Hello. Could you please restore the RSS link so that we can access this podcast in a generic podcast player like Overcast or Apple podcasts. I used to be able to do so until a recent update to your app. Thank you.
Shantanu Sharma
Hello joyous citizens of NL. To keep it short, I completely agree with Abhinandan on his opinion on pronunciations. I have lived with the name Somsubhro in Delhi, and saw it butchered almost on a regular basis. I was also called "Machi" and "Khamba" for being Bengali and tall. The difference: one half made an honest mistake, while the other is being deliberately harsh. So, supposedly educated subscribers should be able to categorise enunciation mistakes into these two boxes and react to the best of their alleged common sense. If the reaction is getting angry and sending righteous emails, then they take themselves too seriously. Most of us are inconsequential whose future lack of existence will only be on the agenda of 3-4 people for 3-4 weeks.
Also, something to tickle the Schadenfreude bone: "Premium" trains in India first run, and they run (satisfactorily) on time. Come to Germany: no guarantee whether the train will run, and it is a celebration if it is on time.
Also, Anand is the best.
Somsubhro
Feedback: This is for Mr Sekhri using the F word multiple times in a sentence. I am not asking for a fully-sanitised (toddler-friendly) discourse. But using it multiple times in a sentence smelt of the "recently foreign returned" syndrome. Highly appreciate it if you could curb that instinct. Thanks.
Uma
My concern is around this subtle Modi fanboyism by so many Indian influencers that have close to 10 million listeners. People like the Beer Biceps guy, the one on Dostcast, Abhi and Niyu and others have often been seen peddling the BJP agenda in a subtle (or sometimes obnoxious manner). I know they are not "news" per se, but shouldn't you guys be pointing out when they're doing something like this? Considering the size of their audience. Thanks!
Anonymous
Abhinandan, your example of your grandmother to prove age as a factor of lived experience doesn’t make sense to me. Her personal experience of partition has enabled her to form a certain view of Muslims, while others in your family do not have that view for reasons of perhaps progressive education, travel and information they consume, etc. And even for her, had she or her circumstances allowed her to mingle with the Muslim community, it may have helped change her views. Someone of the same age but with different experiences and people around them can have a more inclusive or progressive thinking or not. How is age a factor that shapes your opinion? Its impact on mobility could indirectly influence your opinion at some point but otherwise I don’t see its role in lived experience. Please explain.
And, I do see your point around scientifically being able to identify these genders rather than taking someone’s word for it. I look forward to further discussions on this issue with a diverse representation. Thanks!
Anonymous
When the question of the CM of Karnataka was discussed, there was a lot of debate over plum ministries. The meaning being money making portfolios. So, is it so blatantly ok to say if you are a PWD minister or an urban development minister, you can make money easily? If so, how is it that the departments like the Lokayukta, Vigilance and CAG don't keep a closer watch on the contracts given? How is it that such illegal and corrupt practices are being accepted as normal even by the media?
Anonymous
I am not going to say if I agree or disagree with Sekhri's views on the gender debate. But cannot help asking if someone who does not sound familiar with the term "cis het" should have such strong views and even express them so strongly. Again not throwing out "educate yourself" like some on Twitter would. Just wondering if it is necessary to forcefully express your opinions on something you do not seem to know much about, apart from echoing Bill Maher's views repeatedly. We listen to Hafta for your views on topics you appear to be knowledgeable about. Perhaps let others take the lead on this one?
RS
Abhinandan,
There you go, mansplaining! Telling women that their standard of feminism must match your sister’s. As Manisha pointed out very well, that reflects nothing on you, says nothing about you. Anyway, I didn’t think you’re indifferent to women or you spoke down at anyone considering their gender but this defense of yours was a bit ironic.
Anonymous
You completely missed the point about pronunciation. This 200 word limit is horrible. I would suggest you take the full email, read it and broadcast the edited version.
In Tippani’s episode 147 (time code: 13:28, Atul is berating those who call Ram as Rama. and digging in his heels that he will not call it Karnataka. And even when he says it, he says "Karnaatkaa" not "KarnaaTaka". That's what triggered my mail. And I find Abhinandan’s argument – that I don't care how you pronounce my name as long as I get latte on time – silly. In your house, with your friends, do what you like. But you are broadcasting and when you broadcast, you magnify mistakes. And in any case, why not get it right?
The same Abhinandan when he pronounces Gulzar's name, says "Ghulzaar". Why not say "Guljaar"? Why put a nuqta under two letters? Thank you, Manisha, for mispronouncing all the words I quoted. And Anand, yes, the media allows you to be educated too. and yog should be yoga because the original sanskrit word is "yogah".
Kumar
Email 2
And, in a world where sound files are easily available and you know your version will be copied by millions, why would you not make that effort? As to the logic that every language has its own version, it does so because it follows the politics of the script. It is limited by the script. But if you use your ears, you can easily figure out what the correct pronunciation is. Just copy it! In PS1 the narration in Hindi is done by Ajay Devgan. He calls Chozha as Chol (rhymes with troll). And three seconds later, he refers to Arulmozhi as "arulmori"! At least be consistent. And when such mispronunciation is compounded with Hindi imposition, it rankles twice as much. I find Shekhar Gupta's attitude much more positive in this. See how he works on each word. But it really gets my goat when instead of being apologetic about your inability, you start berating those who get it right by saying “ek jamaat jo raam ko raama kehti hai”. As your favourite Gulzaar wrote in a film song, bloody hell!
Kumar
I’m a vegan and an activist against animal slaughter based in a developed European country. I have seen footage from the slaughter houses here and believe me the suffering of animals before they are killed is immense. It’s worse than the holocaust. Europe, by the way, has a legislation on humane treatment of animals in the slaughterhouses. Gauri Maulekhi, protege of Meneka Gandhi, and one of the foremost animal welfare activists in India described the horrors she witnessed in the largest slaughterhouse in Delhi. The demand for chicken is such in Delhi that nobody has the time to actually kill the chicken with a knife. So the chickens are forced out of their cages and often their wings are torn apart because they struggle. Their head is then thrashed against a wall and the half-dead chicken is then thrown into a pile. Someone then puts on polythene bags on their feet and walk on this pile of half dead chicken to squeeze out the remaining life out of them. This is where your meat comes from.
Rohan
Hi team,
This letter is for Abhinandan. It was lovely seeing you in London. Next time, you come here we shall give you an Oyster card to travel to and from Heathrow.
Great love for the work you do, always. PS: AS, I hope you got my letter.
Good health and love to all. Hope to see y'all soon.
Cheers!
Sean
I am writing regarding a statement in your report "Stress, dropouts, suicides: Unravelling IIT’s casteism problem". I am verbatim quoting a sentence in the report. "Only three – Bombay, Roorkee and Delhi – of the 23 IITs have an SC/ST cell, and Delhi only started it this month. " Which is an absolutely wrong statement.
For instance: SC/ST Cell for IIT Hyderabad: https://www.iith.ac.in/sc-st-cell/
I hope you will make the necessary corrections after due diligence.
Anonymous
Hey Abhinandan,
I'm Phani, originally from Hyderabad.
Is it ok if I can ask you to relax a bit when you host NL Hafta :|
We all have our style of putting our points across.
I have a tiny feedback :|
Of course I assume it's not a big deal within the Hafta panel, who know you as a person, but for some reason, adding a lot of "fucks" in your criticism is sometimes too much .
Like I said, I don't know you as a person which is why it's probably harder and not doesn't help me to appreciate your point of you. While it may help you articulate your point, it's not helping the audience. Maybe I'm in the minority here.
I'm also starting to realise that sometimes it's harsh to expect better from people who are already leading as an example and may be it isn't fair to change your style of debate.
Also, THANK YOU for leading Newslaundry. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of the change that you are leading for the future of journalism and democracy in India.
Phani
Hi NL team,
Thanks for the awesome work you folks are doing here at Newslaundry. I’m a huge fan of Abhinandan and Manisha.
In the last Hafta, Abhinandan mentioned that his interview with Raghuram Rajan is up. But I couldn’t find it either on YouTube or on Newslaundry. Is there a link you can share? Really looking forward to watching the interview. Keep up the good work.
Saisruthi
I will let this letter focus on the technical issue with the iOS app. I downloaded various Hafta and A&A episodes before a long international flight thinking I will catchup on the missed podcasts. The moment I loose the internet connection and I try to play downloaded episodes from my iphone, the app ask for login again. How do I do that when I am offline! Sigh! The whole point of the download feature is that it should work without activie internet connection and currently it does not!! Please fix this!
Email 2
I felt sad by the discussion about non-binary/trans issues in the last Hafta. I am non-binary myself. I am used to random comments on Instagram, media, and even the supreme court. I expected more from Newslaundry!
I could not understand what is expected from us, that we don't talk about how we feel, that we don't correct if someone uses the wrong pronouns, do we simply change our behaviour to fit into gendered roles to meet society's expectations. This is our life!
Abhinandan cited the example of a male inmate asking for the access to female prison or issues in sports. I dont disagree that these are valid issues but they should not be used to deny the basic rights to non-binary and trans folks.
Think of anti-dowry laws, they got misused! Same with #MeToo movement, it had sideeffects!
I agree that some take it too far, that is true with any movement! Please dont disregard the whole movement because of the twitter fringe. I could say a lot more but the darn word limit...
Dhruv
Hello Newslaundry team, hope you're doing fine.
A few days ago I was sitting with my classmates in the college canteen and few of them came to me and asked me if I would like to come watch The Kerala Story with them in the theatres. The thing is I don't really hangout with them so I'm pretty sure they did this just to fuck with me. I've always behaved really nicely with them, never disrespected them, so I don't know why would they do something like this with me. The worse thing is when I said that it's a shit movie, my friend started abusing me just because I badmouthed about the movie. The question I want to ask is why is the film earning crores even when people know it's a propoganda film which would make you hate Muslims of this country and on the other hand, people want a wonderful movie like Laal Singh Chaddha to be banned
Noaman
***
Can there be an exploration into the role of Tushar Mehta (SG) in the state agenda? More than a lawyer, he has become a proxy in court – including by arguing before the attorney general and going against the convention that arguments are in the order of seniority (for example, the marriage equality case).
Karan
Oh god this Karnatak-Karnataka has gone too far. Although I don't speak Kannada at home, I studied in Kannada medium school and college and in the process I have learnt the language. I can write, read and speak. Hindi and Kannada both have same letters so I'll write both texts. Pronunciation should sound same anyways.
In Kannada we write ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ/कर्नाटक and we also read it with क/ಕ at end. For example, to say "in Karnataka" we say ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ/कर्नाटकदल्लि. In English we still read it as का/ಕಾ as in Karnataka (का at end). But in Kannada we pronounce ಕ/क.
Similarly for Kannada, we write कन्नड/ಕನ್ನಡ with ड/ಡ at end. But in English we still read कन्नड/ಕನ್ನಡ as Kannada (with ಡಾ/डा).
Bottom line, in English we pronounce differently than how we pronounce in Kannada. Meaning it is only in English they use ಆ/आ sound at end.
Thanks
Dheeraj
Hi Hafta panel,
I was hearing Abhinandan say in A&A podcast that there was a legitimate grouse that the right-wing had for not getting enough space. All ideologies and streams of thoughts like communism, socialism, the big tent centrist Congress, Ambedkarites with all their flaws have made some valuable contributions to Indian society and politics. But I have often wondered what is the contribution of the Hindu right ideology to India. If all your core beliefs and worldview is based on lies, misinformation and hate, then how can you complain of not getting space. Is it not natural that in a progressive society such voices will not get the same respect?
My questions to the whole panel and particularly Abhinandan, is very specific, do you think Hindutva has had any positive impact on Indian society and politics? And please don't tell me things like Aadhaar and infra development etc, these are not "ideological" projects of the Hindu right.
Regards,
Akshat Bhushan
***
Please have an option to have paid YouTube subscription. You can overcharge them to balance out the 30 percent that youtube takes. And maybe manually map all the subscribers on YouTube and give them your website access. Cheers.
Inder
***
There's a mafia within LGBTQ community just like all other communities which tries to force its views upon the majority of others who may disagree with them. What makes the mafia within the LGBTQ community different and more lethal than the other such mafias (religious, political, etc) is that while the other mafias are clearly and correctly called out for their bigotry, the LGBTQ mafia have gained unwarranted legitimisation all in the disguise of so-called progressiveness and liberalism. Legitimate and intellectual opposition to their coercive views/politics has been made to be seen as hate-mongering and that smacks of dirty double standards.
I recommend these fantastic discussions which articulately and engagingly deliberate on the above issues as they seek to explain the place of religion in the modern world.
Email 2
Continues...To that end, I cannot disagree more with Abhinandan's position that religion has served its purpose well in the medieval period and it should ideally have no place in a modern/scientific society. To the contrary, it is religion (with spirituality) that will ultimately come to the rescue of growing number of individuals/societies affected by depression caused by the unending materialism/consumerism that the modern/scientific world has to offer. As someone enjoying all these luxuries myself, it’s obviously not my view that we need to shun the progress and comfort offered by science/modernity but the point I am trying to drive home is that religion brings to the masses the much needed solace and balance as we try to navigate our busy mundane life submerged in our screens forgetful of the beauty and the purpose that the real natural world has to offer.
Muhammed Ibraheem Qurram
***
Hi, I hope you're doing well! I wanted to express my gratitude for the wonderful experience I've had listening to your podcasts. However, I have noticed that the Google Sheets containing past recommendations for both Charcha and Hafta have not been updated for quite some time. It would be greatly appreciated if the team could take a look into this matter, as it would significantly enhance the ease of navigation through the recommendations. Additionally, it would be fantastic if a search or sort button could be incorporated within the podcast field, allowing us to conveniently search for the initial episodes of Hafta and Charcha, rather than having to scroll all the way down. Thank you for your attention to this request!
Priyank
In response to products being crappy (lightbulbs, shoes and Apple charger) there's a Vox video titled 'Why Is Everything Worse Now'. Worth watching https://youtu.be/DHXBacEH0qo
Ashutosh
Hi team,
An idea for you to consider.
At times, you have really insightful guests for whom we can ask questions. However, we know about the guest only after the Hafta is out. Maybe you can announce the guest on previous Hafta so that interested members can send questions that can be asked your guests.
Anonymous
***
Hi NL team,
My question to the panel is during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, The ASI had claimed of finding remains of a temple near the Babri Masjid site. There was a lot of disagreement between the historians in the ASI's panel too but as KK Mohamed and BB Lal were quite celebrated for bringing out truth to this conflict. My question to the panel is every civilisation survives or perishes by various factors, pandemics, invasions etc.
What is this cut-off point to finding out who is the rightful owner of the masjid? If they had excavated more, they could have probably found a tribal or a Buddhist worship place or preceding the rise of Hinduism, isn't this logic just flawed of returning the mosque back? Since Independence, both the Congress and BJP/Jan Sangh/Hindu Mahasabha have aggravated this divide. Also, since BJP's rise in 2014 has also fueled this discourse of the Mughals or other Islamic rulers being barbaric or plunderers.
Email 2
Every empire has their own baggage but isn't this being used by the state to churn Islamophobia in the majority's minds, there is this certain rise of videos on YouTube with people talking about genocides and providing numbers without citing sources. Late professor Sunil Kumar of Delhi University had once said in a conversation along with historian Sohail Hashmi that we tend to pick our heroes from our history and modern politics uses it for the same. Whether it is the Shah Bano case, Babri Masjid demolition, 2002 riots, 2020 Delhi riots, aren't all these a deterrent to the Islamic community's progress in the nation and is it a stain on our nation's conscience along with caste?
Sorry for the long mail, it's Divgunn btw not Div gun.
Thank you,
Divgunn
Hi NL team,
Your app sucks. Sure, it sucks a little less than it did a year ago. Anyway, enough rant. You guys provide great content for very little subscription fee. How can we help? Is it funding ? Can we help through an NL Sena? Love your work.
Ganesh
***
Hi NL team,
A recent Hafta wondered about Australian interests in India and concluded it's coal. The fastest growing export of Australia to India is education. More Indian students study in Australian universities than any other country. Their fees are one of the main revenue sources. In addition, Australia benefits from their consumption, work and taxes. Australian contribution to Indian education and research is miniscule. The prime ministerial visit was a wonderful opportunity for India to demand special privileges for its students, which was wasted in lame optics. Possibly a topic worth reporting?
Abhi
***
Hallo Hafta folks!
I would like to register my slight displeasure with the plan of having one episode dedicated to letters. Then that episode should not be called Hafta anymore because it is more of a feedback-mahina. I tune in to Hafta every week to know your opinion on the last hafta. One whole episode of listening to people complaining about pronunciation could be a bit much. That's not the opinion I as a listener of Hafta am looking forward to.
Thank you!
Somsubhro
***
Hi Hafta team. Great work everyone.
1) I wanted to share a documentary recommendation by Stalin K, India Untouched: Stories of a people apart. It's an old one, probably many have already seen but it really changed my view of the caste problem in India and how it is still super prevalent deep in our psyche (and the society). All we can do is to be aware and act rationally.
2) Is it possible to access the Hindi podcasts from the same NL app? I can't find the Charcha and other stuff. Is there a connecting link for the same?
Thank you.
RS
Response to listener email from Hafta 433
I think some nuance was missed when a listener email complimented Tucker Carlson for hosting anti-war voices. People need to be aware of the concept of red-pilling and how certain elements of the left due to their opposition to American imperialism have been co-opted. Before anyone calls me an American shill, I think Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Obama, and Trump should be prosecuted for war crimes for Iraq and the drone wars. The far left has a very American centric view of imperialism and assumes other counties such as China and Russia cannot have such ambitions and this is actually an imperialist way of thinking that assumes other countries are not capable way of such thinking. Tucker’s team at Fox was plugged into the online forums and efficient at red-pilling those on the left. Also, the commentators he brings on. Glen Greenwald supported the Iraq war and advocated that a white supremacist Matthew Hale get a law license. Hale founded a white supremacist organization called the World Church of the Creator whose follower engaged in a mass shooting. Another guest, Aaron Mate, has visited Syria on funding by Assad and denied the use of chemical weapons and advocated for Russia at the UN. I apologise for the long email but true anti-war voices who advocate against wars of aggression from all countries including the US and Russia are very important.
From Sonia in Canada
Hi Abhinandan,
I wanted to highlight a key factor missed in your debate about transgender rights and Bill Maher. Most on the liberal side just want to live and let live. However, the right has run out of economic policy and now uses culture war issues. This was voiced by the Tory party chairman Lee Anderson in the UK as their strategy for the 2024 election. In Florida, Ron Desantis passed the "don’t say gay bill" that has been quietly now extended to high school students. It was never about "shielding" children from complex issues but rather than to ostracize a group of people. The right keeps passing this bills and then the left is forced to respond to insanity they are spewing. I hope gives you more context about the issues debated this week.
Sonia
Hi Abhinandan,
Your long-time listener and supporter here, writing in from Washington DC to provide a bit of context on so-called "transgender culture wars" in American politics, which you brought up during your conversation with Ragamalika Karthikeyan.
As we speak, there a 528 Bills being proposed (by Republican politicians) in states across USA that targeting the LGBTQ community. These include everything from saying the word "queer," to making gender-affirming healthcare, to dressing-up in drag illegal (a felony; publishable by jail). 50 LGBTQ+ Bills have already passed and become laws, and several are on their way. Upwards of 19 states in USA are on their way to making being transgender illegal.
This is not simply a "culture war" issue. Republican attacks on this increasingly-visible minority is cynical, calculated, and politically motivated. After overturning abortion rights, Republicans no longer have a divisive platform that would motivate their core bigoted electorate. So they are using the transgender (and the LGBTQ+) community as a scapegoat (bali-da-bakra) to distract from real issues like gun-violence, the number one killer of kids and teenagers in USA. They are preying on middle-America's fear of LGBTQ+ people to score political points.
By conflating these cynical, brazen, and cowardly attacks on LGBTQ+ minority with terms like "culture war," you are obscuring the on-ground reality. As Raga pointed out, what is happening today is an all out persecution of an already marginalised community by these neo-fascists who are willing to sacrifice human rights for short-term political gain. A lot more is at stake then gender-pronouns and sensibilities of the older generation.
Please invite more LGBTQ+ panelist like Raga on to your podcasts. Please take the time to listen to what they have to say, even if you don't fully agree with them.
With love and appreciation!
Your faithful subscriber,
Harjant Gill
***
If you would like an excellent example of freedom of speech, do check out the bit by comedian Roy Wood Jr. at the recent White House correspondent's dinner. He spared no one (the media, journalists, politicians, etc.) and really spoke truth to power. And was very funny while he was at it. Might serve as education for some in India, where satire is under threat and the media is so cozy with the BJP government that it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. Which is why I support NL and other sources.
Shantanu
Hi,
Thanks for the courageous journalism and for all the entertainment. I find you guys great fun to listen to, just for the comfort and camaraderie that comes through.
But I do wish you would check your facts more, or at the very least, have a correction mechanism built in.
The latest case in point is where you guys decided that Ashneer Grover was a co founder of PhonePe. A statement that is outright false. Firstly, I missed the point of talking about Ashneer. But if you must, at least let's get the facts right.
These sort of mistakes are painful to listen to, as they go against everything you say about fact based, high quality journalism. The whole point of high quality journalism after all, is rigorous fact checking and information one can trust. Most of the time, all that is needed is a quick search on the internet, while you are having the conversation. More accurate information will go a long way in strengthening credibility and getting us to attract more subscribers.
Best wishes
Manmeet Sandhu
***
Dear Manisha,
Thank you for the valuable work you are doing and congrats to team NL and TNM for joining hands to increase the impact of independent journalism.
On the point about the "unseen" influence of media and information sources having an impact on voting patterns and choices, we have to acknowledge the bitter truth that if people choose to ignore miserable lived experiences (covid disaster, price rise, deaths due to terrible infrastructure, worrying law and order situation, unemployment and so much more) and believe TV, WhatsApp and inflammatory content in films and SM then who is to blame?
A mother (journalists who care about people's issues and democracy) can serve nutritious food (facts and alerts about govt lies) to her kids (public) and tell them it is good for their health but like teenagers, if the public voluntarily pigs out on junk (propaganda and fake news) dished out by cheap vendors outside schools and colleges (godi media), what can the mother do if the teenagers develop health issues (more misery and death of democracy and critical thinking).
Identity politics sells the world over because Identity is linked to survival; whether caste Identity, religious identity, race or gender. So passions of various groups are raised by politicians and activists alike to gloss over uncomfortable truths.
It is strangely comforting for people to get distracted by a "larger cause" than everyday misery which people seem to have subconsciously accepted. Like the people of Gujarat have accepted segregation of communities if that guarantees peace and safety.
What makes things worse is that some of the things used to whip up passions are indeed true sometimes, though the scale may vary from region to region. What gets difficult for people is to realise when a claim is exaggerated and when there is some underlying truth to a claim. This is true of a host of issues.
Deeply entrenched biases also decide what people will gravitate towards. Wily politicians exploit this inherent weakness among the masses.
Keep up the good work and if possible, please read this letter out at the next Hafta. Have copied podcasts@newslaundry.com and Abhinandan as well. I have contributed to the NL Sena project.
Take care.
Vidya
Dear Abhinandan,
The reason why trans (or gay) people respond so strongly or emotionally to trans (or gay) issues is that so many grew up being told we didn't really exist – and that's still the case for many trans people. So while you do have a point regarding being calm and reasonable when reaching out to the unconvinced, or to worried parents, you don't quite get why that's also very difficult to do. Imagine growing up being told you couldn't be a straight man – in fact that such a thing didn't exist. It would be hard for you to discuss whether you existed or not calmly.
Whole team: Another point. Yes, NRIs do become more right wing as a reaction to migration. Please also factor in that NRIs trend overwhelmingly urban upper caste Hindu. And that's also part of it.
Keep up the good work,
Zafar Al-Talib
***
Hi Hafta team,
My email is on two topics discussed in the past few Haftas.
The Dalai Lama (I know there have been a lot of comments/flak on this):
Just wanted to add to what Abhinandan said about his Tibetan friends’ comment about their culture. Their argument is that it is in their culture, therefore, the world should accept it. Likewise, why can’t they accept what is not acceptable in others’ culture?
Jallikattu practice:
Rajshree saying that since she is not an animal person, what tradition they follow in some ways does not interest or affect her, is like Nirmala Sitharaman’s comment on onion price.
The fact that it is a tradition that has been followed for centuries does not make it right. “Sati pratha” was followed for centuries. Should we have continued with it? You guys kept talking about how people living in the cities have a wider/deeper world view. When it comes to nature, people living in villages and rural areas have a deeper understanding and respect for it. Just to give you an example. The Nyishi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh used to kill Hornbills for their beaks, feathers, etc. Traditionally, the beaks and feathers were used as an adornment for their headgear. Wildlife conservationists have been successful in convincing them to end the practice. The Nyishi community today are part of the Hornbill conservation program. They have moved to using artificial beaks to adorn their headgear. Traditions do change for the better.
What Manisha said about the society involved in such practices being instrumental in making the change is very true. However they need an outside, reasonable voice to nudge them (definitely not a political one). Manisha, I still can’t believe you said that hunting is ok. Anand was the only sane voice in the discussion. Please don’t give voice to unreasonable practices unless you are an expert and have the pros and cons to present.
Look forward to discussions on climate change. The ground report on coffee plantations in Karnatak(a) was very good.
Best regards,
Bandana Subba
***
Hello Hafta panel,
Late response to Babones interview.
This mail is regarding the Prof. Babones Interview. I felt that Mr Sekhri was in no point rude in the interview. It was Mr. Babones who made it look like that, with his whining.
I’m sure that he has been in many debates before too, his arguments say so.
So, if someone thinks that Mr Babones was unnecessarily targeted – just remember that he said that Indian media isn’t compromised.
Thank you for your work.
Siddhartha
***
Hi NL team, I'm Abhishek. I have been a subscriber for two years, keep up the good work. I keenly wait for NL Hafta and I am really loving Mind ki baat. Great initiative from NL for spreading awareness on mental health issues. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr Amit, Shardool and Gurmehar.
I could relate to a lot of experiences Shardool & Gurmehar shared. I suspect I have undiagnosed ADHD. I had to struggle with a lot of things from childhood through my adulthood in work and life.I always felt there was something wrong with me leading me to religiously consume self-help content and still struggling, leading to frustration and low self-esteem.
My question is where to draw the line between taking responsibility and letting go of messing things up. I understand each person's struggle is different, but isn't there a danger of forming a victim mindset and blaming everything on ADHD?
I live and work in a Middle Eastern country where counselling or therapy is not accessible. Is there any way I can confirm whether I have ADHD and if so could you please suggest any materials that could help me?
Regards,
Abhishek
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