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#MothersDay: How The Journey Of Motherhood Gave This Woman A New Muse In Her Life!

Written By: Sonali
May 9, 2021

Highlights

  • People carry their opinion about mothers and motherhood.
  • Why women are expected to pause their career after becoming a mother?
  • Neha Vinayaka, a New Jersey-based photographer, shares her experience.
  • Equal parenting matters and should be for everyone!
  • How COVID-19 impacted her whole life?
  • Her message to other working mothers.
  • Quick Read
  • Full Read

What’s the most beautifully unexplainable thing in life? Something that has all the logic behind it but yet it seems to be so much indescribable!

It is probably the journey of motherhood — the beautiful transformation of a girl into a woman and then a warrior who fights all odds to bring a new life to this galaxy!!

While some believe that it puts an end to a woman’s career, others think that a woman herself should pause her career for her kid. From different myths to societal barriers, there are so many things that a woman comes across — only to find a better life for her kid — a better place for herself — where she’s not expected to make any sort of sacrifices, and she gets to choose her own way to live the life.

This Mother’s Day, one of those gritty women shared her experience with us — the journey of her motherhood and the tactics which she adopted to ensure that her kid grows up in a safe and beautiful world! Read on to know more about her experience!

Spread the love

What’s the most beautifully unexplainable thing in life? Something that has all the logic behind it but yet it seems to be so much indescribable!

It is probably the journey of motherhood — the beautiful transformation of a girl into a woman and then a warrior who fights all odds to bring a new life to this galaxy!!

Now, this could be really subjective — people carry their opinion about mothers and motherhood. While some believe that it puts an end to a woman’s career, others think that a woman herself should pause her career for her kid. From different myths to societal barriers, there are so many things that a woman comes across — only to find a better life for her kid — a better place for herself — where she’s not expected to make any sort of sacrifices, and she gets to choose her own way to live the life.

Sounds fictitious? I would have said yes if I was writing this half a century back — but the 2000s era have shown me some of those gritty women who fought odds to follow their dreams while raising their kids in the best possible way!

This Mother’s Day, one of those gritty women shared her experience with me — the journey of her motherhood and the tactics which she adopted to ensure that her kid grows up in a safe and beautiful world!

Neha Vinayaka is a New Jersey-based photographer who recently moved back to India. While being a full time working professional and a 5YO kid’s mum, and of course the coronavirus pandemic, she did a lot of juggling.

After getting married, the Indore based woman moved to the USA with her husband. While she had an MBA, travelling and photography was her real call!

Soon she became a suggested Instagram user, and after becoming a mother, she got her muse. She started capturing every moment of his son’s life — from his newborn moments to his sitter milestone, to when he started walking — and she still captures it.

Neha’s entire motherhood became so rewarding that it helped her get into her dream job, and she finally started her photography venture.

Neha with her family

“It wasn’t easy! In the US, we didn’t have any support system. So it was my husband who supported me, and that’s how I balanced my motherhood duties along with my work!”

says Neha, who has a 5YO kid son, Nivaan

While the work eventually got smooth, she got in a process, and it was her own mental and physical health that she had to take care of! “I have come out of two chronic lifestyle impacting diseases, Cholinergic Urticaria and Dyshidrotic Eczema, which debilitated my confidence and social presence for almost six to seven years. But I didn’t give up, I changed my entire lifestyle to an organic and sustainable one, and this became one of the biggest reasons why I started going outdoors and doing photographing in the first place…because it got my life back, I was appreciated as a person, and that made me happy,” she shares.

So while it wasn’t easy to fight back, Neha never really gave up! After becoming a mother, one thing that she realized was there is a need for equity in the division of labour between husband and wife, especially after they become parents — equal parenting matters!

And while the pandemic impacted her parenting life, it also impacted her professional life. Being a mother, she says, it’s not easy to manage kids, work, home and yourself! “I lost many clients and projects which not only impacted my professional but also my financial life. I innovated and pivoted to a different style of photography (outdoor newborn photography – contactless newborn session) to get my business on track,” she continued.

And now that she is back in the homeland, she is looking forward to gradually converting her current business model to a more sustainable one. “I want to bring a change in the photography domain so that there is a better and more environmentally friendly way of doing business. I would like to educate my clients that less is more and what matters in photos is the emotions and not the fancy or heavily decorated prop based setups that will eventually land in our landfills and cause earth more harm,” she says.

“During our college days, we had a very limited scope that went beyond formal education. Talent was not a primary aspect of living, and therefore coming from that background, it took me a while to figure out my passion, that my heart lies in this creative genre. I would soon be hitting 40, and my business is still just a few years old. So this whole loss of time is my biggest regret. People often say that age is just a number. But ask a working mother, and she might tell you that better!”

Neha says on asking her if she holds any regret!

Neha believes that there is no end to a mothers’ love and commitment towards her child, but it is equally important that she builds a strong support system around her that can alleviate her stress and bring holistic happiness to herself, her kid and the family. She should not shy away from delegating duties to her partner, friends or any close member of her family!

This #MothersDay, Infano sends a warm hug to all those parents, especially mothers, who are fighting the pandemic, managing the work, raising their kids — all well beautifully and graciously!

Let us tell you that you are a warrior, and you deserve all the love and happiness around you! #HappyMothersDay

Image Copyrights: Neha Vinayaka Photography

Indian womenmothermotherhoodMothersDaynew motherPassion To ProfessionPhotographystartupswomen empowermentwomen in indiaworking woman

Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

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How Bollywood Has Distorted Our Ideas of Sexuality and Body Image

Written By: Sindhu Kambam
April 13, 2021 | 04:34 PM |
484

Highlights

Bollywood’s idea of sexuality has far-reaching consequences on India’s social fabric.

The impression of sexuality and body image as shown in Bollywood films tend to implant wrong ideas in their minds and mislead them.

Not only women but men too have become the victims of these notions of appealing body image and sexuality.

An international study finds that women in Indian movies are made to emphasize their sex appeal but are unlikely to have professions.

 

  • Quick Read
  • Full Read

We all love Bollywood and most of us even dream of becoming a Bollywood actor or actress. Everything in our daily lives from the way we dress, speak, behave, the style we choose to the way we think has been impacted by the cinemas.

We even see little kids dancing to the songs such as Chikni Chameli from Agneepath and Sheila Ki Jawaani from Tees Maar Khan. This shows the intensity of the impact created by Bollywood on young Indians and our society.

Cinema has far-reaching consequences on the young minds of Indians and Bollywood’s portrayal of women has been stereotypical for way too long.

The depiction of misogyny in Bollywood is hardly a new problem and is deeply rooted in the industry. Kabir Singh, for instance, though criticized for the way it portrayed an abusive relationship as a form of love was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2019.

These movies have made some people fear that it would inspire or even drive people to unacceptable behavior and may promote the dangerous idea that sexual harassment is acceptable.

Most of the youth have forgotten to embrace their bodies. Not everyone’s body type is the same nor has the same skin tone all over their body. It is important to remember that it is their professional necessity that makes the actors take special care to maintain even skin tone and look beautiful to attract the audience.

It’s time for all of us to take the responsibility to inculcate realistic cultural values among the young minds so that at least the next generation would know the reality and show respect towards others as well as themselves.

Spread the love

Since its inception in the 1930s, Bollywood has been the go-to place for entertainment for a large fraction of the Indians.

We all love Bollywood and most of us even dream of becoming a Bollywood actor or actress. Everything in our daily lives from the way we dress, speak, behave, the style we choose to the way we think has been impacted by the cinemas.

We even see little kids dancing to the songs such as Chikni Chameli from Agneepath and Sheila Ki Jawaani from Tees Maar Khan. This shows the intensity of the impact created by Bollywood on young Indians and our society.

Do these kids know the meaning of those songs?

The lyrics of some of these songs go from bad to worse. Have you ever realized that most Bollywood songs that you rocked to so happily as a child were disgustingly sexist?

How do these kinds of songs and movies influence millions of young and old minds, across urban and rural India?

Bollywood films have a great impact on one’s perception of sexuality and body image. Bollywood films are indeed sold on women for they focus on objectifying women, but these methods adopted to portray women are not only limited to the screen but have a social impact too.

Misogyny is not a new thing in Bollywood

Cinema has far-reaching consequences on the young minds of Indians and Bollywood’s portrayal of women has been stereotypical for way too long.

For a long time, Bollywood romances have solely been an expression of male desire with women having no say. They are portrayed as eye-candy and hyper-sexualized in most of the advertising posters to attract the audience and added to the fuel are the item songs where a female in revealing and modern clothes dances amid a pack of men.

It is very common in commercial films that female characters are objectified as mere sexual objects without intellectual capability, while men are portrayed as strong, professional, and intellectual, and heroic.

The depiction of misogyny in Bollywood is hardly a new problem and is deeply rooted in the industry. Kabir Singh, for instance, though criticized for the way it portrayed an abusive relationship as a form of love was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2019.

“An international study finds that women in Indian movies are made to emphasize their sex appeal but are unlikely to have professions.”

Women are usually portrayed as sexual objects in Indian films and are mostly used for supportive and decorative roles as is evident in Kabir Singh and most Indian films.

Are Bollywood makers fully aware of glorifying and promoting misogyny in relationships?

These movies have made some people fear that it would inspire or even drive people to unacceptable behavior and may promote the dangerous idea that sexual harassment is acceptable. The success of this kind of movie which glorifies misogyny shows that there is still a long way to go to bring a change in the perception of sexuality among young Indians.

Showcase of Body Image

Movies have always been a very effective means of communication and the impression of sexuality and body image as shown in Bollywood films tend to implant wrong ideas in their minds and mislead them.

The female actor is shown beautiful and attractive with a light skin tone and a perfect body which makes the hero get attracted towards her. This portrayal of the women in Bollywood films has led many young girls to achieve the unrealistic beauty standards of the female actors going through the painful process of waxing and other beauty care with the desire to look attractive in the eyes of their partner.

Not only women but men too are the victims of these notions. Bollywood hero is objectified as a tall person with a chiseling physique and without body hair and fat. Most of the men are under hidden pressure to feel good about their bodies and attract their partners.

Most of the youth have forgotten to embrace their bodies. Not everyone’s body type is the same nor has the same skin tone all over their body. It is important to remember that it is their professional necessity that makes the actors take special care to maintain even skin tone and look beautiful to attract the audience.

While some filmmakers are trying to change the depiction of sexuality in Indian films, yet there is much to be done to have empathy and sensibility towards real women and the problems they face.

Bollywood’s idea of sexuality has far-reaching consequences on India’s social fabric. The actors need to realize that overemphasis of sexual scenes can have a huge impact on the young girls and boys and should have the courage to turn down the characters that objectify women with negative body image. 

It’s time for all of us to take the responsibility to inculcate realistic cultural values among the young minds so that at least the next generation would know the reality and show respect towards others as well as themselves.

Body ImagebollywoodBollywood actorsBollywood filmscinemamisogynySex appealsexuality

Sindhu Kambam

A content writer by profession with a passion in art and science. Being a nature and technology lover, she loves to solve real problems that makes life easier.

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