A full hijab?! Were those wearing hijabs covering their faces? Covering the hair is a whole other thing, and likewise not revealing the contours of the body. That goes if need be for any woman. And I am beyond radical. Someone should write on purdah which was common with aristocratic and even common women.
vjp On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 1:08 PM Roland Francis <roland.fran...@gmail.com> wrote: > I taught in a premier women's college in Bangalore for most of my teaching > career. > > In my classroom, there were Hindu girls who wore their bindis, sacred ash, > holy threads on their wrists etc. There were also Hindu girls in Western > clothing who came out in all their ethnic beauty for Ethnic Day and the > next day came to class in jeans and t-shirts. > > On Onam, the whole college campus was a sea of beautiful cream and gold > saris and jasmine flowers and sandal paste tilaks. Even the non-Malyalis > like myself looked forward to turning out in our saris and mundus and we > would order in Onam Saadya and enjoy it in the department during lunch > break. > > I have three beautiful Onam saris hanging in my wardrobe as reminders of > those happy days of the past. > > It was the same during Sankranthi...the driveway and corridors would be > decorated with beautiful rangolis. For Ugadi, one of my Department members, > knowing my fondness for the traditional til- kadlai- jaggery- sugar candy > mix, would make sure she brought an extra little packet of it for me. > > There were Muslim girls, many of them in jeans and kurtis / salwar-kameez > etc and also many who wore the full hijab. > > Many of them who did not wear the hijab could be seen, especially during > Ramzan namaaz, covering their heads with their dupattas when they heard > the call to prayer...right in the middle of a lecture. > > It was no big deal. > > In fact, if and when I did happen to notice it while teaching, something > in me felt a deep respect for those small signs of reverence for their > prayer time that they showed in just covering their heads. > None of their fellow students, and, as far as I know, none of us teachers > were disturbed by it. > It was just the thing they did and we respected that. > > In the same classroom, student nuns could be seen wearing either the sari > or the habit and veil, and all of them wearing a crucifix. > Christian students often wore a cross or rosary around their necks. > > On Ash Wednesday you could tell who the Catholics were by the cross of > ashes on their foreheads. > > And ...they/ we all shared the same space, the same laughter, the same > exam stress, the same enjoyment of fests, the same boredom during boring > lectures and the same interest during good ones. > > They / we all dived enthusiastically into each others' lunch boxes to > sample different cuisines from different backgrounds. > They/ we sat at the same tables in the cafeteria and simply enjoyed being > together. > From the happy, raucous laughter and palpable sense of youthful joy, I > doubt many / any were discussing religion. > > The food fests were the BEST. > You would have the popular chaat stalls, the much sought after biryani > counters, where mutton, chicken and veg biryani were available, the kaati > roll counters were hugely popular too, as were the momo counters run by the > sweet and gentle students from the North -East. > > With Hindus , Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Jains, and those who didn't > specifically adhere to any religious belief or symbolism sharing the same > benches, imbibing the same knowledge, while sporting their different > traditional dresses and religious symbols (or no obvious symbol at all), > our classrooms were mini melting-pots of Indian diversity. > And it was WONDERFUL. > > Our teaching and non-teaching departments were made up of men and women > who worked together as colleagues and team-mates, even as most of us wore > some symbol of our personal religious beliefs, even if it were just a > wedding ring on the left hand or a mangalsutra.. > > So many non-Catholic and non-Christian lecturers and students would attend > the Christian prayer service / Mass celebrated on campus for special > occasions. > > And they attended by choice, and with great reverence, many even covering > their heads with their dupattas/ saris while that was not and is not > required even of those of us who were / are Christian. > We simply respected each other. > > Why is all this becoming so important now...why are we marking each other > by religion and caste etc? > > When did we stop respecting the fact that as Indians we are the same > despite our differences of faith and ethnicity? > When did we start taking offence more often than giving respect? > > I just posted this comment of mine on a public page which has carried a > report on this ongoing, nonsensical non-issue of Muslim girls and their > right to wear the headscarf/hijab to school. > I copy-pasted it here. > > I expect to be trolled, on the other page, for this comment. > And undoubtedly, crudely, as has been done in the past, on that same page, > both for my name and the image that is my profile pic. > > It's ok. > That too is an insight into this idea of "New India". > > Roland. > Toronto. > >