DEVcast

KISS

Piyoo — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:23:22 +0000

Keep it simple silly – thats what I could think of when I saw this video! Its a simple way of combining, words, with pictures and voice over! The message however that it communicates has nothing simple about it. Girls and women face challenges that could break the most hardest of us but they still manage to overcome their circumstances and give hope. Its a simple but powerful video and am glad that powerful forces such as New York Times and International Herald Tribune have combined their resources and reach to capture these stories.

Growing up

Piyoo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:55:12 +0000

The first thought when I saw this video was how fast a girl grows up into a role that society expects of her. There can be countless debates and researches that can state whether the nurturing nature is biological or social or both. But for Punam and children like her there is no debate, they have to grow up and take on responsibilities that expect from them much more than what can be expected of a nine year old.
There is no doubt that Punam being able to go to school despite all the hardships and household chores, can make her a “success story” (it is a loaded term, but I use it nevertheless). However, it is not hard to see the future when all it will take is one decision to stop her from going to school and take care of family and start earning. But till then she gets to be a parent without having fully lived as a child. As development workers we must provide alternatives that can help best leverage the existing circumstances of an individual or community, in this case what Punam has going for her is her father letting her be educated, which sadly is not the case for other children from her neighborhood.

A new caste system?

Piyoo — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:17:57 +0000

This video made me question a lot of things and I will try to coherently narrate them in the hope that some of you will comment on this. I believe that the experience with caste, religion are very different when you are growing up and that as an adult. The reasons are numerous but will save them for another day.

However, ever since I moved to the US, one of the questions I have most frequently been asked by my peers here is – is the 4-caste’s system still very prevalent in India? This video confirmed my unease with a yes/no answer to that question. It is impossible to give a yes/no answer. And an average attention span often is way shorter than the time taken to explain the complexity of the answer I may need to give to justify that response.

The reason I mention the age of an individual when you experience caste/religion is because for me it has been that. I did not grow up in India. So when I returned to India as a teenager and started working in the social development field, my understanding of history, caste system, social construct, rich-poor divide has been key in my decisions to work with marginalized communities. Just as it is hard for people to imagine a ‘South in the North’ it is equally hard acknowledging the fate of the ‘poor’ within the Brahmin caste, otherwise synonymous with wealth, knowledge and plain well-to-do. So is there a caste divide in India? My answer is : there is a “rich-poor” caste in India and the traditional caste system plays into it depending on which side you are from!

Scenario1: Being poor is my primary identity and – if I happen to be a Brahmin then the caste system has not helped me in anyway to remain rich today, if I happen to be a Dalit then the caste system exists. Scenario2: Being rich is my primary identity and – if I happen to be a Dalit then the caste system has been reversed for the first time making me an equal, if I happen to be a Brahmin then the caste system has continued to keep my supreme status intact.

So you tell me, what kind of caste system exists in India?

Stop looking

Piyoo — Sun, 25 May 2008 23:32:03 +0000

There are countless times in any woman’s lives that we cross a road or a street and cant help but want to scream ’stop looking’. Eve-teasing has been tackled by various people through different ways, for some of my favourite instances, see this project or the video below from Jagori’s project Safe Delhi. Eve-teasing happens even when one doesnt know its happening, it does not need to be a whistle, a touch or anything more obvious, all it takes is – that ‘look’ or even the intention of that ‘look’.

BUT all its takes to stop is that firm action, that scream, that slap!

Our Land – our right

Piyoo — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:32:57 +0000

When I came across this article, I hadnt seen the videos below. As a student of communication and power relations, such examples of subaltern media – to create a space of difference, is always fascinating. Ofcourse those who dont read Hindi, would find it hard to follow, but the gist of the matter you can read in this article as well. (btw, the vidoes are in a 3 parts so click on the arrow at the right edge of the screen)

The choice has to be made

Piyoo — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:07:48 +0000

.. for those who watch videos online. But when I watch videos online I DONT like downloading plug-ins after plug-ins and restart the browser and do all that and then be told its buffering! So my question is : does standardization of format happen? can it happen? who can make it happen? how can they make it happen? who does the nonstandardization serve? who does this nonstandardization hurt?

I found this video on youtube about real player, am not bashing real player but well its not the most universally easy to work with. Let us know if you find similar videos on other video formats.

Love for bread

Piyoo — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:50:16 +0000

I have always been a huge fan of bread… plain wheat, mixed grain, sourdough, etc. And when I found this documentary by Yasmin Fedda on oneworld tv I had to see it. I found this subtle yet intricately captured film about the daily life of Gerald Breadmakers in Edinburg very charming. It may not offer you any great insights into the actual process of bread making but what you do realise is what makes this bread special.

I would love to show this video to a group of women from any rural community in India – especially since I wouldnt need to translate/dub etc. The message is clear and yet simply delivered.

If you know of anymore of such videos feel free to leave a comment here with the link we will feature it.

Training the trainer

Piyoo — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:11:52 +0000

I am not sure if this is what I was thinking of finding, but its a training for trainer kind of video. Though at times it sounds almost like something that presents the best-case-scenario of how immunization is done. It is also a good guide to a public health graduate to know how it really should happen and what it should look like once they are done figuring out what’s really going wrong!

All my body needs

Piyoo — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:01:26 +0000

Nutrition abounds in our food, all we need to do is identify the food that is nutritious and hence good for our body. National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad uses folk music and dance to serve nutrition in a song. Aaah you get it, I dont speak telugu, so the words i picked up are: thindi, poshkahara and a couple more.

But I like the low-budget-ness of this video, though why wouldnt you shoot it outside – are the elements so hard to overcome in shooting a dance? I think it will be really apt as a radio song about nutrition too – so if you dont watch it full screen its ok

Power of collectives

Piyoo — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:35:15 +0000

Age old adage – united we stand, divided we fall. Meena’s friend experiences that in this episode. The power of collective has the potential to be used both for good, evil or for teaching a lesson Its not hard to use it for the evil, often all it takes is a week moment but fear not, change is easy too, just acknowledge and lose the I for the We!