30.10.08

CALL FOR BLANK NOISE VOLUNTEERS AND INTERN:



Blank Noise is a community of Action Heroes ( citizens as volunteers) committed to building safe cities.

You could volunteer your time. skills and efforts into building this collective. You could also propose a project idea by writing to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IXqsRk9b4eIFGoPQ1-oVqJ7_pLVl6SQIFA98MJNcjmk/viewform

Being An Action Hero and working with Blank Noise is about
  • being self confrontational
  • tackling your own biases. questioning them.
  • asking questions
  • meeting deadlines
  • rolling your sleeves . getting your hands dirty
  • being a good listener
  • being enthusiastic
  • being patient
  • being persistent
  • being open
  • responsible
  • putting in that extra bit
  • about collective ownership
  • about doing small things
  • about making time
  • about putting yourself out there
  • about conviction

Got that?
Below is an application form for volunteers and interns.

# TO CREATE BLANK NOISE IN YOUR CITY . OR TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH BLANK NOISE FROM YOUR CITY- SIGN UP HERE( time period is not defined. could be one or a variety of tasks/ interests/ ideas)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pXj9QqBrUiZ7KSAIdHH5eMw


# SIGN UP TO BE A BLANK NOISE INTERN ( time period 2 months)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pXj9QqBrUiZ5RkZL89UmVew


If you have volunteered with Blank Noise in any way possible- do send in your photo
at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blanknoise/2514560156/

(flickr blog maintained by Dhruva Ghosh. Saptarshi Chakrabarty and Purba Sarkar)



We thank the following people for signing up as volunteers and interns:

( WE WILL BE WRITING TO EACH OF YOU SHORTLY)
JAIPUR
VIVEK KAKKAR
JODHPUR
PRIYANKA BHANDARI
AHMEDABAD
KHUSHALI PUROHIT
MEGHANA NAYAR
KOLKATA
PUSHPITA PRAMANIK
ADITI. NEHA
LUCKNOW
MOHIT SHARMA
HIMIKA
PUNE * SOLAPUR
VISHAL GAIKWAD
VADODRA
JYOTI
CHENNAI
JAYSHRI IYERPRIYANKA
DEEPTI
KATHEEJA TALHA
CAMBRIDGE (UK)
REKHA
ADELE
ROME (ITALY)
ADELE
STAMFORD
SUBHA SUNDARAM
SANDIEGO (USA)
AMAN TYAGI
CHANDIGARH
NEERAJ MONGA
NATASHA KAUSHAL
MUMBAICONRAD MENEZES
MOHNISH MOORJANIASAVARI GILL
MADHU AGARWAL
APARNA HAJNIS
CHIRAG SUVARNA
BANGALORE
SANDHYA
BALIKA GOPALKRISHNAN
KV BALAJI
SNEHA
THUPTEN KELSANG
APURVA MATHAD
DELHI
MANITA SETHI
SHARAD BHATIA
NEERU MALHOTRADEEPSHIKA ARORA
ANISHKA VARMA
ANUBHAV PRADHAN
SHWETA SINGH
SATYA
RAVISHA MALL
SHWETA SINGH
SHRUTI PANWAR
GURGAON
Prateek Shukla
ANAMIKA
NAGPUR
PRADEEPTI SHARMA

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

The administrative and police machinery in U.P is a failure especially in eastern U.P.

zap said...

This might be unrelated but I cant help asking this..

Why is looking eve-teasing?

J said...

hey zap- we have been talking alot about "looking" through our interventions on the internet/ streets/ t shirts/

we are not attempting to propose a
"NO LOOKING" public but instead get us to think about HOW WE are looking at someone. yes looking does not physically harm anyone but a lot is communicated with just the eyes- and we need to think about how we are looking because our eyes are communicating. there are stern looks, gentle looks, glances- one could gape, stare, leer, scan, examine, ogle- so much with just how one chooses to look. this is our focus when we talk of looking- we dont want to say " DONT LOOK" but rather provoke discussion on HOW ARE YOU LOOKING?

J said...

hey zap- we have been talking alot about "looking" through our interventions on the internet/ streets/ t shirts/

we are not attempting to propose a
"NO LOOKING" public but instead get us to think about HOW WE are looking at someone. yes looking does not physically harm anyone but a lot is communicated with just the eyes- and we need to think about how we are looking because our eyes are communicating. there are stern looks, gentle looks, glances- one could gape, stare, leer, scan, examine, ogle- so much with just how one chooses to look. this is our focus when we talk of looking- we dont want to say " DONT LOOK" but rather provoke discussion on HOW ARE YOU LOOKING?

zap said...

You tread a difficult line. Like John Stuart Mill said : The freedom of my fist ends where your face begins. Even his On Liberty fails to clearly define 'harm' and 'offense'.
You must though, keep pushing your version, as long and until the cruelty of the majority forces me to abandon any contrary versions I might have :)
Best of luck!

zap said...

* But, even his On Liberty fails to clearly define 'harm' and 'offense'.

Blank Noise said...

yes zap it is a difficult line- to define something that is so contextual. we try to based on the testimonials we hear, receive and publish. read the posts from the blogathon or our action heroes blog.
thanks very much

Mohnish said...

Most people might argue "So what I'm juz looking not teasing"

Others might argue "So what I'm juz teasing/whistling not touching"

Still others might argue "So what I'm juz touching not raping"

and finally the rapists can argue "I'm juz raping not killing"

Theres a huge difference between a passing glance and gaping shamelessly. I can only say by my experiences in India that no girl is spared, be it a school girl wearing a skirt or a lady wearing a saree. I guess Indian men (yeah yeah I'm one too)think every woman is a celebrity since only celebrities are or have to get used to such unasked attention. I realize theres very little I can do except express my anger against such perverts. Be it the guy on the cycle who tring trings (irritatring isnt it) behind this girl even when theres enough place for 2 trucks to pass or the annoying autowallahs who have mastered the art of 'looking' or some of my pesky friends who judge whether a woman is a slut or a savitri based on the clothes she wears and her hair color.

But I'm sure there'll be a day when a woman is treated as a human being (with minor details added and subtracted) and not some 'item' kept in the window of a shop which perverts can 'look' at and discuss with other perverts.

Blank Noise, great initiative but would love to see a "yeah i know about BNP" expression rather than a "BNP whats that" look when I speak of it to my friends. Maybe you guys need to do some PR there...just a suggestion maybe you guys are already doing it :)

zap said...

The " the rapists can argue -I'm juz raping not killing- " kind of argument is out of context, as any such sensationalist argument usually is.
What I was talking about earlier is defining offense.
If someone can get offended by someone looking at them, can another choose to get offended for someone not looking at them?
Taking it further, can I be offended that someone isn't looking at me lasciviously?

Obviously, these are much harder to deal with than the 'rapist says I only rape' kind of questions, eh?

Mohnish said...

"If someone can get offended by someone looking at them, can another choose to get offended for someone not looking at them?"
Sure women have nothing better to do than take offense when no1s looking at them.Just to show people out there can come up with the silliest of justifications or reasons to harass others (sexual harassment in this case). Think the point made was quite clear albeit you might call it 'sensationalist argument'

Anonymous said...

http://modernramsena.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

hi, here to support blank noise. i have been through a lot such incidences myself, just to share one such incident when i was getting back from college there was a guy on the bike who came and put his hand on my chest and when i get back home and tell my sis all she says is its coz of ur clothes and all i was wearing was a sleeveless top. i'm in college why am i not free to wear wat i want

Unknown said...

hai....i want to tell one of my experience..since the issue is too serious,i dont want to reveal my identity..i was very active in theatres in my college days...i was comming back after a theatre workshop..it was jst 9pm.when i was passing through a bye road there was power failure.sudenly 3 men came by maruthy van and pulled me into it..i was brutally raped.and left me near my house.i lost myself mentally and physically.even i had to go through abortion.i thought i lost my life.but with some of my frns help i recovered from that..nd im bck to life.i just wanted to say that there are so many cases like mine which have not comr into light.and majority of them never face that situation.i want to know whether blank noise can do somthing for those women.i will surely support anything constructive.please do think of that

vignathkumar said...

first of jasmeen i request u to creat awerness about few things in chennai blank noise one is eve teasing dialougs in tamil cinema and tv serials which is oppose to women equality and democrasy those dialougs blames on women victum and dress as the reason for eve teasing.
second one is local psychartist doctors articles which alo blames women victom and dress is the reason for eve teasing and make the men eve teasing cometior escape these doctors articles sopils are oppose to self confidence,equality and democrasy of women by discussing all these things u can creat awerness and put ur extra peal also u can creat awrness if u can u may ask help form tamil writers like sukirdharani, leena manimagali,malathai maithree etc who are opposes of dress code to

Jay said...

Nandini,
I'm a theatre girl too. Thank you for sharing your story. Though horrifying, it made me amazed at your strength for surviving it. You are truly a survivor and you have defeated all darkness to stand tall again. Keep strong, stand up for others and know that you are an inspiration.

Anonymous said...

I just voted on your poll about something that happened to me when I was a little girls ... all these years later and yet it felt empowering to know that I wasn't the only one. Thank you! I'm sorry but I couldn't finish watching your news program ... too painful. But we continue to speak out!

kunal kiran said...

what about those who loose their time just tyring to do something against eve teasing and just sit here typing on key board and nothing else.

like me?

i need to contact you now so that i can do whatever i can during my these semester breaks.( i am a b.tech student).

Anubandh said...

"Why is looking eve-teasing?

If someone looks at a girl, which makes her feel uncomfortable, then this means the person is intruding into her space, which is wrong and that's why, even looking in a wrong way is eve-teasing. Now the question is, what could be the predefined limits of looking someone? I feel that the answer to this question is 'none'. I think the most complicated things or the most simple things in this world cannot be measured in ounces or grams, e.g.tears :). Similarly, we can't measure or define the limit of 'Looking' for others, but we can define it for ourselves, for our own souls. With just one look, we can convey the feelings of love, respect, hatred, disgust, embarrassment etc. and the same applies to eve-teasing as well. If someone is staring at woman with voracity, it shows in his eyes and thus, it's eve-teasing and it cannot be condoned.