Work

Indian Women Who Paved the Way for Feminism 4.2 (59)

The word ‘Feminism’ refers to the support of women’s rights based on a political, social and economic level with equal to men. It just means that women should be allowed the same rights and opportunities.


Now, feminism that came to existence after the 1960s has become an evolving socio-political movement for equality. It leads to the explanation which aims at understanding the power structures present in the society.

I define feminism as a mode of existence in which the woman is free of the dependence syndrome. There is a dependence syndrome be it husband, father, the community or a religious group. When women free themselves of the dependence syndrome and lead a normal life, my idea of feminism materializes. – Chaman Nahal

edited for better clarity

This patriarchal society has lead women to stay quiet and watch the world go by while submitting themselves. Today, women have experienced a lot; from getting educated to pursuing a career, and building an environment where independence is the norm.

There is still much more to be accomplished in women empowerment, however recognising the hard work and efforts made by women in the past is of utmost importance. Have a look at the dedication of Indian women whose lives revolved around the idea of feminism.

Savitribai Phule (1831-1897)

She was a pioneer of feminism, and India’s first female teacher who set up schools to encourage women of all castes to get educated. She motivated them to pursue education for self-development, and a lot more!

The great woman worked hard to abolish caste and gender discrimination by setting up the ‘Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha’ to prevent female infanticide and campaigned against the killing of widows and pregnant rape victims. She is highly revered by advocates of the feminist movement in India today due to controversial topics.

Fatima Sheikh

Fatima Sheikh was a colleague of the Phule couple and she is regarded as the first Muslim woman teacher of India. 

There was a time when the couple was threatened by stopping their practices, but Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh eventually set up a school together. They started teaching women from marginalised communities defying the norms of the orthodox communities and took risks as a Muslim woman in the 19th century.

Tarabai Shinde (1850-1910)

Tarabai Shinde was a feminist activist who was against the patriarchy and caste discrimination. She defied the inherent patriarchy found in Hindu scriptures.

Her first published work ‘Stri Purush Tulana’ in Marathi meaning Comparison of Women and Men explores the disparities between women and men. It is considered as one of India’s first modern feminist texts and fought for similar agendas along with the Phule couple for gender and caste oppression.

Ramabai Ranade (1863-1924)

Ramabai Ranade was one of the first women’s rights activists in India and the founder of Seva Sadan in Mumbai and Pune where thousands of women are trained for various skills. She dedicated her life to making women self-reliant and financially independent.


Ramabai Ranade was married off at the age of 11 without education. But, her husband encouraged her to complete her education and contributed to many communities that worked towards women’s welfare throughout her life.

Dr Vina Mazumdar (1927-2013)

She was one of the first women to be involved with the ‘twin movements’ of Women’s Studies and Women’s Activism. She spent most of her time understanding the diverse experiences of women in the patriarchal system across India.


Through her research, she realised there wasn’t any widespread knowledge about lived experiences underprivileged women. This thought led to the advent of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS), in 1980.


In 1982, Dr Vina became one of the founding members of the Indian Association of Women’s Studies (IAWS), which conducts national conferences to promote Women’s Studies, even to this day.

Sharmila Rege

Sharmila Rege was the Director of Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre (KSPWSC) at Savitribai Phule Pune University. Her work falls among three categories – Sociology, Women’s Studies, and Women’s Movements.

She is most acknowledged for her Dalit-feminist standpoint. Throughout her career, she strongly reinforced Ambedkarite ideologies which centred the feminist movement around the voices of the marginalised.

Feminism is not about hating men; it’s not about wanting to rule over them, it’s just deserving equality.

In conclusion, these revolutionary feminists are a symbol of the struggle for equality of women. The movement to secure rights for women in India has come a long way by the brave efforts of these women. There are still many non – governmental organizations who are working for gender equality and justice in India.

China’s Crisis of Bilateral Relations and COVID-19 4.3 (109)

The overall number of global COVID-19 cases has surpassed 13.7 million, while casualties have boosted more than 589,000. Till the last Friday forenoon cases crossed the number of 13,758,533, while the casualties rose to 589,093. 

Out of the most affected countries, the United States tops the list with 3,576,156 coronavirus cases at present, Brazil is at the second position with 2,012,151 active cases, India becomes the third-worst affected country by COVID-19 with 1,195,674 active cases, Russia is at fourth position with 751,612 vigorous cases and Peru is at fifth position with 341,586 coronavirus cases. These countries have the highest number of infections and the number of new cases is increasing with each passing day. 

In December 2019, cases of pneumonia of unspecified cause were first detected and got a glimpse in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Three weeks before the lockdown began, initially on 2nd January 2020, China started the virus identification work. Then China began to inform the WHO and exchange information with the U.S. regularly about the new virus. 

Later on January 21, the first coronavirus case was confirmed on U.S. soil. However, the sense of a coming disaster in the White House did not appear to alert high-level officials of the Trump regime. 

On January 23, Wuhan, a city with 11 million people, drove in under lockdown, with a motive of the nationwide battle against the new virus “COVID-19”. China’s role in the pandemic is likely to have a negative impact on its bilateral relationship with the countries which are most affected by COVID-19. If China had chosen to be transparent, then the pandemic could have been tackled much more efficiently. China had not been evidently clear about the degree of spread within the country and the human transmission issues, which has now led to the rise of bilateral tensions of China with the US, India, Russia, Brazil and Peru. 

The US-China relations had always been in heated up mode, both are the biggest economies of the world and so their relations have entered into an ornery period. The Trump administration in its 2017 national security policy, inly affirmed that “great power rivalry” were the explicative traits of the age and the competition with China was at the heart of US global bilateral relations strategy.

President Trump undertook a trade war with China and aimed to dissociate the virtues of US financial and monetary interdependence with China. With the endless difference between US-China increasing constantly, China has preferred destabilizing ways to propel its agendas. This includes occupying the artificial islands by the military in the strategically crucial South China Sea and in the East China Sea, terminating the sovereignty of Hong Kong and rooting off the Uyghur community. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the tension and created wartime like circumstances between US and China. The Trump administration is constantly blaming China for all aspects of the ongoing pandemic. The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the US has all the considerable evidence which can prove that COVID-19 is not just a global pandemic which was first detected in China, but it had been manufactured in a laboratory in Wuhan and now China is using it as a bioweapon. 

The US-China tension has given rise to a new “cold war” which is getting uglier day by day and other countries are also getting yanked into this warfare. The Chinese government has already begun targeting US’s allies; professional analysts are calling this behavior of China as the “wolf warrior diplomacy”. The US – China ties have been pushed to the limit since 2018, when both the countries were bogged down in a long-winded trade war which constantly pushed down global growth. 

It seems that now Trump would likely strive for maximum anti-China sentiment during his presidential campaign. 

Despite the seven decades of diplomatic relations, the India-China ties remain complicated. India and China had been trading partners for a long time but now tensions have been worsened by India’s opposition to the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) and China’s land expansionist policies. Meanwhile, China’s friendship with Pakistan is giving fuel to the tension between the disputed Himalayan borders with India; the deadly border clash in June 2020 was the sign of continuous degrading bilateral relations between India and China. 

Through the BRI, China wants to entangle India in its meandering debt trap, this could be considered as the Chinese formula to overthrow the USA as the world’s prominent financial and military super-power. China’s partnership with Pakistan is all about using religion-based terrorism to expand its international political purposes which includes binding India into local intricacies so that India may find it difficult to be a rival of the Chinese market at a global platform. 

In Russia, the first two coronavirus cases were discovered on January 31, and both were natives of China. After the tremendous increase in COVID-19 cases in January, Russia sealed its territorial border crossing gateways with China. Russia also restricted the 2600 mile cross border trade with China. In February, the Russian government suspended visas of all Chinese citizens, declared a temporary prohibition on entering the Russian borders, and after this they terminated almost all trains and flights that were on the route of “to and from” China. 

Russian Investment Forum that has to happen in the Black Sea city of Sochi which had expected to captivate a significant number of Chinese businesses also got cancelled. In the last week of April, China closed its remaining 7 territorial borders out of 25 borders with Russia, these reduce the demand of Russian exports and this created economic shock waves and fluctuations in it’s already a collapsing economy. Due to the significant decrease in consumers demand, Russian exports to China fell by approximately one-third. After the collapse of economic activity between Russia and China, many truck drivers lost their jobs. China restricted the import of Russian fish and meat, Russia in retaliation enforced limitations on the import of Chinese citrus fruits and dry fruits. The COVID-19 outbreak has put Russia- China relations at great economic tension. 

Recently, Brazil’s education minister has raised questions on the unethical business practices by China during this pandemic period, this has certainly given rise to the adversity between the bilateral relations of Brazil and China; they have blamed the Chinese medical equipment producers profiteering from the COVID-19 outbreak. Brazilian inner diplomatic circle has already said that the new virus would help China to dominate the world economy and this might be their indirect indication to refer to coronavirus as a bioweapon developed by China. 

On the other side, the Chinese government has said that Brazilian parliamentarians have shown their racist character and this will have a negative impact on the budding bilateral relation. Brazil is badly affected by the coronavirus and diplomats are constantly accusing China for this pandemic situation, their differences with Chinese manufacturers seem not to end so easily. The clashes between both countries are now going beyond the business understanding, China seems ready with its expansionist strategies in Latin America and now this may become a major problem for Brazil in the coming days. 

These days China is in need of a strong military base in the Latin American region, with its bilateral ties with Brazil already going through a panic situation, undoubtedly China wants a full monopoly over the trade of Latin America because this will be a gateway to China to attack the United States indirectly. China is strengthening its relationship with Peru; China is providing Peru with all types of economic and business cooperation. China has pledged with Peru to safeguard its public health and to provide safety in the health sector. For Peru, its partnership with China is all about economic recovery which was a dream for many Peruvian economists.

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 outbreak has put China’s relations with the whole world to the test. For the United States of America, India, Brazil, Peru and Russia national security concerns have outplayed all other considerations. Nevertheless, it would be a premature judgment to consider that the China’s alliance with other countries will rupture due to the pandemic. In the post-pandemic world, China will try to keep on their terms and strengthen their strategic partnership. But, the virus has exposed the degree of mistrust between the whole world and China; experts say that China will rarely go against those who have raised questions on its responsibilities towards the virus during the ongoing pandemic period. 

While relations between the governments appear to be normalized, the people-to-people connections will take its course.

The Light of the Universe 4.6 (44)

Never once was there a barren land called love, 
Never a man at war who knew not the power of peace, 
Not a breeze that did not carry the directives of doves, 
Never a fire that let our hearts freeze. 

Barren lands only take; never give, 
The hopeful clouds rain their elixir still, 
Love is a land where life lives, 
And sheer showers ripple as rills. 

Men at war are puppets of power, 
Their hearts seem fashioned like sharp stones, 
But the truth they hold in a sceptre, 
And of love are made their bones. 

The breeze is a scarf that sheathes the world, 
And carries warmth to  places of piercing cold, 
Called many names but still the same word, 
All heralding the glory of life’s true gold. 

Fires thaw even the most frigid frosts, 
Softening something that has turned to stone, 
Showing the way home to souls who are lost, 
Keeping warm company to those who are alone. 

It is not a broken promise that, 
Shatters like fragile glass, 
It is not a sharp sabre that, 
Draws out blood by the mass. 

It is not poison that slowly kills, 
But an antidote that allays all, 
It is not an ache or an ill, 
That makes a heart bawl. 

It is not a finger-gun at the ready, 
To blame or burn anyone, 
It is not a toy that is handy, 
For when one wants some fun. 

It is a universal force, 
And also the entire universe, 
Of all existence it is the source, 
It is a form of God – not a curse. 

DELHI-26 TO L-TOWN 4.4 (121)

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18-years old, body-conscious and shy, I set out to go abroad for further studies. It was the beginning of a new life. I had been told all these pretty stories about how one cannot get tired of London’s life. I believed London possesses everything that life has to offer. To some extent, it may even be true. But what I was not told was that there will be days when I will feel so homesick that I won’t be able to move, there will be mornings where the only courage I could muster up would be to open my fridge and eat ice cream for breakfast. Lucky enough, more often than not, I had days when I loved life and myself more. Maybe it was while dancing in the kitchen after cooking a half-broken meal that I realized how truly happy I was, just being with myself. For me, it was the start of a journey on the path of self-love after many years of living in self-doubt.


I was told that I will miss being home for the hundreds of festivals we celebrate and I did. I celebrated my first birthday away from home and I think I cried for more than half the day. But when it was time to go back home then my tiny student accommodation room and university library felt more like home than that house in Delhi ever did.


I made friendships for a lifetime, friendships that were not forced and friends that I never thought I would have the pleasure of having. Maybe I formed better friendships in those few months than I did in my entire 14 years of school life. I feel like I got to know myself better. I had never been this independent in my entire life. This one year made me feel like I had been living in a bubble before. Grocery shopping seemed so useless here and I hardly ever went but back in London, my trips to the grocery store were a stress buster. I would spend quite a significant amount of time after classes were over at the grocery store. I would try out new cakes, juices, fruits and candies. Sometimes, I would just roam around all the different aisles and go home.

I started exploring the city, as well as myself through it. I never cared much for shopping before, but there I realized that I enjoy shopping only when I am alone and going about it at my own pace. I was enjoying my company for the first time ever. However, little did I know that a global pandemic was about to put a halt to this new story in my life. It all came down collapsing when my father called me one morning in panic in March and told me that I needed to pack anything and everything that I could and I’d be on the first plane to Delhi the next morning. I was not ready to face this part of my life just yet, as I was just beginning to be consumed by the beauty of this new life. If only I knew that this new story may just have been a short chapter.


It took me two months to find myself back again at home in Delhi, bit by bit, in the same old environment which seemed brand new now. It has been a few months, and it is getting better, I believe. I think I will keep finding myself in uncertain situations as and when I start to feel too comfortable, which is intimidating yet exciting. Maybe I will be stuck in a safe space for now, but I cannot wait to build myself up again in the real world and discover previously unknown things about myself. I cannot wait to find out what is coming next.


Book Review: A Silenced Voice 4.5 (29)

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On Friday morning, parents got a call informing that Kim Wall is missing. The police are searching for a submarine near Copenhagen where she was last located. No one knew where is Kim, and the submarine. This is the beginning of a long struggle for Kim wall’s parents who just got the worst call of their life.

A silenced voice is a tender memoir of a brilliant 30 years old Swedish journalist. She died mysteriously on the submarine while doing one of her freelance assignments. Kim Wall was an exceptional journalist. She was an outgoing, curious, and a brilliant writer with a remarkable educational background.

She was quite famous for her unique stories and had connections all over the world. Her stories published in mainstream newspapers., appreciated for writing skills, and a knack of telling stories. Kim was a woman of many passions and, one of them is telling the truth, no matter what.

Her parents knew their daughter is a tremendous storyteller who can go length for sharing the truth. The plot describes memories of Kim when she was traveling extensively and writing stories on Cuba to tourism to living conditions in the Marshall Islands. Kim disappeared on the same day she was interviewing an entrepreneur on the submarine.

The authors shared lovely details about Kim’s wall life that takes the reader back in time and meets the real Kim. The best part of this beautifully written memoir is the way chapters unfold between Kim’s extraordinary life and details following her death and the trial of her murder.

The memoir is written by Ingrid wall and Joachim wall. They are parents of Kim wall journalist and have done a great job of expressing their emotions and love for a daughter who impacted many lives with her unique personality & stories.

They recall everything about Kim and celebrate her extraordinary life as a journalist. ‘A Silenced Voice’ is an emotional and inspiring memoir that sheds light on the life of journalists who do not care where they are going or whom they meet, they just want the truth.

The death of journalist Kim Wall evoked worldwide response. People reached out from all over the world to share the loss with her parents. Thousands of articles were published on Kim’s death. After grieving for days and nights, the parents decided to write a memoir that will shed light on Kim’s life as a journalist and to raise awareness for Kim’s Wall fund. Kim Wall Memorial Fund that sends women on reporting around the world. Through her fund, Kim will do what children are supposed to do: outlive their parents said by the authors.

Review:
5 Stars

A Chai Lover 0 (0)

With a bag half-zipped, hair all messed up and College ID hanging from her wrist, Riya rushed towards the shared auto that was leaving. The auto was filled with five people already, yet she decided to get in. Adjusting here is better than standing out on the road convincing the watchmen to open the college gate for me. I should wake up early from tomorrow at least she thought to herself, just like every other morning.

The time was 8:55 am and the college gates closed by 9:05 am. As she got down from the auto, she started walking towards the tea stall that was right in front of her college. She asked for a ginger tea, grabbed a stool and started sipping her tea.

“I’m sure, this is exactly how elixir would have tasted like in heaven,” she said to herself while enjoying every sip of tea.

As she was looking around, she found a guy who was sitting right beside her. He was tall and dark with pretty looking eyes. She stayed still as she looked at him and soon realized that she was staring at him and pretended to look away.

In no time, she caught him looking at her. “What’s that look for?” She asked with a very casual look on her face. “Me? Are you talking to me?” He asked with a hesitant tone.

“Oh, come on. You know that I’m talking to you. I can hear all the judgmental comments coming from the people around us, just with their looks. But your look seems surprisingly non-judgmental. Now tell me, what’s that look for?” She asked him again.

With a pleasant smile, he said, “I was wondering, how you manage to look pretty despite being messy, right from your hair that looks like a nest to your slip-on that’s ready to slip from your feet at any moment.”
Riya stopped sipping her tea and took a look at her slip-on immediately. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or…?” She asked him, doubting her appearance.

“Whatever you feel like, suit yourself”, he said. Giving the slightest of a smirk, as he took the last sip of his tea, he placed the glass on the table and left.

“Did he just say that my hair looks like a nest? Well, that’s okay. He also said I look pretty,” she said and smiled as she took her last sip of tea. Hearing the college bell, she left her glass there and rushed to her college doing the exact thing that she didn’t want to do (convincing the watchmen to open the gate again).

The next day when she asked for tea, her eyes were anxiously and constantly searching for him. Riya finally found him walking towards the tea stall. The moment she found him walking towards her heart began to race.

“Are you looking for me?” He asked, grabbing a chair that was right next to her. “Me? Are you talking to me?” asked Riya mockingly.


“Oh. Come on. You know that I’m talking to you.” he said. Both of them smiled. “By the way, I’m Rithwik,” he said. “I’m Riya,” she said as they looked at each other with a smile that you get when you finally meet someone you wanted to meet from a very long time.

Days passed and they kept meeting again and again. He was a nerd and she on the other hand, had no interest in studying. He was all organized and she was an embodiment of mess. He always talked about his future while she was worried that Pizza Hut would not have her favorite onion pizza like the last time. Both of them were just like antonyms. But as they say, opposites attract. He adored her careless nature and she adored his sense of responsibility. They found a sense of balance in their lives with each other’s presence.

One night Rithwik messaged Riya, “Be ready by 10 am. I’ll pick you up at the bus stop. Don’t ask me where we are going because I’m not going to tell you. Goodnight.”
Riya woke up in the morning and it was 9:40 am already. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and changed into a pair of jeans, wearing the same shirt that she wore yesterday. Half-awake, she walked downstairs only to find Rithwik waiting for her in the parking lot.

“Don’t tell me you woke up late – AGAIN!” he said. “Why would I wake up late? I woke up at 6 in the morning and was ready by almost 6:15,” she said in a sleepy voice. “Look at yourself. You look like you are sleep-walking. When did you wake up? Answer truthfully.” He said, having an obvious look on his face. “Okay. I woke up at 9:45, changed my clothes and walked straight out of my bed.” She said as she sat on his bike. “How can you be so confident when you lie?” he asked. “I was born with confidence though.” She said and rested her head on his back.

They went to a movie and then to a restaurant to have lunch. Around 6 pm, Rithwik took Riya to a beautiful lake. There were benches along the lake and to the right side of the lake there was a tea stall. As soon as they got down, Riya grabbed Rithwik’s hand and dragged him towards the tea stall. “What a perfect time to have tea,” she said with a big smile.

As Riya was sipping her tea, Rithwik admired how she was enjoying every sip of her tea. He smiled fondly and asked, “Why do you love tea so much?”
“For me, Chai isn’t just chai, it’s an emotion Rithwik,” she said as she continued sipping her tea.”

“Yes, I can see that. In fact, I see that every time you have tea and I love to look at you that way,” he said with his eyes fixed on her.

I just love the way tea keeps me warm from the chills of cold weather. In the ad mist of the cold breeze that passes by, I love how the aroma of ginger soothes my soul,” she said as she took her last sip of tea.

As soon as Riya finished narrating her love for tea, Rithwik asked Riya, “You never noticed me in the class right?” “What?” Riya asked Rithwik surprisingly. Rithwik continued, “I always wanted to tell you something and I guess this is the time to do so. Now listen to me.”

“You and I were from the same class in our intermediate. Even back then you were a mess. You never bothered about looking good. You always used to stick to the wall so that the teacher doesn’t catch you sleeping. You sleep almost in every class and yet you manage to get a good score and I still wonder how.

One day I saw you standing at the tea stall and stopped to see what you were up to. You took a cup of tea and despite people looking at you as if it was a crime for a girl to have tea outside, you sat there in your world, enjoying your Chai.

You are just like a child. That child who holds the courage of not thinking for a second to do something weird or absurd. That child, who is annoying when she needs love and calm when she’s content. I guess I helplessly fell in love with that child.

I love the comfort that my heart feels when I look at you. Just like the aroma of your tea, I love the aura that you carry with you, which soothes every inch of my soul. Just like the way you love your tea, I love you.

“Is this for real or is it some kind of a pleasant dream that I will never want to wake up from? I can’t imagine a person that I loved for so long finally coming and
confessing that he loved me too, without me saying I love you first,” she said
with a smile accompanied by tears that rushed out, unable to hold the happiness of that beautiful moment.

“What? What did you just say?” Rithwik asked Riya in astonishment.

“I saw you at the tea stall having tea. When I took the last sip of my tea and accidentally looked at you, you were smiling at the ground. You placed your glass on the table, turned around and left. This was the first time I saw you.

I know your presence in the class more than anybody else. I walked right behind you when we headed home from college. You were right opposite to me. You were literally a book-worm. I never saw you without a book in your hand. You were all organized right from the moment I saw you. You had these pretty eyes and a beautiful smile.

The only thing that we had in common was, you enjoyed your own personal space just like I do and that attracted me the most. This might sound creepy but the place where you stay, the college that you are currently in, your college timings, the time you reach home, your hangout places, I know all of them. I always wanted to talk to you but I found no reason why a person like you would love someone like me who is either sleepy or messy all the time.

It was okay for me to love you and keep that love to myself. Every time I took a step to come and confess what you meant to me, the thought of rejection or being judged pulled me 10 steps back. I didn’t want the love that I had for you to fade.

I loved you for who you were back then and I love you for all that you are today. Adoring and falling for a book-worm like you was a pretty tough decision for me to make too.” She said as she chuckled through her tears.
After listening to Riya, Rithwik rushed towards her and hugged her as tight as possible. “Despite your awful humor, the nest that you carry in the name of hair, and the beautiful mess that you always are, I fell in love too. So let’s not be judgmental and just hug for now.” He said as he kissed her forehead and hugged her a little tighter. As the sun was slowly setting and disappearing into the lake, Riya and Rithwik walked along the lake holding hands, living that beautiful moment, creating a bond that will never break.

A New Stage To Express 0 (0)

Right to express, whether it be from politics to a form of art; the pandemic has unquestionably silenced the normality we have grown accustomed to. Art, as a vessel of communicating, has uncommonly adapted to this pandemic as an opportunity of widening its stage. Over the course of the lockdown, art has shifted from traditional styles such as canvases to digital exhibitions and online galleries. Despite numerous smaller galleries struggling to survive, artists have found creative ways to be inspired by the current situation.Online alternatives to showcase art have also developed as the earlier events aided newer opportunities to flourish in unprecedented times. 

Over the years, demand for galleries has skyrocketed: which in turn has improved sales for them. But what is interesting is even after being hit by Covid 19, galleries have been able to sustain demand levels if not increase them. Lockdown was a difficult time for everyone, however, what kept everyone sane was trying  new things. Exploring new hobbies. Art becomes one of the most popular activities taking place in everyone’s home. This meant that to keep up with this, galleries started exposing works of artists through an online presence. In line with this, David Zwirner’s opinion also mentions a progression for the art market as they begin to search for better alternatives by producing a perfect USP (Unique selling point). Despite this optimistic statement, Art Basel reports the art market is lagging with only 9% of market share compared to the online retail sector with 14-22% market share. With this in mind, the coronavirus cultivated a perfect opportunity for art lovers to utilize online tools as a starting point to buy art. Furthermore by keeping an online presence “adds a silver lining by broadening the audience range meanwhile negating the drawback of extensive fees for an entry to an art fair” claims Singulart Magazine. The best part is people can tap into events much more easily without fearing entry to auction houses or art galleries. Owing to this, Art Basel’s response to the Hong Kong virtual fair was exquisite. It attracted 250,000+ visitors compared to the 88,000 who attended the fair the earlier year. Similarly, the show at New york saw solid robust sales for mega galleries. According to the fair director, more people logged 15 minutes prior to the VIP preview online this year than who walked into the fair last year. As a result, this suggests the leading success of art by employing a new stage to work on. 

 Of course, for people who prefer the traditional style such as vivo visits,galleries have kept this option while respecting the rules of covid 19 regulations. They have kept to strict precautions in place to buoy the safety of visitors in and out of the galleries. To maintain social distancing, galleries have limited their number of visitors (unique to each art fair) at an hourly basis. Advance online tickets have been preferred options to track daily schedules for the galleries. Other galleries have taken a step further by introducing electronic devices for visitors to wear around their neck. The pieces’ purpose is to keep visitors a minimum of 2 metres away from each other. Thorough sanitization is conducted to the product before and after every use. Others have installed plexiglass barriers at ticket counters, eliminating cash payments or reserving special time slots for larger groups. Overall, every gallery, fair and exhibition is quickly adapting to new changes while keeping the integrity of true art intact. While these are all just a small glimpse of the vast precautions galleries have taken, they try remaining as close to what they were before the pandemic. 

For artists, the pandemic proved to be a time capsule to ‘seal the deal’. With practically no movement out of the house, artists have been busy either completing those pieces that were just impossible or testing new waters. With more inspiration, artworks have also shifted to portray social and political issues such as the BLM movement or president elections. Tim Tadder, artist and commercial advertising photographer, speaks about his art as: “My art is representative of many of the political and social challenges that revealed themselves over the past four to five months. My work is about control, division, assault, power and abuse thereof.” Furthemore, this chain continues across the field sorting the financial problems once faced by upcoming artists.Now every day is a new stage to delve into. 

By: Pritikaa Somani

Spring Days and Starry Nights 0 (0)

The storms swept me away,
Took my smile, happiness and peace,
You dragged me out, pulled me close,
Embracing my chaos, you fixed me piece by piece.

After the cold and dark winters,
You walked in like a warm spring,
Told me, time doesn’t wait for us,
Let’s live to the fullest and keep moving.

You didn’t promise me dinner dates,
To long drives or movies, we have never been,
Laying under the night sky you taught me,
Love lives like the brightest galaxy within.

The way you hold me when I fall,
Fall into the deepest of my fears,
I’d be lost without you by my side,
With a heart full of pain and eyes flooded with tears.

Stars aid the moon to walk through all of its phases,
As they wait patiently to shine bright again, but together,
Let’s walk through all our flaws and fears
Based on fanatic fairy tales, let’s plan for a together and forever.

Pervading through our universe,
As our hearts and souls intertwine,
Let’s paint pictures of our spring days and starry nights,
Where I’ll be a warm spring day and you be the moon, all mine.

Keeping aside our first love that ditched,
The love that taught us how much we loved right in the past,
Maybe the universe was telling us,
That this is our last love, the love that will forever last.