some research and made a video on what we came to know.” 

The couple also did a Halloween special video by visiting three haunted places — the infamous Amityville horror house, Lake Ronkonkoma and Pilgrim Psychiatric Centre. “Sanju loves horror stuff and I am scared about those. He planned the trip to bust the horror myths and my fear. Though he preferred a night journey, I didn’t want that. All along the way, people kept on asking us to go back. That trip was very interesting though I haven’t yet got rid of my fears,” giggles Riya. 

The videos were earlier shot on handycam, but later, as the subscribers increased, they invested on cameras, mic and drone and improved the video quality by adding interesting visuals, background score and graphics. “It has grown out of travelogues. Earlier, our backpacks had clothes. Now, it is more equipment and bare essentials. We always ensure packaging the videos in a pleasant manner with colourful visuals and happy presentation. We want to inspire people to pack their backs and distress themselves by exploring the world,” she says. 

The duo wants to globetrot and explore more countries and continents and if possible, stay there and experience the magic the places offer. They are also regretting not having been able to travel across India. During the next vacation, possibly next year, they are planning a big family trip covering many places, especially Hampi, where they had planned their wedding photo shoot that didn’t happen. 

As their vlog description reads, the couple’s motto is: Hit the road, live the moment, tell the story. Theirs is indeed a match made in heaven!

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/astrology/weather-and-prayer-timings-for-tuesday-august-19-2025-1898268

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 20, 2017

Movie Review: Hadiyya: A yawn-inducing drama about nothing

The introduction of Sarah as a Mother Teresa-like nun with rouge-reddened cheeks and fake eyelashes evokes a hearty laugh.

Cast: Nishan, Ragini Nandwani, Leona Lishoy 

Music: Sharreth 

Director: Unni Pranavam 

Hadiyya, which comes with the tagline ‘A gift of love’ tries to convey that religion is founded on love and humanity. But, it loses the plot midway, leaving the audience baffled, unable to understand what Unni Pranavam intends to say. 

The movie revolves around an architect named Brahmanandan, played by a stone-faced Nishan; Sarah, the pretty Ragini Nandwani, a nun-turned-babe; and Leona Lishoy, who adds one more role to her series of duds. 

Right from the first dialogue, drama rules the scenes. The introduction of Sarah as a Mother Teresa-like nun with rouge-reddened cheeks and fake eyelashes evokes a hearty laugh. Despite their respective parents agreeing to their marriage, the couple is forced to convert to each other’s religion and so they choose Islam. In the haste to treat all religions with equal importance, the director turns the whole movie into a long-winded narrative. Khadija (Leona), whose story runs in parallel to that of the lead pair’s, suddenly gets pushed to the front and adds to the complexity. Leona puts up a fine performance and is a talent to watch out for, but she needs to be more careful with her choice of movies. 

In her umpteenth role as the aristocratic mother, Urmila Unni delivers a good show as Brahma’s mom. In the humour department, Lukman, Jayakumar and Kottayam Pradeep evoke a few belly laughs. Dharmajan Bolgatty starts to get on one’s nerves with his repetitive acts. If you choose to ignore his cameo in the opening song, Sharreth has done a good job as a composer. His comeback songs, though melodious, are not his best. The two who deserve a special mention are Saran and Devi. They had the tough job of lending their voice to the lead pair. 

Watch Hadiyya if you are impatient to wait for the episodes of daily soaps and want to experience mini-screen drama in one go!

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 16, 2017

All eyes on Aparna

Acting is not the only feather in Aparna Balamurali's cap. This girl, who played Jimsy in Maheshinte Prathikaram, can also sing!

Just three years and a handful of movies, yet it seems Aparna Balamurali has been here for a long time. As Jimsy from Maheshinte Prathikaram, she walked into the screen unnoticed and unpacked her bundle of talents. She first won us over with her acting and then with her sweet voice. It seems her first song, Bijibal’s composition, started the winning streak. The latest release Sunday Holiday marks her fifth movie as a singer; this time with a song composed by Deepak Dev. 

“It was so cool working with Deepak ettan,” says Aparna, adding, “The movie had four songs, all rendered by male singers and the makers felt it would be nice to have a female voice. Since they knew I sing, I was offered the chance and I grabbed it. I was very tense about working with such an experienced musician for such a beautiful song. But he was very encouraging and said I sang like a professional. That was a precious comment, coming from a musician of his stature.”

Without anybody noticing, Aparna crooned five melodies, including one in Tamil — all under different composers. The Maunangal song was followed by Thennal nilavinte composed by Shaan Rehman in Oru Muthassi Gadha, Vinnil theliyum by Anand Madhusoodanan for PaVa and now Deepak Dev’s Mazha Padum, the duet with Aravind Venugopal. The Tamil one ‘Mannippaya’ was from Ettu Thottakal, which marked her Kollywood debut as an actress. Laughing, she responds, “I have been very lucky. Singing Tamil was a tad difficult at first, but slowly I got the hang of it and it went well.” 

Music is in her genes. Her dad and mom are musicians. She has been learning music since childhood, first under Suma Pisharody and now under Karthika teacher. How does she rate herself as a singer? “I am not at all satisfied. I have a long way to go. My dream is to perform as a live singer without the help of any techniques used during recording,” she shares.

Music apart, she has two movies coming up — Thrissivaperur Kliptham and Sarvopari Palakkaran. In Sunday Holiday, which has opened to positive reviews, she plays Anu, an independent woman, opposite Asif Ali. 

Movies have changed Aparna’s life a lot, especially in terms of privacy. “I know it is people’s love, but you won’t always be in a mood for selfies. As a human being, you too have mood swings and sometimes say ‘no’. People might take it as arrogance, but that’s not the case,” she states. But there is one place where she is totally at ease – her college in Palakkad where she is a third-year B. Arch student who hangs out with her gang of friends. “There, I am just like any other student, not an actress,” she smiles.

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 16, 2017

Untold tale of intersexuality

Eka, the makers claim, is the first Indian movie on intersex community. 

A couple of days ago, on Facebook appeared a poster of a topless woman, with her hands bound together and hairy armpits exposed. It was the poster of Eka, the first Indian movie that discusses intersexuality. In the days that followed, two more posters were released — one showing blood trickling down the feet of a menstruating woman and another depicting her naked lying on her back with a perfect reflection on the floor. The posters carried the tagline: ‘I am intersex. I have a penis and vagina by birth. I want to live’. For the uninitiated, intersexuals are people born with a mix of male and female biological traits. A quick Google search would show that worldwide, only less than 10 movies have discussed the topic. Eka, the makers claim, is the first Indian movie on intersex community.
The model in the poster, Rehana Fathima, plays the titular role in Eka. The movie talks about a road journey undertaken by two colleagues — Eka Sindoori, an intersexual from Tamil Nadu, and Laila, an orthodox woman hailing from Kerala, the freedom they enjoy during the bike ride from Bengaluru, the lives they come across and their experiences. Known for her daring stance in movements like Kiss of Love, body politics discourses and breaking into the male-reserved domain of Pulikkali, Kochi girl Rehana was attracted to the movie for its perspective. Speaking in a surprisingly soft voice for a bold artiste, she delves into the role of Eka Sindoori, the intrasexual.

Stressing that nakedness hasn't bothered her at all, she says, “For me, body is not a sexual object. It is nothing vulgar or something to be ashamed of. I am not someone with the ‘so-called’ feminine traits, especially in my body and personality. What caught my eye were the questions the movie asked about body, sexuality and gender.” 

Like Eka, Rehana too has started retaining her body hair. “Eka does it intentionally to irritate her colleagues. But for me, it's an assertion of my politics of body. Who decides that armpit hair is macho for males and unhygienic for women? Why does a bare chest become sexy for a man and obscene for a woman,” she asks. 

Rehana is happy about the immediate responses to the poster. “People have started accepting crude realities. The change has begun. And I think ‘Kiss of Love’ had a great role in bringing about a change in thinking among Malayalis. I am happy to be a part of the change,” she says. Not that all are receptive; there are intolerant and abusive comments too. But Rehana ignores it with her rehne-do (let it be) attitude. 

Eka director Prince John calls his movie a journey through three states — body, intersexuality and pubic politics. It's also a road movie along three states - Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Sitting at a food court in Marine Drive, Kochi, in earnest voice, Prince speaks about his movie, its theme, the making and the actors. “Intersexuality is a taboo subject and many are still on denial mode about it. It is said that one in around 10,000 births are intersexuals, but their physicality is changed through surgery. However, as they grow up, they have to face the reality and fearing isolation, they refuse to come out and live in agony. In Kerala alone, only three have declared their identity as intersexuals; they are the minorities among minorities." 

The movie has been on his mind for long. “The movie talks about body politics. A body doesn't commit any crime. What makes body a sexual object are the surroundings. A naked body on a mortuary table doesn't arouse sexual feelings in a heterosexual male, but a fully covered body in a ‘favourable’ circumstance does. The contradiction can't be ignored.” 

The characters Eka and Laila develop a very strong bond, something with the warmth of a female bonding and a romantic relationship. “Eka is a bold person who reveals gender identity everywhere but their workspace. The reason for that is an eye-opener to the living conditions of intersexuals. The film deals with pubic politics and breaks the existing concepts of sexuality. It breaks off the male-female binaries and focuses on duality,” he states. 

Apart from Rehana, the movie has on board Anusha Paul, who portrays Laila, and a horde of transgenders. The whole crew is a bunch of passionate filmmakers who have come together for their love for movies and their stance. The shoot has no sets and covers a queer pride march. 

Everything is shot at real places, including real incidents. Showering praise on Rehana for her body commitment, Prince says, “Rehana always surprises me. She lives as Eka.” However, he is surprised that the posters evoked not many negative reactions. "We had expected a storm, but the people received it sensibly and reacted very positively. I am happy that they could perceive it as an art work and not porn. Thanks to the DOP Tony Lloyd Aruja. But I do expect a storm in the coming days. So far, none has blocked it in social media. That itself is a welcoming sign,” he smiles. 

Update: By the time this paper went to print, the posters of Eka have been removed by Facebook, much like Prince had predicted. But the filmmakers say, they will continue to advocate body politics however ‘intolerable’ it is.

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 13, 2017 

'She had decided to stop acting'

The brother of the actress who was abducted and assaulted a few months ago recalls the turmoil she went through.

An attack — as brutal as the one on the actress — would have left anyone shattered, but thanks to her family, the young actress decided to fight. In an exclusive interview to DC, the brother of the assaulted actress reveals that she had contemplated ending her career. “Initially, she had decided to stop acting, but we asked her to think about it. Her defeat was what her attackers wanted. We didn’t have to give them that pleasure. This incident is something that could have happened to anyone. She decided to go on with the projects she had committed to — and now, nothing can make us step back. We will continue with the fight,” he says. 

However, the whole turn of events, including Dileep’s arrest, has left them in shock. “We are still in shock. We were constantly kept in the loop about the investigation. But the police hadn’t divulged everything as they had to maintain confidentiality,” he says. Asked if they knew that Dileep was the mastermind in the conspiracy to attack the actress, he refused to respond — “Each word we speak now might affect the case. We need to go through the facts and findings first. Only then will we respond in detail. As of now, it is better to listen to the police version.” 

Speaking from Chennai, he said his sister was alright and was at their home in Thrissur, away from the bustle of controversies. “She had been upset, especially when irresponsible comments came from people she had been close to. But now, she is alright. I hope she will air her views in a day or two,” he adds. The journey hasn’t been easy. Though initially they had apprehensions if the truth would come out, as the investigation progressed, the family had full confidence in the police department. “Reporting a crime is a tedious process. She had to give statements over and over, explain the incidents repeatedly and relive the horror. It was emotional torture. Yet she went through everything saying this shouldn’t happen to anyone else,” he recalls. 

Many online media and a TV channel had attempted to tarnish the image of the actress, but that hasn’t bothered her. Speaking with surprising confidence, he says, “It happens. As the saying goes, even if you beat your mom, people will take sides. Hailing from a family with a film background, we are aware that film personalities have no private life. People are the ones who decide if they should stone us or garland us. Image is inconsistent in the industry; it doesn’t bother us, nor does such fake news.” 

So, are they happy to have made a historical move by bringing in a fearful atmosphere for criminals in the film industry? “Of course, yes! This is not the first attack on an actress. Pulsar Suni himself has been engaged in such criminal acts like kidnapping for years. The victims, out of fear and humiliation, either gave up or quit the industry, making it easier for the criminals to flourish. No one would dare to hurt anyone when they realise the actress is fearless. We are happy that we could bring about a change,” he says. The fighters had a strong backing – from people, both from the industry and those they haven’t even met before. Sounding optimistic, he spoke: “With everyone’s support, she will get over it and continue to take up projects that come her way.”

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 12, 2017

Aroor's tech guru

Ebadu Rahman uses his YouTube channel to create a positive impact.

Do you know that adding a missing place, photos or reviewing the bus station you enter would earn you points and badges in Google Maps? Are you aware that you can know the number of times the mail you sent has been read? Has it ever occurred to you that scanning a QR code can automatically update the entry on your Google calendar? A quick scan through the YouTube channel 'Ebadu Rahman Tech' shows you that all these things are possible. 

Ebadu Rahman, the man behind the hit channel, is happy that more and more people are subscribing to his informative tutorials. A tech Vlogger, social media consultant, Facebook video marketing professional and strategy advisor, Rahman shares information on technical subjects - ranging from fixing a water-damaged cell phone to applying online for a birth certificate. “I explain things in simple Malayalam in an interesting way so that people get hooked to the video,” says Ebadu, who, though has been running the channel for over a year, gained popularity in the last three months. He has been uploading a video each day with tips to bring the layman closer to technology. The videos also educate people about various government schemes that can be accessed online instead of facing serperntine queues and red tapes.

Ebadu started off as a wedding videographer, but knew that his heart was elsewhere. He always had a penchant for technology and kept his know-how updated. When Google purchased YouTube in 2006, he sensed that it was a new beginning. “By 2010, I quit videography and focused on YouTube, which has been my passion, career, and life since then. I am a certified YouTube consultant and have worked for various Malayalam TV channels,” he says. He now earns much more than he used to -–both in terms of money and happiness. 

For Ebadu, social media is not for just entertainment. “People here are yet to realise the reach and market of social media. It can be used for so many positive purposes. More than money, what attracted me is its potential for social purposes. Vlogs can be started with a zero budget – you just need a mobile phone. And you can make money by spreading good ideas and not cheap stuff. Be a responsible social media user,” he says, inviting more content creators. 

The YouTube channel is a family affair for the Rahmans - the video is shot by Ebadu's wife Safna and by their son Raihan at times. The graphics and editing are being handled by Ebadu himself. An old cattle shed in their home at Aroor has been converted into a studio where the shoot happens. The family waiting for their little daughter Raima to turn one to launch another YouTube channel – Safna's Tips, about kitchen tips, home remedies and traditional practices people need to know. 

Apart from running his own channel, attending technical sessions and being ready to answer any doubt 24x7, Ebadu also manages over 10 YouTube channels for his clients. Where does he find time for all of this? Smiling, he says, “Actually, I have a strategy for that too. I go with a daily schedule and do not take up anything that affects it. Above all, I love what I do.”

 Published in Deccan Chronicle on July 11, 2017