As a seeker, I try my best to decondition my mind and open the windows of my consciousness. I am aware that it is an exceedingly difficult task. I fail repeatedly. There are many reasons. To begin with, my academic identity as a sociologist often limits my thinking; it is not always easy to free myself from the trap of its methods and techniques, discourses and texts, and modes of argumentation and theoretical construction. Likewise, our political ideologies often obstruct the creative flow of ideas: the ability to see beyond Marx or Ambedkar, liberalism or socialism, atheism or religion, and socialism or feminism. Yes, I realize that I too feel tempted to establish my belief with some sort of egotistic pride, and, as a result, become terribly non-dialogic. However, this awareness of my conditioning and limitations has also helped me to unlearn many things, become somewhat non-judgmental, and with compassionate listening, evolve a relationship with even Oshothe much-talked about controversial spiritual guru. I know that the circle I belong to is unlikely to be sympathetic towards Osho; possibly, he would be condemned and castigated; and many stories would be repeated about his wealthy disciples, their life-styles, and their experiments with love, sexuality and meditation.

Yet, I believe that dance transcends the dancer; and even if the controversy surrounds Oshos life, his deep insights and explorations into the interiority of human existence are illuminating. Why should I deprive myself of the sublime beauty of his speeches or writings, even if I am not always very easy with many practices associated with his ashrams? Osho, as I see, is not merely a guru with the galaxy of Rolls- Royce carsan enemy of Ronald Regan or Morarji Desai, or the priests of organized religions. Osho, I feel, is also a teacher-philosopher, and insights and revelations, I have no hesitation in saying, are illuminatingthe way the snow-clad Himalayan peak illumines us. With philosophy and literature, and mysticism and psychologyhe looks like a flowing river. Unlike what academicians do with the burden of knowledge, Osho communicates, whispers into my ears, and heals me. Unlike the priests of organized religions, Osho doesnt burden me with moralism or ritualism; and he tells a rhythmic story filled with laughter and humour, and religiousness and literary sensibilities. The beauty is that I need not be his disciple; yet, I can engage with him.

In this article, I will make an attempt to share the tales of my journey with him. Yes, this is yet another beautiful evening; I take his books, and allow myself to be nurtured by the song he sings

Preparation, Purification and Perfection

Preparation does not mean preparing for a verbal examination or a written examination. Preparation means preparing for an existential examination; it means going deeper into meditation.

Osho, The World Beyond Time , Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 2008

As a student/teacher, I am familiar with what our education system regards as examinations. These examinations, we are told, evaluate our ability to memorize select texts, think logically, apply the skills we learn, and acquire the specialized knowledge in academic disciplines. Yes, examinations are everywherefrom play schools to doctorate programs. And our top ranking universities produce knowledgeable personsphysicists and historians, mathematicians and biologists, or anthropologists and geologists. Yet, the world we live in is extremely violent; and there seems to be no positive correlation between ones educational achievement and ones psychic/spiritual health. Envy, aggression, narcissism, petty politics and competitiveness: we the educated classare not free from these negative emotions.

I have often asked myself: Is there any other way of looking at studentship, education and life-trajectory? No academic journal has given a meaningful answer to my question; no expert has satisfied me; and seminars/conferences have seldom gone beyond dry facts and soulless theories. However, this evening as I begin to contemplate on what Osho regards as preparation, purification and perfection, I experience a sense of joy; I begin to feel that possibly I too was waiting to receive this wisdom.

Well, we often prepare for school/college examinations; and these days, coaching centres or the traders of knowledge help us to prepare for these examinations. Preparation, for all practical purposes, means the ability to acquire the exam strategyhow to become smart and efficient, and solve quickly the riddles relating to physics and mathematics, or English grammar and general knowledge. When I am tired of this psychic violence that goes on in the name of preparation, Osho tells me a different story. Yes, real studentship is like preparing for an existential examination. And this means a great deal of unlearning. The mind has already been burdened with texts and scriptures, or tales of success and failure. No preparation is, therefore, possible without deconditioning the mind. As Osho says,

Preparation means that you drop all your conditionings, you drop your prejudices, you drop what you think you know and you do not know: you get as innocent as possible. Your innocenc will be the preparation.

In a way, it is like becoming a child once again. However, as Osho reminds us, a child need not necessarily be always pure. In fact, children are not free from anger, hatred, greed and jealousy. If one child has a doll, the other becomes so jealous that they will start fighting. In fact, there are many ugly instincts we have inherited with nature, and with our birth. And this is the reason why preparation alone is not sufficient; we must go through a process of purification. School Principals or Vice-chancellors have never spoken of the process of purification. Instead, we have been continually asked to be competitive, or to be winners, achievers and leaders. We have normalized the ethos of competitiveness; and as a result, we negate our specificity and uniqueness; we imitate the toppers; we evolve some sort of sadomasochism. Hence, purification is needed.

Purification is almost going through a fire of understanding in which all that is instinctive and ugly burns down. And it is a great experience that only the ugly burns. That which is beautiful blossoms. In purification you lose all trace of hate and instead, suddenly a spring of love bursts forthas if the rock of hate was preventing the spring.

Indeed, purification is a deeper meditation than preparation. Because it can turn greed into compassion, or hate into love. And then, everything, says Osho, is light, fragrant and fresh. This invariably leads to perfection. One becomes awakened or enlightened.

Contrast this alchemy of human transformation with what the learning machine does these days. In a way, what the system regards as education destroys us. Awakened intelligence is not its goal; deconditioning or purification hardly matters; what is important is the cultivation of instrumental rationality. We get degrees; we become clever, strategic and instrumental; we become doctors, engineers, managers and professors; we make bombs, cause war, pollute the environment; and we manufacture theses and books on our decay. But then, Osho makes me see the absurdity of the entire thing. I hear the call from the distant peak

Celebrating the Spirit of Meditative Education

God is not a manufacturer, he is a creator. He does not manufacture people like cars on an assembly line. You can have many Ford cars exactly alikethats the difference between a machine and a man. A machine can be duplicated, a man cannot be duplicated, and the moment you start duplicating, imitating, you become more like a machinethen you are no longer respectful toward your humanity.

Osho, Learning to Silence the Mind, St. Martins Griffin, New York, 2012

We live in a society that loves to hierarchize and stigmatize. Not solely that. Here is a society that is eager to normalize and standardize people. Think of it. Your child is silent and introvert. She looks at the sky, observes a tree carefully; and she is not very efficient in mathematics and history. Even if you are a sensitive parent, it is quite likely that schools and neighbours would pressurize you, and remind you that what is happening to your child is not good; she must be smart and pushy; and she must impress her teachers through her knowledge in physics and geography. In other words, she ought to be like what an achievement-oriented society wantsambitious, extrovert and competitive. In a way, we loathe uniqueness; we do not want a child to evolve and grow in her own way. Instead, a sort of uniformityor the societal definition of normalcygoverns our educational practices. What do these schools, coaching centres and management/engineering colleges seek to do? They manufacture products: well-fed/well-clothed employees. And Osho captures it so beautifully:

Every child starts that waywith awe, with wonder, with great inquiry in his heart. Every child is a mystic. Somewhere on the way of your so-called growing you lose contact with your inner possibility of being a mystic, and you become a businessman or you become a clerk or you become a collector or you become a minister. You become something else, and you start thinking that you are this. And when you believe it, it is so.

No wonder, Osho reminds us repeatedly of the dangers of conditioning. In fact, true meditation is not indoctrination; it is to make one aware of the treasure within. However, we destroy this possibility. We make them believe that success is what matters. Moreover, we teach them that they are Hindus, Muslims or Christians. This indoctrination destroys the natural intelligence of the child. The result is that they start losing their natural rhythm, their natural elegance, and they start learning plastic behaviour.

Is it possible to change this pattern? Can education be a meditative experience? In a society that conditions the mind, fills it with all sorts of bookish knowledge and thoughts, and equates religion with the ritualism of Hinduism, Islam or Christianity, Oshos approach to meditative education might annoy our priests, ideologues and teachers. Yet, I feel, it is wonderful.

Meditation is a way to go within yourselves to that depth where thoughts dont exist, so it is not indoctrination. It is not teaching you anything; in fact, it is just making you alert to your inner capacity to be without thought, to be without mind. And the best time is when the child is still uncorrupted.

Epilogue

Your truth is not to be thought about, it has to be seen. It is already there. You dont have to go anywhere to find it. You dont have to think about it, you have to stop thinking so that it can surface in your inner being. Unoccupied space is needed within you so that the light that is hidden can expand and fill your being.

Osho, I Teach Religiousness, Not Religion, Hind Pocket Books, Delhi, 2000

My evening with Osho, I realize, is immensely beautiful. It is a song. No television news. No academic anxiety to perform. No burden of the intellect. I feel like reading his booksthe way I see a mountain peak, a flowing river, a tiny bird flying in the sky. It seems I have become empty. With the lightness of being, I am silencing the noisy mind. And is it that I have ceased to become a Hindu, a Muslim, a Marxist, a sociologist, an intellectual? And then, I feel he is whispering:

You need a total let-go, an utterly peaceful, tensionless, silent state of being. And suddenlythe explosion.

Avijit Pathak is Professor of Sociology at JNU.

Read the rest here:
An Evening with Osho - The New Leam

While doing asanas, you preserve your breath and conserve your body, says fitness guru Mickey Mehta.

In 1970, when Mumbai was Bombay, an eight-year-old boy was restless. It would be his birthday the next day and all he wanted was to join a gym. His mother suggested he should ask at the nearby YMCA.

So I went to Lamington Road YMCA. As I sprinted up the stairs, I was bubbling with excitement. I could see some of the members working out. It was where I wanted to be.

But They said I was too small and I should buy equipment and train at home. This seemed a very good idea and I told my mom. But she said it was not something we could afford. And she then said the strangest thing. She told me to use my mind and body to build my physique instead of depending on equipment.

Not sure what exactly his mother meant, the very next day, on his birthday, Mickey Mehta locked himself in his room and started stretching and doing freehand exercises.

Fifty years later, Dr Mickey Mehta stands tall as one of the leading holistic health gurus and corporate life coaches in the world, having trained Bollywood superstars, top politicians, beauty queens, and the personnel of the police, army, navy and air force. He is also a published author and a regular on various television and radio shows.

Seek and find

Just a few days after the newly nine-year-old Mehta began freehand exercises in his room, one of his uncles dropped in, carrying a book by Yogacharya BKS Iyengar. I was so fascinated by the book that my uncle gave it to me, says Mehta. That was my first initiation into real yoga.

Iyengar led to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who led to Osho, Ma Hansaji, Sadhguru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev and Deepak Chopra, all of whom Mehta considers his gurus. But he is actually the quintessential Eklavya, having never really trained under anyone.

Still, Mehta has met most of his gurus. The common thread among them is that they are always in a state of joy, always smiling, he muses. Never go to a guru who is too serious. Go to people who can loosen you up. Laughter is a miracle drug! When you meditate, you realise that life is not something one should get too serious about. Because everything is transient.

Half a century ago, Mehta began doing yoga to build his body. Now he understands that yoga is about the mind and soul. Here, he shares his 10 commandments of wellness.

From HT Brunch, August 30, 2020

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

See the original post here:
Mickey Mehtas 10 commandments of wellness - Hindustan Times

With the world navigating health concerns on a global scale, in an unknown climate asking us collectively to slow down, simplify our living, return to our roots and reassess our values, it seems fitting that when it comes to our wellbeing, going primal is the new progressive.

The mind/body connection is well versed and well understood and the new decade sees us move away from faddy diets and false promises of fast results in favour of optimising our health through holistic approaches, yielding long-term results on both the physical and metaphysical level.

MORE:Easy ways to improve your gut health and boost your immune system

We chatted to founder of Primal Health, solicitor-turned-spiritual Holistic Health and Paleo Diet Coach, Charlne Gisle, about how taking note from our ancestors could boost our health today.

Primal principles recommend that we eat as our ancestors would have done, so think foraging, hunting and gathering. Of course that may not be possible in todays society, but the point is discernment moving away from instant availability and industrial processing in favour of quality and nutrient-dense foods and treating your body with respect by loving what you are fuelling it with.

For me, a truly holistic and healthy approach to food is one that gets as close to the source, (nature) as possible. Choices that we can all make are to select foods that are local, organic, seasonal and whole, when it comes to eating in a Paleolithic way.

Enjoy meat, poultry, eggs and fish as healthy sources of protein, try cooking with butter or extra virgin coconut oil as these fats are very good for you, eat your fruit and vegetables as fresh as possible to benefit from all of their nutrients, and sprinkle seeds on your meals for extra nutritional value.

MORE:What is forest bathing and where can you go forest bathing in the UK?

For me, a healthy approach to eating is to see your diet as abundant, to love what you eat and to think about it in terms of what you are adding so a richer variety of fruit and vegetables or good quality, organic meats.

However, going a little Konmari in your kitchen is essential as its crucial to also know what you should be eliminating from your diet as well. Think foods that were entirely absent prior to civilisation, which includes all refined sugar, sugary beverages, all processed food, refined grains such as pasta and breakfast cereals and industrial/chemically altered oils (canola, sunflower). The Primal Principles also recommend limiting the consumption of alcohol.

We know we are not meant to be sedentary creatures, with numerous health implications associated with spending too much time seated or inactive.

You may not be able to help having an office job, which requires a fairly sedentary lifestyle but there are so many helpful ways that you can stop it having a negative impact on your health, wellbeing and fitness levels.

Start the day with some yoga, a morning workout or a short bike ride (even if to the shops or to run errands) before you set yourself up for work. Break your day up with lunch time activity perhaps a brisk walk to ensure you are getting your heart pumping, your blood circulating and a break from your computer screen.

Studies have found many mental health benefits for a 30-minute walking lunch, such an increase in enthusiasm, a greater ability to relax, improvements to physical fitness and other measures of health

This law harks back to the days when our Paleolithic ancestors, in their tribes, would have carried wood for fires, large stones which were used as tools or heavy buffalo and bison that would have been hunted.

The modern equivalent might be to incorporate some functional bodyweight training into your routine essential movements that humans were designed to be able to do, such as lifting your own body weight, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and planks.

With so many, free online body-weight and Calthinestic work outs available online at the moment, this primal law can be done from the comfort (and isolation!) of your own home.

Weight training isnt just about building muscles, its benefits include improved posture, better sleep, gaining bone density, maintaining weight loss, boosting metabolism, lowering inflammation and staving off chronic disease.

This law also nods to our ancestors hunter gatherer lifestyles and the short bursts of cardio required to chase and hunt their food.

A great way to replicate this way of living in modern routine is with Tabata or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) work outs. Trainers everywhere love HIIT because theyre usually fast, always efficient, can be adjusted to just about any level of expertise, and can be done from your living room. Short bursts of cardio are also a great way to burn maximum calories in a minimal time.

In the Paleolithic era our ancestors started and ended their days in alignment with the sun and natures circadian rhythm, illuminating sleep disorders and mid-afternoon slumps. -I certainly saw these benefits (and more!) when living by the suns ritualistic simplicity during my time living with monks in an authentic Indian Ashram, Govardhan Eco Village, north of Mumbai.

While Im a huge advocate of living my life by natures circadian rhythm, I know that waking at sunrise and winding down as the sun sets isnt possible for everyone. However, we can all create regular sleep habits and even relaxing bedtime rituals like going to bed at night and waking up in the morning around the same times (including on weekends), and aiming for around 6 hours sleep a night to help reduce stress, inflammation and depression, while improving your memory, keeps you more alert and may help you lose weight.

We know from studying cave drawings that the Paleolithic tribes spent around 6 hours a day playing, creating and making art and under the idea of play is the importance of human connection, exploration, intimacy and sex.

MORE:The best vibrators for a buzz with benefits with expert recommendations for dryness, sensitivity and toning pelvic floor

The number of adults dealing with stress and depression are increasing all the time with work pressures regularly cited as a reason so we know that we should be striving for a better work/life balance, and making more time for things we love.

Carving out time to play, make love and be creative boosts endorphins, improves cognitive function and reminds us that intimacy is a sacred part of our lives. I believe that we should make time every day for love, laughter and playfulness perceiving play time as quality time where you return to your inner child with your own children, spending time with friends in activities that do not involve screens (think tribe-esque sister circles), enjoying your partner and even playing with a pet.

For anyone in lockdown with a partner or lover, there is never a better time to embrace elements of a Tantric lifestyle, which I offer as part of my Holistic Coaching Service, whereby intimacy, connection and sex is considered sacred and pleasure considered a birth right!

Primal law waxes lyrical about the benefits of spending time outside as our ancestors would have done. For me time outside in nature is an essential part of my wellbeing, and in fact, my approach to holistic health coaching is centered on the five elements:

Air for breath work and Pranayama (breathing techniques), Water for ice-bathing and fasting, Earth for Primal Diet, earthing and grounding, Spirit for meditation and Fire for Tantra and sacred sexuality as well as sun exposure.

Getting outside every day, even if just for a walk or run and a dose of vitamin D, produced naturally in your body when directly exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D fights disease, reduces depression and boosts weight loss.

This may sound an obvious one, but in the primal sense this law applies to not doing too many things at once in essence, being present in the daily.

Todays society is anesthetised to modern environmental dangers by distraction and overstimulation. We all do it: texting while driving, sending emails during meetings, chatting on the phone while eating dinner.

Taking time to do just one thing at a time seems downright luxurious, even wasteful but research shows that its not nearly as efficient as we like to believe, and can even be harmful to our health.

Doing too much can be harmful to your relationships, cause you to overeat as you havent processed what youve eaten that day, stifles creativity, is dangerous and causes stress. Make time to be present in your routine, fitting in both the things you need to do and the things you want to do

As Osho said, To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty.

Not only does creativity infuse life with a different sort of depth and richness; creativity allows self-discovery, the opportunity to share a hidden side of ourselves, promotes thinking and problem-solving and reduces stress and anxiety.

I know from my time as a London Litigator that using your brain does not (and should not) mean in the intellectual sense only when it comes to fulfilment and a healthy, functioning mind; so make time to do something you love, which stimulates you creatively, every day. It can be art, singing, making something, a hobby or a passion project.

A simple and truly beautiful way to integrate this law into our modern life is to start journaling and set some time aside to write every day.With practice, negative thoughts can be replaced with positive ones using tools such as a daily gratitude, simply writing a list of five things I am grateful for every morning to set myself up for the day.

With time and dedication to these practices you can replace negative thinking patterns with thoughts that actually help. This can make a huge difference in your day-to-day happiness and comfort

Read the rest here:
Could a return to primal living help us live longer and healthier lives? - woman&home

Aresearch studyby The National Center for Women & Information Technology showed that gender diversity has specific benefits in technology settings, which could explain why tech companies have started to invest in initiatives that aim to boost the number of female applicants, recruit them in a more effective way, retain them for longer, and give them the opportunity to advance. But is it enough?

Three years ago, we launched a diversity series aimed at bringing the most inspirational and powerful women in the tech scene to your attention. Today, wed like you to meet Kelly Mathieson, Chief Client Experience Officer at Digital Asset.

Kelly Mathieson is the Chief Client Experience Officer for Digital Asset, the creators of the DAML smart contract language and pioneers in the blockchain technology space. Prior to Digital Asset, Kelly spent 26 years at J.P.Morgan and 3 years at Goldman Sachs working in securities services, clearing and brokerage businesses. Kelly serves on the Greater NYC Board of the Susan J. Komen Foundation.

While I have been involved in technology for years and currently work at Digital Asset, a technology company, Im not actually a technologist. However, throughout my career in financial services, every role I have ever had heavily relied on the technology used in the operating environment, that is, the algorithms used to trade financial products, or the systems used to clear and settle trades, or the software used to serve customers.

In my career in financial services, I lived through seminal events from the 1987 crash, to the rise of online brokerages, to the initial Internet bubble and its demise, to 9/11 and the effects it had on global finance, and finally to the credit crunch of 2007 and 2008. In every one of these situations or crises, technology played a key, if not essential role.

After 30 years working in an industry that relied so heavily on technology, and suffered so greatly when technology didnt work as intended, I wanted to be part of a team that was changing how the business of finance was done, which is why I joined Digital Asset.

You are the grand sum of your experiences at any moment in time, and therefore, what youre capable of doing tomorrow is never going to be equal to what youre capable of doing today.

I consider myself to be one of those fortunate people who has established a strong network across geographies, roles and industries. My role models are my family, friends and colleagues that allow me to use them as a sounding board, either to improve my perspective or guide me in making an important decision by suggesting different angles by which to analyze the situation and form my opinion.

There was not a specific person or a moment in time that blocked me from moving in the direction I wanted to go professionally, but I do have a cautionary tale on getting pigeon-holed in your career. In 2008, following the market crisis, I was fortunate to be involved in some of the more transformative market and regulatory initiatives designed to stabilize financial services and ensure that such an event never happened again. I would never trade that experience. However, because I played such a prominent role, that experience came to define me in ways. It was assumed that I would remain in this role for the rest of my career. What I learned is that you must be willing to promote your brand and emphasize capabilities that position you beyond your current role. You are the grand sum of your experiences at any moment in time, and therefore, what youre capable of doing tomorrow is never going to be equal to what youre capable of doing today.

I am the Chief Client Experience Officer at Digital Asset. At the core of our service offering is DAML, an open source and platform-independent smart contract language that enables developers to write a distributed application once and deploy it to a variety of platforms, from distributed ledgers to traditional databases .

At Digital Asset, I lead the team that supports and enables customers to use Digital Assets technology and partner solutions to build the next generation of connected applications. This includes everything from forming a strategy on how to use DAML for a specific use case or a business issue, helping them visualize their first application prototype or demo, supporting how they engage and interact with third parties, such as regulators, market participants or their customers and helping them select from a range of solutions that we provide with our partners.

Throughout my 30-year plus career, diversity has been an industry issue, whether it was on trading floors in the late eighties and early nineties, breaking glass ceilings in financial services, or giving women more opportunities in leadership positions. Diversity in the workforce is as important to driving business success as it is to personal empowerment. It has been proven in countless studies that diverse workforces produce more competitive companies that deliver better products and services.

That being said, there are still many challenges that we must overcome. When women enter an organization that has low female representation in the technology roles, they are instantly branded as different rather than assessed for their actual skills and experience. This requires women at all levels to work harder to ensure theyre not seen as the female team member but rather as an outstanding performer. Women in technology must make sure that they are consistently distinguishing themselves, regardless of gender.

The obstacles we face as women in technology start early on in our education system.. Most technology, science, engineering and math programs tend to attract men over women, particularly at higher education levels. We must create curricula in these fields of study that appeal to both genders from elementary school through college and postgraduate programs.

As leaders in the technology industry, we need to have a real sense of responsibility for creating that path for girls beginning at the grade school level. We also need to make sure that the technology companies are purposely working to attract female applicants, principally by eliminating male dominant, tech bro cultures. This starts with how job descriptions are written and the types of career opportunities and career paths that are discussed with female employees. In addition, companies need to offer flexible work environments that support both working mothers and fathers so women have the same potential for career growth as their male counterparts.

From my own experience, companies must also consider alternative or diverse paths into senior technology roles. Computer science and mathematical degrees should not be prerequisites to attaining a senior technology role. I know many technology leaders who came from fields such as finance and customer support. Having a diverse professional background enables you to bring a unique perspective to an organization and one that can unite different areas of the company together in pursuit of the most practical and customer-centric technology solutions.

I firmly believe the world is a better place when people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences are brought together to solve a challenge or problem. Women introduce a fresh voice to any initiative if only because our perspectives are different.

We need to encourage students at the grade school level, at the middle school and the high school level, to define their own paths and help develop STEM topics and curricula that inspire them to pursue technology careers with passion and persistence. If we do that, in just a decade or generation, there will be social, economic, cultural impact of an indefinable positive quality, simply because we opened the door to a more diverse workforce that applies its intellectual force to solving the worlds biggest challenges.

A wise person once told me Kelly, you dont need to know everything. You just need to know where to go get it and who to ask.

Over the course of my career I have seen results, but clearly not enough to eliminate the debate and there is much more to do. As I said, I have been involved in discussions on gender diversity my whole professional life, and Ive long since stopped guessing on when they will no longer be necessary. Ive never been with a company that didnt need to focus on it and didnt benefit from doing so.

First of all, you must be prepared to work really hard. Dont let opportunities wait to present themselves to you, go pursue them. You are the best author of your own career path, so seek to define it actively and pursue it aggressively. You are the grand sum of your experiences, and you need to present yourself as such. Finally, it is very important to build your network of influencers. A wise person once told me Kelly, you dont need to know everything. You just need to know where to go get it and who to ask.

More Women in Tech:

For even more Women in Tech, click here

More here:
Women in Tech: "You are the best author of your own career path" - JAXenter

Keith Haring Photographer unknown 1989. Courtesy of The LGBT Community Center National History Archive

Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring in a dedicated online auction open for bidding from 24th September 1st October 2020 at Sothebys

Dear Keith will present 140+ works of art and objects from Harings personal collection, all on offer from the Keith Haring Foundation an organization established by the artist shortly before his death in 1990 from HIV/AIDS-related causes. Harings collection features works gifted to, purchased by and traded with Haring among friends and artists in his community, including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, and many more.

Gil Vazquez, Acting Director of the Keith Haring Foundation, said:

Dear Keith is an especially meaningful event in what is the 30th anniversary of Keiths passing. It feels as if Keith himself rallied his friends to make art for this specific purpose. It is rare that we as a foundation are able to address so many of the concerns that our founder deeply cared about in a single gift. The Center embodies so much of what Keith was about: community, empowerment, and the support of our future, the youth. We feel confident that this gift during this time for this purpose is the right thing.

Keith Haring Foundation. Polaroids, The Keith Haring Foundation Archives

All of the works will appear at auction this Autumn for the first time, together revealing never-before-told stories about Harings community and bringing to life the celebrated art scene of 1970s and 80s New York from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and Club 57 to street art and beyond.

In keeping with the Keith Haring Foundations mission to sustain and expand the artists legacy of philanthropy, full proceeds from the auction will benefit The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York (also known as The Center) an organization that empowers the queer community of New York to lead healthy, successful lives; celebrates the communitys diversity and advocates for justice and opportunity.

During his 10+ years living and working in downtown Manhattan, Haring was engaged in the queer / downtown art and activism scene. He executed one of his final large-scale murals, Once Upon a Time, in the second-floor mens bathroom at The Center in May 1989 for The Center Show a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that featured works by LGBTQ artists commissioned by The Center. That mural stands to this day. Haring was devoted to all of his communities, from his family and friends to collaborators both in art and activism, and the Foundation is pleased to celebrate the enduring connection he had with The Center through this gift.

Harrison Tenzer, Head of Sothebys Contemporary Art Online Sales in New York, said:

Dear Keith spotlights the diverse community of artists whose unique visions inspired Keith throughout his life. The collection is remarkably autobiographical, just as any great collectors estate is a window into their individual perspective. We see the progression of Keiths life captured in these works, from those of his childhood friend Kermit Oswald, to SVA peers John Sex and Kenny Scharf, to fellow upstart Jean-Michel Basquiat, to graffiti writers Futura 2000 and Lee Quiones, to his heroes Andy Warhol, Pierre Alechinsky and William Burroughs, who he collaborated with during his meteoric rise to fame. Together they illuminate a culturally fertile era in which artists and activists worked closely together to create a world that was more inclusive than the one they were born into. I am deeply honored that the Keith Haring Foundation has entrusted Sothebys with this momentous opportunity to celebrate Keiths continuing legacy, and I am proud that the sale will benefit The Centers important work.

Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring will be on view by appointment in Sothebys York Avenue galleries from 26th 30th September. sothebys.com/dear-keith

Fascinated by cartoons from an early age, Keith Haring was best known for striking graffiti-inspired drawings that took him from New York Citys streets and clubs to museums and public spaces around the world. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1978, Haring discovered a thriving art community of fellow emerging artists such as Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Tseng Kwong Chi. Haring created a singular graphic style based on the primacy of the line, peopling his compositions with such signature images as dancing figures, radiant babies, barking dogs and flying saucers, and infusing them with uncommon energy.

Between 1980 and 1989, Keith Haring achieved international recognition, participating in numerous group and solo shows and producing more than 50 public artworks from New York to Paris. By expressing universal concepts of birth, death, love, sex and war, Haring created lasting imagery that has been embraced around the world. Harings works can be found in the collections of many museums including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Albertina, in Vienna, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and many more.

Shortly before his death in 1990, Haring established the Keith Haring Foundation. The mission of the Foundation continues to be threefold: the support of organizations committed to enriching the lives of children, promoting care and education surrounding issues of HIV/AIDS, and furthering the legacy of his artwork.

Haring was greatly influenced by Andy Warhol, who was both a friend and artistic collaborator. In 1989 he told Rolling Stone:

Before I knew [Warhol], he had been an image to me. He was totally unapproachable. I met him finally through Christopher Makos, who brought me to the Factory. At first, Andy was very distant. It was difficult for him to be comfortable with people if he didnt know them. Then he came to another exhibition at the Fun Gallery, which was soon after the show at Shafrazi. He was more friendly. We started talking, going out. We traded a lot of works at that time.

The auction includes a number of such works, including an Untitled portrait of Haring with Juan DuBose a DJ as well as Harings partner and lover, who passed away due to HIV/AIDS in 1988 (pictured above, estimate $200/250,000). Haring and DuBose had a passionate on-and-off relationship for five years that was predominantly driven by physical attraction. The sale also features a significant group of works by artists associated with Club 57 the night club located in a church basement in New Yorks East Village that quickly became one of the most influential centers of the citys countercultural movement when it opened its doors in 1978.

Works by Jean-Michel Basquiat (pictured above: Basquiat, Untitled, estimate $100/150,000), Tseng Kwong Chi, Stefano Castronovo, Samantha McEwen, Kermit Oswald, Kenny Scharf, Bruno Schmidt and John Sex bear witness to a definitive downtown scene fueled by low rents, opposition to the Reagan administration, and the desire to experiment with new modes of art, performance, fashion, music, and exhibition.

Kenny Scharf was particularly close with Haring having become fast friends at the School of the Visual Arts, the two were roommates and collaborated often. The sale features works on paper by the artist, highlighted by his watercolor on paper in hand-painted frame Untitled (pictured above, estimate $18/25,000), as well as a number of hand-painted objects.The street art scene in which Haring worked in the 1970s and 80s is well represented, including pieces by John Crash Matos, Lady Pink, Lee Quiones, Rammellzee and Basquiat, whose work he greatly admired. In his essay Remembering Basquiat published in Vogue, Haring wrote:

His work had a kind of power which was unmistakably real. The intensity and directness of his vision was intimidating. Jean-Michel was maybe a little too real for us. He was uncompromising, disobedient, and rude if the situation required it. Not malicious, but honest.

Another close friend of the artist was George Condo, who often worked from Harings East Village studio. The sale includes an excellent grouping of early drawings and paintings done by the artist in the 1980s, including an Untitled work on paper featuring the inscription: For Keith in Paris, so it is once before a bum I am

Haring also owned a number of works by established artists whom he greatly admired, including Pierre Alechinsky, Jean Cocteau, Alberto Giacometti, Roy Lichtenstein and Pablo Picasso. The sale includes two Lichtenstein prints, including Forms in Space from 1985 which took pride of place above the fireplace in his home (pictured above, estimate $50/70,000). Lichtenstein attended Keiths first major exhibition in New York, as did Robert Rauschenberg and Sol Le Witt.

Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazine Founder and co-publisher Art of Conversation and founder of the platform @worldoffad

See the rest here:
Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring - FAD magazine

Lifestyle / Fashion / H&M collaborates with Beirut-based designer Sandra Mansour on empowering collection H&M collaborates with Beirut-based designer Sandra Mansour on empowering collection Its launch was postponed as a result of port explosion in Lebanon

Fashion powerhouse H&M releases its first-ever fashion collaboration with a Lebanese brand. Sandra Mansour, a designer known to weave dreamy silhouettes and figures into ultra feminine frocks, finally unveils her latest work. This will transport us into her world of modern coolness aptly entitled Fleur du Soleil after getting inspired with the way a sunflower follows the sun from day into night.

The first things you notice about Sandra Mansours designs are the dreamy qualities and sheer beauty, but then you get further drawn into the craftsmanship, the storytelling, and the modern youthfulness, says Maria stblom, head of design womenswear at H&M. Theres also something empowering about the femininity. Were proud to be collaborating with such a trailblazer, and we look forward to launching the collection worldwide.

The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection boasts of a feminine and strong range of dresses, blouses and skirts, a tailored blazer, and a printed T-shirt and hoodie. Fit-and-flare shapes and ruffled hems are mixed with volume and statement details in an earthy color palette of mushroom greys, ivory, and black.

Sewn with a message of empowerment and hope for the people of Beirut, the collection embodies the true beauty of nature as inspired by strong female artists such as Toyen, Dorothea Tanning, Lena Leclercq and Bibi Zogb. The inspiration for the H&M collaboration was nature and natural elements. Especially the sunflower, which represents the cycle of life as seen in its dependence on sunlight, says the designer. Poetry and painters inspired the selection of fabric the dark laces, jacquards, and embroidered organza. With the Fleur du Soleil collection, I want to talk to women around the world by sending a message of hope, something we really need right now.

Due to the devastating events in Beirut, the Sandra Mansour collection that was supposed to be launched on Aug. 6 was postponed. In the wake of the explosions, H&M has donated $100,000 to Red Cross Lebanon to help rebuild countless lives affected by the catastrophe.

The Sandra Mansour x H&M collection is available at SM Megamall, SM Makati, and Greenbelt 4 starting today.

SIGN UP TO DAILY NEWSLETTER

2020-08-27 13:48:36

["fashion","lifestyle","lifestyle"]

[2356327,2358341,2358176,2357960,2357879,2357659,2357710]

Read this article:
H&M collaborates with Beirut-based designer Sandra Mansour on empowering collection - Manila Bulletin

For the past few years, journalist and author Ziya Us Salam has been releasing books at a surprisingly rapid pace.

Seen from the perspective of commercial success, nine titles in some 24 months not counting the ones translated into several Indian languages would definitely be considered an enviable pace. But then this is no list of potboiler novels.

Salams works are not just topical but frequently searing: the rise of fundamentalism in India; chronicles of the shocking mob lynchings of defenceless citizens in the name of cow protection and championing of Hindutva; an analytical look at madrasas today and yesterday; the fraught issue of welcoming women worshippers into mosques; the scriptural and legal angles of instant triple talaq; and the topic of the book under review, nikah halala, a notorious practice.

Though written more from a journalistic than a scholarly angle, these books will likely be studied by historians when they trace Indias transformation as the 20th century lurched uncertainly into the 21st. What was once a diverse and highly flawed but vociferously vocal democracy, with fierce political debates common even among the illiterate, is today a country of polarised communities where disinformation has been sharpened to a degree of weaponisation and fear of political reprisal is a tangible deterrent to free speech. In this downward spiral, perhaps no group has been more relentlessly attacked, both metaphorically and literally, its very right to existence questioned, than Indias Muslim citizens.

So Salams impressive run of new releases, a few of them bestsellers, even as he holds down a full-time job as a journalist, has no doubt also been an intensely personal and troubling journey too, an aspect occasionally touched upon in his writing.

How can Indian politics today be anything but a deeply personal tumult for any of us, as our individual choices in clothes, food, entertainment, colours, in ways to pray and live are hauled up and judged under the ugly glare of a frenzied mob mentality? But information and knowledge counter the downward spiral, and Salams body of work is an inspiration to the resilient.

Also read: Review: In New Novel,Taslima Nasreen Tackles Religious Persecution in Contemporary India

Salam has a journalistic penchant for finding a story that needs telling along with a reverence for Islam, which he tirelessly strives to explain and decode for an array of readers both those belonging to other religions and those of the Muslim faith. His frank critique of traditions that have crept into the day-to-day practice of Islam, particularly in India and the rest of the subcontinent, ensures that the oversensitive sometimes take offence at his raking up of unsavoury topics, such as why so many mosques dont create facilities for female worshippers, when the faith is already at the receiving end of so much bad propaganda.

Ziya Us Salam Nikah Halala: Sleeping with a Stranger Bloomsbury India, 2020

But if this author is devoted to Islam, he is as devoted to saying what needs to be said, and perhaps it is his stature as a devout, practising Muslim I have come to know this after working with him for close to two decades that qualifies him to speak about the subject, with a more persuasive voice than a mere intellectual scholar or a more pragmatic modernist.

The somewhat provocative subtitle of Nikah Halala is emblematic of the authors scathing view of a practice that he explains has no sanction according to the Quran or the hadiths but is nevertheless prevalent throughout many parts of the subcontinent and is a gross distortion of womens rights in marriage. Through examples taken from both legal cases and personal interviews of men and women off the public radar, Salam shows how women are first convinced that they have been divorced by their husband, and then forced to literally sleep with a stranger to become eligible to reunite with the husband who is now repentant and hopes for a reconciliation.

Say a man divorces his wife (by saying talaq out loud three times), but he regrets his words in a day or two, and the two decide to reconcile. The couple is frequently told that the woman can no longer just carry on being his wife, nor can she even formally marry him again, until and unless she first marries another man, consummates the marriage and then gets a divorce from the second husband.

Such a marriage is arranged for the woman by helpful relatives, sometimes by a maulana, and often by the frustrated husband himself, in the misguided belief that this experience will serve as his chastisement for losing his temper. A temporary groom is found, merely for the sake of going through a sham nikah, followed by sexual intercourse. Thus, the woman who had become haram for her legally married husband, becomes halal for him once she has slept with another man.

The author, drawing a parallel to prostitution, describes how money is frequently a part of this transaction, the groom being generously compensated for his services. If all parties stick to their word, the procedure is over within a few days. But sometimes the new husband is loath to give up his new bride, leading to further anguish. The reason many women submit to this abuse of their right over their own body, with no legal safeguards, notes Salam, is that they may have children from the first marriage and be desperate to get back together with the father. Husbands, brought up to believe that a wife is a possession that can be stolen and retrieved, too may shudder through this grisly turn of events for the sake of future stability.

Also read: Marriage And Its Discontents and the Vocal Debate on Muslim Personal Law

Nikah Halala makes it amply clear through references to verses and interpretations of scholars that this procedure has no sanction in the Quran and is a distortion of the Prophets intention. In the third chapter, The Islamic Perspective, the author, referring to Surah Baqarah, verse 229, writes, The Quran says, Divorce can be pronounced twice: then, either honourable retention or kindly release should follow.

A shot of the holy Quran in a mosque in Cairo. Photo: Al Hussainy Mohamed/Flickr CC BY 2.0

Further on in the same chapter, we learn that these two pronouncements of divorce are to be separated by at least a month. The wifes menstrual cycle is taken into account when prescribing the times when the husband can pronounce divorce, presumably because, in Islam, a divorce cannot take place while she is pregnant.

Elsewhere, the author writes:

After the first divorce, if he realises his mistake, and his wife agrees, he can either annul his divorce through word or action or marry her again with a fresh nikah after the expiry of the iddah period; no third persons involvement is needed. It is the same if he divorces her for the second time. She does not need to marry anybody else and it can be a direct reunion of the erring couple.

If the intention to divorce is repeated a third time however, the divorce becomes irrevocable. In this case, the couple does not have the option of indulging a change of heart. The woman officially becomes haram for her former husband and is free to choose another partner. Should she marry again, and should she by chance become a widow or divorcee, she is once more a woman free to choose a husband. In such a scenario, the first husband is allowed to be a prospective suitor too, says the author. In these circumstances, she has become halal for him once more.

It is this provision regarding the possibility that the womans second marriage might end too, allowing the former husband to be a suitor, that has been grossly misinterpreted to force women into nikah halala in so many instances in India. Instead of being considered an incidental circumstance that may or indeed may not lead to a woman remarrying her former husband, nikah halala gets turned into a precondition for a marriage to the first husband!

Also read: Changing the Lens Through Which We View Islam

Knitted in with the sham marriage is the sham divorce. Once it is clear that a couple may get divorced twice and revoke it twice, but the third divorce is irrevocable, there seems no scope to accept that talaq pronounced thrice in the same sitting also signifies an irrevocable divorce. However, this is regularly happening due to ignorance. And is followed up by the equally erroneous and unfair demand for nikah halala. The author states on page 40, In fact, the misuse and distortion of the halala practice in the Indian subcontinent stems from the practice of instant triple talaq. Halala takes place after an instant triple talaq and ends with an instant triple talaq.

Even after the Supreme Court ruled instant triple talaq as unconstitutional, and the government followed up with the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act of 2019 with provisions for a jail sentence for men divorcing their wives in this way, the practice has not ended. This is simply because legislation often has little effect on entrenched traditions as in the case of dowry, as the author points out. What is needed is social awareness and genuine empowerment of women so that they cannot be cheated of their rights as wives and are able to avoid being coerced into a sham marriage for the sake of halala.

Salams easy prose is quick to carve into the hypocrisy of a situation where under-educated maulanas serve as interpreters of the scriptures for a gullible, even less informed public.

Understandably, when such clerics get down to interpreting the religious texts for the masses, the message is clear and always the same: the masses are teetering on the brink of hell! And when they are through with their fearmongering, they interpret the Quran to suit the convenience of men, he writes with characteristic candour. It is easy to recall he spent the early part of his career as a features journalist and cinema critic and headed the North India features editions of The Hindu for sixteen years.

The book is full of eye-openers. Some denial in the community notwithstanding, nikah halala is sadly prevalent around much of rural Bharat, if not so much urban India, as the author points out. He also introduces us to perspectives in Pakistan, the US, UK and countries of West Asia. Although there is some amount of repetition that actually confuses instead of enlightening the reader, it is a useful text.

Also read: At Shaheen Bagh, Muslim Women Take Their Place as Heroes of the Movement

Like Salams book on divorce, Till Talaq Do Us Part: Understanding Talaq, Triple Talaq and Khula (Penguin Random House), Nikah Halala too can help dispel many a fallacy regarding Islamic injunctions relating to marriage, divorce and womens rights. Its accessible prose can also serve to empower potential victims of misinformation.

The conclusion ends on a note of caution, reiterating that reform is essentially a social phenomenon. Expressing faith that the apex court, like the other courts when handling matters of divorce and inheritance in Islam, followed the letter and spirit of the Quran and hadiths, he conjures a possible scenario that could be overlooked: What if a woman genuinely wants to remarry her first husband after her second husband has either divorced her or died?

If she is not allowed to marry her first husband again, would it not be an infringement of the Muslim communitys fundamental rights, as protected by the same constitution?

The question is a reminder that there are no easy solutions.

See the article here:
'Nikah Halala' Review: A Scathing Indictment of a Practice That Has No Quranic Sanction - The Wire

Iraqi-Syrian artist Wafia has released a transfixing self-love EP Good Things. An ode to her personal experience with heartbreak, loss, and the cathartic freedom that followed, Wafia is a boss when it comes to creating upbeat danceable tracks that hold a personal message, with this EP being no different.

The RIAA Gold-certified artist lives up to her reputation in this sonically adventurous EP, sharing six ambient songs in which she mixes together high energy pop, expansive electronica, and soulful melodies. Exploring lost friendships, gut wrenching break ups, and moments of self-reflection, Good Things reminds us that after the storm the sun will shine again.

The sounds layered throughout Good Things are consistently liberating and atmospheric, amplified by Wafias undeniably stunning vocals. Hurricane is a reflective ballad with strumming guitars and an upbeat electronica tune that explores the fear of losing connections between friendships, while the lyrics in Pick Me are full of strong feminine empowerment, sharing the message to always put yourself first.With dancing electronic notes, bouncing beats, and warm atmospherics, its the self-love anthem we all need right now.

Performing the song earlier this month at the Lollapalooza virtual festival Butterflies is an electro-pop banger in which Wafia reflects on her past relationships, while the almost hypnotic quality of Flowers & Superpowers takes things to new heights with its addictive pop foundations. As for the title track, this song can only be described as high energy, with its punchy beat reminding us to focus on the brighter things in life. This song to me is a celebration of all the good that comes your way when you make the space for it, Wafia said about Good Things. How To Lose A Friend concludes the EP on an emotive and slow note with soft melodies and soulful vocals that explore the loss felt when you lose a close friend. This solemn track embodies the rawness of Wafias EP as it explores the deeply personal experiences in her life.

I shed a lot of heaviness in the last year, friendships and relationships that didnt serve me any longer. I grieved a lot and some days I still do but anything difficult comes with an opportunity for something better. This EP is about that, said Wafia in a statement about her EP.

As an EP of self-discovery, Wafia learns throughout each song how to handle loss, grief, and pain and turn it into something positive. Wafias Good Things EP embodies a personal message to all listeners that self-love is the most important love, and that sometimes the worst of times can bring out the best in a people.

Good Things is out now. Buy/stream here.

Words by Claudia Fallon Image by Drew Escriva

LISTEN TO NEW MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO

KLLO, WAFIA, GORDON KOANG AND GINOLI: BEST SONGS OF THE WEEK BREAK-UPS HAVE NEVER SOUNDED BETTER THAN IN WAFIAS IM GOOD WAFIA DELIVERS STUNNING VIII EP THAT BLENDS THE PERSONAL AND POLITICAL

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

Google+

email

See the original post:
Wafia's new EP 'Good Things' explores the loss and liberation of growing up and relationships - Purple Sneakers

The sub-title of John Zubrzyckis book is The Inside Story of Indias Most Glamorous Royal Family, so any reader could be forgiven for thinking it is yet another romance about royalty, fabulous wealth, beautiful people and the secrets of their personal lives, glamour and its dark side masquerading as history. House of Jaipur is a popular history in that it is extremely readable, except when the reader gets too entangled in the internecine litigation which has plagued the family for the last 40 years.

There are stories of colourful people told colourfully. There is wealth beyond the dream of Croesus too. But The House of Jaipur is not romantic its a serious history of one of the unique institutions, the Princely States, which enabled the British to hold India together. The Indian princes ruled over one-third of Indias population at the time of independence, therefore they played a crucial role in creating the nation which was partitioned at independence.

Zubrzycki undermines the myth that all the princes were feudal despots, rulers clinging to an outdated tradition of absolute monarchy with servile subjects bound to them by archaic religious ritualism. He brings out the extent to which the Jaipur Maharajas were bound to the British, yet at the same time had the freedom to govern the state as they would. He does write of the princes antediluvian mindset, yet he stresses how progressive the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad III, was. His granddaughter Gayatri Devi, internationally renowned for her beauty, married the last member of the royal house of Jaipur to rule his state.

The Baroda Maharaja introduced numerous social reforms including banning untouchability, child marriage, bigamy and purdah, and making education for all school-age children compulsory. He sympathised with the independence movement and is renowned for turning his back on King Emperor George the Fifth at the 1911 Durbar, instead of stepping backwards after paying obeisance to him.

John Zubrzycki The House of Jaipur Juggernaut, 2020

The Jaipur family claims its history goes back to Kush, the son of Lord Ram, a genealogy Diya Kumari, the mother of the current Maharaja and a BJP MP, does not allow her constituents to forget. The Jaipur monarchy was rooted in Hinduism, yet Zubrzycki traces the rise of the family to their alliances with the Mughal rulers. Although this was an unequal relationship, the Jaipur rulers were allies. They were certainly not subservient, or as some portray them, slaves. Man Singh I became the commander-in-chief of Akbars army.

In the middle years of the 19th century, it was in part because the two rulers, Jai Singh I and Ram Singh II, managed to keep outside interference at bay, that Jaipur enjoyed a cultural flowering. Free of interference and minimising the internecine struggles which had plagued the family and would do so in the future, the two rulers devoted their energies to creating dreamlike palaces, forts and extraordinary cityscapes, and patronizing the arts.

Ram Singhs successor Madho Singh II chose to ingratiate himself with the British. As a result, he was one of the few princes invited to King Edward VIIs coronation. Zubrzycki describes in detail all the arrangements made for his voyage to avoid being polluted by crossing the kala pani. These included six separate kitchens, one for his deity Gopalji, installed in the newly commissioned ship he was to travel in. But for all his position as a favourite of the British, Madho Singh made no secret of his disapproval of their way of life and their culture, and he discouraged his nobles from having anything to do with them. He remained a staunch, orthodox Rajput Hindu.

Most historians dont pay much attention to the story of the princes in the independence movement. Zubrzycki says Gandhi and the Congress were not very interested in Rajasthan in the 1920s, but the British were. The anglicising of the House of Jaipur started when Madho Singh died without a son in 1922. His adopted heir Sawai Man Singh II, known in the family as Jai, was only ten years old so the British moved in to insure he grew up as they wanted him to grow up. They took a special interest in his sex life. His guardian recommended that to avoid repression and venereal diseases, from about the age of 15 Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II should associate with a healthy young girl, and that in moderation. But the pull of Rajput tradition proved too powerful and he was married to a princess from the Jodhpur Royal family at the age of 12. The British saw to it that they were not allowed to cohabit for several years.

The anglicising programme continued, with Jai being sent to Mayo College modelled on the British public school system. That was followed by a years military training in Britain. The British were so concerned about keeping Jai on their side, and being able to keep his people on their side too, that the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, presided over his investiture on the Jaipur throne.

Also read: The Maharanis Mercenaries and Family Disputes in the House of Jaipur

Zubrzycki considers Jais time undergoing military training in London as a turning point in his life. It was the time when released from the formalities and intrigues of Jaipur, he learnt to have fun. From then on, he led two separate existences. In Jaipur he was a Hindu monarch. On his annual extensive visits to Britain, he was welcomed into Londons high society preoccupied with parties and polo. The British authorities in India were worried that the Maharaja didnt take his Indian responsibilities sufficiently seriously. But they didnt have to worry about his politics. He remained unashamedly loyal to the King Emperor and joined the British army in the Second World War rather than the Indian army .

It was while having fun in Calcutta that Jai met Gayatri Devi, the daughter of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. He was 19 and she just 12, but Zubrzycki says she developed a schoolgirl crush on him which grew into a full-blown romance. Ignoring warnings about Jais philandering, she became his third wife in 1940. The British disapproved of the marriage and refused to endorse it. Jais courtiers and the Rajput community opposed it too, because Gayatri Devi was not a Rajput.

In the end, the British divided and quit, leaving the princes who they had relied on to govern two-fifths of Indias land mass to the mercy of Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon. Zubrzycki describes their duplicitous dealings. They proposed that Jai should be the Rajpramukh or hereditary governor of Greater Rajasthan. But then they whittled down the offer removing the hereditary status and making Jai little more than any other governor. In 1956, Jawaharlal Nehru abolished the office altogether.

In 1970, Jai died playing polo in England. The vast crowds which turned out for his funeral showed that although he had been stripped of all power, he was still deeply respected by his people. His death was another turning point in the history of The House of Jaipur. One of the family friends quoted in the book had once told me, it all fell apart when Jai died. The family became embroiled in litigation over Jais property, with his widow Ayesha lined up against Jais son and successor, Bhawani Singh known as Bubbles. That was the beginning of seemingly never-ending litigation, which has kept more than 40 internecine cases still rumbling on in local courts.

Bhawani Singh, the last titular ruler of Jaipur. Photo: royaljaipur.in via Jaipur Royal Family

But the litigation has not been the end of The House of Jaipur. Although Bubbles attempt to establish a new role for a Maharaja in government failed when he was defeated as the Congress candidate for Jaipur in the 1989 general election, Ayesha had a successful political career with the Swatantra Party. She swept Jaipur in her first of three successful parliamentary elections and earned the wrath, and Zubrzycki suggests the jealousy, of Indira Gandhi. He quotes Kushwant Singh as saying, Indira couldnt stomach a woman more good-looking than herself. Indira insulted Gayatri Devi in parliament, set the taxmen on her and locked her up during the Emergency.

Gayatri Devis beauty was indeed legendary. Historian, restorer and hotelier Aman Nath described her beauty as angelic. Zubrzycki quotes the Economist describing her on her death as a princess, and a princess who could make Jackie Kennedy almost a frump.

After Jai died, Gayatri Devi suffered the tragedy of her only child, an alcoholic son, dying as a result of a binge in London. She faced a challenge to his will from the family which led to her two grandchildren falling out with her, but she was eventually reconciled to them. She became recognised in India and internationally as the brand ambassador of the House of Jaipur, working for the empowerment of women and for the promotion of arts and culture.

When Gayatri Devi died aged 80 in 2009, almost four decades had elapsed since the House of Jaipur was stripped of all royal powers, prerogatives and privileges. but Zubrzycki describes in detail the regal procession led by two elephants, the crowds and the cries of Maharani ki jai which accompanied Gayatri Devi to her cremation.

Zubrzycki maintains that even the death of Gayatri Devi has not marked the end of the House of Jaipur. He says they now manage their estates and assets professionally. Under their direction, the City Palace has become one of the finest museums in India. Padmanab Singh, the present Maharaja, plays polo for India and is an international fashion model. Bubbles daughter Diya Kumari is a BJP MP. So Zubrzycki concludes his history of the House with these words,

In politics, at the polo ground and even on the catwalk the House of Jaipur has begun to map out a new set of traditions, deftly harnessing their royal aura as they reinvent their roles and their relevance in twenty first century democratic India.

Mark Tully is a writer and columnist, and is the former India Bureau chief of the BBC.

Here is the original post:
'The House of Jaipur' Maps the History, Glamour and Feuds of a Former Royal Family - The Wire

The world isnt standing still, and neither is Allstate. Were moving quickly, looking across our businesses and brands and taking bold steps to better serve customers evolving needs. Thats why now is an exciting time to join our team. As a leader in a corporation with 83,000 employees and agency force members, youll have a hand in transforming not only Allstate but a dynamic industry. Youll have opportunities to take risks, challenge the status quo and shape the future for the greater good.

Youll do all this in an environment of excellence and the highest ethical standards a place where values such as integrity, inclusive diversity and accountability are paramount. We empower every employee to lead, drive change and give back where they work and live. Our people are our greatest strength, and we work as one team in service of our customers and communities.

Everything we do at Allstate is driven by a shared purpose: to protect people from lifes uncertainties so they can realize their hopes and dreams. For 89 years weve thrived by staying a step ahead of whatevers coming next to give customers peace of mind no matter what changes they face. We acted with conviction to advocate for seat belts, air bags and graduated driving laws. We help give survivors of domestic violence a voice through financial empowerment. Weve been an industry leader in pricing sophistication, telematics, digital photo claims and, more recently, device and identity protection. We are the Good Hands. We dont follow the trends. We set them.

The People Analytics Leader Governance, Ethics, and Prioritization is accountable for the development, execution and enforcement of all aspect of the Governance, Ethics and Prioritization processes across the People Analytics function. This results-driven individual leads the prioritization of all people analytics work through coordinating effort across the full spectrum of the People Analytics team. Additionally, they will coordinate the People Analytics Governance Board and lead all ethics compliance work for people & HR data and analytics, in conjunction with stakeholders in Legal & D3.

The candidate(s) offered this position will be required to submit to a background investigation, which includes a drug screen.

As a Fortune 100 company and industry leader, we provide a competitive salary but thats just the beginning. Our Total Rewards package also offers benefits like tuition assistance, medical and dental insurance, as well as a robust pension and 401(k). Plus, youll have access to a wide variety of programs to help you balance your work and personal life -- including a generous paid time off policy.

Learn more about life at Allstate. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn or watch a video.

Effective July 1, 2014, under Indiana House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1242, it is against public policy of the State of Indiana and a discriminatory practice for an employer to discriminate against a prospective employee on the basis of status as a veteran by refusing to employ an applicant on the basis that they are a veteran of the armed forces of the United States, a member of the Indiana National Guard or a member of a reserve component.

For jobs in San Francisco, please click here for information regarding the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For jobs in Los Angeles, please click here for information regarding the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

To view the EEO is the Law poster click here. This poster provides information concerning the laws and procedures for filing complaints of violations of the laws with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

To view the FMLA poster, click here. This poster summarizing the major provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and telling employees how to file a complaint.

It is the Companys policy to employ the best qualified individuals available for all jobs. Therefore, any discriminatory action taken on account of an employees ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual and reproductive health decision, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, race (include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), religion (including religious dress), sex, or sexual orientation that adversely affects an employee's terms or conditions of employment is prohibited. This policy applies to all aspects of the employment relationship, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, salary administration, promotion, job assignment, benefits, discipline, and separation of employment.

Go here to see the original:
People Analytics Leader - Governance, Ethics, and Prioritization at Allstate - Insurance Journal