All Articles Tagged "India"
Better To Give Than To Receive: Designer Rachel Roy Talks About Giving Back
C. Smith/WENN
From ESSENCE
Inspired by a recent trip to India, designer Rachel Roy recently celebrated her 39th birthday with a mission of giving, instead of receiving gifts. Roy has partnered with the charity: water campaign to raise $20,000 to give 1,000 people clean water in India. “Water changes everything. Diseases from unsafe water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war,” explains Roy.
On What She Observed During Her Trip To India
This is my fourth year working with charity:water actually! I heard about them around the time of my 35th birthday and what I love most about charity:water is how simple they make the act of charitable giving. There are no rules or expectations, and you can donate as much as you feel comfortable giving.
During this time however, and through seeing how the dollars have been spent, I’m reminded just how essential clean water is in setting up a foundation for everything else in life. In a developing community, clean water is the most important commodity, and it’s such an easy gift for us to give.
On What We All Can Do To Give Back
I think it’s always best to start on a local level. You’ll know what needs attention and how to make the biggest change in your own community. A fantastic resource and a great place to start is Volunteers of America. It’s a nationwide database of all sorts of organizations that could use an extra pair of hands. It’s as simple as putting in your zip code to see what non-profits are active in your area.
Check out what else Rachel has to say on giving back as well as her goals for 2013 over on Essence.
Do you have time to volunteer?
Did “Snobbish” Oprah Winfrey Really Mock Indian Culture In Her “Next Chapter” Special?
Source: ndtv.com
Oprah’s rep as a media mogul who can do no wrong just keeps becoming more and more unhinged as the days go by. As of late she’s been heavily critiqued for the fails of her OWN network, side-eyed for the stars she’s chosen to feature in a race for ratings, and now she’s rubbed some segments of the Asian community wrong with her “Oprah’s Next Chapter” special on India.
Perhaps the most-telling of the critiques regarding the two-part series which aired in India this past weekend is one written in the popular Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar under the headline, “Snobbish Oprah Mocks India.” The reporter wrote:
In a typical American snooty style the talk show queen tried to portray superficial ‘sob story’. Oprah was anything but a good guest when she went around the small 10 by 10 feet house interrogating the family members about their ‘poor’ living style and ‘miserly’ living.
The small family of five, stunned by the arrival of an unexpected guest were the most gracious host. On the contrary, the American guest left no stone unturned in mocking the family.
She asked the otherwise happy children how they could live in such a “tiny” room and actually wanted to know, “Don’t you feel it’s too cramped?” She also asked the six-year-olds whether they were happy.
She then interrogated the father about whether he was happy and satisfied. He got teary-eyed and said that he wished he could earn more and provide for a more comfortable life for his children. After making him weep in front of his family, Oprah said that she knows how awful it is for children to see their father weep.
She did look for a shower head in the toilet and seem amazed to hear they bathed with a bucket. And she marvelled at how all their clothes fit onto a small shelf.
She pointedly avoided any mention of the massive LCD TV which adorned their wall. That would have killed the sob story. When their older daughter told Oprah that she’d like to go to London to study further, Oprah also played her role as American ambassador to the hilt and said, “No. Come to America, it’s a lovely country. It’s the best”.
This was latest in a series of attempts made by west to show India as a poor misery ridden mystic land.
Next, Oprah Winfrey, ‘the Queen of talk shows’, immediately proceeded to the home of one of Bombay’s richie-rich families. And then displayed her haughty self there as well.
The joint family which was dressed in full Indian regalia served her a meal on silver thalis and katoris. She looked at the food and then made her best statement of the entire episode – “So I hear some people in India STILL eat with their hands.”
As pointed as this negative reaction was, it was far from the only one. MSN points out that the management of the leading Indian TV channel, CNN-IBN, posted an open letter to Oprah from an offended fan on its website, which reads:
“Oprah, your comment about eating with the hand is really not that big a deal to us; we are used to gross Western ignorance regarding our ancient country. But as a responsible public figure about to air a show that will be beamed across the world, you should have done your homework. Using our hands to eat is a well established tradition and a fact none of us are ashamed of. Our economic distinction has nothing to do with it. A millionaire here eats the same way a pauper does. You have been to Asian nations. You should know that.”
On Firstpost.com, Rajyasree Sen called the special “Myopic, unaware, ignorant and gauche,” while India Real Time notes the overarching point all critics have is that Oprah’s special depicted “India as Westerners imagine it, one stereotype at a time.”
A spokesperson for “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” sidestepped all of the criticism in a recent statement, simply saying:
“The intention of the program was to explore the beautiful culture and spirit of the country. We enjoyed the time we spent there and were touched by the people who so generously shared their stories for the show.”
They might have to come up with something better than that to combat all of this backlash. Check out the questionable clips from the special here. Do you think Oprah’s coverage mocked Indian culture?
Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.
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Oprah: If Stedman and I Had Gotten Married We’d be Divorced by Now
I guess Oprah’s bought into the whole marriage leads to divorce spiel—not that we didn’t kinda already know that. But people are still curious why, after being together for 26 years, she and Stedman haven’t made it official, and she told an audience during a filming of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India that not marrying Stedman has been for the best.
“I think that had we gotten married we probably would have been divorced by now. And he would agree. I really am my own woman and I don’t really conform very well to other people ideas about who and what I should be and being married calls for some conformity.”
If there were any man who could take Oprah’s hand in marriage, she says it would be Stedman, but as things would have it, she says she simply isn’t the marrying kind.
I would think after 26 years together she’d still have to do some bending and compromising to make their relationship work, but maybe the freedom of knowing you can walk away when you want to without and legal or financial hassle at the end of the day keeps the peace. Still I wonder what all she thinks would be different if they had rings on their fingers.
What do you think about Oprah’s idea of what makes someone the marrying kind? Do you think you are or are you more like Oprah?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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Does Superthin Condom Ad Send the Wrong Message?
One thing to keep in mind when looking at this ad is that it wasn’t made for an American audience.
The Durex condom advertisement runs in India and promotes a birth control/STD barrier that is so thin it could leave a woman questioning whether a condom was used or not—as shown.
In the cultural subtext of India, sex is not discussed nearly as openly as it is here in the Western world, so the idea is that a man and woman probably wouldn’t talk to each other about protection but if the woman happened to see the condom wrapper, box, etc. she’d be pleasantly surprised to learn he used one, despite the fact that it wasn’t detectible.
Durex group manager for marketing and branding Vishal Vyas told Audience Matters, explained, “There is still a lack of education as sex is a taboo topic in India. People are opening up and talking about it as family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases have become major issues. We are and will always aim to spread the message of safe and responsible sex.”
Still a few sites—albeit American—have knocked the ad, saying pregnancy and STDs are not pleasant surprises any woman wants to receive and that there’s nothing cute about not knowing whether you’ve put yourself at risk for any of the above.
At the very least, the ad is clever in marketing the ultra-thinness of it’s product, but in a culture where people aren’t talking about something that they should in order to protect their sexual and reproductive health, I don’t think think giving them more reasons not to talk about it is the best route. But at the end of the day, sex education isn’t Durex’s job, they want to sell a product that gives people a feeling of security without the feeling of latex, and that’s what this does.
Do you think the ad sends the wrong message? Could it ever work in the United States?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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Message Music: Songs That Say Something
We debate constantly about the grim images in the music we listen to and how it tends to have a negative impact on our youth and even how adult men and women relate to one another. It’s good to take a moment to reflect on some of those tunes that are designed to make us feel good (and maybe even think a little bit). Here are a few of our favorite tunes driven by positive messages…let us know which ones we may have forgotten to include!
New Rules in India Restrict Web Content
By Charlotte Young
India has put its country on Internet lockdown. The Indian Department of Information Technology has issued new regulations that attempt to restrict web content they view as “harassing, hateful” or “blasphemous,” reports The New York Times.
The restrictions have caused an uproar among free speech advocates and Internet users who say the regulations “could severely curtail debate and discussion on the Internet.”
Additionally, the law also demands that sites such as YouTube and Facebook remove any offensive content within 36 hours of a request from the Indian government without allowing the Internet user responsible for the content a chance to respond.
“What are we, Saudi Arabia?” asked Pushkar Raj, the general secretary for the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in India. “We don’t expect this from India. This is something very serious.”
Although fewer than 10 percent of Indians even have access to the Internet, mobile devices are quickly increasing the numbers. More than 700 million cell phone accounts have been created in India.
The country has also largely benefited financially from the technology increase due to its role in software and Web services creation.
First Lady’s Dance Moves Woo Indian Crowds
(New York Times) — While President Obama is wooing India with promises of increased trade and United Nations clout, his wife’s charm offensive has included serial hugs and a talent for Indian dance. The combination has been an unexpected success. An Indian public and news media that were lukewarm before the official three-day visit began on Saturday have since become exuberant Michelle Obama fans. “Dancing Queen Rocks India,” The Times of India, the world’s largest-circulation English language newspaper, trumpeted on its front page Monday. Mrs. Obama “demonstrated she could swing to desi beats with the best of them,” the paper said, referring to Indian beats. It lavished praise on her “matkas and jhatkas,” or dance moves involving swaying hips.
Could You Be Paid to Have Less Children?
India’s rapidly growing population is about to turn from an asset into a burden with a population reaching almost 1.2 billion. So their government has come up with a master plan to curb the population by offering newlyweds cash (about $106) to delay having children. Could this work in America?
Read the rest of this entry »
India Warns It Will Block BlackBerry Traffic That It Can’t Monitor
(New York Times) — The Indian government said Thursday that it would block encrypted BlackBerry corporate e-mail and messenger services if wireless companies did not enable law enforcement authorities to monitor those messages by the end of the month.
Read More…
The Knock-On Effect Of Global English
(Forbes) — At any given time there are 2 billion people learning English. It’s a humongous market–one that a San Francisco company called GlobalEnglish is tapping into with great momentum.
Chief Executive Deepak Desai explains the phenomenon in socio-cultural terms: “There has never, in the history of mankind, been a language like English. There are more people speaking it on a daily basis whose first language is not English. The only comparable language is Latin during the Roman Empire, when it was a trade language.”
