Women Empowerment Month : Recommendations

“I don’t want other people to decide what I am. I want to decide that for myself.”

Emma Watson

Little Women (2019)

In honor of women empowerment month, here are some recommendations you’ll enjoy

Movies:
–Little women: The Movie is an adaptation of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott. The story follows 4 sisters in the 19th Century as they go through ups and downs after entering the threshold of womanhood.
–Enola Holmes : The movie starring Millie Bobby Brown, as Enola, takes place when Enola Holmes, a teen girl takes up on a mission to search for her mother. She is the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes, but outsmarts him with her detective skills.
-Hidden figures : A 2016 movie, following three African-American women who face challenges and gender and racial discrimination at workplace.

Songs:
A playlist with some of the most amazing songs by super talented singers. Check out the playlist here:

Because you are so much more

Books:
-If I Had Your Face: Frances Cha
The book is set in South Korea, Seoul and revolves around 4 women who lead very different lives , living everyday with unrealistic beauty standards, strict social hierarchies, a world where being a woman comes with superficial looks and standards.

–Becoming: Michelle Obama
This is a memoir by the former first lady of America, where she describes her childhood, her personal experiences, her changes and adaptations as she spent her time in White House and also finding her voice.

–Seven husband’s of Evelyn Hugo: Jenkins Reid
The story follows a Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo, who has lead a glamorous life. At the age of 79 she sets up to give her final interview with a reporter from an unknown magazine, Monique. As the story concludes, we find out how their lives intersect in most tragic ways. A MUST READ!

Michelle Obama – Becoming

Series:
-Emily in Paris: A comedy drama, the story unfolds around when Emily, currently working in Chicago , is hired to provide an American perspective at a marketing firm in Paris. A must watch for a good laughter and fun time.

-Dickinson: Starring Hailee Steinfield, the drama revolves around Emily Dickinson, an aspiring writer in 19th century, who is set to explore the outside world with a different perspective than what was set and controlled by the society, gender and family.

Poems:
– Phenomenal Woman: Maya Angelou
Check out the poem : https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman
– And Still I Rise: Maya Angelou
Check out the poem : https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise

Maya Angelou was an American poet, famous and known for her exceptional poetry. Her poetry is a celebration for everyone across the globe , especially women.

These are some of my favourite movies, books , songs and series. They are truly inspiring and a great way to spend your free time.

All the ladies out there, You all are truly AMAZING, POWERFUL AND RESILIENT!

Dipali Gupta (SYBSc CS)

BODY DYSMORPHIA: WHEN INNER DEMONS POSSESS

unsplash- A.Krivitskiy

“Man is the only animal that can blush- or needs to.”

  Mark Twain

When I first came across this term Body Dysmorphia (not very long ago), I thought it must refer to some horrible deformity in the human body, looking at the root words dys (ill or bad, negative prefix) and morph (change). I stood corrected, however, when I read about it. Body Dysmorphia is not a deformity of the body, it is a fault in one’s outlook, blown to monstrous proportions. If Twain’s words were to be used, Body Dysmorphia is, fundamentally,  blushing, not because of one’s actions,  but one’s own appearance, to the point of insanity. The need to isolate oneself for the fear of being mocked is felt so profoundly that one cannot face their families, let alone social situations. Typically,  the individuals who suffer from the Body Dysmorphia Disorder(BDD, for short) have some part of the body that makes them look “ugly” in their own eyes. If it’s their rotund gut, they would exercise all day to flatten it. If their nose is off-centre, they would surgically put it back in place. However, none of this would satisfy them. They would continue to obsess, in spite of themselves, over this perceived deformity, and unless they are talked out of it, would sink deep in depression, even to the point that it becomes impossible for them to live with their “imperfect” bodies, driving them towards the final, extreme step.

  To me, at first, it all seemed absurd. That we all come in different shapes and sizes, skins and features, is universally known. In that case, who decides who’s beautiful or handsome, and who’s not? After some reflection, I think I have the answer. Social norms, traditions, cultures, film and other media, all hold great sway over our minds, forming the basis of our own individual beliefs, and prejudices, that eventually determine our outlook, towards ourselves and the world. While we internalise certain prevalent viewpoints and discard some, we tend to project some of our own on the society and inhibit ourselves in social situations as well as in solitude, because, even alone we aren’t alone. In a party, for instance, if everyone turns up in bright hues like red or yellow, or pink and I happen to wear something drab like grey, I am sure I would feel like a misfit there.  Every now and then, the realisation that people don’t find my clothes appealing or suitable to the occasion would poke me like a shard, even though they may not say this on my face. I would naturally seek an early exit. If this same sense of maladjustment, and projected dislike carries forward to something as virtually unchangeable as the shape of my eyes, I wouldn’t be able to live with them. In a person with BDD, several such dislikes awaken and possess the mind, triggered by unfortunate events like accidents, or abuse, driving them to set right this “wrong” body and commit unspeakable atrocities on themselves. These are no less dangerous than the tormenting spirits you must have seen in countless horror films. Yet, being of our own making, they need to be flushed out by us and no one else.

Now, I am no exorcist, but I would like to list a few steps in this ritual that can oust these inner demons. The first one is to draw the line. All human beings desire to be liked, and protected. Hence, they conform to that which is commonly acceptable.  However, it is important that the notions and standards laid down by the society do not sabotage our ability to see and experience life for ourselves. While looking in the mirror, see yourself, not with the eyes of the world, but your own, and let your face glow with the realisation of your uniqueness among the myriad life forms that Nature bears.

Here’s a little story. Carisa was a basketball player with an eating disorder. After her ouster from her team due to an injury, though, she experienced extreme anxiety and felt that her body was “abnormal” and saw these perceived abnormalities magnify to the point that she felt worthless in life and was unsure of her identity. In her article written post recovery, she mentions that, confiding in people that she trusted(friends, family, relatives etc.) boosted her morale. Along with therapy and medication, focusing on all the activities in the day, both small and big, reaffirmed her faith in her capabilities and helped her eventually overcome the disorder. So the next two steps are these: if you see that your mind is out of your hands, seek help from those close to you as there is no shame in attempting to comprehend your difficulties in order to get a grip on yourself. And, even if you have no disorders, performing every activity in day with involvement will surely help you keep your faculties in control and grow as an individual, keep at bay the negativity of thought and emotion and help you lead a balanced and consequently a healthy life.

The final step is to remind oneself of the other ones, so that you don’t stray away from your desired path. Society may judge you for your appearance, and jacked guys may be trending on social media, but we must remember at all times that we were all cast in different moulds; most of the world doesn’t meet the standards that it sets. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so just open your eyes to grasp it, though it may be hard to do so in an increasingly ugly world.

VEDANG DESHPANDE (SYBA)

Rendition of a futuristic society – Winning Entries

1^st winner: Vaishnavi Nambiar

ARTIFICIAL CONNECTION – A short story

It was the year 3002 and those were some seriously difficult times. Ravi was reaching out for the oxygen tablet kept on the side table, when Dev, his 10-year-old son helped him out. Ravi never forgets to eat his tablets, thanks to his Body Alarm (a device that is fitted into human bodies),which reminds him to eat all the food pills, water pills, oxygen tablets, and some virus-resistant pills on time. There were only 100 humans living on the only piece of land left on planet earth. The robots outnumbered humans. Everything was run by robots, the humans had to do only the job of sitting, crying, consuming the pills, and sleeping. All the surviving humans were above 500 years old. Ravi had in fact celebrated his 1001st birthday only just a few weeks ago. Technology had made it possible to even terminate death with the help of just one shot of the IMMORTAL+ vaccine. One shot of this vaccine can extend your lifespan up to 500 years. Ravi was living on his 2nd shot. Now the robots are working on an even bigger project, reviving dead humans lying in the graves to repopulate the world.
“Dad, tell me more please!” cried Dev.
Dev was always a very curious little boy, wanting to know more about how different the world was 1000 years ago, and telling him stories about the past was Ravi’s favourite pastime. “Ahh…Yes! Just a second. Let me drink some water first.” Ravi gulped some water pills into his mouth and began talking.
“Where were we by the way? Oh yes, technology! Technology was so simple as compared to the mass of tangled wires it has become now. There used to be only carry-around devices called mobiles through which we could talk and chat, unlike today where you just click once and reach a whole different planet. Those days traveling was very difficult but so much more fun. We had vehicles called cars, trains, buses, and planes. And most importantly there were trees, the real ones! Not the artificial ones like now. We destroyed nature and what did we get? I can’t even go out without looking like a space traveller with all these garments to protect me from the harmful atmosphere. What have we done to this world, oh lord!”
“Dad! There is water leaking down from your eyes!” exclaimed Dev.
“These are called tears, my son! It pains me too much to live anymore. I sometimes feel I should just end my life like my family and friends did.”
All the people who took the IMMORTAL+ regret it badly now. Many of Ravi’s relatives ended their lives as there was no use living in this world anymore.
“It is so funny and ironic that humans destroyed the planet and now are trying to rebuild it by inventing artificial suns, moons, atmospheres, foods, trees, and whatnot. The soil where the factories used to run incessantly has become so impure that trees can no more grow on it. These machines, robots, and all the artificial things are just nothing in front of nature’s creations.”
“Were there different foods in the past, dad?” interrupted Dev.
“Yes! You won’t even get it if I explain. We used to cook our meals and eat. It was so tasty, nothing close to the flavoured pills we eat now. These pills have destroyed everything that made us humans. The fertility has reduced to zero. I bet there won’t be any humans in another few years as no one will choose to take another shot of IMMORTAL+ vaccine, they’d rather choose to die. Humans ran behind technology and invented these pills to replace the actual food because according to them, preparing food and then eating it was a total waste of time… We can’t afford to waste a single second, we have to invent new ‘efficient’ and ‘productive’ gadgets and destroy the world….”
‘BATTERY DOWN. BATTERY DOWN…” Suddenly Dev fell on the floor and a red light flashed through his forehead.
“Ahh, I always forget Dev is just a robot! Haha…I never in my life thought I will love a robot so dearly. It’s good to have someone to talk to anyway. Where is the charger? Let me plug him or this loneliness will kill me.”

2^nd winner: Atulya VK

FUTURISTIC MEMOIRS

Looking out at the sky I wished to see the stars but the skies had gotten so polluted that all I could see was a hazy black cover above the already brightly shining mega city of Oculous. Advancement in technology had led to the development of 3 stratas of living. Top being S-class mega cities one of them being Oculous, every country has one of their own Sclass cities. Modernian’s being the general civilians residing in the various cities surrounding the mega cities and the mysterious Euphoric centre becoming a healing strata for internal recovery where I will be going tomorrow. Being launched a few decades ago, it’s a sealed centre covering 30,000 sq.km which is cut off from the world. Breaking my thoughts I heard my mom’s voice “Zephyr, dinner is ready and a gentle reminder- you’ll have to leave early tomorrow.” But I turned to my house robot Darla instead coming inside my room, “Yes coming, mom…” Even though earlier I didn’t like the idea of transferring my mom’s memory and generated voice in Darla after her death, I and Darla ended up getting close. I hate to agree but her singing sounds just like mom’s I thought, tears trickling down my oxygen filtering mask. As everyday I wrote my diary that night too.
9/02/7056
Dear diary
My body has been aching a lot since a long time. My medical practitioner
says it’s too worse and offered multiple robotic organ transplantation but I don’t like the idea of being made half of robotic parts ,so I denied him. Even my oxygen filtering mask is not providing any relief now and greenery is a rarity to find in Oculous. My only escape is the ‘Euphoric centre’ to which I’ll be heading tomorrow. I’ve heard people saying it feels like a time travelling portal to the 19th century. It sounds so unrealistic seeing the scarcity of plants, water and even breathable air here. But they say that entering in there, you’ll feel soft soil under your feet instead of cold concrete. Minimalistic houses and treatment centres and the main part 100% chemical free air, green fields etc. Hearing this, a part of me wishes to never recover in hopes of remaining there forever. Hopefully in the 7 years time in the Euphoric centre, I wish the test subjects sent to research on the new planet in the next galaxy would have returned as well. Then I’ll get to see my father for the first time in 60 years. Due to kinesthetic slumber father will look just the same and my nonaging pills works like a charm to make me look like a 25 year old. It’ll be just like the old times…. I won’t be writing for sometime as I’ll be focusing on my health at the centre. So hereby signing off, ZEPHYR. Writing this I closed my In-mind diary recording and saved it into Darla’s storage memory. At last I laid down and closed my eyes as the sleep inducer helped to de-stress me while it can.

3^rd winner: Gayathri Gopakumar

ANY TAKERS FOR HUMANS?

It’s bright. Tall glass buildings in irregular shapes are scattered everywhere the eyes can see. Harsh sun rays reflect off their surface. Inside the tall buildings are small cubicles. The cubicles are filled with shadows, crouching down on bright screens. There is hardly any noise except the tapping of the keyboard occasional whirring of machines.
“Hello, Sir! How may I help you today?” one of the figures speaks into the answering machine. “We’d be glad to be of your service. What kind of fixing are you looking for? “ it takes a pause “Let me tell you about this amazing offer our company is offering. Any service you book today will get additional 2 hours for free. Isn’t that just amazing?” Pause. “Uh, hmm…yes. I understand. So model A would suit you.” Pause. “Oh yes! They are very accommodating, we have never had a rating less than 4.5 for this model. So may I book your slot?” another pause. “Yes thank you for using our services.
Have a good day. We hope to see you again at Human.” The voice dies down. “Hey, Bindu! Any takers?” asks a voice from the next cubicle. They sound tired like they could be anywhere else but here. “Nah T, its again a rich brat calling for a slave to fix their mess.” Bindu sighs. Her voice is now less cheerful.
“At this point, i wonder why they insist on having real people behind the calls.”
“Shush girl! Don’t give the universe more ideas to mess with our lives. Ever since the machines look more like humans, no one wants the real deal anymore. Even our company tagline says so- Why have the real when you can choose the better?” T says, adjusting her old large glasses on her tiny face. “I do not know T, i don’t see a point in living anymore. Its like there is no way out of the maze. I wonder if my humanity is worth the pain I have to endure to keep it. Maybe I should use up all my savings and retire.” No one replies to her back. Bindu sighs. She can’t help but wonder about the time when people preferred the actual company of humans rather than robots who looked and talked to the rich just the way they want. A red bulb glows up on her screen. She goes back to the machine. “Hello! How may i help you today?” She greets in an excited voice when another notification glows
up on the screen. Humans are delighted to tell you that we are undergoing a management change. The new management has decided to replace all the callers with the recent model of hu-mans2.0, as we believe that humans should have a chance to be more than a service. Bindu’s eyes become glassy. Her smile falters but her voice remains the same. She keeps the call with a scary composure. T’s sobs ac already be heard in the background.
Bindu stands up in her cubicle and she gets out on the roads. And looking at the glassy buildings she shouts “any takers for humans?” but her voice is aimlessly reflected back.

Picture credit: Blade Runner (2017)