head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 "A widow should be long suffering until death, self restrained and chaste. A virtuous wife who remains chaste when her husband has died goes to heaven. A woman who is unfaithful to her husband is reborn in the womb of a jackal." -- The Laws of Manu; Chapter 5, Verse 156-161 In making the acclaimed film "Water," Toronto-based filmmaker Deepa Mehta highlights the plight of India's 34 million widows. She contends that many continue to live in "conditions of social, economic and cultural deprivation" simply because it was so prescribed in the Laws of Manu -- millennia-old sacred Hindu texts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Manu smriti is not a "Hindu Text" ... just as the Indian Constitution is not a Hindu/Buddhist text .... The Manusmriti is regarded as an important work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society. It is one of the eighteen Smritis of the Dharmasastra; and is a part of the Smriti literature. It contains laws, rules and codes of conduct to be applied by individuals, communities and nations. Some of these laws codify the Hindu caste system and discuss the "stages of life for a twice-born man". It explains itself as a discourse given by Sage Manu to rishis having begged him to enlighten them on the topic. The Manusmriti is held with high esteem by traditional orthodox Hindus. At first glance, it appears to be a copy of various Dharma Shastra verses. The book is ascribed to Manu, according to the Hindu mythology, the forefather of all humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows what is cultural depravation? :lmao: btw, this is similar to caste system. it is fast becoming a non-issue. i know of many people who are getting the opportunity to re-marry and lead a second life. as with anything else, it will take time before it becomes a perfect situation, but again, nothing to get excited about NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows what is cultural depravation? just means that they are far from culture wise changes because of the failure to communicate and respond within the walls of society. btw, this is similar to caste system. it is fast becoming a non-issue. i know of many people who are getting the opportunity to re-marry and lead a second life. as with anything else, it will take time before it becomes a perfect situation, but again, nothing to get excited about NOW. It is with the progress around but there are still many in the society reeling from these deadlocks. This movie portrayed this issue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows what is cultural depravation? just means that they are far from culture wise changes because of the failure to communicate and respond within the walls of society. btw, this is similar to caste system. it is fast becoming a non-issue. i know of many people who are getting the opportunity to re-marry and lead a second life. as with anything else, it will take time before it becomes a perfect situation, but again, nothing to get excited about NOW. It is with the progress around but there are still many in the society reeling from these deadlocks. This movie portrayed this issue... did you even see the movie? if you did, what was the time frame of the movie? i am interested in knowing how many 8 year olds are being sent off by their parents after becoming a widow, TODAY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Yet another lame attempt. Good try, come again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Once again HC .... on a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rank this issue ' date=' the caste system , the ShivSena/Bajrang/etc etc with say Kashmir. You did not answer this question last time when I asked.[/quote'] Bheem, how can you use the same scale. One is a social issue and other one a political issue. Completely different and cannot be measured together. One deals with security of the people the other one deals with inadquacies in the society or religion that needs to be dealt socially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows what is cultural depravation? just means that they are far from culture wise changes because of the failure to communicate and respond within the walls of society. btw, this is similar to caste system. it is fast becoming a non-issue. i know of many people who are getting the opportunity to re-marry and lead a second life. as with anything else, it will take time before it becomes a perfect situation, but again, nothing to get excited about NOW. It is with the progress around but there are still many in the society reeling from these deadlocks. This movie portrayed this issue... did you even see the movie? if you did, what was the time frame of the movie? i am interested in knowing how many 8 year olds are being sent off by their parents after becoming a widow, TODAY. Yoda, As I stated this happens among orthodox hindus. If you ask me an exact count, I dont know. I'm not sure if you think it never occurs in this age. According to what I have read it does happen. Although I havent seen with my eyes to give you an eyewitness report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Because they all hurt the Nation ... thats the bottom line ... Now what I want to know from you is which of these hurts most ... according to you. It depends on the intensity of the occurence. One affects a region regardless of race/color/religion the other affects a particular set of people who are illtreated by the so called Savarnas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Look at this article titled "Indian widows rejected by their families reflect film's reality". http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/33792.aspx What does this article end with? "I have no sister, no brother, no auntie. There's only God and I think he has forgotten me," said 73-year-old Roshan Shroff who never married. And what else does it talk about? Sixty-two-year-old Mukherji, dressed in a grubby white "widow's" sari, said she had six children but none wanted to take her in, so she came from Kolkata seven years ago to live in Vrindavan on the banks of the Yamuna River. Sounds more like a case of homeless shelter for women doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows It depends on the intensity of the occurence. Please dont beat around the Bush ... they are all Problems that affect the nation ... please give a straight answer .... Thanks in advance. How come? I dont know what you're trying to say here: One is something that requires bilateral involvement The other one an internal social issue affected by religous customs and practices. Totally different and cannot be compared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Trailor: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/water/trailera/large.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 2, 2007 Author Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows How come? ok let me try again ... 1. Both(Islamic prob and the Hindu caste problem) are National level Problems. 2. Both affect the countries progress. 3. Both need Govt action for resolution. 4. Both are religious in nature Now if you were the Prime minister which one would you tackle first ? I dont care who the parties are and where they are and whether they are inside India or outside etc etc etc ... Just concentrate on the "Severity" of the problem. Which is more severe ? This doesnt make any sense to me Bheem. Social issues concerning religions needs to be tackled internally by religous heads. Govt can come up with law and rules but unless there is a religious mandate such things would keep on going. Now to answer your question I would think PM would be equally interested in solving bilateral issues as well as problems related to Indian citizens. But the security of the citizens weights more. Why do you say Kashmir is an Islamic problem. I would say Kashmir is a terrorist issue. If you are labelling all terrorist in this world as Muslims. Sorry pal you are reading it wrong or you are trying too hard to push on something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birbal3 Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Water was invisible at the Oscars... Oh well.... :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dada_rocks Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows Anotther near-dead issue raked.. Have been to mathura and VAranasi both places where these widows are sent. Didn't see any young widows but did see lots of old widows and have noway to tell whether they were living there by choice as many do in last stage of their life or were forced. Never saw any widow in far and wide extended family or acquaintance forced to live a life of asctic in those places. Few young widows have seen being remarried one is still resisting marriage but family is putting all the pressure on her to change her stance. In nutsheel this issue might have been of any importance in 1857 but has zero significance today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows This doesnt make any sense to me Bheem. Social issues concerning religions needs to be tackled internally by religous heads. Govt can come up with law and rules but unless there is a religious mandate such things would keep on going. hahahahahahah...... this aint pakistan, bro.... we dont have mullahs and fatwas.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
head coach Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows hahahahahahah...... this aint pakistan' date=' bro.... we dont have mullahs and fatwas....[/quote'] That's what you think Gator until you read this: Fatwas aren't just for Muslims any more. Just to show that they were willing to spend equal amounts of money, Hindu activists put a bounty on the head (and a lesser one on the hands) of India?s most commercially successful painter, M.F. Husain: The Hindu Personal Law Board on Wednesday announced a Rs 51 crore reward for eliminating artist M F Husain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear23 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows How about if a movie is made about the plight of muslim women in islamic society and how they suffer under sharia. How the muslim personal law does not give women the same rights as men. What happens when in a muslim family, the father in law rapes the daughter in law. This happened in the state of U.P and the woman was asked to accept his husband as his son and the father in law as his father. I see the above as a much bigger problem facing the country than whatever is shown in the movie water which has become more or less a thing of the past. The problem is hindu society is ever improving and evolving and taking steps to move away from the problems. The exact opposite is happening in the muslim society which is going backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows hahahahahahah...... this aint pakistan' date=' bro.... we dont have mullahs and fatwas....[/quote'] That's what you think Gator until you read this: Fatwas aren't just for Muslims any more. Just to show that they were willing to spend equal amounts of money, Hindu activists put a bounty on the head (and a lesser one on the hands) of India?s most commercially successful painter, M.F. Husain: The Hindu Personal Law Board on Wednesday announced a Rs 51 crore reward for eliminating artist M F Husain. Fatwas are religious edicts. Till it comes from a Shakaracharya or someone equivalent, you can't equate the two. There will always be wackos, but when those wackos are those who lead religious ceremonies and have mass appeal is when you have a big problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Re: WATER - plight of India's 34 million widows How about if a movie is made about the plight of muslim women in islamic society and how they suffer under sharia. How the muslim personal law does not give women the same rights as men. The argument is faulty on two accounts: 1) It should not matter what happens in a Muslim dominated country, unless of course you beleive India is one. This is merely an exercise in passing the buck, which incidentally Indians are great at. At the end of the day an Indian movie should be made by an act inspired within India and not what happens some place else. 2) You obviously have no idea about International movies. I strongly recommend you watch Khaamosh Pani(Silent Water) that was made in Pakistan. It is a story that hits right at the roots of General Zia Ul Haq's Islamisation of Pakistan and how it effects a Pakistani Muslim woman who used to be a Sikh girl before she converted. How her entire world comes crashing down. It is a stellar movie to come out of South Asian cinema. You also do not seem to have any idea about the Iranian cinemas. They, by most accounts, are most respected non-Hollywood movie stable in the world today. Many of the Iranian movies routinely talk about the plight of woman in Iran. Look up some of Iranian movies in your local DVD store. xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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