On the 71st Indian Independence Day celebration at SPJIMR, the message walk portrayed a coherent image of the biases and stereotypical mentality of the Indian society and its impact on individuals. The persistent question that arose in the fully-packed Auditorium at SPJIMR, was “Are we really free?” The message walk organised on the event of Independence Day 2017, was aimed at seeking answers to the unasked questions.
“Why do I have to conform to the society?”
“Why do I get judged?”
“Do I really have the freedom of choice?”
Like movies, dramas and plays in the past, the walk brought to light the issues discrimination on the basis of religion, skin colour, weight and the position of women in the society with the liberty of choices that one requires thriving in a society. But the outstanding and refreshing part of the walk was the focus on the social dogma that a man faces for his “non-manly” choices of romantic novels and dancing. The audience was left aghast by the portrayal of horror that individuals face for the freedom of sexual preferences.
Some students enacted the society on stage and hurled their judgements on the ones who walked unabashedly, each representing a different choice and a different opinion, without guilt and with nonchalance. The first walk pointed towards the society’s harsh criticism on a man’s choice to wear a pink. The second walk hinted on the clothes being associated with each gender. The choices of a girl to keep short hairs and wear “unfeminine” clothes, can often lead to assassination of her character. While the next walk left people wondering, “
aaj hum goron ke to nahi, par gorepan ke zarur Ghulam hain”; following it was the walk on body-shaming which shed light on the constant pressures on today’s youngsters to mould themselves into a “perfect” body. Both these walks targeted the perennial threat of being judged because of one’s appearance and physical attributes. The walk wearing a
ghunghroo, depicting a boy’s ambition to be a dancer, also raised eyebrows, as even career choices are being scaled on parameters like gender, success and stability. The age old issue of honour killing was also addressed through a tete-e-tete transitioning into a murdered silence. The last walk representing a gay man’s efforts to unite with his partner broke all the labels and stereotypes the society imposes while homosexuality as an unnatural and criminal act. The auditorium applauded when the victims broke all shackles and questioned the society, “why should I be ashamed and hide my identity?”
One of the professors, Mrs. Sarabjeet Natesan commented, “we are happy to see such issues being addressed in such a creative way." Aninda Basu, PGDM participant says, “The excellent context setting followed by the on-stage portrayal of the events created a lasting impact and sent a strong message of individual freedom and social space”.
The students here feel privileged to be a part of SPJIMR, which believes in developing an environment that thrives on creating equality and valuing diversity. We, at SPJIMR, envision an egalitarian society outside the campus too, where one’s choices, opinions and preferences are not questioned or judged, where each one of us has the freedom to truly be ourselves, and that would be an Independent India we hope to create.
About the Authors:
Prarthona Ghosh (PGDM 2017-19, Operations and Supply Chain Management, SPJIMR)
Shashank Mishra (PGDM 2017-19, Marketing, SPJIMR)