I have been struggling to find words about the heinous and tragic crime of sexual violence and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata, and have only been amplifying stories of women & medical professionals so far.
But looking at the comments in so many posts of women, I’ve been horrified & disturbed.. but sadly not surprised. Hundreds of men have, as usual, chosen to respond with ‘Not all men’, ‘Men get raped too’, ‘Fake feminism’, ‘Victim card’, ‘Attention seeker’ and so on.
They are going to attack this post too, and I’m not sure if there’s any easy way to fight that mindset, so this post is aimed at the other men: who are feeling deeply uncomfortable today, and aren’t sure what men can do to help. As it turns out: we can do EVERYTHING.
1/10
WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW
Listen, read and amplify
A lot of the anger today is aimed at men, and rightfully so. Instead of reacting to it or taking it personally, we must read as many accounts of women speaking up, to understand and acknowledge their pain. And we must then use our platforms to amplify as many of those voices as we can.
But this must not stop only at social media. We must create spaces among our families, friends and teammates, for women to be able to express themselves without judgement, shame or fear. Listen, but not to react, or even to respond, but to just intentionally, meaningfully and genuinely listen.
2/10
Feb 3 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
Wow, so #PoonamPandey is alive. A friend of mine told me in private last night that this is a campaign by a digital agency, but I was skeptical. Because could we really fall this low? Looks like we have.
So many things wrong with this. #Thread
There are hundreds of thousands of people who die from cancer every year. To use a cancer-led death as a tool for a publicity stunt is one of the most insensitive, thoughtless, vile ideas anyone's come up with. You've diminished real deaths & suffering, and made a mockery of a terrible illness.
Dec 11, 2023 • 21 tweets • 7 min read
Spoke to @shrutisonal26 for a @timesofindia piece on 'The rise of alpha males' thanks to films like Animal, Gadar & <name the South blockbuster>.
While I don't disagree that hypermasculinity has made big bucks, I have a contrarian view on its rise. The reason? @iamsrk
#Thread
If there's a trend about so-called alpha males, and the associated misogyny, aggression and violence, I urge everyone to look at another trend: the giant success of the 'softboy' masculinity of SRK's 500 Cr+ blockbusters of this very year, Pathaan and Jawan.
Some examples:
Dec 31, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
My Annual List of TV, movie and book recommendations is here! ☺️ instagram.com/p/Cm1h8XsOsZE/…
My top TV Dramas, Dramedies and Fun Things from 2022:
May 30, 2022 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
#Thread on the memeification of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial:
Alright, so I know I'm going to get hate for this thread, but I'm a bit fed up of seeing the hundreds of (mostly Heard) parody videos + memes from the trial, and I'm a bit sick about what they represent.
1/n
First: everything I know about the trial, I know against my will. I've never sought out, read up on, or watched videos of the trial - until it started seeking me. Until I wasn't able to escape it. Until it became pop culture the same way Trump did, *before* he was elected.
2/n
Nov 13, 2021 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
I keep thinking about the 23-year-old software engineer from IIT Hyderabad, who has been caught and jailed for giving a rape threat to Virat Kohli's infant daughter.
I'm glad he's being held accountable - but it's disturbing and tragic to see: this is who we are now.
#Thread
His background seems antithetical to his actions:
- He studied in a premiere Indian education institution
- He worked at a top-tier food startup
- He is a software engineer who was studying to do a masters in the US
- He is from a higher socio-economic background
- He is 23!
For the last few days, I've not been thinking of Aryan Khan, the son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, but of Aryan, a 23-year-old young Indian, who was caught by an investigative agency for an alleged misdemenor. And I've been thinking about his mental health.
This is a young Indian, who has allegedly broken a law, with an offence that ultimately harms no one else but his own self.
Yes, there is no legal justification for what he did, but the criminal ramification of it must be a punishment commiserate with the scale of the offence.
I haven't been able to write much since the second wave. Initially, it was the emotional toll that led to, what is called, 'compassion fatigue' (aka, I was dead inside). But I realise now it's more than that: it's 'commodification fatigue'.
2/ I'm exhausted. Of seeing how the internet has turned every thought, feeling and action into a commodity. And worse, we have now started ascribing value to people based on whose emotion - in the shortest, smartest, snazziest way - can fetch the most likes, shares & validation.
Roles for 3-6 yrs work ex:
- A campaigns & programmes lead with work ex in impact organisations
- A community growth lead who's built online + offline campus communities
- A video content lead with YouTube expertise
- A social media all-star
Please RT :)
After a tough second wave, July's been exciting for @weareyuvaa, and we have awesome things lined up this year across content, campaigns, community, campus activations and research, with some of India's most respected brands & impact organisations.
Mail us on career@yuvaa.co.in.
Apr 24, 2021 • 29 tweets • 27 min read
Since last week, many people/organisations have put together tonnes of resources. Trying to compile them here.
If you are COVID positive, or have a loved one affected by COVID, @weareyuvaa is hosting a FREE session with a clinical psychologist in collaboration with @MindPeersCo.
Since the pandemic began, a lot of citizens raised their voices online to try and hold our governments and media accountable to doing better by us in this time of crises.
Here's what we were countered with online:
Do we know how the money we donated to the government funds is being used? Is it being used to build medical infrastructure?
"Don't spread negativity"
Nov 27, 2020 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
It's a disgrace how our politicians treat our farmers.
In COVID, our farmers were on the frontlines, making sure we don't go hungry, at the risk of their lives. And today, we are unwilling to even hear them out - and are tear gassing them!
SHAME on us for not standing by them.
Why have we become a country that's scared of merely listening to/having a dialogue with our own citizens? Isn't that what leadership means? Isn't that the job of a government in a democracy that is supposed to be 'of, for, by' the people?
Why is our response ALWAYS aggression?
Oct 14, 2020 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
What we are seeing play out with the #Tanishq ad has long been coming. Since the British, many-a-government has tried 'divide and rule' for its votebank, but it is the genius of the current political machinery that creates news cycles to keep us busy hating each other.
#Thread2/ The previous governments did elaborate PR to appease minorities (while not actually caring about them), which pushed the majority towards a severe persecution complex. Our present government has seized the opportunity to capitalise on that by feeding into this irrational fear.
Sep 27, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Congratulations to Adi sir and @yrf, a place I called home for 4 years, and that gave me the best opportunities, most creative freedom, and kindest working environment in my professional career.
I owe a lot to YRF and I made friends for life there. Hope it continues soaring :)
Congratulations to all the lovely people who make up & have made the many parts of the studio, who are the closest I've come to knowing what a 'work family' can feel like.. when everyone comes together for doing good work, but with utmost respect and love for each other. #YRF50
Sep 21, 2020 • 15 tweets • 7 min read
My list from July.. let's see how many turn out to be true. #emmys
Happy for Mark Ruffalo who is absolutely incredible, but wouldn't it have been something if Paul Mescal had won. I mean, what a debut. #NormalPeople#Emmys
Of late, a pattern has emerged, where the Hindi film industry has relentlessly been under attack, accused of everything from 'nepotism' to being a 'drug mafia', with people holding Bollywood celebs more accountable than our politicians.
2/ Yes, the industry isn't perfect by any standards. It has a long way to go before it addresses the skeletons in its cupboards (and there are many). As does ANY other industry in India.
The difference is that Bollywood's many issues are a source of gossip for the larger public.
Sep 14, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Job opening at @weareyuvaa:
Research Associate with 2-4 years work ex, ideally at a reputed research firm.
Should've knowledge of qual/quant + analysis + creating research methodologies + conducting research.
Should've worked with youth.
Mail CVs to yash@yuvaa.co.in.
Please RT :)
Job opening #2 at @weareyuvaa:
Editor with 3-5 years work ex, ideally at reputed digital firms.
Should have end-to-end knowledge of post production.
Should have worked across genres, on youth-led/focused YouTube + Instagram videos.
Mail CVs to kevin@yuvaa.co.in.
Please RT :)
As the weekend has brought with it some calm, it may be the right time to talk about the relentless outrage that preceded it, this time led by, upon & because of Kangana Ranaut, that spilled from online to offline and captured much of the news cycle..
2/ It matters little what happened and why; what matters instead is the trap I see most of us, particularly people who identify as liberals and left-leaning, repeatedly fall into: the outrage trap.
We are both bait and prey for this trap, and both consumers and products of it.
Until 2018, for 7 years, I was visiting faculty at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, where I taught News Reporting to Third Year BMM students of Journalism (I'd started my career as a reporter for HT). As a teacher, here's what I'd tell my students today:
2/ Dear students, for the last few years, we've witnessed the steady, tragic decline of journalism in our country, to a level where news broadcasters today are brazenly peddling fake news and unabashedly selling manufactured opinion as 'BREAKING NEWS'.
In less than 48 hours, the JEE gets underway, even as India reaches the highest #COVID19 per day cases globally. There have been many reports of students taking their lives for the fear of giving exams in a pandemic, but there's been no postponement.
2/ Even if, miraculously, the Education Ministry does postpone these exams tomorrow, it would be besides the point because of the spectacular damage that these exams have already done to lakhs of students in India: even more so than they do every year.
