Day Twenty

Today was quite productive. I had the opportunity to sit in on a presentation by Arundati titled Constrained Choices that was about It was about "understanding help-seeking behavior of young unmarried women for sexual and reproductive health problem in Mumbai." It was quite interesting, especially when I asked the presenter why the mothers of these girls wouldn't allow their daughter to be interviewed. The answer was some what surprising when she told me that the mothers don't believe their daughters need to be learning those kinds of things, that it was only for the "bad girls."

As much as I wanted to stay for the Q&A portion of the presentation I had to begin working on finishing up my report...which I successfully completed the rough draft just before leaving for the day. All that needs to be done now is some editing and polishing, then I can have Garima take quick look at it before I make corrections for the final. 

As soon I was done for the day I headed over to Apsara to have  quick massage since my body was aching me from the horse riding yesterday. As much as I would like to say it was good and relaxing...it wasn't. In fact...I felt like one of my friends with no real massage experience was giving me a massage on my bed. There was no synchronization to her movements whatsoever...and I when asked if I liked it...well I told them the truth...I did not.

Following the 10 minutes massage I caught the rickshaw to Juhu beach where I met up with Nikki, Delphine, and later Preethi, Joanne (and her husband), and a new girl I was introduced to named Laila, and one other guy I forgot him name. We went to this short movie film festival at Prithvi House, which I thought would be a pretty good experience since I never really been to one before. I will say the first movie really need some kind of warning before it was shown. In the U.S. there is usually some kind of graphic label on any time of film that may cause a person to be nauseous or uncomfortable...and this film (Qana) definitely needed one. It really hit hard...and left me with my jaw dropped. So did the film dreadful fate, which followed people in Andra Pradesh who were and still are effected by fluoride in their drinking water. 

QANA (33 min)

Produced by: Mohammadreza Abbasian

This documentary from Iran is a renewed unfolding of files related to the massacre of civilians of a Lebanese village named Qana who had taken refuge in a UN base in 1996.

DREADFUL FATE (22 min)

Produced by: Lavanya Krishnan

Directed by: Dulam Satyanarayana

This film is an insight into the hideous lives of those innocent people who fall prey to the most basic need for survival – water.

A FAMILY DRAMA (20 min)

Produced and Directed by: Tanmayee Deo & Dnyanesh Zoting

This film is an attempt to interpret the traditional Indian family and marriage systems within the context of the modern scenario. In the film, Mugdha, the 21-year-old protagonist, rejects to be a part of the marriage system and rebels in her own way. 

TRISHANKU (17 min)

Produced and Directed by: Dnyanesh Zoting

The protagonist of this film, Vivek, is an elite class engineering student who belongs to the Other Backward Castes (OBC) category. Vivek faces a dilemma between his caste identity and his higher economic status.

The dilemma turns into a mental struggle when two persons come into his life; first is a sophisticated Brahmin girl and the other is a Dalit student activist.

 LAPANDAV (Hide and Seek) (13 min)

Produced & Directed By: Tanmayee Deo

Manu, a 10-year-old girl from a typical Maharashtrian Brahmin family, is entering adolescence. She happens to come across a Kathakali artist. His colourful appearance and gestures fascinate her. But as she moves deeper into this space, unexpected things start to unfold. Just as the game of Hide and Seek where you never know what you will come across.

Afterwards we at at Alfredo's this Italian restaurant right down the street where I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo of course...and it was actually pretty good. We chatted for a while and took lots of pictures, and that pretty much concluded my night!