Gender Grief2: Miseries of Mother Earth

As we get ready to celebrate the World Environment day the Commonwealth of the human race , irrespective of demographics and ethnographics, I am yet to understand the psyche of the human race as to why it took us so long to celebrate and incorporate it as a major theme in the event calendar of all organizations.

Well on a closer look it June marks the celebration from a wider spectrum in the galaxy in different forums, through different genres. For a change there would be ecologists and environmentalists, technocrats and connoisseurs of art who come on board for the first time to save a wounded and a bleeding heart.

While we as children took time to perceive the extent of damage done unto her, my fingers refuse to dig into my key board when I think of the torment, grief and damage done to her. Each dig into her has been silently endured , she an unsung uncared hero has yet been so very compassionate in treating us and we as human beings have been so very barbaric through our selfish motives.

This brings me to answer, a question from my good friend Meher, the junior bond of my new generation kiddos in the society I stay. My blue eyed boy , connects me to the younger generation of 10 year olds. The first question shot by them has put me into this piece, as I share the second article on GenderGriefs.

While his question was on as to why we referred to Mother Earth and not Father –I try to introspect. Is she referred to as a Mother because of her endurance and patience, or is it because of her capacity to to bear?

Sanskrit addresses her as Hiranyagarbha.

Strange, she has given us all. Her extended family includes environment, which for Yamini and Meher means a combination of seasons, climates, temperatures and the colourful world of flora and fauna.

Ah! We choose to conveniently plunder her reservoir and install concrete gardens, fill it up with smoke at our convenience and make ourselves an entity to physical and medical vulnerabilities by not enjoying the gifts as children.

Anyway, given all the benefits:

Have we ever thought of bringing her back to life? What has been our role as individuals, friends?

How can we do so? What has been done since ages?

For my my real estate friends they are not keen to broach on this topic , as I infer they are keen on having a pound of her flesh. The concrete structures in Orissa are testimonies of time. No green parks, no vegetative belts and no tigers. Strange, very strange!

My friends in thermal and energy sectors are worried, leave alone my friends and extended family of nature lovers and artistes . A holiday home is forgotten just for the humid weather out there. We continue to relax in the space that we have under either a cooler or an airconditioner. Yes but nature doesnot wait. She has a steady pace and is silently trying to create a cold presence.

Its time friends to take stock of the situation. As for my close friends who are connoisseurs of art and music, they are all trying to resuscitate our Mother by reaching out through performances in the field of performing Arts.

However, with the onset of June , my home state in Orissa pledges once again from the fourteenth to sixteenth of this month and reiterate their stand to protect her once again in a year and will not dig into her. This has been one state deeply embedded with ethical values and reverences for mother Earth.

Yes for those uninitiated , the arrival of June marks a special event-Conserving Earth by celebrating ROJO a festival through cultural performances ,gifting brightly coloured clothes for girls, erecting colourful swings under a huge canopy of trees a tradition that seeps into the social fabric of life there.

Revered as HiranyaGarbha, the sustenance of Dharitri is of paramount importance, where environmentalists advocate not to destroy the existential green natural carpet which is not a threat to our lives. Our earth has enough for the needs of all but not for the greed of all.

Time and again I have always made it to hail the event at different levels, as an academician initially and today as I mark an RSVP, as a communications personnel, I am all set to vote for sustenance, conservation and preservation of Mother earth.

I would start off by going green and I stretch the green corridor in my surroundings now in the digital world, which is due. I will create more on the customs we have dwelt with while relating to earth state by state.

Yes to all those wishing to join me, lets develop the GO GREEN INITIATIVE and revive old behind the GR 8 Chakra.

Willing to know more? Have something to say?

Manni Jai Suravajhala

Connect with me at mannijai1@gmail.com

GENDER GRIEFS...

My strong roots in Orissa and a career in the northern part of India help me witness to a era that is sure to eliminate the girl child since the doors to opportunities shut one after the other with Bangalore colleges to raise cut –offs for girls. I come from a state where educational standards have been fairly good and where educational institutions run by the State Government give special privileges to the girl child. I do not remember my college and university fees.

Today the news of the raise of the cut offs for girls in Bangalore sends a shiver down my spine. I may not be a biological mother to a daughter- all the families that I am close to are the ones who have daughters and yes sons too. The sight of a girl child attracts me to the core, be it my close knit niece Shreya with whom I share a special bond or Sarah my friend’s daughter or Yamini my Friday girl , I considered myself fortunate to be one with them during their celebrations.

I have the best of parents , mentors and friends in life. Despite the challenges I have been foolishly proud of being an Indian because women have been respected in all ages since the dawn of civilizations. Revered by Vedas, conceived and created by Gods to snap demoniac powers women were held Supreme. Be it Durga or Savitri , Ganga or Sati women have always been revered .

Gargi was the first woman scholar during the early vedic period if not wrong. Later on as women ascended there was progress . I belonged to an age where I heard of woman powers Indira Gandhi, Nandini Satpathy, Kalpana Chawla, took India to different levels.

Meera Nayar, Sunita Williams, Arundhati Roy are a segment of existence.

But not anymore!

Much later in life I am of the belief that as women we have been quiet at unnecessary places. Quietly the woman had to go for a female feticide just because the girl child wasnot a welcome addition. Surprisingly in the North I have seen birthdays of boys being celebrated especially in Delhi but not girls on one hand and among my circle of good friends, I have been fortunate that male colleagues have always celebrated their daughters arrival with éclat.

Today as I walked into a meeting with the CMD ,CEO and COOs of a huge MNC, I was happy that it gave fruitous results . However the happiness took to grief when I heard of a shattering treatment being metted out by universities to our girls in Bangalore . While the young management that makes ATM machines were responsible fathers of sons and daughters, I was happy that most of them were proud to be fathers of daughters and I felt ashamed of the development.

On one side I would find educated fathers being very happy with their girls performances. They shared that girls were more responsible and were accountable in the family. They shared more with their fathers when it came to playing pranks for A PIZZA or a cell phone bill. Till date my father still puts up with my pranks despite having crossed the forties. So does my sibling and his family.

Coming Straight to the point, is it necessary to raise cut off marks of girls? If so, could not an alternative be worked out. Are we not in a position to accept a girl’s performance or why cannot we raise the seats for all? If so why is it that our boys were not given a treatment in bygone times?

Strange it happens at a time when we are talking of women empowerment. It happens at a time when we hear of women power-Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Sudha Murty , Chanda Kochar the list is endless.

We talk of honour killings, I think I should advocate female feticide and honour killings. I am now committed to killing the honour of the academicians and policymakers. I wish to destroy their mental attitudes and their approaches through this blog?

Any body who wishes to join me in my fight is welcome whether its men or women. And one final question are You Willing to publish this blog.

Manni JaiSuravajhala

Connect to me at

Mannijai1@gmail.com