7.5.06

Dear Stranger













There were some intimate moments on the streets of Bangalore this evening.

Alka, Chitra, Pritesh, Ratna, Vidya, Yamini dispersed testimonials from the Blank Noise blogathon as letters addressed to strangers on the street. These letters were given to people who reacted to the gaze of the participants in performance.

(Balaji distributed the Blank Noise bilingual pamphlets alongside)

Twenty different testimonials, randomly selected from blogathon entries.

The letters were hand folded and given to the few chosen ones on in the public. Anyone who made eye contact, walked upto the participants, asked a question got this little note instead thus creating intimate moments, secrecy, surprise, shock?

Each letter was a different blogger's testimony.

The letters read as:

Dear Stranger,
Coming back from college, if the bus was too crowded, I used to try and walk the seven kilometer stretch. Even in the bloody summers. Even when I kept away from the crowded bus, and walked - some asshole would drive by, roll down his window, and ask persistently if I wanted a lift. No. I'll give you a lift. No. Please come. No. Come you bitch. No. Walk. Five minutes later - another car. No. No. No.
So are you victim, perpetrator or mute spectator to eve teasing?
Sincerely,
Just another girl.


or

Dear Stranger,
NOT GLARING AT EVERY PASSERBY SUSPICIOUSLY CAN BE INTERPRETED AS AN INVITATION
So are you victim, perpetrator or mute spectator to eve teasing?
Sincerely,
Hyper women amidst 'fathers', 'husbands' and 'brothers' .



The next intervention is in Majestic bus stand, Bangalore. We are meeting on Sunday 14th May to get it going.

(Kannada speaking bloggers are encouraged to contact Blank Noise at 98868 40612)

28 comments:

See Bee said...

nice :)

Jugular Bean said...

Wow! Pretty cool! I hope this will be an education for people.
Cheers!

J said...

thankyou jugular bean
trauma queen

wow you two rhyme!

jugular: we were looking at creating an experience more than 'educating' them, which i suppose just happened ..through the action

Sukumar said...

Hi Jasmeen, sorry that I couldn't meet u on Sunday and more apologies that I couldn't call u b4 hand and let you know.. I had a temperature and just today was I able to come to the office. Sorry abt that...

J said...

Hi

get well soon.

No worries

Many didnt show up...for various reasons...and many have confirmed the sunday's meet

Aditya said...

Great work and really need to appreciate the good work u have been doing..........
@Jasmeen
I regularly visit BLANKNOISE.... ya blog page i mean.... and genuinely appreciate the stuff.... Its' not like "One post and I am done with it".... Feels nice having been a part of the blogathon........
Being a student still and that too far away in KGP i cannot join you in every programme and initiative you undertake..... But then my best wishes and sincere support, I pledge in whatever you undertake and sincerely would like to join you in your endeavours at the earliest..... I have my own constraints and am bound..... Any help I can be via blogging then I am always willing to help

Anonymous said...

hey!
this sounds really cool!
i just came home for a month and will come around and participate,
lookin forward,
rahima

J said...

fantastic. see you soon

unforgiven said...

Are you sure *all* of the women in this project have received this kind of a treatment?

Some of them, err, didn't really seem to be the types who would invoke much of a response in most men.


Bangalore men though, can never tell.

autogato said...

Congratulations on the impact you are making. Please keep up this work of forwarding women's issues. By making ourselves known, and demosntrating our power through events like yours, hopefully we can begin to see a crubmling of some of the oppression.

See Bee said...

do we forgive unforgiven???
on what basis does he make a statement like that?
does he even KNOW the kind of stuff women go thru on the streets?

it has NOTHING to do with ur looks or ur apperance..u just have to be a woman and u "ask for it"

Anonymous said...

one look at his lovely mugshot and you can tell unforgiven seems like a harmless retard/coding monkey..I think his comments can be safely ignored..

Anonymous said...

I have been reading the posts in this forum and many-a-time found situations familiar... Today, Unforgiven made me write...Shame on you Unforgiven....
I am 25 today and ever since i was 14 i've had to go through this s**t.... Walk on the streets and be ready to hear atleast one lewd remark... I am from chennai and have lived and worked in both Bangalore and Mumbai... In Mumbai i was lucky that i didnt have to travel by the public mode of transport much....So just 1 or 2 instances in 2 years...But the other two places, as everyone has mentioned, Brigade Road in Bangalore was a nightmare....It is worse that such things happen when you are walking with some of your male friends...You can't let them know, It is so embarassing, and worse they will end up in a fight... It is emotionally,very troubling....

Unforgiven,
As trauma queen wrote
"it has NOTHING to do with ur looks or ur apperance..u just have to be a woman and u "ask for it"

And btw, whose mistake is it to be beautiful and is being beautiful wrong???
It is like saying, if the girl is beautiful i(unforgiven) would wanna try my luck?!! Shame on you...

Being a man gives you no such freedom to intrude into a woman's space...If you want to do that then please call yourself an animal and not a man.....

Unforgiven,
If you have any sisters, i pity them.....How would you like some guy like YOU messing up and fiddling with your mom,sister or wife....Looks like you would enjoy it....Shame on you....
Your comment really outraged me...And you had the nerve to show your face..!!!

I didn't want to spend time registering for a blogger account...so making an anonymous post...pls. Excuse... Will soon become a registered member....KUDOS TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING...

Pinky...

Anonymous said...

this is REALLY ironical. i cant drive yet so have to walk myself to places or use public transport. i live in delhi. the worst place to be for a girl :( i really want to attend the blank noise meeting in delhi at regal cinema, 6pm. assuming that the meeting in the very least would take an hour ...it will get over at 7pm. or 715pm. or 730 pm. basically, it will be dark. thanks to delhi men, getting home for me will be all harrasment. have decided i will not attend the blanknoise meeting. ironical.

unforgiven said...

This is why I am wary of feminists. There is taking things seriously and then there is going overboard. Most feminists (not all though, some actually make a lot of sense) tend to be pursue the latter a lot more than the former.


My comment was simply that some of the girls in the pictures made me wonder. Simple as that.

Doesn't mean that they didn't go through it (as I said, Bangalore men! Hell, probably Delhi, Bombay and wherever also).
Have to love how I should be ashamed because I saw some ugly women and thought to myself "Dude, those chicks are ugly. Men are crossing all bars of desperation, aren't they?"

Does this mean I eve tease? No. Does this mean I condone eve teasing? No. Does this mean I harbor deep seated insecurity issues against women that will one day come out in form of brutal rape, leaving me not much more than an animal? Fuck no!


Thanks for bringing my entire family into this and branding me akin to a rapist. It really gives so much more credibility to your initiative and your mature thought process behind it.

Anonymous said...

Unforgiven,
It was not meant to brand you as someone....I think you should think before you talk.... And please, stop making remarks on how ugly or beautiful a girl is, inspite of being ugly, men getting to her, etc....

It would be greatly appreciated if you can understand the emotional and physical trauma women undergo because of people who go overboard.... Everything within limits is fine...It becomes an issue only when it crosses limits..and if so many women across the country are writing in, you may understand the intensity of such acts...If possible try to do something about it...... Pointing about the troubles women undergo doesn't make one a feminist...Please... How can anyone justify such acts on the part of men??

That's the whole point.... I apologise if my comments hurt you...That's was the not the criterion of my post....If you still feel branded, then that's your guilt, probably....

Pinky

Unknown said...

Ola ladies !

I found a blog with a theme similiar to
what you have

You might want to get in touch with them or work up something together I thought....

Here it is.....

http://www.hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/

See Bee said...

unforgiven...
look, i had big issues with ur thinking of "Dude, those chicks are ugly. Men are crossing all bars of desperation"

its NOT about being pretty or ugly or whatever maan....u just need to be female, n u go thru trauma on the streets..n let me repg=hrase my statement, cos women r not the only ones who experience street harassment, children n men r victims too

i dont think ppl r desperate when they trouble "ugly chicks", i dont think there are any such criteria as 'ugly chick' or 'pretty chick' when it comes to street harassment, they just harass..period.

n thats the only point im trying to make here, the only point blank noise is trying to make...

sp pls be a little more sensitive when u make such comments..n dont hide behind 'feminism going overboard' if someone disagrees with ur opinion

Accidental Fame Junkie said...

Hi,

Heard the audio. It was terribly disturbing. I related to it very very much. It does not matter what age you are, if you are a woman on the streets of India, you are targetted. Students really bear the brunt of it. I did too as a student. Nowadays, since I am working, I try and avoid crowded public transport. But then how much can you avoid? There are the crowded shopping districts.

You guys are doing a great job. Awareness is half the battle won.

Zette Remi said...

Wow! Something IS being done about the blog-a-thon. I am so proud of you guys. Let me know if you need any help on getting a similar activity done in Hyderabad. Thanks a lot for doing this!

Anonymous said...

dear jasmeen,
could you please ask unforgiven to define a feminist ?
and why does he call us feminists i dont understand ? men do all dirty things and get away without being punished and if we raise our voices against it we are being labelled as feminists ?(these names dont mean anything to me anyway !) "men haters" is that what he is actually trying to call us ? please tell him there are men too who contribute to blank noise
- gayathri

Anonymous said...

dear jasmeen,
could you please ask unforgiven to define a feminist ?
and why does he call us feminists i dont understand ? men do all dirty things and get away without being punished and if we raise our voices against it we are being labelled as feminists ?(these names dont mean anything to me anyway !) "men haters" is that what he is actually trying to call us ? please tell him there are men too who contribute to blank noise
- gayathri

J said...

well you just asked him!

Anonymous said...

looks like a certain coding monkey deleted his blog

i can't imagine why :P

hemangini said...

A: It's between five and seven in the evening and yes it may finish by seven thirty. Blank Noise meetings are usually in the evenings since most people are tied up during the day and even weekend interventions are in the evenings since areas are most crowded then.

We've never really had anyone not attend because of the safety factor so why don't you mail blurtblanknoise@gmail.com what your restrictions are and we can work around different people's schedules/logisitical hurdles the next time. It's really not so ironical.

Best
Hemangini

Anonymous said...

i heard the audio... was extremely disturbing...more so coz each word rings true...its all a part of personal experience...but i m (as many others are, too) usually ashamed of putting it in words..kudos to ur bravery girls....i wish i cud be like u...

Anonymous said...

hi am so proud of all u members, i have had my own horror tales, tried various methods to deal with it some successful some backfired. i come from a family where most think girls "ask" for it - read dressing. u would all be happy to know that i always ask for it:-). and my firm belief is a gentlemen's behaviour is never relative to a lady's dress, the rest are just (desperate) animals expressing and then rationalizing\justifying thier sexual instincts.

Anonymous said...

Dear Jasmeen, Chinmayee and Mangs
What a great job you are doing!!!!! And... as you can see,here in the Netherlands you achieved the newspapers!! I'm not a man-hating woman, but what you have to go through, day by day just walking in the streets....that is not normal. I support you with all my heart and hope you reach your goal(the 1000 clothes), but I am sure you achieve much more with this campaing...you are making history, i am sure of that!! Good luck, I will fully support you, go on, and i hope you will not get much anti-campaings to you.Suzette, form the Netherlands, 32 yrs old woman. suzette@chello.nl