Bangalore Action Heroes : I Never Ask For It (Post to be updated)

I Never Ask For It , Action Hero Shruti

I Never Ask For It , Action Hero Post to be updated photo documentation from January 2017. Action Heroes in Bangalore walked the city carrying, I Never Ask For It testimonials, inviting citizens, individuals to step in and take collective responsibility instead of victim blame. Bystanders took position as Action Heroes; carrying the garments, bringing in their own, adding to the testimonials and voice shaping I Never Ask For It.

Walk Alone. Akeli Awaara Azaad ( Alone / Wanderer / Free ) : Register

• Have you walked, not having to think twice about the width of your smile,the length of your blouse,  skirt, tee neck, sleeve.
  

• Have you clenched your fist so hard ,worn a frown, sharpened elbows out ?
  

• Does your daily list of every place, person, garment you ‘avoid’/ deny reveal a larger something- that you decide where to go, how to go, what time to go, what clothes to go in, with whom to go based on your safety?
  

Have you too been warned, just like me, about places, our bodies, our clothes, our cities, our streets?

An environment that constantly reminds women and girls to be careful , is also messaging out “ you experienced violence because you were not being careful enough”. Warnings lead to blame, blame leads to silence and shame. Our environments need to be made safe and inclusive, rather than have women carry the weight of warnings and fear. #INeverAskForIt #WalkAlone Towards Freedom From Fear.

Blank Noise, in joined forces with Why Loiter, Take Back The Night Kolkata , Amnesty India

100 Action Heroes #WalkAlone

Friday, 2nd December

anytime between

9 pm - midnight

Women occupy streets at night.

Alone. Wandering. Walking.

Stop To Gaze At The Stars

Smell the night blooming flowers

We are many

We are visible

Action Heroes co create safe spaces

We Walk Alone, Together ;

Towards Freedom From Fear

Here’s how: identify site ( is it unfamiliar / unknown / desired? )

/ register / walk alone/ document / share

* Register here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbt8nEzb28KlOLxq2K5CIgrT0NXpse-FWDLAjURrxe9TSUcQ/viewform

* Read event faqs here

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t-XoQ24pOyq13isfnpbeXN-PrZ_Z0DMeBeBbCZNGxC4/edit

Action Heroes and allies have registered from cities across India and beyond

A complete list will be out on the 2nd December morning.

Walk Alone was initiated in 2015 and has been built by Action Heroes and organisational allies from across cities/ towns/ countries including Ranchi, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Philadelphia, Braunschweig, Toronto, Karachi, Melbourne, Koppa, Kohima, Shillong.

Yours truly,

Blank Noise Team

Contact : actionhero@blanknoise.org / 91.9886840612

English:

German

Event faqs https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t-XoQ24pOyq13isfnpbeXN-PrZ_Z0DMeBeBbCZNGxC4/edit

reach out actionhero@blanknoise.org

In solidarity with Suzette Jordan : Calling Kolkata Action Heroes

Suzette Jordon
Another humiliating moment in my life!!!! Was not allowed into a restaurant/pub! Known as. Ginger, Was told by the manager that being the 'PARK STREET RAPE VICTIM' he could not let me in, this was told to me reptedly by the rude manager who brazenly challenged me and added that I could even report his name.

As narrated to Harish Iyer on the phone:

"I was bored and wanted to go out. My fiance wanted to take me to a restaurant called Ginger in Hazra, Kolkata. I agreed and we decided to go there and chill. We parked and went close to the hotel. At the entrance itself I was told by some junior staff 'you cannot enter'. When I asked him for a justification he directed me to his manager. I went up to the manager and asked him for a valid reason to deny me an entry. He said sternly "we can't allow you because you are the Park Street rape victim". I was shocked and aghast. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I asked him again, he repeated again. My fiance stood there shocked but held on to me closely as a pillar of strength urging me to fight it out. The manager still repeated the same thing. He repeated the same 3 times. I almost felt like I was raped once again. There were some 20 odd people in queue to get in. All of them seemed in a hurry to eat,none of them intervened or even acted as if they heard anything. Humiliated beyond repair I stormed out and called a reporter friend from 24 Ghanta. When i narrated the complete incident to the reporter, they sent their OB van to shoot. A female reporter came to cover the incident. When she stormed near the entrance, another man came out, who I presume was the owner, and spoke rudely and indecently to her which she caught on camera {and this was shown all day today in the channel (14 September) } A kind police man saw the OB van and asked me to contact him if I needed help. He offered to intervene. I was too angry for anything that time. I am going to the police on Monday to register a complaint. May be I would be asked again "why did you take 2 days to report". Well, I was asked this question when I was gang raped, nothing in this country surprises me. Right from police stations, to court rooms to everyday life, we get raped again and again and again. There are some mute spectators who champion me when they see me on TV. I get many mails supporting me. I equally get hate mails too but I am happy that india did stand up with me when I spoke about it in national and international television. But in the end all the adulation has no meaning when you dont stand up at the time of abuse. I wonder why none of those people standing in queue stood up. The manager was rude, I wonder why his subordinates didn't speak up rather stood there listening and supporting the manager. I wonder how many rapes would this country take to finally stand up with survivors. I am truly angry" - Suzette Jordan

To Action Heroes in Kolkata:

We are preparing a collective response to the above and need you with sleeves rolled , heart and in numbers.

Things we need:
We need you to be 'prepared' with a white shirt/ yellow shirt / any light coloured Tee and a permanent marker to enable this act. For those of you in Kolkata, please confirm and or email us blurtblanknoise@gmail.com

For those interested, email us right away : blurtblanknoise@gmail.com 

fb event here

Recent media updates:

IBN live

Talk To Me:

Talk To Me was designed to fight fear itself. To get rid of biases and prejudice. 

To create space for a conversation, not threat. To make cities, neighbourhoods, streets friendly. To build empathy. 

Five tables,  two chairs per table, chai and samosa. 

The Yelahanka Action Hero invited a stranger to an hour long conversation about anything- fear, love, life. At the end of the conversation the Action Hero gifted a flower to the person across the table.

A conversation is a collaboration and requires openness, willingness, vulnerability. 

After Conversation: Action Hero Pavithra

After Conversation: Action Hero Radha

3pm -7 30pm

Action Hero Masood

Action Hero Arushi

Action Hero Spandhana

Action Hero Mithra

Action Hero Anamika

Action Hero Shalini

Action Hero Arushi

Action Hero Rahul Singh with New Action Hero

Action Hero Anusha ensures a samosa at every table

Action Hero Pallavi December 2012: In the past we have focussed on city specific Action Heroes eg: Delhi Action Heroes, Bangalore Action Heroes. In November last year we initiated the concept of a neighbourhood Action Hero network.   "Yelahanka Action Heroes" was formed during a month long Blank Noise Action Hero course at Srishti School of Art Design and Technology ,with a group of 19 students. Team YAH practiced a range of events/ interventions from mapping, identifying places perceived or identified as unsafe and worked out strategies to build safe spaces . This location was known as 'Rapist Lane' by many students at Srishti. We have no reports of rape to justify it's name but several incidents of molestation/ sexual violence have created its reputation. Our objective was to make the Rapist Lane, now the Safest Lane.  Factors that make it unsafe include it being dark, with no street lights, no commercial activity, men on bikes/ cars would occupy this space towards the evening to drink inside the vehicle. During the day the space was occupied by empty parked private buses.  * There was a unanimous sense of having overcome their own fears when they participated in this event.  Biases work both ways. There's unsafe and there's a perception of unsafe. Often the unknown is feared, thus makes it unsafe. In this case unknown strangers who were further distanced due to the distance of  socio economic class, language, gender were brought together over tea and samosas. It was an open conversation with no agenda or pre set questions. They were asked to not talk about street sexual harassment . Being defensive, hyper alert to 'making safe'  doesn't ever lead to actually 'feeling safe'. We tend to make ourselves feel safe by building defence. We need to make ourselves safe by making familiar instead. It requires a purposeful unclenching of the fist.  Fear creates fear. Defence creates defence. We need to build safe cities with empathy. * The team was asked to share their response by adding in what they learnt about the 'stranger' and what they learnt about themselves. Here's what they said- Action Hero Vishaka : The fact that I could converse with a stranger without hesitation increased my confidence. I was trying to make the other person comfortable, which shows that I was trying to think from his point of view. He was shy, so I tried to make the conversation light-hearted and fun.  He was quite open and sharing. He was a teenage boy, focusing on his academics. He spends his day going to school, doing homework, going to tuitions and playing sports. Action Hero Anamika What I learnt about myself is that I can talk to a stranger, that’s something I had never done. This exercise actually made me feel a little more confident. and the guy I had my conversation with was one of those who stalk girls and drink on the safest lane, follow girls on their bikes. i was glad he was honest to me. what i learnt was not all ‘such’ guys are threatening, as in, yes he does all that, but he wouldn’t harm anyone physically, poor fellow is dying for a girl friend  . And the fact that I actually made him realize that his way of approaching wont get him any girl and that he genuinely wants to change made me feel really good about myself. Action Hero Spandhana: What I learnt about myself was that I was more open talking to a stranger than I expected, however there were awkward pauses, what I learnt about the person was that she really wishes that she was allowed to study after she finished 10th grade, her dream is to study and earn her own living and not have to live off her husband’s earnings. Action Hero Saasha:What I learnt about myself- I could carry on a conversation for more than 30mins even though there was a huge language barrier between me and my partner. After the conversation I realised that it isn’t that tough to talk to a stranger. I was so worried about what I would talk to my partner about but the conversation was so easy and fun! I learnt that my partner was very content with all he had. He loved his life just the way it is. Action Hero Mithila:What really surprised me was that even with huge language barrier, it was kinda nice to talk to her. And after a while we just fell into normal conversation. We had similar views on a lot of things and after the initial awkwardness it was easy to talk her. What i really liked was that I made a new friend:) Action Hero Astha: The conversation picked up at absolutely random topics and because we had a language barrier I was surprised to see for how long it went on. We majorly spoke about love and how it affects life. What I learnt about the person was that he was really sweet in the beginning and even towards the end but his intention towards me changed. He seemed to be a very emotionally sensitive person, who has family responsibilities. He is a person who works according to his will and mood. He makes sure he does things he love to do, in order to be happy. What i learnt about myself was that I could actually ever speak my heart out in front of a stranger. I always knew that I could make conversation, but I let go this time. Even though we hardly understood what each other said, I think we spent a good time. His change in behaviour and his courage was the only thing that really surprised and dissapointed me. Action Hero Arushi: Strangers are sometimes not so strange Action Hero Anjali:When I first thought about this task, I felt a bit apprehensive about doing it, as I am not very comfortable with talking and making conversation with absolute strangers. However, after watching my classmates interact with the people on the “safest lane” i was completely inspired, and after some time I was eagerly awaiting my turn!When It was my turn, I was actually able to engage completely in a fruitful conversation with my partner. I learnt that no one is ever an absolute stranger and there is always something to talk about. I also learnt that if I push myself out of my comfort zone like I did for this intervention, there are always pleasant surprises that you find! I learnt that my partner Prajwal wasn’t very different from me. He too enjoyed playing with his friends and reading, and he was a very soft spoken person. Action Hero Mariyah:What I learnt about myself was I felt more approachable, it gave me more confidence about my communicating skills.What i learnt about him: He had a thirst for life, he wanted to become a lot of different things. he had big dreams, and he seemed ambitious. Action Hero Shipra:I feel that the fact,that I would probably never see him after that conversation, put me at complete ease and chatting with him was a piece of cake.

Links:
The Atlantic by Sarah Goodyear

Kas Kay Has

This is also pre invite to all Local Action Heroes. Little bit more to follow. Ready? Yes.
Tumba Thanks!

City of Action Heroes Meet # 1

Blank Noise Bangalore meets this sunday November 18th at noon in Cubbon Park. 

Make this the year of the Action Hero Pataka. Roll up your sleeves. Be there. It has been a while.
email asap to confirm exact location. blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com
event's on facebook too

Focus- Local Action Heroes
Building Action Hero Community in your locality.
{ local community _ address street sexual harassment }

*Bring along a potential new Action Hero could also be your neighbour
*snack/ water/ and a sheet to sit on
*ideas/ tools towards building community in locality
* (also hot bissi samosas guaranteed)

Share far wide and *locally too*

SOLPA SMILE PLEASE!

Mid late august Blank Noise did a two week workshop at Srishti. The students Kinshuk, Neha, Tanvee. Prerna. Piyush. Pooja. Shrikar worked on a number of projects, one of which involved smiling in public. The Action Heroes team went to Majestic Bus Stand and walked about individually with a smile on their face. Why smile?
“what would it be like if everyone on the street smiled?”

Would the experience of being in public amidst ‘strangers’ be less threatening? How would a smile be interpreted? How does a smile affect the dynamics between strangers in a context where it is not normal to smile, it is normal to be stared at if you are female, that too from a socio economic background which isn’t the represented group in that public. ( majestic bus stand) It isn’t even seen as normal for women to make eye contact here! The group made eye contact and smiled. Are there 'ways of smiling' as there are 'ways of looking'? Does the smile have a tone?

The male action heroes (Kinshuk, Shrikar, Piyush) smiled too. How was their smile interpreted? How did women respond to them smiling? How did other men respond? These were some of our questions. Here’s what the new Action Heroes have to say about it.

important : read with a smile


Kinshuk:
Some people were really surprised and amused when they saw me
smiling continuously. When I smiled at people only when I smiled at people only when they were closer to me,it made them conscious. If i just stood in their way and smiled at them,they suddenly deviated from their way. After sometime people also reciprocated smiles. Most of the women walk with their gaze fixed to the ground,and also
they ignore until necessary. Maybe, the fear of exceeding or challenging boundaries of private spaces into public spaces stops people from smiling at each other. What if from childhood , we are conditioned to smile at every stranger,rather than being on our guard.


Pooja Gupta:
It was interesting how most people looked away specially the women while the men seemed more curious as to why we were smiling at everybody. Some of them at first acknowledged the smile, but, when smiled at again did not seem to like it as they seemed to have thought of us being up to something. Also, it was more accepted by people if we smiled at them individually whereas if there were too many of us smiling at them then they simply wondered why and looked away or walked away. All this comes back once again to the point where we see in human nature, that everybody at all times is looking for reason. Why is it that we have to have a reason for everything we do ?

Neha Bhat:
Madam, kitna charge karega?” ( "how much will you charge?")
This is was my first experience of being mistaken for a sex worker and being approached outright at a bus stop. Was I leering? Was I ‘sexily’ dressed? Did I wink and gesture lewdly? No, all did was smile.
Maybe I didn’t smile at only the people I knew. Maybe I did make eye contact with a person to make the smile on my face evident. Are these things ‘wrong’?
Did I then, ask to be followed and be categorized as someone ready to be picked up from the street?
Smiling at the bus stop invoked responses of various kinds- from shock, to surprise to mostly, thrill and delight in a man’s face. It was observed that women looked away and ignored the smile, that I made evident, was for them, altogether. Along with socio-cultural and economic aspects of a response to a smile, I concluded a connection to geographic location .Also, young boys from the North Eastern part of the country, seemed to respond in a way that was far more open than a young man from any other part of the nation.
What were the intonations of the kind of smile I was giving?
When is a smile threatening?
How could I use a smile as a defense mechanism?
There were also questions of the definitions of ‘shady’, ‘creepy’ and ‘slutty’ smiles that I dealt with.
Although all these will always remain unanswered, a project like this took smiling from a casual body-lingual sign and magnified it to emphasize the deep rooted connotations of small gestures in our behavior, we often ignore or take for granted.

Tanvee Nabar:
Men were the easiest to make eye contact with.They mostly walk making eye contact with people in general so intentionally making it is not so hard. They reacted in different ways to the smiling. Some returned it. Some were a bit off-footed and just walked on by or stared. Some unfortunately got quite excited by this gesture and followed me around. Out of some 5 pursuers, only two were threatening in anyway and one only because he was wearing a mask. What was interesting was that the curious ones asked me questions, which according to plan we were not allowed to answer – so in french because they so avidly believed i was not from this country. Which on hindsight made me think that maybe they thought smiling was a cultural thing.

Prerna Bishnoi:
One man almost thought I was going to start a conversation and opened his mouth to speak. Smile is the beginning or an end of a conversation not the conversation itself?
I smiled, they smiled, I smiled some more, they smiled some more- I broadened their smile, that’s when most men shied away.
I broke into a smile- they did too.
Then, there were those who took the effort to uncover their mouths and face the deadly swine flu virus, only to smile at me.
Ah! The gaze, I experimented with- a hard stare, a constant eye contact, a soft eye contact not prolonged with my eyes finding themselves back to the open air within seconds. Each made a difference.
That persistent smile, not once, twice but thrice! Follow me- is that what I said?
He made eye contact as I moved up and down, I smiled, but then it was more than that smile, “the conversation was being given a direction”, I thought as his thumb stuck to point at himself.
Women were a different story, with their gaze so low or their blinks so fast. There were instances where they were smiling and my smile just brought an end to theirs.
That suspicion glaring as their lips tightened into a straight line.
The odd couple I smiled at, who were already red with all the flirting and intimacy stopped dead in their tracks, my smile was misinterpreted!

Shrikar Marur:It was a failed mission in my case as every time I walked past a person and tried even before I could initiate a smile, he/she would just look away, not in an attempt to avoid eye contact but a natural reaction most people tend to have.

Saumitra: Women were not even looking at me they used to either ignore me or they used to look away if i could make an eye contact. Many men thought that i know them or they know me and hence i am smiling at them

More from them here:
http://psandp.wordpress.com/course-details/blank-noise/the-smile-project/

Street Signs

designed by Action Hero Kinshuk


designed by Action Hero Saumitra Chandratreya.


Hudgi- kannada for 'girl'.
designed by Action Hero Neha Bhat.





designed by Action Hero Prerna Bishnoi




designed by Action Hero Pooja Gupta
context: street tales of love lust and possible misinterpretations



Approaching free to love zone

Designed by Action Hero Prerna Bishnoi
concept note: This sign is meant to be put up in a park keeping in mind the recent decisions made by the BBMP ( bangalore) to corden of parks and make them less accessible to “lovers”. so this is a sign to be put up in areas that are meant for the lovers (by default) to in a way let people know that they are free to love and warn people that the approaching area is where this right will be freely exercised.

text on sign: legal action will be taken against those who do not hum.
designed by Action Hero Tanvee Nabar

designed by Action Hero Pooja Gupta


Pooja, Neha, Kinshuk, Shrikar, Piyush, Prerna, Tanvee are students at Srishti School of Art Design and Tech. Blank Noise was at Srishti on a 2 week workshop. All street-sign ideas have been proposed by the students now aka Action Heroes.

We will be sharing student work here; a sign a day. The signs are not on the streets yet but will find themselves where they are meant to belong SOON. keep watching. stay tuned!



reference:
Street sign event annoucement
signs for citizens (2008)
srishti / blank noise workshop

Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking:

What?
Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking posters.

about:
http://blog.blanknoise.org/2008/10/step-by-step-guide-to-unapologetic.html


When? Where?
Every 2nd weekend in your city. your street.


How to?
Simple! BUT needs time and a some running around; not that much running around if tasks are delegated.

Appoint Step by Step poster event in team + Action Hero in charge ( eg. Bangalore= Naksha)
Get text translated to the local language of your place . ( eg. Vishaka Vinod + her uncle )
Get someone to write the text on the comp/ or source a printer who would be willing to do so.
Find a local printer/ CHEAP printer.
Raise funds to print. ( here's how you can also support us/ help us meet our expenses. to donate email us)
Get posters printed- appoint one person to deal with the printer/ do the running around.
Choose a specific location for the event/ map the location + interactions.
Make glue ( eg Naksha made smelly but efficient glue with maida, carried it in little packets for everyone to use).
Announce on the city specific google group/ facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124202554296&ref=mf
Make a calendar- share it online with your city Blank Noise googlegroup so that anyone can sign up / mark dates with details such as ' date/ time/ place'
IMPORTANT-you need to give time for planning and making events happen.
Sustain it!

Preferred: if you can buy a BN step by step tee and wear it for the event!

Next one in Bangalore is 2 sundays from now. Location Vasanthnagar.
To confirm write to us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com

We will share the Bangalore event report as soon as it's ready. It's on its way!

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.

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
    

CALLING ACTION HEROES IN BOMBAY

Calling Action Heroes to meet in Bombay. Carter Road. Sunday April 19. at 4 pm

There's a dress 'code':
Wear a garment you always wished to wear but did not or could not because something told you, you might be 'asking for it'.

Please bring along a garment you wore when you were 'teased' or harassed on the street.

***The intervention itself will be simple and in true Blank Noise spirit, will involve public participation> details shall be emailed after you confirm attending.

The event will end with a discussion.

Should you wish to help towards making this event happen- please email us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com and add your name to the list below:

1. Varsha Chandwani
2. Mohnish Moorjani
3. Pranav Joshi
   
4. Kismet Nakai
5. Nisha Chandwani
6. Manu
7. Varsha Panikar + friends
   
8. Aparna Hajnis + friends
   
9. Punit
10. Zuleikha
11. Nhar
12. Mansi
    
13. Gayatri
    
14. Gyan
15. Saumya
16. Aparna
17. Saurabh
    
18. you?
    

Stay tuned. to organize an event in your city get in touch asap.
Yours truly
Blank Noise Team




facebook events:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2301742&id=500896078#/event.php?eid=71245793908

facebook group/ I NEVER ASK FOR IT/ BLANK NOISE
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2301742&id=500896078#/group.php?gid=142739725581&ref=ts

Blank Noise on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2301742&id=500896078#/group.php?gid=2703755288&ref=ts

BOMBAY. MARCH 29.

photo credit: Manu + Jasmeen

Bombay Action Heroes : Pranav , Punit, Saurabh, Kismet Nakai, Manu, Chaitra, Ruth Lobo, Priyanka Suryaneyni, Yamini Deen, Varsha Panikar, Ushi.

MAKE A SIGN

- by Ilona Granet



Make a street sign.

It can be in any city , street , lane , neighbourhood you want. You could think of signs in buses, parks, night clubs, movie halls, malls and markets- it is up to you to spell out which kind of place you want your sign in. It could even be in sites where women have experienced street sexual harassment- like here.

You are welcome to say anything you want.



Guidelines:

1. we encourage submissions that are affirmative.

2. your submission should include a brief note about which place you want to insert the sign in and why

3. it could be in any language but an English translation is important.

4. It does not need to have text. It could just be visual.

5. It does not need to have visual. It could just be text.

6. It could have both text and visual.

7. You must send us a web friendly jpeg/ png/ file, but remember not to throw away the original vector file incase yours is selected for printing!

8. you may be the recruiter- you could involve your local network to work on this.
for example- if you are a teacher- this could be a class assignment. If you are in college- you could organize a community of people to work on this.

9. Some of you might have better writing skills than visualization skills, in that case you are
welcome to send text for a street sign. Based on the response to this event we might have the option of someone with visual skills partnering with you to make this sign.

10. keep it simple

Your street sign will be put on the Blank Noise blog + flickr.
3 signs will be selected to be tried and tested in public. The selected signs could also be printed on t shirts.


Deadline: 17th May. 2009
Confirm your participation by emailing us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com
subject titled SIGN. We will add your name to the list below. Sign UP! Be an Action Hero.

We are always avaliable to chat with you about your idea for the street sign before your submission.



Here's what we want to say and why:

We are talking of safer cities not feared cities
We are talking of independent women, not paranoid women.
We are talking about collective responsibility- don't tell me to be even more 'cautious'.
We are talking about eve teasing as street sexual harassment and street sexual violence.
We are talking about autonomous women, not just mothers daughters and sisters amidst fathers brothers and sons.



resources/ reference
In the past we have discussed
this
and this
and this
and this
and this
and this

Sometimes we just love to walk, stand around, hang around, without looking ‘available'.

Bombay. March 15.

photo credits. Punit and Yamini


Yamini Deen reports:

After so many Blank Noise interventions, the street in my head is like a laboratory of delicious experiments- those of provocation, the test of limits .

The street tells so many stories of wooing , of harassing, of hookers , of control, of sexuality .

SO Gateway Sunday was one such experience.

I walked up and down the promenade for a while. I went and politely handed the letter to anyone who responded to me in some way-lewd, curious,anything.

Some men would look at me up and down in the lewdest way possible and get completey flabbergasted if I went up to them, smiled and handed a letter.

Guilt? Fear? Something they didn't expect?

One man came to me and said
''So you think I am eve teasing you''?
''Why did you only give me the letter''?

He later told a male friend.
'If a girl walks ''that way''..you know one assumes she is asking for sex.'

But Gateway is also a space where they pick up men/women for sex. is the line between being unapologetic and sexually overt so thin?

But I am by now extremely unapologetic about my walking.

Anyhow, in the corner right in front of a gateway of India stood a pretty white woman in a short yellow dress. When I first spotted her, men collected in a line , at a 'safe' distance and stared.

She fiddled with her phone.I handed her a letter and left.

After a while, I went there and noticed that men were taking turns to take pictures with her.

(This while she was holding our letter)

She was smiling. The crowd thickened. Rumours flew like sparks and at other parts of the promenade, fellow blank noise members overheard conversations

about Preity Zinta or 'some' celebrity being there.

(A photo op for random loiterers, is that the new hobby of celebrities?)

Well.,after a while, about 40 men had crowded around her taking turns to take a picture with her.They helped themselves to her waist while holding her.



And she was smiling , mostly, slightly embarrassed , occasionally uncomfortable.

And maybe behind all mobs, there are a few complacent cops standing at a corner.

We asked the cops why they didn't stop anyone.

They said it was because she agreed to have her picture taken.

I was wondering then if in my mind I allowed the thought that she might have actually enjoyed the attention.And NOT in a negative way- not in a she deserved it sort of a way.

We asked her and she said 'Now , ask them to go.'

It was like a constant seesaw between comfort and discomfort for her.She never really looked threatened, to me atleast.

The only thing that worried me was how the mob gathered so fast, and mobs being mobs, can go out of control.

Which again brings me to the question of when attention is threatening, when it is mildly irritating, when it is flattering and when it can make you bawl.

Action Heroes include: Yamini Deen, Pranav Joshi, Kismet Nakai, Punit, April.

Next event: Blank Noise Bombay on March 29th. Sunday.

CALLING ACTION HEROES. REPORT AT blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com

Taking Back The Night:

Take Back The Night-
Zainab Bawa reports at citizen matters
(report coming up)
For now here are some photos.
For those on facebook- there are more photos
here .




I never ask for it
facebook








@ Ulsoor 6 pm- 8 00 pm- public interactions addressing bystanders of street sexual harassment.




A report is coming up. Photos for now:
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=68888473361&view=user#/event.php?eid=68888473361

Some of the others in the mass of people

Listen and read below

In conversation with some men on the streets of Delhi and Bangalore. These men were from across age groups 19- 65 and mostly from a mid income group or low income group. Some were tourist guides, some shop owners, auto rickshaw drivers, student union campaigner.


According to you, what kind of man sexually harasses or 'eve teases' women on the street?


"It's the impulsive type of guy that teases girls"

"It's the youth that eve teases girls on the street. Another person will treat her as his granddaughter or niece. If he calls for her on the street, he will perceive her as a family member".

"The guys who try to act smart are the ones that tease women. I don't know how to be smart or play cool..I am not like them".

"I am telling you. I am from a decent family. I don't do this kind of stuff. I go out to do my work and I come back home straight after that".

"The kind of guy that teases his sister will tease a woman on the street".

"It's the 3rd class or the middle class guy that harasses women".


What attracts you to a woman? what kind of woman? what about her? what do you do then?


" Her figure. Her body. If she has a good figure I am interested in sex, only sex. I am not interested in marriage".

" ...her hairstyle. her removing her hair from her face.."

" She should look fit. Others should find her attractive. Her body- her chest, hips...she should have a flat stomach, other parts of her figure should protrude. She should have nice hips".

" Clothes? I like women in sexy clothes".

" I remember she was wearing a pink colour suit, I remember her hair, I remember her make up, her eyes....I really wanted to approach her. I wanted my eyes to speak to her...and try to approach her".

" I like the simple and sober girls. The girl who wears a simple salwar suit and braids her hair. she should have long hair".

"...I gave her my mobile number and said that your incoming is free and my outgoing is free".

" ...I could sit down on my knees and let her know that she is the most beautiful girl in the world".

" I like foreigner girls".

" I do have a mother and a sister. I dont have a girlfriend or wife. 

   Will you be mine?"

For those of you familiar with how it works in India- the most frequently delivered line to an 'eve teaser' is- ghar mein maa behen nahin hai kya? Don't you have a mother or sister at home?


Credits to Ekta and Rajshekhar from Blank Noise who were instrumental to making this happen.

signs for citizens

important: Blank Noise is not anti men. Poster were published on this blog- extending the argument of the previous post- on segregated public spaces.

BLANK NOISE BANGALORE. MARCH 8. I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

Event report:

Ratna and I met at 4:15 p.m. outside Java City on Church Street. We had with us the opinion poll and thumb print pads in red and blue and a bunch of pamphlets. We wanted
to put up the poll at a local paan stall but at the first one we went to, the guy was reluctant, claiming a lack of space. He sent us to another shop owned by his brother but this was a juice shop with not much clientèle. We left some pamphlets there and took the rest to another paan stall at the Premier Book store end of Church Street where the young boy was persuaded to leave them on his counter for people to pick up.

Now the opinion poll. We took it to Temptations, a sort of open liquor store, flanked by a paan stall. The owner was initially reluctant but there was a group of men sitting outside (all middle aged) and they got curious about the chart and began discussing 'eve teasing' and coming forward to leave their thumb prints. This sort of decided that the poll would be left there. After about twenty minutes of discussion with them, and inviting thumb prints, we moved on to Java City. (The opinion poll was later moved to outside Java City half-way through the intervention.)

The rest of the group joined us in bits, stickers were handed out and letters folded and divided up. There were a lot of boys, and Kunal explained to them what kind of documentation we needed.

The place for intervention was Church Street. Our brief was to occupy the space in a manner in which we would indicate that we belonged there and were at home there. We were not to talk to anyone. We could hand out the letters to whomever we felt like. Some of us had whistles which we would blow if anything untoward happened.

We started at 6:30. I think because Church Street doesn't really get very crowded before about 8, the energy was a bit dissipated. There were not as many people as we would have liked using the street. Perhaps if we, as performers, were standing closer together, we would have felt more group energy. We had a fair amount of space between us: we were stretched at reasonable intervals all the way to the first crossroad on Church Street. At a little before 6, Ratna, Kunal and I decided we would do better to move a little way down the street so that we were closer to the eating joints and right at the heart of Church Street. I walked along the street and on the way decided impulsively to go all the way to Brigade Road and occupy the railings.

Personally, I thought this worked better. It was crowded, people stopped to look, pamphlets were distributed and there was a sense of being able to feel the vibe from the rest of the group.

Here is the gist of people's reactions (these notes were taken at at a conversation witht he group after the intervention and then emailed to the group; some have added details to my notes. If you have been quoted here and want to add/subtract, then just email me the details or add to the google document that was circulated amongst the group on email):

Amrutha - My stare gave away everything that I wanted to say, and It seems like i am slowly mastering my body language in public places.

Hemangini - I thought the energy on Church Street was low, and felt a lot better once we shifted to Brigade Road. This time I think what I enjoyed most was just dawdling on the road - staring at things, watching construction workers, noticing people... even just listening. I heard someone drop a coin on Brigade Road and realised how rare it was to actually make out individual sounds in a crowded space where your main concern is your own safety and not just taking in the different ways in which the space can affect your senses. That was special.
Some other things: we needed more pamphlets and our original opinion poll - but these were logistical things which are normally better taken care of, so I'm not too worried about them. I think our support team - of men - need to meet on their own so that they can work independently of us with their own "agenda" so to speak. I hear Delhi dispersed "spies" into the audience just to record what passers-by were saying randomly and I would have loved for us to do that too. We could next time leave two boys just to handle the opinion poll and encourage people to use it.

Lalitha – Experience of meeting people's eyes and people watching. Could feel the gaze of people as they watched. I was actively courting their gaze. It was legitimate for men to look at me. I am always wondering about how anger morphs with age. I seem to be less angry as the years go by.

Swati – I wonder sometimes if I have become immune to street harassment. What is a good response to it? I am so used to looking down and walking; I might mumble and look away, but today I continued looking and smiling.

Varun – I feel we could have had more impact if we were even just joining hands and marching down the road and stating that we were against eve-teasing.

Alka- I usually look down and have never had the guts to have my chin up. I wonder why we weren't allowed to talk to women though; many women came up and wanted to discuss the letters I was handing out, but I couldn't talk to them. I think it would be better if we could interact with them.

Payal Dhar – In Delhi, if you are in a salwar, people think you are “submissive”.

Deepashree – In a group if there are women and men, the women refuse to take the pamphlet that our volunteers were handing out.

Weiting – I am wondering why today is any different. Shouldn't you always be like this? Maybe the presence of so many women is acting as a sort of safety net. Why aren't we always comfortable with our bodies?

Ratna – I don't feel as violated now as I used to before. I think maybe I have internalised the spirit of an intervention into my everyday life. There are also lots of differences in the way women are looking at you and judging you.

Joseph – When I was handing out pamphlets, the women were always reluctant to take it. It seems like women lose a lot of their spontaneity through their defensiveness. Older women seemed less defensive.

Surabhi – Sometimes it is just pleasurable to have solidarity in a group; there is something good in that feeling. These moments are precious also.

BLANK NOISE THIS PLACE!

We invite you to engage with our new project- Blank Noise This Place.

The site is a witness and your photograph is your testimonial.

Blank Noise This Place will archive photographs that you send of public places and locations you have been sexually assaulted in any degree that you consider sexual harassment/ violence.

To participate we ask you to revisit your site of violation with a camera. ( any camera will do- quality is not important as much as your act of revisiting and documenting). Please email it to us at blurtblanknoise@gmail.com with an account of -
what occurred- what time-which country.city it took place in
Please add in details such as your age and name

Your contributions will be put on a world wide map that will specifically identify each participant's site of sexual assault. www.flickr.com/photos/blanknoisethisplace/map/

If you do not wish to have your name up- do tell us.

You are further requested to get others involved! Do introduce this idea to friends peers and all the women you know! In true spirit, cameras could be borrowed, shared, collective trips could be made to each person's site of violation. Organisations and groups are also invited to participate. We hope to hear from you. Let's Blank Noise This Place!