I am an avid reader of MetroNow* and I am all for its innovative way of bringing us HOT NEWS. This letter is in reference to your cover story ('Girl Power') on Thursday. Here's my opinion and I hope it gets acknowledged.
I want to tell you a story. I want you to listen to me. And I want you to listen to yourselves.
This is a story about a girl student from the North-east full of hopes and dreams, walking towards her college one fine day. I want you to visualise this girl. She's dressed in a cool t-shirt and jeans, and like any other students, carries a bag full of books and notes.
Suddenly, someone along the roadside cries out, "Oye, Chinky!" She turns to see some young fellas... laughing at her, mocking her, teasing her, ridiculing her, passing derogatory comments - racial and lewd.
It was all way too painful for her. Silent tears begin to flow down her cheeks. They don't seem to care. They continue to make fun of her sexuality and ethnicity. They make fun of her not just because she's a woman, but because she looks so different. Then, comes the police, oh, the big, caring Delhi Police! They simply ask her to follow a proper dress code. That way she wouldn't face such attacks anymore, they say.
Can you see her? Her tear-ridden face spewing with innocence, being subjected to racial, ethnic, religious, and gender prejudices. Can you see her? I want you to picture that girl. Now imagine she's a “a native northern Indian girl”.
by Lunte Samte
aka vaphualization
[Letter to Editor, MetroNow, page 31, Sept 21, 2007 issue]
*The Times Group & HT Media Ltd. joint venture, Delhi
4 comments:
Always the critic, i have to say this again, pls dont mind
In the end, you say "Imagine she is a North Indian Girl", but i cant imagine how your readers can do that, if they do, then i say they are not interested in your writing, or their mind is somewhere else.....
i will give my reasons: -
1. First off, the topic says...Story of an NE Girl ------- the readers already knows even before reading your story that this is about NE girl
2. Second off, you tell that in the beginning of the story that this is "about a girl student from North-east.." ----- this again points to the region where the girl in your story comes from, and it is left to the imagaination of the readers what her facial looks will be....
3. Thirdly and not definitely the least, in the story there was a racial remark "Oye, Chinki!" ------- the readers are once again reminded that the girl is of Mongoliod race!!
i like reading your writings, but i seems to be finding goofs in them, not that i am looking for it, but when it is there, well, i see it..and other readers will also definite see what i see....
when writing stories or anything, it is good that, we must look from different perspective, from diffent veiews, and most important is from the perspective of the readers, coz they are going to be the judge!
thank you for the amazing critic. yeah, you'd find goofs in it, lots of them. i ain't no erich segal or chetan bhagat. : )
in fact, the story would suffice if i didn't put up the last line -- the very line that piques your curiosity... but i was trying to move the minds of the readers. okay, she's a chinky, the readers know it quite well, and i don't want the readers to take an about turn and imagine her as a Hindu girl in the end. i want the readers to not just listen to me, but to listen to themselves. i want them to picture the girl. she faces such abuse because she's a chinky. what if she's just another northern indian girl? will she face such abuse?
so sad! Vaite hi chu aw.....!the same story happen all over India now.
Here is another critic...bear with me plzzz
The NE girl receives a racial comments or discrimination from somebody near the roadside as well as the police by calling her as chinky or ask her to dress properly. But are they the only one who discriminated the girl?
No no no...the writer himself is also a part of those north indian guys or the delhi police cos' he happily accepted that the NE people are Chinky and repeatedly calling her as CHINKY in the comment column.Thanks
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