Like a window's tears,
It transformed,
When her child disappeared
And even the silence of
Aloneness started asking,
Like a suicidal shadow,
“Who are you crying for”?
Its not who, but what …
Said the English teacher,
She switched off the lights,
Trying to extinguish.
Sun rays straightened up,
Reflected on shattered
Glass pieces,
Symbols of yesterday’s dance,
And like an abstract art piece
They formed, to scream,
“Are you crying for lost motherhood”?
She just closed the curtains,
And darkened the faces
Of those glass pieces,
Till they became stained in red.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
45 Sermon
decided to mix up a bit. first of all, had a very quiet Diwali in India ;) and visited a rural area, which is the border of 2 states, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. funny thing is, both these areas are trying to separate and form another state. Telangana part, which may happen soon, and Vidarbha part which is not so well known, and may take time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidarbha)
was watching TV about Diwali celebrations from this vidarbha part, on various Marathi language TV channels, and there was almost no news or even mention of anything happening from Vidarbha side at all.
really can't imagine, how vidarbha ppl tolerate this... most dont even seem to be aware of such a partisan treatment.
anyway, back to old style.. here goes..
45) Sermon
Search not for peace of mind,
Sit back and see the world around;
Forget yourself for a while,
Share somebody’s sorrow for a change.
Give sympathy to a wounded heart,
Let a sinner, a new life, start;
Show mercy to a fallen down man,
Aid any unfortunate friend in pain.
Return some kindness to mother nature,
She will rear tomorrow’s children.
Hesitate not, to solemnly promise her,
Rage we won’t ever on her soil, another war.
Just sacrifice some of your pleasures,
To keep earth livable for coming generations,
Pray not for forgiveness to some God,
Both hell and heaven are here in this world.
To repent all your wrong doings,
And to make your life a huge success,
Send the poet, what you can liberally,
And all your sins will be, forgiven finally.
was watching TV about Diwali celebrations from this vidarbha part, on various Marathi language TV channels, and there was almost no news or even mention of anything happening from Vidarbha side at all.
really can't imagine, how vidarbha ppl tolerate this... most dont even seem to be aware of such a partisan treatment.
anyway, back to old style.. here goes..
45) Sermon
Search not for peace of mind,
Sit back and see the world around;
Forget yourself for a while,
Share somebody’s sorrow for a change.
Give sympathy to a wounded heart,
Let a sinner, a new life, start;
Show mercy to a fallen down man,
Aid any unfortunate friend in pain.
Return some kindness to mother nature,
She will rear tomorrow’s children.
Hesitate not, to solemnly promise her,
Rage we won’t ever on her soil, another war.
Just sacrifice some of your pleasures,
To keep earth livable for coming generations,
Pray not for forgiveness to some God,
Both hell and heaven are here in this world.
To repent all your wrong doings,
And to make your life a huge success,
Send the poet, what you can liberally,
And all your sins will be, forgiven finally.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Street play: Misconceptions about Mental Illnesses
Street play: Misconceptions about Mental Illnesses
(About 6-7 actors are the minimum need, and up to 10 actors can take part as it is flexible.)
Props: about 10 placards. 9 of them needed to be tied at two ends with a thread, or if more elaborate work can be done, then they can be stuck to caps or some head gear. In big lettering they should be written:
1) Pollution,
2) Infection
3) Food poisoning
4) Pickpocket
5) Angry boss
6) Death
7) Typhoid or cancer
8) Mad
9) Recovered mad
10) This will continue
SCENE - 1:
A director is doing his job, setting up a scene of a mental hospital. He is frantically running around, yelling at his actors and actresses to yell out more loudly, attack each other, laugh loudly and cry together, move body more etc. There are a few actors who are trying to look and behave like inmates of a mental hospital from a typical Hindi film. (The attempt is to make the mentally ill people look like they are a mix between insane and intellectually retarded people, who do stupid things, which is supposed to make audience laugh).
The clapboard is closed to indicate the scene has started, and then there is mayhem and chaos. Somebody is crying out loudly and laughing, a doctor is running around giving direct shock from broken wire and hitting people with a big hammer, somebody runs around to attack the audience. Suddenly a guy from outside walks in and the director yells, “cut, cut”.
The guy: (Who just walked in) What’s all this?
Director: We are shooting a mental hospital scene.
Guy: But hey, have you ever been to a mental hospital, seen the inside of a mental hospital?
Director: No, never, I didn’t have to… haha… haha
Guy: Hey, this is not a laughing matter, how can you show all these people about a mental hospital if you have not even bothered to find how it is?, and I don’t understand, even educated people like you (fingering audience) laugh when somebody is insulting your intelligence like this?? (the audience who were having fun till now, quiet down as they realize they had not thought of it earlier).
Director: hey, you got a point there, how does a mental hospital look?
Guy: let’s go to one, and let me show you all.
SCENE - 2:
Scene of a mental hospital as it usually looks in most parts of the world. It is more like any ordinary hospital for physiological diseases. There are a few people going on about their business, some are lost in their own world. Some are doing meaningful work. The doctor is treating people in a humane way. One of the guys is seen as being discharged as he has recovered and moving out. Other inmates wish him luck just in the normal way. The director is walking around observing all this and he claps his hands with other inmates when they clap to give the recovered patient a warm goodbye. Claps and claps.
SCENE - 3:
At the two ends of stage two people are standing. A voice over comes and introduces them. Then guy-1 starts walking forward and is seen walking ahead all the time. Suddenly he closes his nose as if he has neared a smelly place. A person wearing the board pollution runs out to the stage and runs around guy-1 and disappears. Guy-1 gets a bit tired and droops, but within a few seconds straightens up and walks back normally.
Then guy-2 walks ahead, towards him a guy with board of pick-pocket runs and circles and disappears. The guy-2 after few seconds searches and finds his loss and droops for some seconds, then shrugs off and walks back normally. Similarly for guy-1 food poisoning comes and for guy-2 it is firing from his boss, and in the third round, infection through mosquito for guy-1 and death of a close person for guy-2. All three times they recover after momentary affect.
Then in the fourth round for guy-1 all three things come together and dance around him and he falls down, and when the dancers disappear he is wearing a board - typhoid. And for guy-2 all three things dance and he also falls down and is seen wearing a board MAD.
Voice over: when our body is imbalanced it shows symptoms - sometimes they are psychological symptoms and sometimes they are physiological and sometime a mixed effect. The person is not responsible for it totally in either case.
SCENE - 4:
again guy-1 and guy-2 are standing at 2 ends, guy-1 is cared by his family, but guy-2 with MAD as the board on him is kicked out and people are pushing him, laughing at him, kids throw stones at him etc. guy-1 recovers quickly, puts on the board on recovered from typhoid and is welcomed by his colleagues and relatives. Guy-2 is put in mental hospital and recovers slowly alone and is put on the board of recovered MAD.
When guy-2 returns home, a small kid runs to welcome him, but other older members restrain her and tells him to get lost, and that once MAD means always MAD. Onlookers also nod their heads to agree and laugh at the recovered mad guy-2 and push him away, kids throw stones at him, and everyone dance madly around him. When they go back, the guy-2 is put the board of MAD and he is lying down on the floor in pain.
Voice over: “discrimination done between a physiological and a mental disease is due to ignorance, nobody can change the chemical changes that happens in their brain just like nobody can kill cancer cells on their own. Both are diseases and these people need help and co-operation from outside world”.
SCENE - 5:
One guy comes in front and tells the audience that to help people in distress and improve our society we need unity, if we stand together we can overcome problems. Another actor then walks in and says we need mass education, and that knowledge is the key for a better future. The first guy is looking in astonishment when a third actor comes and says we need sympathy for others and peace in our heart and the world will become a paradise.
The two others push the third away and a fourth comes and says we need to have faith and belief, and only God can help us sinners, and fifth and sixth one come together and start saying technological advances are what we need to concentrate and sixth one yells justice and equality should be enforced and their is a pushing match and these people start yelling and hitting each other and mayhem and chaos reigns. One guy with a big placard written, “THIS WILL CONTINUE”, walks around the fighting people as the curtain falls. (To signify, good intentions also require team work and systematic efforts to reach fruitful stage, this is the punch line or twist at the end).
[This street-play won 2nd prize in Bombay Univ. annual fest. in ’97. Written and directed by Venky Iyer, Actors: Shashank, Deepa, Vidya, Indrayani, Atish, Venky (MA Psycho) & Abhijit and Samir]
(About 6-7 actors are the minimum need, and up to 10 actors can take part as it is flexible.)
Props: about 10 placards. 9 of them needed to be tied at two ends with a thread, or if more elaborate work can be done, then they can be stuck to caps or some head gear. In big lettering they should be written:
1) Pollution,
2) Infection
3) Food poisoning
4) Pickpocket
5) Angry boss
6) Death
7) Typhoid or cancer
8) Mad
9) Recovered mad
10) This will continue
SCENE - 1:
A director is doing his job, setting up a scene of a mental hospital. He is frantically running around, yelling at his actors and actresses to yell out more loudly, attack each other, laugh loudly and cry together, move body more etc. There are a few actors who are trying to look and behave like inmates of a mental hospital from a typical Hindi film. (The attempt is to make the mentally ill people look like they are a mix between insane and intellectually retarded people, who do stupid things, which is supposed to make audience laugh).
The clapboard is closed to indicate the scene has started, and then there is mayhem and chaos. Somebody is crying out loudly and laughing, a doctor is running around giving direct shock from broken wire and hitting people with a big hammer, somebody runs around to attack the audience. Suddenly a guy from outside walks in and the director yells, “cut, cut”.
The guy: (Who just walked in) What’s all this?
Director: We are shooting a mental hospital scene.
Guy: But hey, have you ever been to a mental hospital, seen the inside of a mental hospital?
Director: No, never, I didn’t have to… haha… haha
Guy: Hey, this is not a laughing matter, how can you show all these people about a mental hospital if you have not even bothered to find how it is?, and I don’t understand, even educated people like you (fingering audience) laugh when somebody is insulting your intelligence like this?? (the audience who were having fun till now, quiet down as they realize they had not thought of it earlier).
Director: hey, you got a point there, how does a mental hospital look?
Guy: let’s go to one, and let me show you all.
SCENE - 2:
Scene of a mental hospital as it usually looks in most parts of the world. It is more like any ordinary hospital for physiological diseases. There are a few people going on about their business, some are lost in their own world. Some are doing meaningful work. The doctor is treating people in a humane way. One of the guys is seen as being discharged as he has recovered and moving out. Other inmates wish him luck just in the normal way. The director is walking around observing all this and he claps his hands with other inmates when they clap to give the recovered patient a warm goodbye. Claps and claps.
SCENE - 3:
At the two ends of stage two people are standing. A voice over comes and introduces them. Then guy-1 starts walking forward and is seen walking ahead all the time. Suddenly he closes his nose as if he has neared a smelly place. A person wearing the board pollution runs out to the stage and runs around guy-1 and disappears. Guy-1 gets a bit tired and droops, but within a few seconds straightens up and walks back normally.
Then guy-2 walks ahead, towards him a guy with board of pick-pocket runs and circles and disappears. The guy-2 after few seconds searches and finds his loss and droops for some seconds, then shrugs off and walks back normally. Similarly for guy-1 food poisoning comes and for guy-2 it is firing from his boss, and in the third round, infection through mosquito for guy-1 and death of a close person for guy-2. All three times they recover after momentary affect.
Then in the fourth round for guy-1 all three things come together and dance around him and he falls down, and when the dancers disappear he is wearing a board - typhoid. And for guy-2 all three things dance and he also falls down and is seen wearing a board MAD.
Voice over: when our body is imbalanced it shows symptoms - sometimes they are psychological symptoms and sometimes they are physiological and sometime a mixed effect. The person is not responsible for it totally in either case.
SCENE - 4:
again guy-1 and guy-2 are standing at 2 ends, guy-1 is cared by his family, but guy-2 with MAD as the board on him is kicked out and people are pushing him, laughing at him, kids throw stones at him etc. guy-1 recovers quickly, puts on the board on recovered from typhoid and is welcomed by his colleagues and relatives. Guy-2 is put in mental hospital and recovers slowly alone and is put on the board of recovered MAD.
When guy-2 returns home, a small kid runs to welcome him, but other older members restrain her and tells him to get lost, and that once MAD means always MAD. Onlookers also nod their heads to agree and laugh at the recovered mad guy-2 and push him away, kids throw stones at him, and everyone dance madly around him. When they go back, the guy-2 is put the board of MAD and he is lying down on the floor in pain.
Voice over: “discrimination done between a physiological and a mental disease is due to ignorance, nobody can change the chemical changes that happens in their brain just like nobody can kill cancer cells on their own. Both are diseases and these people need help and co-operation from outside world”.
SCENE - 5:
One guy comes in front and tells the audience that to help people in distress and improve our society we need unity, if we stand together we can overcome problems. Another actor then walks in and says we need mass education, and that knowledge is the key for a better future. The first guy is looking in astonishment when a third actor comes and says we need sympathy for others and peace in our heart and the world will become a paradise.
The two others push the third away and a fourth comes and says we need to have faith and belief, and only God can help us sinners, and fifth and sixth one come together and start saying technological advances are what we need to concentrate and sixth one yells justice and equality should be enforced and their is a pushing match and these people start yelling and hitting each other and mayhem and chaos reigns. One guy with a big placard written, “THIS WILL CONTINUE”, walks around the fighting people as the curtain falls. (To signify, good intentions also require team work and systematic efforts to reach fruitful stage, this is the punch line or twist at the end).
[This street-play won 2nd prize in Bombay Univ. annual fest. in ’97. Written and directed by Venky Iyer, Actors: Shashank, Deepa, Vidya, Indrayani, Atish, Venky (MA Psycho) & Abhijit and Samir]
Saturday, October 08, 2011
mental health care ?
...mental health remains a neglected area world over, and more so in undeveloped countries... but for me a favorite area. why so? that i am still trying to figure out.
anyway, there are some encouraging happenings at WHO, such as 'no health without mental health', and increased pressure to make mental health aspects part of of global health etc are occurring.
a book "donde no hey doctor", (where there is no doctor), had become a champion of poor/undeveloped parts of the world - for their health/doctor needs - similarly another book, 'where there is no psychiatrist" has come out, which is a promising sign.
though when i see people putting in lots of efforts to achieve / succeed BUT neglect mental health aspects such as not managing their stress and thus dig their own grave, i can't help but feel confused. many such people achieved a lot, but somehow are unable to prioritize their mental health needs appropriately.
a very good example i can think of right now is, students who are slogging to get good marks / grades in their exams. a common complaint they have or their close one's have is - he/she is good student but gets too stressed. but when stress management inputs are given, these students often tend to neglect practicing it... which is very similar to what adults do too - they complain of stress, even have fatal health problems like heart diseases or BP etc... but still start neglecting their mental health within no time of their treatment.
addictions are another aspect of health - and deaddiction (addiction treatment) falls under mental health area. tobacco addiction even though being shown to be a major killer (the biggest stoppable cause of death among humans now) is very neglected thing - and in a very 'cutting-the-branch-you-are-sitting' manner, governments tend to focus on economic benefits (short term) from tobacco industry instead.
maybe 'military intelligence' is not oxymoron, its mental-health care ;)
p.s. managing emotions is taken for granted... because its invisible. managing concrete resources, materials which are visible gets preference and priority... so everyone runs after those management courses... the funny thing is, even when it affects our self, it remains a joke.
a friend told me, 1 million smokers quit every year... (by dying)... there are 1 million (official figure) people committing suicide as well... thus they manage their mental health problem?
anyway, there are some encouraging happenings at WHO, such as 'no health without mental health', and increased pressure to make mental health aspects part of of global health etc are occurring.
a book "donde no hey doctor", (where there is no doctor), had become a champion of poor/undeveloped parts of the world - for their health/doctor needs - similarly another book, 'where there is no psychiatrist" has come out, which is a promising sign.
though when i see people putting in lots of efforts to achieve / succeed BUT neglect mental health aspects such as not managing their stress and thus dig their own grave, i can't help but feel confused. many such people achieved a lot, but somehow are unable to prioritize their mental health needs appropriately.
a very good example i can think of right now is, students who are slogging to get good marks / grades in their exams. a common complaint they have or their close one's have is - he/she is good student but gets too stressed. but when stress management inputs are given, these students often tend to neglect practicing it... which is very similar to what adults do too - they complain of stress, even have fatal health problems like heart diseases or BP etc... but still start neglecting their mental health within no time of their treatment.
addictions are another aspect of health - and deaddiction (addiction treatment) falls under mental health area. tobacco addiction even though being shown to be a major killer (the biggest stoppable cause of death among humans now) is very neglected thing - and in a very 'cutting-the-branch-you-are-sitting' manner, governments tend to focus on economic benefits (short term) from tobacco industry instead.
maybe 'military intelligence' is not oxymoron, its mental-health care ;)
p.s. managing emotions is taken for granted... because its invisible. managing concrete resources, materials which are visible gets preference and priority... so everyone runs after those management courses... the funny thing is, even when it affects our self, it remains a joke.
a friend told me, 1 million smokers quit every year... (by dying)... there are 1 million (official figure) people committing suicide as well... thus they manage their mental health problem?
23) Inner beauty
23) Inner beauty
You are a shell,
yet unopened
Hiding inside a pearl,
yet coarsely covered.
You are a butterfly,
yet to wake
Sleeping in a cocoon,
yet to break.
Youu are a cloud,
yet to rain
Enough to green a desert,
yet in pain.
You are a rock,
yet not dry
Blemished by nature,
yet never cry.
You are a peacock,
yet never dance
With thousand eyes,
yet never given a glance.
Your are a rainbow,
yet to form
Queen of the skies,
yet slave to storm.
Youu are a poem,
read to the end
Written from the heart,
yet never understood.
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