Surana was in the heart of the cosmopolitan city of Bangalore, unlike most of our previous excursions which have been in the remotest corners of the states from Puthoor in Kerala to Purnea in Bihar or even Boko in Assam. Even so, we were apprised of the unique challenges the private technical institutes faced in the bustling modern city.

Before the actual session we normally have an informal chit-chat with the dean or person incharge of managing the institute to get oriented to the culture of the college in particular and the state/city at large. At Surana we interacted with the chair of the student council Dr Chandana who introduced us to the principal Dr Kumar. Through our conversation Dr Kumar apprised us of the high fees levied by the private technical institutes in the region, which in some cases has led girl students into the trap of sexual favors. On being asked if the same has been reported or a any data available, he shared while no formal complaints have been filed so far but the the social media is rampant with such allegations. A casual search on the net reveals many instances of sexual favors being asked of students for marks in private universities in Karnataka.

The session itself was attended by over 350 students in their beautiful designed cedar wood finished auditorium in the basement. The energy was high after the ‘tech check’ of the sound system was done by presumambly beat boxing!

Each session, as Vanshika (The coordinator of all these sessions on behalf of JOSH TALKS for TVS Raider) and I mused, seems to have its own trajectory mapping the mood of the audience. While we cover all the essential points but the communication adapts itself to each college, city and state we’ve visited so far. While the medium remains Hindi and English, and the media a presentation and a few videos, my extempore interaction changes with each session with inputs from the previous workshops, some personal anecdotes and a gentle push for the students to contribute through their experiences as well.

If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the preferred dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Vizag Chapter click here>>

To read about the Chennai, Chapter click here>>

To read about the Prayagraj Chapter click here>>

To read about Assam Chapter click here>>

To read about Kolkatta Chapter click here>>

To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>

To read about the Purnea Bihar Chapter click here>>

To read about the Pune experience click here>>

To know more about the online session experience read here >>

PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the  Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) you must watch the annual event recognising the GOOD work across India. While the

The post Karnataka I Stand up for what’s Right appeared first on Woman Endangered.

The sessions on standing up for what’s right and combating violence against women have had us travel extensively across different state universities in India. After successfully conducting sessions with the youth from Maharashtra (Pune), Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur & Prayagraj), Bihar (Purnea), West Bengal (Kolkatta) and Boko (Assam) we reached Chennai on 21st September. A beautiful sculpture of Devi Ma welcomed us at the airport and the resolve to visit Kanchipuram Shaktipeeth to offer our gratitude to her for being able to do this work became stronger.

My gratitude also for the opportunity to both JOSH TALKS and TVS Radar, for conducting these sessions. Vanshika (Interning with JOSH TALKS ) continues to manage and coordinate with the colleges ensuring all goes smoothly. She also adds the much-needed perspective of a student (of sociology) herself which further connects with the audience we are addressing.

The SRM UNIVERSITY has a large campus that can qualify as a small town itself. It houses Asia’s largest library and offers all undergraduate and post-graduate courses barring marine engineering and Veterinarian sciences, as I was informed by the dean of Management Studies, Dr Subhashree Natrajan.

Interaction with the faculty before the actual session always orients us to the cultural and regional nuances that the students are exposed to. The students are conservative here, the dean apprised me. But violence and discrimination are rampant. While the campus itself is safe, I was told of an incident that happened on the campus by an outsider who beat up a girl! The student had not complained as it was something she had, alarming, grown to accept. While other cities across Tamil Nadu also experience gender-based violence, Coimbatore, in particular, is notorious on this front, shared the dean.

The session was attended by 300 plus students including both girls and boys. I realised soon enough what the Dean had prepared me for, the students were indeed shy. However, while they were distracted, to begin with, the faculty including Dr Sriram M stood testimony to the rapt attention and pin drop silence throughout the 90-minute session. Dr Sriram over lunch (at the hotel management wing) later, vouched to include gender sensitivity in his teaching or at least orient it such that the students felt comfortable to confide in the faculty with any issues relating to the same.

The sun is definitely harsh in the afternoon in Chennai, but that didn’t dampen our spirits to visit Kanchipuram after the session. Vanshika (A young student intern with Josh Talks) and I tried booking a cab through the app and realised soon enough that most cabbies solicit passengers using the app but negotiate later for a higher price and cash payment. This seemed to be an unwritten norm given the huge transaction fees the apps charged and the high diesel prices as explained by our cabbie en route to Kanchipuram, Kamakshi ShaktiPeeth.

The Shaktipeeth are 51 places across the country where different parts of Devi Ma’s energies are revered as the mother and creator of the universe. Given our 3rd consecutive visit to her Shaktipeeth, we are blessed in gratitude for her to choose us for this work to make for a safe and peaceful world for all.

If you would like to have us conduct this 90-minute session in your college or company just drop us a mail with the details of the institution and the prefered dates at suparnaa@simplysuparnaa.com.

Links for further study

To read about the Prayagraj Chapter click here>>

To read about Assam Chapter click here>>

To read about Kolkatta Chapter click here>>

To read about the Kanpur Chapter click here>>

To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>

To read about the Pune experience click here>>

To know more about the online session experience read here >>

PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA (Annual Awards and Summit by the  Simply Suparnaa © Media Network) jury is looking for you Register here>>

The post Combat gender-based violence I Chennai Chapter appeared first on Woman Endangered.