26.6.09

Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking tees are ready!






Blank Noise supports the Pride by walking wearing
'step by step guide to unapologetic walking' tee shirts.

These tee shirts can be worn anywhere anytime, they have The Step by Step Guide To Unapologetic Walking on them.



A big thank you to Anwesha , Nimi, Chitra, Soumya, Mohnish, Siddarth, Sanhita, Shreyasi, Paige, Hemangini, Jasmeen, Aarthi, Noopur, Saptarshi, Sunayana, John, Rashida, Neha, Natasha,Rashmi, Vishaka, Shravanthi, Pranav, Lalitha, Kirtana, Aarti, Payal, Nabila, Aparna, Shivangini, Ragini, Tinnie, Saraswathi, Smriti, Oindrilla for being the first to wear them on!

(A fresh new set of tees goes to print in the next 2 weeks!)

credits:
The Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking had existed in the form of a poster prior to this- a big thankyou to BN member/ volunteer Shreyasi Kar for making the idea wearable!
To all those Action Heroes who made it to the street actions and other Blank Noise events- your insights created the Step by Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking.




24.6.09

That's not what I was looking for!

Blank Noise gets reports of what search terms people use to find us on the web, and the answers might surprise you. Here's a report from June 23, 2009 - the phrases on the right are the search terms which lead folks to the BNP blog.

Num Perc.Search Term
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41 100.00%

And here's a report from June 26, 2009:

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35 100.00%

I'm guessing quite a few people were surprised at where they ended up.

I made a little wish in a big park:










Saraswathi:
This was one of the 'whacky',creative things to do and I enjoyed every bit of it:)

Secondly, this felt like 'self-assertive' feminism, simply trying to claim one's space and one' spersonal freedom in public places. No man-hating or blaming others.
Third, this was quite action oreinted and 'being there' . Participating in person is a differently empowering experinece altogether as compared to discussing or talking
about things (those are important too however).

I was doing much more service to myself than a social service or changing atttitudes of others. I was breaking free of my own inhibitions and questining what is 'appropriate' in public-like dancing in public without music; or what is appropriate because I am a woman-like lying on a park bench without meaning to 'get laid'.
I was changing my own attitude. I gained a little more confidance and trust within myself.
There are some things I do anyways-like pouting etc. Now I would feel less guilty or responsible if some man stares at me for it. I just like to do it and I accept myself for it!


Apurva: It seems such a simple thing for me to go to the park and sit or read or sleep out there that I never even think about and take it for granted, . It seems to be a traumatic experience for you. I do not think I can ever understand or really connect to your experience in public places. Somehow, talking about it and seeing it happen before you are different things, I guess. I feel that we need to capture these situations in more than words...

Soumya:
I distinctly remember that about 2 years ago i traveled through Cubbon park to office and craved to spend a lazy morning and afternoon just lolling about in the grass. The practical answer i would give myself was that i had to go to work... but somewhere i also knew it was because i didn't want to "invite" creeps or any "incidents". Today when I sat in the park and did nothing but watch people go by, enjoyed the feel of the grass and even dozed off for a bit, I wondered... why did i have to wait for being a part of blank noise to do this? what has changed in me for having done it?

Shreyasi:When I told my friends that so I’m spending my Saturday afternoon at a park, just lying down staring at the sky, oblivious to the people around me and listening to music, they thought that I had lost it. The most common reaction being a very sarcastic “yeah right”. Then someone said “Dude, Cubbon park isn’t really the safest place you know… there are strange creepy men so will you take care please”.

I think that was the reason why I wanted to do this. It is my space too… so why should I have to think thrice (read a zillion times) before I go there and do something that is only very normal to do in a park. Moreover, I didn’t know for sure. It was only assumed that the park, like any other public space, was going to be filled with letchy men trying to make you regret having come there in the first place. I was happy that my assumptions were wrong. Maybe so because I had my own set of guardian angels in the park who I knew were looking out for me. Maybe because I wasn’t subjected to the usual doze of comments and stares. Maybe because I was so engrossed in doing what I was, that I was oblivious to them, if they were there. But the best part was that I was relaxed enough to let myself get that oblivious!

I wore a kurta with a deep back. I wore a mask. I sat on a park bench n read. And somehow doing something as small as that felt like being free. Then soon enough it was time to challenge that... push it a little bit. I laid down on the park bench and put on the music. I allowed myself to shut my eyes. I could not allow myself to fall asleep! I think it was just the fact that no matter how comfortable I got I still was in a public space and I have learned to not trust them.


17.6.09

What do you wish to do this Saturday at Cubbon Park?



Remember the wish list you prepared for things you wished you could do in your city?


Here's one more!

What are the things you would love to do at the park in your city?
(build the park wish list below)




Amrutha Bushan:
* i wish i could smile whole heartedly at each and every person i saw in a park without worrying that i was inviting trouble.
* i love minimal clothing. i wish i could wear them on a daily basis;even to a park.

Dianne Sharma Winter: if i could be there I would wear a pink tutu and do handstands all across the park to the astonished cheers of my family and then someone would come along and offer me a job in the circusand i would take it

Shreyasi :I want to lay down under a tree and stare at the sky with music
blaring in my ears!! :) :D

Yasmin
:
I want to be able to take a nap in the park.

Aarthi: I want to skip the rope + read a book.

Saraswathi: I wish to whistle my favourite songs in public.

Jasmine : I am going to write a letter to a dear friend.

Natasha Hemrajani: i wish i could sit on the grass all by myself in tiny
shorts and soak up some sun and read and nap
without a care in the world without people staring
at my skin or at my lack of company and without
random men mouthing lewd songs at me because
this what they do when a woman appears
alone and vulnerable and skimpily dressed.

Bedatri: i want to get wet in the rain-from top to bottom,to the innermost strings of my garment and then walk back home without feeling guilty and i want to sit on the front seat of the auto and enjoy the breeze without twisting and turning in order to avoid those sudden brakes and what they bring along.

Lindsey Rieder :
When I lived in Jaipur I always wanted to sit on the bench in the park near my house and enjoy watching the birds and squirrels and all the kids playing.

Soumya: I just want to plonk myself comfortable PJs in whichever position and dream away

Chitra:
i wanna listen to my ipod and dance on the streets, not just bob my head and walk......

Alexandra: I am from Canada, and will be trying to erase the horrible tanline I have gotten from wearing Salwar Kameez everyday, while simultaneously entertaining my puppy whose name is Tombi.

and you?


Join us at 3 30 pm, Saturday, to do exactly what you wish to do there.
email us to confirm if you're coming!
The activities are individual based and not meant to be
co ordinated with what other Action Heroes will be doing.
There are no 'rules' except it would be fantastic if
Action Heroes wore a garment they always wished to wear
but did not because they thought they might be 'asking for it'.
The event will go on until 6 pm.
Every body is invited.
Bring along your friends, family or anyone interested.
Be an Action Hero!

Saturday Action Heroes include:

  1. Aarthi
  2. Machlee
  3. Mangit
  4. Shreyasi
  5. Hemangini
  6. Soumya
  7. Chitra
  8. Shilo
  9. Ratna
  10. Katheeja
  11. Amrutha
  12. Alexandra
  13. Saraswathi
  14. Jasmine
  15. you?
  16. sign up!! e: blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com