Click here to buy the print version of Spark’s February 2013 issue themed ‘Romance’.
As much of the world gets ready to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, we at Spark thought it’s time again to pay tribute to the various spirits of womanhood through this issue, themed ‘Woman: Facets and Forms.’ Our poetry, fiction and art bring out various flavours of womanhood in an attempt to make you relate to episodes in your life, make you ponder, smile, or nod in agreement. The guest column and non-fiction are sure to make you think about the various ways in which we easily and unknowingly deny women a fair playing ground in the world. In addition, The Lounge gives you the usual fare on life, books and spirituality. Click here to access the March 2013 issue on the e-reader, ISSUU.
GUEST COLUMN | When Chetan Bhagat writes ‘I’d like Indian men to have an open mind about choosing their life partners and revise their ‘ideal woman’ criteria’, one expects that he is exhorting many Indian men to finally realize that women are equal ‘partners’ in a marriage, and are also humans with their own ideas and aspirations both within and outside the home, which are not tied to being someone’s wife or mother. But no, Mr. Bhagat fails miserably, as in his narrow view of the world that ignores disturbing everyday realities for much of India’s population, women’s lives still revolve around men. Shreya Sen tells us why this is not just pissing off, but also extremely problematic, and hardly “progressive”.
There are certain things we all say at some points of time about women, brimming with pride, joy and appreciation. Women are naturally caring, they are born to be mothers. Don’t dismiss housewives, alright, ask the men to handle the home for a week and they’ll flounder! And of course, can you ever find a better cook than your wife or your mother – God just made women that way! Have we ever thought about how we end up unknowingly stereotyping all women in these ways because we see a few such women? Three women tackle these stereotypes in their own ways while not dismissing the joys of motherhood, the pressures and demands of housework or the aroma of tadka sizzling on hot, hot food.
This is the story of a puppet that was brought home by a family as a souvenir of a good holiday. But eventually, it turns out to be something more than a puppet for the narrator. Vinita Agrawal captures the feelings of a woman through poetry.
We praise housewives – we even call them ‘homemakers’ – because we know it’s no easy task to run a home. But have we ever thought of how leaving homemaking to women might be problematic and unfair – and not just for women? Suchitra Ramachandran explains.
Kamatchi is an odd sight on a Chennai road on a sweltering hot afternoon: she is obviously watching men pee, and writing something in her notebook. Vani Viswanathan pens a story.
Do women achieve ultimate fulfilment only by bearing a child? Is motherhood only about bearing a child? In fact, is motherhood only about a woman and can a man not experience it, asks Srividhya Radhakrishnan.
At the heart of Nishtha’s dream that literally keeps her going is Vikrant Kapoor aka Vik. Who is Vik? What is Nishta’s dream all about? Where does her dream take her? Parth Pandya’s story about a woman who alternates between two worlds has the answers.