Raging for a greener future: How Punjab's soil turned her into an activist
PUNJAB: After living as a dutiful housewife for 25 long years, something suddenly stirred in Samita Kaur (now 51) in 2020. Back when the world was reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic and the farmers were holding protests on the outskirts of the national capital against the three contentious farm laws (later repealed), Samita was fighting her own battle.
She had spent years looking after her ailing in-laws and playing the role of a nurturer at home. But she had made up her mind to walk out of a marriage that she felt was suppressing her. And she didn't care how society would react. 'Divorce, in my opinion, shouldn't be seen as a taboo. It can be seen as a positive step, too,' she muses.
Ask her why she suddenly decided to part ways with her husband, and pat comes her reply: 'I wanted to set an example for our children. I had to tell them that they must not compromise on their principles. That they shouldn't be okay with violence. To stand up against atrocities and look adversities in the eye. It's unfortunate that our society often pressurises a woman to stay in a marriage for the sake of their children. It is time for all to realise that in order to safeguard our children, it is sometimes important to walk away. My marriage ended because I was being degraded and abused in front of my kids.'
But it wasn't as easy as it sounds now. Samita barely had a small set of clothes and little money when she walked away from her husband. But she soldiered on. Luckily, there was a happy ending.
'The broken relationship between my husband and me has now turned into a friendship that we are taking forward for our children. It just shows that something positive always comes out of everything. When you have seen the worst in life, you stop fearing anything. And you start treating tomorrow as just another day.'
And it was those testing times that made her realise who would always have her back. 'My children, father, friends and our extended family were my biggest support system. It's during those tough times that you realise how superficial money is. It comes and goes. All that matters is who stands with you.'
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New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Raging for a greener future: How Punjab's soil turned her into an activist
PUNJAB: After living as a dutiful housewife for 25 long years, something suddenly stirred in Samita Kaur (now 51) in 2020. Back when the world was reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic and the farmers were holding protests on the outskirts of the national capital against the three contentious farm laws (later repealed), Samita was fighting her own battle. She had spent years looking after her ailing in-laws and playing the role of a nurturer at home. But she had made up her mind to walk out of a marriage that she felt was suppressing her. And she didn't care how society would react. 'Divorce, in my opinion, shouldn't be seen as a taboo. It can be seen as a positive step, too,' she muses. Ask her why she suddenly decided to part ways with her husband, and pat comes her reply: 'I wanted to set an example for our children. I had to tell them that they must not compromise on their principles. That they shouldn't be okay with violence. To stand up against atrocities and look adversities in the eye. It's unfortunate that our society often pressurises a woman to stay in a marriage for the sake of their children. It is time for all to realise that in order to safeguard our children, it is sometimes important to walk away. My marriage ended because I was being degraded and abused in front of my kids.' But it wasn't as easy as it sounds now. Samita barely had a small set of clothes and little money when she walked away from her husband. But she soldiered on. Luckily, there was a happy ending. 'The broken relationship between my husband and me has now turned into a friendship that we are taking forward for our children. It just shows that something positive always comes out of everything. When you have seen the worst in life, you stop fearing anything. And you start treating tomorrow as just another day.' And it was those testing times that made her realise who would always have her back. 'My children, father, friends and our extended family were my biggest support system. It's during those tough times that you realise how superficial money is. It comes and goes. All that matters is who stands with you.'
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Artist Jayasri Burman on how her love for the the Ganga flows through her canvas
By Jayasri Burman I was still a child when the river Ganga became an indelible part of how I perceived the world. Growing up in Kolkata, visiting the ghats of the river with my family for Mahalaya was an annual ritual. We would offer prayers for our departed ancestors and my father would bathe in the river. Though I participated in the rituals with sincerity, what truly captivated me was the array of activities on the banks. Any ghat we visited across Kolkata — whether Bagbazar, Nimtala or Dakshineswar — it was like a theatre stage, with so many scenes unfolding. If at one end people would be performing aarti, at another they would be mixing black rice and banana to be offered to the river for their ancestors. There would be mourning widows casting their precious shakha-pola bangles into the holy river and another side had people oiling themselves, performing surya pranam exercises. I think it was my admiration for the Ganga that led to the presence of water as an element in my art. Even as a six-seven year old, I would often have a river in my drawings, flowing from the mountains. I still have some of those drawings. Later, of course, the thought-process became more layered, enriched with mythological references merged with my own fantastical imaginations. The river transformed into a mother figure for me. I found it mystical and mysterious how one river could hold such ability to empower and evoke such enduring faith. In many ways, I am still looking for answers. Tracing its course — spanning over 2,500 km from the Himalayas to central India and Bangladesh — you realise how it has been a source of fertility and joy across the region. Even in mythology, she marries King Shantanu and goes on to drown her eight sons for their moksha. This represents the selfless spirit of motherhood, her willingness to suppress her emotional attachment to her children. Over the years, I developed a primordial relationship with the river. I made a conscious effort to pay my obeisance at different ghats, planning trips to places such as Haridwar, Rishikesh, Varanasi and across West Bengal. At every place devotion to her brings people together, yet what we encounter as pilgrims differs. If in Rishikesh the serene waters invite quiet contemplation, in Varanasi the burning ghats flicker with fire at night. There are sadhus with faces smeared with bhasma, vendors selling bead necklaces. Draped in saris with no adornment except the streak of sindoor on their heads, women selling shiv lingams appear to be manifestation of Durga herself. As my admiration for the Ganga deepened, I found myself immersed in the rich mythology, literature and history that detail it. In 2021, when during Covid we saw dead bodies floating in the Ganga, my desire to paint its determination and resilience grew manifold. Though a passage for the dead, the river remained pristine. I began to explore the countless stories that its waters carry, imbibing them into my own imagined landscapes, using creative liberties that I have as an artist. If as Nandini, in my depiction she is seated graciously on a Kamadhenu-like cow in conversation with ducks and hybrid humans, as Adhishree she takes the form of a mermaid in a lotus pond. Kumudini portrays her under a floral umbrella, and as Panchaya Kanya she sits on an elephant, calmly controlling the flow of water with her hands. A series of drawings dedicated to Haridwar have abstract lines come together to create figurative forms and weave narratives of life around it. In the 22-foot bronze sculpture, Jahnavi I — where we see mother Ganga with a lotus headgear, standing on a crocodile and holding a baby girl who morphs into a bird — the river becomes the universe itself, urging people to safeguard the Earth, represented by the child who embodies our shared future. We'll face the consequences of our actions in the years to come. The sculpture's features and form were also inspired by my time learning traditional sculpting techniques from potters at Kumartuli, located near the Hooghly River (a distributary of the Ganga). The lessons I gained there, much like the wisdom imparted by the Ganga, are lifelong. As a river of unwavering faith, the Ganga inspires me with her unbounding resilience. As told to Vandana Kalra
India Today
3 days ago
- India Today
Major gender gaps in reading, maths and academic leadership, shows UNESCO report
The UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25 has raised serious concerns over gender inequalities in both education outcomes and leadership positions across the world. According to the report, boys are consistently falling behind girls in reading proficiency, especially in middle-income average, only 87 boys meet the minimum reading level for every 100 girls. This gap widens significantly in middle-income countries, where only 72 boys reach the standard per 100 girls. advertisementDespite these trends, the report notes that gender gaps in mathematics have remained stable for two decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have disrupted this balance. Girls in countries like Brazil, Chile, England, Italy, and New Zealand experienced noticeable drops in their math performance compared to GAP IN ACADEMIC LEADERSHIPIn terms of leadership, the gender gap remains steep. In India, only 5% of women held top positions such as vice-chancellors or directors in 189 national institutions in 2021. In a broader survey of 1,220 universities, just 9% were women vice-chancellors, and 11% held registrar or top administrative are also under-represented as school principals across all school types in India. The report points out that gender bias in promotions and the lack of female representation in top roles continue to be major Pakistan and Balochistan, gender segregation in schools further restricts women's leadership opportunities, limiting them to girls-only institutions. In Balochistan, only 29% of schools were girls' schools in 2021, reducing opportunities for female PROGRESS IN OTHER COUNTRIESBy contrast, Vietnam showed relatively better progress, with 28% of university leadership positions held by women in 2019. However, only 8% served as presidents or rectors, showing that even where women enter leadership, the highest roles remain out of report concludes that while there has been progress, gender parity is still far from reality in both education quality and leadership across much of the world.
