Kalacharam Reset

That time of the Month. The Red Wedding. Shark Week. Aunt Flo. Chums. There are so many names used to suggest when a female is on her period. Sometimes, the names are used as an internal joke amongst those who menstruate. Other times, they are used in hush-hush tones, in embarrassment. The usage depends on the kind of situation and the persons involved in discussing it. In the Tamil culture, the first period is often celebrated. Friends and family are gathered to witness the coming of age of a girl that she is now ripe and ready to begin a family.

But, as soon as, a phenomenon like this becomes the talk of the town, oftentimes, people forget the person who was supposed to be celebrated in the 1st place. As a result, celebrating maadavidai, is reduced to a mere ritual. So much so, that even in schools where sex education should be imparted, girls and boys are taken to separate rooms where red-faced teachers rush them through the basic information without even checking its credibility. So what effect does all this have on us? How does it shape our conversations around gender? How do people of different sexes find a way to support each other in all this? Subhalakshmi discusses all this and more with a fellow sufferer. Tune in now!

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Identities are of two types, one that you are born with and the other that you choose in the course of your life. So which category does your name fit in? Often if you notice, Tamil names are a reflection of a person's class, caste, region, religion and other such identities and very less about that person. Oftentimes, names are also a source of ridicule for our guest - Maheen. One of the alphabets used in her name is generally used for more than one phonetic sound in the Tamil language. As a result, she was often made fun of by her peer and is still known more as Maggie than her original name.

Now, it's true that when the naming ceremonies happen, we are too young to decide for ourselves. However, does it mean that we can't change our name if we don't associate with it? Also, isn't it better to have gender-neutral names? Why is choosing for ourselves so difficult? All this is what Subhalakshmi discusses in this episode. Tune in now!

The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages with a history dating back to 300 BCE. Tamil literature is dominated by poetry and therefore, one can say the culture is as old as the language. But, as much as we enjoy its rich heritage, architecture, cuisine, arts, and culture, there are a few practices still observed in Tamil households today, that leave us in awe. Today's generation, especially, finds it hard to decipher them and assumes them to be dated. But are these practices dated and what flavours can we bring from our modern-day learning to them? This is what Subhalakshmi ponders in this podcast.

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