Comments on: Diseases of the Mind, From India

By: Inasu

Inasu — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:41:57 +0000

I agree to your point. Kerala did not gain cultural freedom yet. I was a victim at the age of 12 when one of my cousins tried to harass me sexually. I still do not go to his house in Kochi, neither do I talk to him even though it happened 20 years ago. I slapped one guy in a cinema when he tried to touch my sister (and was immediately assaulted by the spectators). The reason I believe is a community which is not open to sex. Why don’t they have brothels in Kerala where these people can go, have sex and pay for it? Why can’t the government make it legal rather than backing the police to raid such places? There are many in Mumbai, Kolkota and a few other major cities in India and elsewhere. I think this is the only solution. But then imagine, if that would be legal, I bet there will be more spectators than the actual visitors to the brothels since every Malayalee is a camera, a sort of cctv’s. An average Malayalee watches porno movies (few of them tries to peep in to their neighbor’s bathroom to watch the female members taking shower, or a public pond near a temple where a group of women bath and wash their clothes) to quench their thirst for sex. And whenever they see a foreigner, they try to fantasize, link them to what they watch on porno daily. A friend of mine, who is 40 years old, never married, was caught twice by the police for prostitution which is illegal in India. Where can he go? The society does not accept live-in relationships, unlike in the west, the casual girlfriend-boyfriend stuff. I lived in Kerala for 23 years and later on moved abroad. The Malayalees I met in these cities are much better than the ones in Kerala. I think a Malayalee who boards a plane transforms in to some cultural Guru to adapt into that particular culture. I am glad that you didn’t take a crowded public bus where you have to commute standing; it would have been a disaster! It’s a cauldron of bollocks when it comes to sex in Kerala, its not Gods own country, its Dogs own country!

By: amal

amal — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 06:28:09 +0000

Your views are almost right.But you have to understand one thing we cannot expect everything to be same as in USA.people are different in different regions and their culture do vary.
I have heard of my relatives who complain that they cannot accept the US culture so they want their children to be brought up in India itself and when they reach at least 20’s they have to be taken back.You just change to other cities like Bangalore , Mumbai, Chennai etc.I am sure your misconception will change.
India is growing and is expected to be the next superpower.India’s potential is its youth probably one of the most happiest in the world.I bet they will change India and by2050 India will surpass even the US economy.
India is fast changing but Kerala has always missed the bus.Kerala is probably a few Indian state which was ruled by the communist parties.

By: pradeep.g

pradeep.g — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:20:39 +0000

if u want to see the real india it is rural india. ppl are so kind but if u mess with rural folks they will break ur bones. next time travel the rural india u will fall in love with india. india is vast and diverse it is a continent (sub-continent) itself and cant be called a country and hence u cannot view india only through kochi hope someday u get to see the length and breadth of my country and its people and hospitality cant be measured anywhere in earth. i have lived and worked in usa and i know what i missed the people and smile of india when i was there in usa. i hope kochi nightmares wont define india to u in future

By: pradeep.g

pradeep.g — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:10:48 +0000

i meant i have been sexually harassed when i was 13 in a theatre in the earlier comments i have posted

By: pradeep.g

pradeep.g — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:08:00 +0000

wow i shuld have read ur blog few months ago my sister got married recently and went to to honeymoon kerala in feb. one of my cousin who lives near to kerala told women wont travel in the bus late in the evening due to sexual harassment. i never believed it bec my image of kerala was different. my father said women dont travel late bec of snakes late in the evening and he says women are tough workers in rural kerala than men.but now i know the real reason. hope yoga helps u to overcome in ur mind. anyway most probably am not going to kerala for honeymoon pbly next year and i think sikkim is a great place to go and i have been there before. in ur case u shuld have reported to police abt the theatre incident and that is a mistake on ur part. the same has happened to my cousin sister in coimabatore (TN) in a movie theatre we beat the shit out of the 4 to 5 men and took them to the police station and gave a formal complaint . for the evil to flourish when we show indifference and dont act and be a silent spectator and if more men and women act when a person is harassed evil stops. young boys are also harrassed in theatres. i have been when i was 13 and first went to the theatre alone bec my dad said u have become a big guy and u can go to movies alone. so young boys are also vulnerable to sexual harassment in india as any part of the world. but most men dont speak abt it

By: admin

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:16:38 +0000

I have to say i agree with Vickram. I traveled to Delhi, Agra, Kajaro(spelling is wrong), and Chennai and never experience sexual harassment in any of those places.

By: Vickram G

Vickram G — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:40:55 +0000

@ Arun G : Rural north India is feudal and illiterate. You really cannot expect too much chivalry there. Urban areas like Delhi, Chandigarh etc. are way better than Kerala in every aspect regarding dignity of women.

And honestly, Kerala is a “sexual pressure cooker” to use a cliche. The kinds that I have never experienced anywhere in the world.

Kochi is just an overgrown cave for cavemen. No offence.

By: Arun G

Arun G — Sun, 16 May 2010 08:56:13 +0000

@ Vickram : Kerala is not the only state where you find these kind of Harassment towards women. I had been to many cities in northern & southern parts of India, where you see similar behavior. So i don’t think running away from Kerala will help much.

By: Vickram G

Vickram G — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:47:31 +0000

Kerala is a little different from ‘all’ other Indian states in that the population is almost equally divided amongst the 3 religions I’d mentioned earlier. The cultural ethos among the 3 religions pull the society in opposite directions. Hindusim is not an organized religion as are Islam and Christianity and therefore there never were any rules established in relation to what is taboo and what is not. Sex was a just a natural function humans indulged in. From what I’ve read, the society was pretty progressive, sexually, ergo ‘The Kamasutra’.

Now entered the Abrahmaic religions, first Christianity with the papal diktats on abstinence etc. The population of Kerala were amongst the first in South Asia to be exposed to organized religion and Christianity was the first to introduce social rules.

Islam had an even bigger impact on the population with regards to what was considered acceptable…and what is not.

Generations of exposure to contradictory ideologies perhaps impacts the way Keralites think. And the way they think, is not what the society accepts.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:12:37 +0000

Robin: That is ridiculous.
Vickram: I am prat of a Hindu/Christian marriage. I would love to hear you elaborate on the religious angle.