city lights

Our Life10 Saturday October 9, 2010Hindustan Times

Lajpat Nagar Connect

P. Khurrana has written 22 books on Astrology, Numerology,Tarot, Vaastu, Mantra, Yantra, Dreams and Moles. Write to him at

connect@hindustantimes.comTHE TAROTCANCER (Jun 23-Jul 21):Spend time with yourfamily.If possible go outon a vacation with them.Real estate transactionswill progress smoothly.Wednesday is favorableday for buying a vehicleASTRO-ADVICE: Seek theblessings of elders

LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 23):A lucky week for you. Bothfinancial as well as mattersof the heart will keep youin a good mood. Studentswill get good news. Familylife will be blissful. Avoidland deals on Tuesday.ASTRO-ADVICE: Meditateon Fridays.

CAPRICORN (Dec 23-Jan 20): Cash is likely toroll in from unexpectedsources. Do not drive toohard. Women entrepre-neurs should take care ofbusiness.ASTRO-ADVICE: Donate asilver flute on Friday at aKrishna temple.

TAURUS (Apr 21-May 20):You will shine spectacu-larly, when it comes tocreative work. Tuesdaywill prove fulfilling whenit comes to academics.ASTRO-ADVICE: Light ablack lamp on Saturdayunder a Peepal tree.

ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 20):All your plans seem likelyto fall into place. Youmust not jump toconclusions soon aboutanything. Be more realis-tic. A Taurean friend willprove to be helpful.ASTRO-ADVICE: Offerwater to rising Sun.

LEO (Jul 22-Aug 23):Family members will bemost co-operative. Makesure you listen to yourinner voice when it comesto making decisions. Takecare of your finances.ASTRO-ADVICE: Visit atemple every Tuesday

SCORPIO (Oct 24-Nov 22):A slow week for businessfolks. Health of yourspouse or children mightneed attention onWednesday.ASTRO-ADVICE: Keepyour head towards theWest side of your bedwhile sleeping.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19):You will have to watchyour emotions onTuesday. An easy goingweek for students. Healthrequires carefulwatching.ASTRO-ADVICE: Offergrass to Cow onWednesday.

GEMINI (May 21-Jun 22):Venus favours domesticbliss. Try to keep yourbusiness plans secret. Becautious when it comesto finances. Studentsshould study hard.ASTRO-ADVICE: AvoidBlue clothes on Thursday.

VIRGO (Aug 24-Sep 22):Short trips may have tobe taken at very shortnotice. A good time forlegal matters. No need toworry on health front.Neither lend nor borrowmoney this week.ASTRO-ADVICE: Donatesarson oil on Saturday.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23-Dec 22):Beauty and ease are thetheme for the week. Awish comes true onTuesday. Keep a distancewith new acquaintance.ASTRO-ADVICE: Keep amoney-plant in yourbedroom.

PISCES (Feb 20-Mar 20):The focus this week is ontravel. A particularly goodperiod for romance.Health troubles mayworry you, so take carewhile eating out.ASTRO-ADVICE: Meditateon Mondays.

Your Stars

My office is a dividedhouse these days havingtaken up a debate from thestreets. The girls are elatedwith the separate ladiescompartment introducedby Delhi Metro, some boyz-to-men are happy for them,while some others are notentirely in agreement ofthe situation. They cannotfathom the need or fussover women for reasons —spanning from missingtheir company whilecommuting to being disal-lowed to venture anywhereclose to the compartment —as the case may be. They donot like being shown awayby the station guards, andthey do believe that thespace is wasted when thereare fewer women and toomany men -to-be-accommo-dated crunched in the restof the train. So do youthink it's a gender issue?Worth a debate? Womenbeing granted certain privi-leges as is the case, doesn'tseem to have gone down toowell with some gentlemen.Their take — in these timesof gender equality, suchprovisions and rules reek ofhypocrisy.

It's an argument I have

heard even as a teenagerwhile travelling in buses...one that men would usewhile keeping their machobacksides firmly glued to aladies seat. I am not be prej-udiced in the issue as I be-lieve these men had a point,and women must not expectspecial concessions whenthey had been fighting foran equal treatment in allspheres of life. But really, isthis about women'sexpectations? Or is it aboutcivil courtesies that theglobal society extends towomen and elders, thesame that makes a 'civilsociety' in the first place.While I have seen hearten-ing scenes of not only menvacating seats for senior

citizens but also youngwomen doing the same,there are lesser and lessersuch courtesies beingextended to women.Separate queues for womenin many places is long gone,while those that stillmanage to form alongsidethe men's queue aretolerated impatiently.

'No courtesy' is a rulerather than the exception inpublic transport. But thenagain, is it about courtesyonly? I asked a youngcolleague how exactly hadthe women's compartmentmade a difference to herlife, and she went gung hodescribing the hassle freecommuting in anall-women's section. And

when I pressed on andquestioned her, what waswrong with commuting in amixed bogie, she promptlyreplied, "Because I don'tlike to be felt up?" "Haveyou?" I asked and shereplied in a strong affirma-tive, even as some othergirls piped in to lendevidence and thrust to theconfession. I am not sure ifall men would understandthis as a matter of"displeasure" especiallythose who are guilty ofinflicting such for their ownpleasure.

In the four days that thecity women have beenextended the privilege oftravelling with dignity,despite guards, checks andvolunteers, that sect of menwho just don't get it havecontinued to barge in whenthey can, where they can.These are the men whopounce on a seat withcomplete disregard towomen, look away or pre-tend to sleep if they catch awoman's eye and even go tothe extent of squeezing innext to a woman much to

her discomfort. Beats mehow they are themselvesanything else but uncom-fortable with barely inchesof space to sit on and theirknees jutting out at ninetydegrees.

Okay this goes out for themen who have forgotten tobe men. Understandwomen's equality is notabout women competingwith men in the quest ofbeing men or like them.Women's equality is aboutwomen not being discrimi-nated against and beingtreated with respect in allrealms of life. It's aboutthem having as much aright to live with dignity asmen. It's about beingacknowledged for theirskills and hard work asmuch as men. It's abouthaving the right to amouthful of sky and twofeet of space to stand withpride. So, there is no reasonwhy men should getindignant or obnoxious andlose their courtesies,simply because accordingto them, they are metingout equal treatment asrequested.

Civic sense and courte-sies shown by men towardswomen need an overhaul.'Ladies first' are a far cry,too romantic an expectationprobably. And romance, asyou know, is a legacy thatwe lost along the way.

Sapna Khanna

The columnist isthe editor ofHT Connect

sapna.khanna@hindustantimes.com

Travel in times of gender equalityLIGHTS

my city No courtesy' is arule rather thanthe exception inpublic transport