Modern Day Untouchability - Topic of Discussion at Taboo Chennai , held at Sathyam Cinemas.
The promo art and videos seem to link this initially to how we keep different glasses for ourselves and our domestic helpers. I didn't know this was a thing until a friend shared a promo for the event.
So that's the idea I went with to the event. The event was more to do as a conversation starter and start off with ideas rather than discuss and come to solutions , so it was going to be tough to train my mind to not find solutions and alternative solutions to all the problems mentioned, the usual way my mind works on a day to day basis , not just at work but at home too . Maybe that's why i look for breaks and outlets where solutions don't need looking into , like sports , gym and more recently outdoor workouts and exercises . But this even was a bit different , a way to exercise the mind not as an individual but as a collective.
One thing I learnt from the event was that i need more practice in oral communication , that is definitely a skill to get ideas translated a larger audience , more effectively . I'll stick to writing about it till then .
Started off with the panel sharing their experience on the topic in their respected fields . Special mention to the Moderator , who is one of the few journalists I follow online and who kept the conversation crisp and within topic during times of deviation. Still wish each topic was given more time so that the conversation was more fruitful.
In Media , for staff who cover events at different locations , there is a level of difference between accommodation provided for reports and the technical crew . This is something done by media houses themselves , so this starts at a corporate level itself.
In arts , the participation of majority of people from a few communities were highlighted , though not in detail and specifics from what i gathered. Some things are still taboo or open secrets ?
In the corporate worlds , talks ran around how techies and house keeping staff may not be treated the same way in say the canteen and other places they might take a break at . Being from this world , i do know of times it was highlighted to us to thank all staff and have conversations with them when and where ever possible. It could be simple things like suggesting disposable gloves for cleaning staff or providing necessary hand sanitizers for all staff . If this sort of discrimination stemmed from thoughts of certain people being unhygienic , there are tech staff who don't know how to use toilets and even wash their hands without leaving the rest rooms in a mess. How many of us even take off when we have a cold or flu but rather go to work , effectively infecting our office space and probably passing on our viruses to others as well by not using handkerchiefs or even covering our mouths while coughing. We should look beyond myths of hygiene and actually rethink what we do now on an everyday basis. Not surprisingly , I have overheard people talk of people of different caste , not even knowing the people in the conversation belonged to that said class. Lots to learn and discuss about this. On pointing this out to a panelist after the talks , he suggested we have these informal talks and discussions within the organisation , rather than raising complains about it . Sure companies have rules against racism , but hardly many know casteism is a form or is actually racism as well.
Odd part was someone mentioned we aren't taught to discriminate at a school as kids . From what i've seen and experienced , kids do segregate themselves based on even basic things as food . I have had the veg - non-veg arguments at school and always wondered why my food wasn't considered food by some while we never bothered about what they ate. Though we did find it odd that they would eat the dish everyday , thayir sadam . Is that a sort of discrimination from the other side ? Could be. There was a yester-years actor called Sambhar for some reason , which was revealed to me only later. For me what they call as non-vegetarian was always food , it was only in school that I learnt that this was a different category altogether , thankfully not a demeaning term , since the majority eat meat these days , even the vegetarians . Another piece of over heard "taboo" was kids discussing teachers of different religions and how they found or were taught of some way to differentiate them . One particular talk was how homes of certain teachers would smell a certain way.
Related to school days were how kids were told not to play in certain play grounds because of the "crowd" there ,targeting kids from different socio-economical background . One thing I have learned from being around people of different socio-economical background is a life lesson in being around people from all walks of life later in life and talking and interacting with them, which you have to in this big "bad" world we are told is out there. If you aren't , is there a possibility you are brought up in a bubble , one which will confuse you , especially when you come out of it ?
The most hard hitting of the examples , was something that has been there for ages now as one of the panelist highlighted . Only certain sections of the community were into cleaning , manual scavenging. And how that was still the case , with their significant number of deaths not being highlighted . Sure we glance through the news of 1 or 2 of these deaths in our local section of papers , but add that up to all regions and look at it from a national level , that is high . it was also highlighted how the Delhi government were bringing in machines to clean this up now . A case of too little too late in only a little "state" ? Yes , but a start in the right direction of something we are ignorant about , even though we are "educated" . Education without action is meaningless ?
There was one particular example that stood out for me and which I observed earlier as well. Our "New Age" idea for keeping clean seemed to be using a broom to sweep off dirt from our doorsteps and dumping that alone in garbage bins . This was observed to not work as at all , as where or how is the garbage dealt with after that ? We still have garbage being removed from our localities , without being segregated and taken to suburbs to be "disposed" off by stacking or burning . Guess who gets affected by all that pollution caused by air pollution ? The other point was how many politicians and people from all communities would get down and dirty to clear sludge and drains . Though the first part of this might be true , I have personally witnessed people from all walks of Chennai getting down and dirty in clearing and cleaning the river banks and slums around this area. It seems taboo to highlight each persons community or religion when they work together like this , but when people question those communities as a whole , I do not find it wrong in highlighting their contribution as the majority don't look through the filter of community , caste or religion , but the few who do question these people should be taught facts , or rather in todays age , spoon fed facts , as much as they are spoon fed false news . The group that did contribute to this cleaning effort was the CTC group who , I had the privilege of meeting and witnessing their efforts while cleaning the banks of the Adyar river . Trust me the things they cleaned and the amount of dirt and sludge they had on themselves would make anyone squirmish .
The even had the option of getting a member from the audience as a panelist and the one who volunteered , did mention how he interacts with a lot of different people ,being discussed , he was never called for these events . I have to reserve my thoughts on this one .
Though most accounts of events won't fall within the definition of untouchability to have come to read about , they are still forms of discrimination in their own way. To consider even such topics being spoken about in closed groups was a huge no no around the time our nation was born to having open discussions without being persecuted is the step in the right direction. Some how feel that we here down south have the right mix of people to start this spark off and find solutions for this problem , even with the tiniest of gestures that could make a difference to a lot of our people.
The promo art and videos seem to link this initially to how we keep different glasses for ourselves and our domestic helpers. I didn't know this was a thing until a friend shared a promo for the event.
So that's the idea I went with to the event. The event was more to do as a conversation starter and start off with ideas rather than discuss and come to solutions , so it was going to be tough to train my mind to not find solutions and alternative solutions to all the problems mentioned, the usual way my mind works on a day to day basis , not just at work but at home too . Maybe that's why i look for breaks and outlets where solutions don't need looking into , like sports , gym and more recently outdoor workouts and exercises . But this even was a bit different , a way to exercise the mind not as an individual but as a collective.
One thing I learnt from the event was that i need more practice in oral communication , that is definitely a skill to get ideas translated a larger audience , more effectively . I'll stick to writing about it till then .
Started off with the panel sharing their experience on the topic in their respected fields . Special mention to the Moderator , who is one of the few journalists I follow online and who kept the conversation crisp and within topic during times of deviation. Still wish each topic was given more time so that the conversation was more fruitful.
In Media , for staff who cover events at different locations , there is a level of difference between accommodation provided for reports and the technical crew . This is something done by media houses themselves , so this starts at a corporate level itself.
In arts , the participation of majority of people from a few communities were highlighted , though not in detail and specifics from what i gathered. Some things are still taboo or open secrets ?
In the corporate worlds , talks ran around how techies and house keeping staff may not be treated the same way in say the canteen and other places they might take a break at . Being from this world , i do know of times it was highlighted to us to thank all staff and have conversations with them when and where ever possible. It could be simple things like suggesting disposable gloves for cleaning staff or providing necessary hand sanitizers for all staff . If this sort of discrimination stemmed from thoughts of certain people being unhygienic , there are tech staff who don't know how to use toilets and even wash their hands without leaving the rest rooms in a mess. How many of us even take off when we have a cold or flu but rather go to work , effectively infecting our office space and probably passing on our viruses to others as well by not using handkerchiefs or even covering our mouths while coughing. We should look beyond myths of hygiene and actually rethink what we do now on an everyday basis. Not surprisingly , I have overheard people talk of people of different caste , not even knowing the people in the conversation belonged to that said class. Lots to learn and discuss about this. On pointing this out to a panelist after the talks , he suggested we have these informal talks and discussions within the organisation , rather than raising complains about it . Sure companies have rules against racism , but hardly many know casteism is a form or is actually racism as well.
Odd part was someone mentioned we aren't taught to discriminate at a school as kids . From what i've seen and experienced , kids do segregate themselves based on even basic things as food . I have had the veg - non-veg arguments at school and always wondered why my food wasn't considered food by some while we never bothered about what they ate. Though we did find it odd that they would eat the dish everyday , thayir sadam . Is that a sort of discrimination from the other side ? Could be. There was a yester-years actor called Sambhar for some reason , which was revealed to me only later. For me what they call as non-vegetarian was always food , it was only in school that I learnt that this was a different category altogether , thankfully not a demeaning term , since the majority eat meat these days , even the vegetarians . Another piece of over heard "taboo" was kids discussing teachers of different religions and how they found or were taught of some way to differentiate them . One particular talk was how homes of certain teachers would smell a certain way.
Related to school days were how kids were told not to play in certain play grounds because of the "crowd" there ,targeting kids from different socio-economical background . One thing I have learned from being around people of different socio-economical background is a life lesson in being around people from all walks of life later in life and talking and interacting with them, which you have to in this big "bad" world we are told is out there. If you aren't , is there a possibility you are brought up in a bubble , one which will confuse you , especially when you come out of it ?
The most hard hitting of the examples , was something that has been there for ages now as one of the panelist highlighted . Only certain sections of the community were into cleaning , manual scavenging. And how that was still the case , with their significant number of deaths not being highlighted . Sure we glance through the news of 1 or 2 of these deaths in our local section of papers , but add that up to all regions and look at it from a national level , that is high . it was also highlighted how the Delhi government were bringing in machines to clean this up now . A case of too little too late in only a little "state" ? Yes , but a start in the right direction of something we are ignorant about , even though we are "educated" . Education without action is meaningless ?
There was one particular example that stood out for me and which I observed earlier as well. Our "New Age" idea for keeping clean seemed to be using a broom to sweep off dirt from our doorsteps and dumping that alone in garbage bins . This was observed to not work as at all , as where or how is the garbage dealt with after that ? We still have garbage being removed from our localities , without being segregated and taken to suburbs to be "disposed" off by stacking or burning . Guess who gets affected by all that pollution caused by air pollution ? The other point was how many politicians and people from all communities would get down and dirty to clear sludge and drains . Though the first part of this might be true , I have personally witnessed people from all walks of Chennai getting down and dirty in clearing and cleaning the river banks and slums around this area. It seems taboo to highlight each persons community or religion when they work together like this , but when people question those communities as a whole , I do not find it wrong in highlighting their contribution as the majority don't look through the filter of community , caste or religion , but the few who do question these people should be taught facts , or rather in todays age , spoon fed facts , as much as they are spoon fed false news . The group that did contribute to this cleaning effort was the CTC group who , I had the privilege of meeting and witnessing their efforts while cleaning the banks of the Adyar river . Trust me the things they cleaned and the amount of dirt and sludge they had on themselves would make anyone squirmish .
The even had the option of getting a member from the audience as a panelist and the one who volunteered , did mention how he interacts with a lot of different people ,being discussed , he was never called for these events . I have to reserve my thoughts on this one .
Though most accounts of events won't fall within the definition of untouchability to have come to read about , they are still forms of discrimination in their own way. To consider even such topics being spoken about in closed groups was a huge no no around the time our nation was born to having open discussions without being persecuted is the step in the right direction. Some how feel that we here down south have the right mix of people to start this spark off and find solutions for this problem , even with the tiniest of gestures that could make a difference to a lot of our people.
