https://soundcloud.com/shivani-das-983855902/rediscovering-and-redefining-home-pt1?si=73f6590c21f843c1a71d080a1ad654bd&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
The episode "Rediscovering And Redefining Home" captures the difficulties of travelling and other related issues during the lockdown faced by our participant who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 4.
This episode is in Malayalam. The host for this episode is Athira NV, a postgraduate in English and the respondent for this episode is Najela, a PhD scholar.
This podcast is created by Shivani Das and Shivani Sankhla, as part of the Ideosync UNESCO Information Felłowship, June 2021 special cohort on intersectional feminism and digital rights.
Part-1
(Intro music)
Athira: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the second episode of the Women’s emancipation terms and conditions applied podcast. I’m Athira, your host for today’s episode, ‘Rediscovering and redefining Home’. This episode will be in Malayalam and the subtitles will be displayed on the screen in English.
Today, on the podcast, we’re excited to have Miss Najela K P. Najela is currently pursuing her doctoral research at the Central University of Kerala. She is a team member at Fireflies, an NGO rooted in Kasargod, Kerala. She will share her observations and experiences she had during the lockdown.
Hi Najela and welcome to the podcast.
Athira- So, let’s start with talking about your studies.
Najela- I am a research scholar. My present academic address is the Department of Education at the Central University of Kerala. Due to Covid-19, my data collection has been a bit uncertain. But after a lot of discussions with my guide, I decided that if I wait furthermore my research might go on and on (laughs) so, I decided to switch the data collection method from offline to online. For this, I have worked from the very beginning of the thesis. In a way, it was a total restructuring. Module preparation is still going on. Hopefully, we’re waiting for the first-year students to come. I have chosen them as my study samples as my research is an experimental type. That is all about my academic part.
Athira- Along with this, you have mentioned that you are a team member at an NGO. So, how is it going?
Najela- Yeah, That…I believe in miracles. I like to meet and talk to people. For me, friendships have been formed in many different ways. I had participated in a programme conducted by this NGO as a volunteer and gradually I became a team member. During the time of lockdown, it is true that we could not work on projects when compared to our usual mode of working. But as a team, we had some online meetings and discussed how we can contribute, in what ways Fireflies as an NGO can work as it was a necessity of these times. Hence, we had conducted an online mentoring program as a trial version. This was a one-to-one mentoring program for children who come from social and economically disadvantaged families. In this, we have covered topics related to Covid- 19 awareness, gratitude etc. We also have had discussions on how to make life much happier and more peaceful and on validating the information they get in this period as we live in the time of the pandemic. The module was prepared based on the age of the children. From root to top, the selection of a mentor, the mentor-mentee relation and till the concluding part we all worked as a team. That was a milestone for Fireflies during the time of Covid- 19.
Athira- Ok. So now let us talk about your home, your family and how is your relationship with them?
Najela- There is my mom, dad and two sisters at home. I am the eldest. Talking about the relationship… This (podcast) would not be enough to say that (laughs). Ok… This lockdown time is the longest period I have stayed at home after my plus two (higher secondary school). Earlier I stayed not more than two weeks. For me, the home has always been a place where I go whenever I feel like going to see my family members, stay for some days and come back to my place and mostly I go there for some ceremonies. So, all this time I thought home was never my home. But when the pandemic happened, let’s say Covid made me stay at home even though it wasn’t intentional. It was then I realized there is no hideout nor can I run away. It also made me think about ‘what am I missing and what should I contribute to make myself at home. So, the relationship between my mother and me is somewhat complicated. I should say the undercurrent is active’ (a filmy dialogue that indicates interpersonal relationships are strong but not visible). But in person, we have disagreements in all sorts of matters. Oftentimes, my actions caused them difficulties and worries and this, in turn, was a difficulty for me as well. So, there is this fight that always goes on in between us for some reason.
Athira- So, does this happen in reverse? Like you said, do their actions make you feel uncomfortable?
Najela- I see the two as reciprocal. Their actions trigger me and my actions might trigger them.