Bitter medicine

Today’s episode on domestic violence highlighted two important emergent issues. One, our women continue to accept violence for years together. This is largely because of insecurity about the outcome of walking out. The answer seems to lie in that we should make the girls independent and self sufficient before marrying them Any dowry should be in the form of securities and capital investments in their names or as one participant brought out in the form of property. Gold and jewellery is of no use once it passes on to the in-laws even though it is legally theirs as 'stree dhan' The other issue is about taking legal recourse. No One goes into wedlock fortified with the laws laid down for their protection. May be they should. The fallout of satyamev jayate episodes has been a general revolt or animosity of concerned parties, be it doctors or the khaps. I am sure some sort of revolt will result from this episode too, in what form or by whom I have no idea. The docto

Aparna Sen was in Jaipur for the reading of the romantic letters exchanged between the illuminaries of our time. The event was the highlight of Jaipur this week, but what a faux pas in the reporting of the event in todays issue of the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar in Jaipur The Hindi paper linked Queen Elizabeth to Robert Browning. Fortunately the English edition DNA omitted mentioning Robert Browning altogether. Robert Browning was too early for Queen Elizabeth II and way to late for Queen Elizabeth I The Elizabeth in question was poetess Elizabeth Barrett of Wimpole Street. Their romance was immortalised by Rudolf Besier in his drama "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" in 1930 and later in a film of the same name. Elizabeth's father was so against their love affair that the two married and eloped to Australia Some of Robert Browning's most romantic poems were written after meeting Elizabeth like "Men and Women" and she in turn dedicated her "Sonnets