#fit india movement

[physiovitals]

Jogging just 20–30 minutes a few times a week can significantly improve overall well-being.

[eatmangoesnekkid]

I shared with this lady today that my fitness is non-negotiable and is a reflection of the strength of my spirit. I’m not on and off with working out nor do I work out to get ready for bikini season. I have worked out pretty much consistently for the last 20 years. That's because exercising my body is akin to breathing. It is one way I clear out the gunk from my mind and emotions which is liberation for my mental, emotional and spiritual health. It doesn't matter what happened the day before, I know that exercise, whether gym time, HIIT classes, pole dance, belly dance, aerial dance, pilates, running up hills, long walks in the city, climbing stadium stairs, or hot yoga fuels the life force pulsing and protruding through my body that makes me feel delicious in the best ways possible no matter what challenges I'm facing. Working out for me is not-optional. My ancestral mothers know that I am not meant to walk this earth disconnected from my body and feeling sluggish and incapable. Sculpting a strong back, a strong ass, strong legs, strong arms, strong feet, etc. are some of the most important parts of my spiritual practice. Said differently: Your body is truly the altar. Bless it with some offerings of fitness if movement is accessible for you. Allow these words to be your reminder to get up and get out. -India Ame'ye, Author

[socialjusticeinamerica]

I go to concerts and events all the time and women use the men’s room no problem when their tiny restrooms overflow. The only time I ever noticed anyone complain was when a drunk women stumbled into a men’s room after a concert in Las Vegas. The men’s room was full of redneck assholes with southern accents, cowboy hats and boots. They immediately surrounded her and began harassing her with vile comments and graphic descriptions of how they were going to gang rape her. Security had to intervene to save her from those MAGA assholes. So much much for those country boys being good Christians. In New England nobody blinks an eye when women use the men’s room and if anyone started saying shit like that to woman they would have gotten the shit kicked out of their redneck asses.

Years ago history books would talk about regional peculiarities like Yankee Ingenuity and Southern Hospitality. I have spent a fair amount of time in the south, I have friends and family there, and in better times even owned property there. Let me tell you that Southern Hospitality is a myth. Unless you’re in a big city or a theme park or some other big tourist attraction, and you don’t have a southern drawl you’re going to be treated like Bin Laden showing up at Ground Zero. The rich modern day Confederates are the most elitist and bigoted people alive. The poor are some of the meanest, rudest, angriest, most hostile, and least Christian people you could ever meet.

Now that’s a blanket statement and obviously everyone doesn’t fit into that stereotype. There are plenty of normal people but very few of them will ever speak up for fear of the way they will be treated. This has been going on since the early days of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700’s. It isn’t something that can be blamed on The Southern Strategy, Nixon, Reagan, Fox News, the Tea Party, or the MAGA movement.

The North industrialized and modernized everything including banking, transportation, industry, and food crop agriculture. The rich southern Planter Class, the Aristocracy, relied on King Cotton, tobacco, and slavery. None of which was profitable or sustainable. The Planter Aristocracy soon became deeply indebted to northern banks and were at risk of losing their land, property livelihoods, and social standing. When the North and West started pressuring the South to end slavery and pay their bills the Southern

Planter elite decided to secede from the Union of States. They thought it was win-win, they could keep their slaves, escape their debt, and simply trade their cash crops with Europe. Well the Europeans switched to Egypt, India, and the Caribbean for their cotton and to a lesser extent tobacco. Only a handful of wealthy elites in each states could afford slaves in any quantity beyond one. The hillbilly rednecks were propagandized into believing they were defending their way of life and states rights against Northern (and western) Aggression. The west was populated by immigrant farmers who couldn’t afford slaves and came from countries where slavery was banned, never existed, and was condemned by European religious groups.

Long story short the United States, aka the Union or the North, had the food crops, the population, the transportation, the industry, the schools, the banks/money, and virtually every other advantage. The Confederacy was built on lies and propaganda spread by the upper class. They had nothing but bitterness and resent at the North and West that they still have to this day. Treating women and marginalized people with disrespect is ingrained into their DNA and so tightly wound into their societal fabric it may never come out. Even their LGBT community is racist AF. Now their were good people in the South, called Unionists, who didn’t agree with slavery, secession, or the Planter Aristocracy and many of them moved North and some even joined the US Army to fight against the Confederacy. Ironically some of them remained in the Army softer the Civil War ended and took part in the “Indian” Wars, after which they returned to the South as military heroes with their disloyalty to the Confederacy forgiven.

A scorpion can not change its nature. And people who have been propagandized since the 1700’s by the wealthy elite can’t be expected to change their “traditions” overnight. Thanks to Republican oligarchs a disproportionate percentage of Southerners and rural people blame modern Democrats, who are now mainly in the Northeast and the West Coast as they were during the Civil War, for all their problems.

They’ll never understand that the modern Republicans and oligarchs are holding them hostage and denying them jobs, education, unions, prosperity, and healthcare. They have been conditioned to for two centuries to blame outsiders for their problems while supporting their oligarch oppressors. Denigrating women, people of color, and marginalized groups is a sadly a rite of passage for the majority in the Old Confederacy. They’re like the people of Eastern Europe who have been holding grudges for so long they don’t even remember why they they are collectively doing it. They need to be deprogrammed from that Confederate mindset first and then deprogrammed from the Republican/MAGA mindset but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon if at all. We’d have to win back the White House, the Congress, the SCOTUS, and the state legislatures first. Then we’d have to utterly smash the Republican Party and ban the oligarchs and their dark money from politics. Following that Herculean talk we’d have to invest heavily in public education across the South and rural West and return it to modern standards from the plundered mess the oligarchs and their privatized schools have created.

A second civil war may be looming and they are propping for it. Invariably they will lose for the same reasons they did the first time but it will be far more costly and have lingering effects that may never be reconciled. It won’t be a regional war like the first time but rather a bloody mess like the war in Northern Ireland with terror bombings and revenge killings. No single community will be safe. Sometimes I think we’d be better off letting Texas and Florida secede and take Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana with them. The remainder of the MAGAts would flock there and shoot themselves into third world status. The rest of the US would keep the military, the nukes, planes, ships, tanks, and all Federal property. There are blue areas in the sunbelt but as a whole I can’t see those states being reformed. Texas is a cancer since it’s been under Republican rule and Florida is pathetically imitating them. The in between states, with the exception of some blue cities are virtually third world states and as backwards as can be.

I mean no offense to the good people of the red states. My issue is with the Republican misrule over those areas and the backwards brainwashing they have subjected their citizens to. I feel deeply for the Democrats and other decent people there. But history has taught us time and again that unless a majority of the people want change it is impossible to force democracy on them. The Republican oligarchs have spent billions of dollars since the 1960’s to reshape this country and to maintain that Confederate mindset in the South. That’s not something that can be undone by electing a Democratic president and a handful of charismatic congressmen and women.

[juniperpyre]

how does writing james as south asian change his character?

i've seen a few people discussing this recently—how they don't like the hc because no one seems to account for how much this would change his character.

i agree! i write canon james as indian (usually hyderabadi but there's a few fics where i've changed that) but yea it can be difficult to reconcile him as the popular golden boy in 1970s GB with the racism of 1970s GB. not to say anything about the subconscious racism that often comes with this interpretation of his character.

we never really see james. we see him in snape's and voldemort's memories, and in harry's dementor-induced recollections, not in-person.

there are a few character traits we can pull out: arrogant, clever, athletic, loyal, brave, cruel, self-involved. when i think of james potter i try to imagine what an eton boy would be like if he actually took part in self-reflection. these traits connect to him being popular and talented in a way that makes severus jealous.

he's the masculine ideal. james naturally fit into the idea of a what a man "should be", with the exception of his race if you hc him as south asian. men do not have to be kind, they have to be powerful. his rivalry with someone in a lower class—and it should be noted that severus' main rival is james, not sirius—and his subsequent wins cement his class status.

so, severus and james' rivalry. if you take the canon white, half-blood, working class severus and a hc of south asian, pureblood, upper class james, you have tension between these three markers of status.

my impression of GB society is that class operates cross-generationally, in a way it follows genetics. social class in england (and a lot of parts of south asia) was seen as a marker of your inherent status and worth.

so severus is white, but he's got a muggle dad, he's working class, and he's far from the masculine ideal. james is south asian, pureblood and upper class while being the masculine ideal. their dynamic in this context could be seen as either trying to assert their status, though i think it's severus who is consciously doing this. james just sees most people as less than him and sirius.

severus may also be more jealous of james than sirius because he doesn't think james deserves his status, it should be severus who is raised beyond what his birth entitled him to! severus' ideology is blood supremacist, and though he hates sirius at least sirius acting like he's better than severus is par for the course. it's not as embarrassing as james potter's superiority complex.

but, how did james develop a superiority complex in a world that actively oppresses him? the same way me and my bestie did. meeting young, understanding each other, being naturally intelligent, and having no one else who really gets it. prongsfoot 5eva. james even has an advantage neither of us had, being the only child and being spoiled. open your minds. oppressed people can be arrogant assholes.*

but how did he get popular? this is a better question. honestly, i think charisma, money, and the "rebel" aspect of james made him intriguing to a lot of people.

when it comes to integrating the greater world politics of the period, i hc that due to the collaboration of some upper caste families in india during the colonial period (historical fact) there's a fair amount of south asian wizarding families that have middling status. this makes it easier for him to integrate into the hogwarts social sphere.

the social mores of muggleborns and half-bloods who interact with the muggle world would also be impacted by the multiple civil rights movements of the 60s and 70s. generally young people put on a rebellious, progressive veneer, so this melts into general hogwarts society.

all of this to say, i think james fits the social roles of a pureblood man with a "rebellious" edge that is appealing to young people, and if he is south asian part of that edge is because of his race. that's gross! it's realistic, imo. he doesn't deviate too far from acceptable until he joins the anti-fascist militia. i think most of us understand what it means to be the "acceptable other"

i don't think james being south asian weakens his role in the story as the perfect man. that role is deconstructed, and the contrast of james having more social power in the wizarding world and lily having more social power in the muggle world is interesting to me.

tbh, i've been hc james this way since i was a teenager and didn't think it out until the last few years. i really like the hc but i needed it to make sense to engage with the canon in a complex way.

*this is a joke. i understand that this is complicated and discrimination will always have an impact. i just also think a lot of you see oppressed ppl (esp. poc since this is such a white fandom**) as pure angels and it's weird. most of the ppl making the initial argument at the top of the post are NOT being weird about it

**i am a white american so take what you want from that

[jewellery-box]

Robe à la Française

French, ca. 1770

The robe à la française, with open robe and petticoat, was the quintessential dress of the eighteenth century. Characteristic of 1770s costume are the piece's low neckline, fitted bodice, narrow sleeves with double layered cuffs, as well as the sack back and fullness at the hips supported by panniers. This exquisite example is constructed from a rare Chinese export silk dating from the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The textile is an ivory "bizarre" patterned damask (created by reversing the weave structure so that both the warp-float and weft-float faces of the satin are on the same surface).

As early as the late sixteenth century, Chinese craftsmen created silks for the European market, which were exported by the East India companies of England, France, and Holland. Due to the exchange of design motifs by both Eastern and Western artisans, Chinese export silks often bore little relation to traditional Chinese aesthetics. While this patterned damask closely resembles the European "bizarre" silks popular during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, the selvedge-to-selvedge width, fabric weight, and selvedge markings all indicate Chinese manufacture. To fully appreciate the sumptuousness of this dress, one might imagine the sense of movement candlelight would have created across its surface.

The MET Museum

[read-write-thrive]

part 1 (both girls in their full outfits) ; part 2 (Edwina in several other outfits/sketches) ; part 3 (the companion to this piece aka Edwina getting ready :)

part 4 of my fem!payneland fanart series!!!! as I talked about with the poll, I have quite a few variations of this piece as I couldn’t make up my mind on a few of the elements, but I listened to your feedback and have included them all here !! the winner of the poll is above the cut with the rest of the variations below to hopefully make this not take up too much of your dash lol

lmk what you think - especially people who voted on the poll!! I’ve also included my thought process below the cut since I know y’all are interested :)

- first and foremost: I have absolutely no idea what order someone would get ready in with all these outfit components, so if you’re sitting here like “why is her makeup done when she has to pull a shirt over her head?” or something like that: you’re probably correct but my getting ready process is always chaos and there aren’t exactly articles on this sort of thing

- along with that: her straightening her hair is probably not accurate to how hair works but again I’ve got v little experience to pull from and trying to find a proper reference was a pain in the ass

yes her bra is fully rendered and then got covered up by her arm. I'm still mad that I did that to myself but I like the pose too much to change it so oh well

- (onto actual historical stuff!!)

- her hair is being straightened here despite straight not being in style during this era for several reasons:

1. I based her hair (and a lot of her style, as per part 1) on Rhoda Dakar of the band The Bodysnatchers, which was an all-female band that was part of the ska revival in the late 70s/early 80s. Rhoda Dakar in particular is a British artist (who’s still making music!) with an English mother and Jamaican father—so not only was she one of the only women of color I could find as part of this subgenre/in ths era/with plenty of photo references, but considering Jayden Revri is Jamaican and English (alongside Indian) himself I thought it was fitting! Her Bodysnatchers look is also much more femme leaning than the rest of the band, as well as her hair styled in a way that suggests straightening, so I carried that over to Charlotte here as well.

2. On a related note, there is a clear historical and modern difference in hairstyles worn/made popular/deemed fashionable by non-white versus white individuals and I thought it only appropriate to acknowledge that in my design of her. I even went so far as to research how her mom’s hair may have been styled since I assume that’s who would’ve been teaching her how to care for her hair in the first place. With that, I looked at popular Indian hair trends from the 60s (figuring that’s when Charlotte’s mom could’ve still been in India and following those trends) which also involved a preference for straight/wavy hair, with soft fringe made popular by Sadhana and the styles ranging from long and luscious to styled up into a very 60s beehive. Charlotte could easily also rock a beehive, especially since the 60s revival was a part of the ska revival movement and Dakar herself styled her hair as such, but I figured Charlotte is a little too much of a rebellious teenager to go for a look she’s seen her mom wear!

- her makeup is based off of the different members of The Bodysnatchers as well as other punk/ska fans at the time. The look usually required more blush that what I gave her here, but I wanted to make sure the eyes were the feature (since Charles wears eyeliner himself) and then the lips being any less just looked weird to me. Also, Dakar doesn't seem to wear the same heavy blush that the other members do, which could be a stylistic choice but could also be the potential lack of blush shades that would work well on her skin tone, so I went that route for Charlotte here

- her underwear is all based off of meticulous searching of historical advertisements, though I will admit the sources are (presumably) American since I couldn't find British equivalents (I'm hoping the styles were similar enough...) in particular:

1. Her bra is based off of: Playtex’s New Made for Me, Playtex’s Right For Me, and Playtex’s Thank Goodness It Fits (which are seriously the names of these as per the ads—how creative /s)

2. Her panties (or pants or underwear or whatever term you want to use) are based off of: Sears Best’s Nylon tricot panties, Sears Very Impressive Panties Nylon panties, and JCPenny’s eiderlon fashion panties

3. (In the below variations) Her pantyhose are theoretically based on L’eggs and Spirit by Stevens’s Slim & Slender pantyhose. But, honestly, they’re mostly based on my own experience wearing hose bc almost none of the ads showed how the gusset of the pantyhose actually looked so I needed to fill in the gaps (one of the many reasons I’m still unhappy with them—plus the wrinkles would not look right no matter what I did !!)

4. Her socks are called slouch socks! I don’t have a specific brand for them but the style was all the rage in the 80s-90s (and I want to own some so bad ngl)

- the hair straightener is just a blob based on the reference photo since trying to research historical hair tools was beyond me at the time apparently, but the style of outlet/plug is accurate to Britain in 1989 so there’s that at least (I have no idea why my brain works like this)

- since I talked about it in the poll I feel like I should address it here: technically having a bush was well out of fashion by 1989 due to the grooming boom and new types of hair removal popular throughout the 80s and 90s. However, she’s wearing multiple layers over it and is technically a teenager (in an abusive household and a catholic all-girls school, at that) so I kept going back and forth on it. It won the poll so it’s in the main post, but you’ll see in the below variations that I really went back and forth on it. that being said I do think it’s interesting given her nylon pants being semi-sheer besides at the gusset, so I’m not mad at it. plus I figured she was definitely shaving her legs/underarms, so maybe that balances it out ?

and finally here’s the other seven variations of this piece :) lmk what you think!!

[afledglings-guideto-witchcraft]

Can you PLEASS explain what chakras are and how they've been "westernized"???

The chakra system originated in India between 1500 and 500 BC as part of the Hindu and Buddhist spiritual practices.

"Chakra" means "wheel" or "mystical circle" in Sanskrit, and the earliest found writing of chakras is found in the Vedas, ancient Indian texts of Yoga Philosophy.

"The chakra system is based on the idea that life energy flows through the body and to universe. The chakras are psychoenergetic centers in the body that are thought to connect with this life energy.

The chakra system is used in various healing and spiritual practices, including yoga and Ayurveda. Yoga uses breath and movement to move energy through the chakras, while Ayurveda uses herbal medicine and meditation to open and balance the chakras."

Here's this ask about if auras and chakras are the same thing.

Tldr, they are, and they were introduced into the western world by Charles Webster Leadbeater, who had studied Chakras in India. However, when he popularized chakras to the Western world, he literally reconstructed and reinterpreted them by mixing his own ideas into them and calling it fact.

From Leadbeater, other interpretations of chakras came about; Rudolph Steiner, Edgar Cayce, and more popular than the other two came Christopher Hills' interpretation of Websters interpretations.

In 1977, Christopher Hill wrote a book Nuclear Evolution: The Rainbow Body, which presented a modified version of Leadbeater's occult anatomy. Leadbeater had drawn chakras with intricate designs and multiple colors. Hill presented them as a sequence of centers, each point being associated with a color of the rainbow.

In the 1980s and 1990s, more new age writers based their own writings on their representations of Hill's interpretations of Leadbeater's ideas.

It's kind of like a game of telephone, with one person saying one thing and the rest going by what they hear. As more and more new age books began coming out with different ideas surrounding chakras and auras, they rapidly devolved from their original practice and became ingrained in westernized spirituality.

Many people in witchcraft spaces will often do the same as those before them and interpret chakras as they see fit.

While witchcraft is a custom spiritual practice, unique to everyone who practices, it's a good idea to know where these spiritual practices originated.

At the end of the day, what you do with the information is up to you. At least now you should have a better understanding of how the practice has been westernized.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #27 – From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia by Pankaj Mishra

Yet another work of nonfiction I picked up because an intriguing-sounding quote from it went viral on tumblr. This was the fifth history book I’ve read this year, but the first that tries very consciously to be an intellectual history. Both an interesting and a frustrating read – my overall opinion went back and forth a few times both as I read and as I put together this review.

The book is ostensibly a history of Asia’s intellectual response to European empire’s sudden military and economic superiority and political imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries, though it’s focus and sympathy is overwhelmingly with what it calls ‘middle ground’ responses (i.e. neither reactionary traditionalism nor unthinking westernization). It structures this as basically a series of biographies of notable intellectual figures from the Islamic World, China and India from throughout the mid-late 19th and early 20th centuries - Liang Qichao and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani get star bidding and by far the most focus, with Rabindranath Tagore a distant third and a whole scattering of more famous personages further below him.

The central thesis of the book is essentially that the initial response of most rich, ancient Asian societies to sudden European dominance (rung in by the Napoleonic occupation of Egypt and the British colonization of India) was denial, followed (once European guns and manufactured goods made this untenable) by a deep sense of inferiority and humiliation. This sense of inferiority often resulted in attempts by ruling elites and intellectuals to abandon their own traditions and westernize wholesale (the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms, the New Culture Movement in China, etc), but at the same time different intellectual currents responded to the crisis by synthesizing their own visions of modernity, and tried to construct a new world with a centre other than the West.

I will be honest, my first and most fundamental issue with this book is that I just wish it was something it wasn’t. Which is to say, it is a resolutely intellectual and idealist history, convinced of the power of ideas and rhetoric as the engine for changing the world. Which means that the biography of one itinerant revolutionary is exhaustively followed so as to trace the evolution of his world-historically important thoughts, but the reason the Tanzimat Reforms failed is just brushed aside as having something to do with europhile bureaucrats building opera houses in Istanbul. Not at all hyperbole to say I’d really rather it was actually the exact opposite – the latter is just a much more interesting subject!

Not that the biographies aren’t interesting! They very much are, and do an excellent job of getting across just how interconnected the non-Western (well, largely Islamic and to a lesser extent Sino-Pacific) world was in the early/mid-19th century, and even moreso how late 19th/early 20th century globalization was not at all solely a western affair. They’re also just fascinating in their own right, the personalities are larger than life and the archetype of the globe-trotting polyglot intelligentsia is one I’ve always found very compelling. While I complain about the lack of detail, the book does at least acknowledge the social and economic disruptions that even purely economic colonialism created, and the impoverishment that created the social base the book’s subjects would eventually try to arouse and organize. And, even if I wish they were all dug into in far more detail, the book’s narrative is absolutely full of fascinating anecdotes and episodes I want to read about in more detail now.

Which is a problem with the book that it’s probably fairer to hold against it – it’s ostensible subject matter could fill libraries, and so to fit what it wants to into a readable 400-page volume, it condenses, focuses, filters and simplifies to the point of myopia. Which, granted, is the stereotypical historian’s complaint about absolutely anything that generalizes beyond the level of an individual village or commune, but still.

This isn’t at all helped but the overriding sense that this was a book that started with the conclusion and then went back looking for evidence to support its thesis and create a narrative. Which is a shame, because the section on the post-war and post-decolonization world is by far the sloppiest and least convincing, in large part because you can feel the friction of the author trying to make their thesis fit around the obvious objections to it.

Which is to say, the book draws a line on the evolution of Asian thought through trying to westernize/industrialize/nationalize and compete with the west on it’s own terms (in the book’s view) a more authentic and healthy view that rejects the western ideals of materialism and nationalism into something more spiritual, humane, and cosmopolitan, with Gandhi kind of the exemplar of this kind of view. It tries to portray this anti-materialistic worldview as the ideology of the future, the natural belief system of Asia which Europe and America can hope to learn from. It then, ah, lets say struggles to to find practical evidence of this in modern politics or economics, lets say (the Islamic Republic of Iran and Edrogan’s Turkey being the closest). It is also very insistent that ‘westernization’ is a false god that can never work, which is an entirely reasonable viewpoint to defend but if you are then you really gotta remember that Japan/South Korea/Taiwan like, exist while going through all the more obvious failures. One is rather left feeling that Mishra is trying to speak an intellectual hegemony into existence, here. (The constant equivocation and discomfort when bringing up socialism – the materialistic western export par excellence, but also perhaps somewhat important in 20th century Asian intellectual life – also just got aggravating).

It’s somewhere between interesting and bleakly amusing that modernity and liberal democracy have apparently been discredited and ideologically exhausted for more than one hundred years now! Truly we are ruled by the ideals of the dead.

I could honestly complain about the last chapter at length – the characterization of Islam as somehow more deeply woven in and inextricable from Muslim societies than any other religion and the resultant implicit characterization of secular government as necessarily western intellectual colonialism is a big one – but it really is only a small portion of the book, so I’ll restrain myself. Though the casual mention of the failures of secular and socialist post-colonial nation-building projects always just reminds me of reading The Jakarta Method and makes me sad.

So yeah! I felt significantly more positively about the book before I sat down and actually organized my thoughts about it. Not really sure how to take that.

[octuscle]

What's up bro? After that lunar landing, India seems like the place to be! Problem is, I don't think the suitcase I brought will be enough for me to last seeing everything from the Taj Mahal to the golden temple. Can I borrow one of the DEL suitcases?

There is actually another suitcase. A fairly new aluminum suitcase from RIMOWA. Looks very expensive. And doesn't necessarily match your dusty and sweaty tourist outfit…. But since no one else has contacted me: Have fun with it!

Delhi… A really huge city. But also really challenging for a tourist who doesn't speak Hindi. But slowly you get used to the strange English they speak here. And somehow you finally find the Airbnb in the old city, a stone's throw from the Red Fort. It smells of sweat, urine and exotic spices in the stairwell. The stairs are steep and you are pretty tired. Heaving your suitcases up is really exhausting. But you have made it. You'll see what's in the big new suitcase tomorrow. You just want to sleep. It looks like the bed in the room hasn't even been made yet. You don't care about that now. Just sleep…

When you wake up the next morning, your old suitcase is gone. But also your old pajamas are gone. You lie naked in bed. And something is different… Your morning wood is hard as steel. Hehehehe, that's not bad… But it's also darker somehow. A shade like a coffee with a shot of milk. Coffee! Yes, you need it now. You get out of the silk-sheeted bed and your boner leads you like a divining rod to the coffee maker in the alcove between your dressing room and the master bath. After the first coffee, quickly take a shower and then get dressed.

And then a second coffee. Your driver will be here soon. Good thing your suitcase is already packed next to you.

You don't like Noida. But many of your friends live there because they have located their startup companies there and it is easier to find capable software developers. But that's not your world either. Your family made their money generations ago in real estate and in the textile industry. And you now head the banking and finance division in your family holding company. After all, you have financed some of your friends' startups. And today one of your friends is getting married. In Noida. You'll survive that, too.

The journey was long, as usual. Getting out of Delhi takes time. But at least you were able to make a number of phone calls while your driver navigated the car safely through the traffic chaos. Now you have moved into your suite. In the corridor hectic movements between the rooms. Bridesmaids and other guests scurry from room to room. You hate this hassle. In life, you would never think of getting married. But the bellboy who carried your suitcase upstairs was hot. You call the front desk and ask for someone to help you unpack your luggage and get dressed. The hotel is one of the most preferred locations for weddings in Noida. You are a regular guest here. They know your preferences. And the bellboys love your cock. You can already imagine that now there will be a fight again, who is allowed to blow you and gets the tip for it.

Yes, that was good… Your cock dangles relaxed between your legs. Your clothes fit perfectly. So on to the ballroom. And let's see who is your boring dinner companion this time.

[hobiebrownismygod]

Headcanon: Pavitr knows Kalaripayattu and uses it when he fights

History:

Kalaripayattu is an ancient form of martial arts that was specifically designed for the battlefield. It originated in a state named Kerala, in South-western India and is actually fairly similar to Kung-Fu.

In the 13th-16th century, Kalaripayattu was a way of life in Kerala, believed to have been often taught to children as customary training. However, after the British Invasion and imperialism of India, Britain set laws in place to quell any possibility of Indian rebellion, preventing people from practicing or training in this martial art form. After this, it was only taught and practiced in very rural areas in order to avoid confrontation with the law.

Eventually, in the 1920s, it was revived and during a period of traditional rediscovery. There was a rise in the number of Kalaripayattu schools and Kalaripayattu presentations gained a lot of popularity. Now, although still not as well-known as many of the other Asian martial arts, it is a widely-known martial art form in South India and practiced by many.

It is also believed to be the oldest surviving martial art in the world, with a history spanning over 3000 years.

Style:

Like most martial arts, Kalaripayattu focuses on mind over body. Having complete control over your mind is essential to being able to succeed in mastering this art.

Ashtha Vadivu are 8 poses derived from the instinctual movements of wild animals, poses that were designed to make your body more flexible and powerful. They also help the student develop balance and stability.

Maithari are 18 different exercises practiced to achieve peak physical fitness and heightened reflexes. By practicing these, one can strengthen their body and their mind in order to be able to properly participate in combat situations.

Kalaripayattu also involves the usage of different kinds of weapons. Spears, swords and shields are all used, along with maces and really any weapon that can slash, stab or cut. Special wooden whips, knives and staffs can also be used.

This is an example of a Kalaripayattu tournament!

Headcanon:

In the comics, Pavitr was often bullied because of the fact that he came from a small town and wore different clothes than the other boys in Mumbattan. He was given his powers by an ancient Yogi, gaining the magical powers of a spider.

Because Kalaripayattu is very spiritual and based off the religious myths, it would make sense for Pavitr to incorporate it into his fighting style! I think he would've learned it prior in order to protect himself from his bullies, and eventually began to use it when he fought villains as Spider-man as well.

Its a lethal fighting style with weapons, but in hand-to-hand combat, wouldn't be as deadly so it would make sense for Pavitr to use it when he fights, in order to defend himself or strike his enemies.

Just random thoughts <3

Sources below the cut!

[nateconnolly]

Two styles of narration dominate the field of history: progress and alteration. These are two ways of describing change. Progress narratives and alteration narratives are mutually exclusive. The first tells the story of the past as a movement, or “progress” toward some ultimate end. Alteration narratives do not analyze the arc of history as movement toward any destination.  An “ideology of progress” (Chakrabarty 7) posits that humans and events move toward a teleological endpoint. Progress narratives are defined by their implicit or explicit assumption that history is a process of development. They are “stagist” (Chakrabarty 9) because their stories of history proceed in delineated stages. In this type of model, societies and/or Society grows in the same way that child becomes an adult. Humanity has a “Youth” and will have an “Old Age” (Nietzsche 30). The growth never ceases — every action, every accident, makes “the world… more complete” (Nietzsche 6). The world moves closer to “its end in every moment” (Nietzsche 6). That end is a moral, religious, or cultural completion. Progress narratives declare that all nations or cultures begin incomplete, and that they will — they must — become complete over time. History, in these models, is the journey toward the End.  Progress narratives are as diverse as they are plentiful. Marxism posits that societies and/or the globe as a whole move toward the Communist state. Social Darwinianism directly compares historical changes to the evolutionary concept of fitness. Colonialist ideology is based on the assumption that societies undergo a process of “development and civilization” (Chakrabarty 8). One such colonial philosopher is Mill, who believed “[humans] were all headed for the same destination,” and that India had to become like Europe (Chakrabarty 8). Schiller describes the end as “a harmonious totality” (Nietzsche 24). Note that there is not a shared endpoint in all progress narratives. Nietzsche writes that the endpoint of a progress narrative could be “happiness, resignation, virtue or repentance” (6). Sometimes, two progress narratives directly contradict each other. Marx’s ideal endpoint is a secular, atheistic state; Mill’s colonialism is fundamentally religious. But they share their belief in a “shape” of history that bends in service of a great good.  On the other hand, alteration narratives accept that human societies change, but do not assume that this change is a form of evolution. They do “not entail any necessary assumptions of teleology” (Chakrabarty 23). While it is true that societies are always “developing” (Chakrabarty 23), there is no universal endpoint toward which they must move. Alteration narratives do not only dispute that society must move toward this or that end. They dispute that society must move toward any ideal at all. The alteration from one organization of society to another is always “secular, empty, and homogenous,” according to Walter Benjamin (Chakrabarty 23). 

You can read the rest on Substack:

[iismmumbai]

Barriers to pursue Sports as a Mainstream Career-SAI RC Mumbai-Panel Discussion-IISM Mumbai

Sports Authority of India, Regional Centre Mumbai, is organizing a Y-20 Panel Discussion at IISM, Mumbai, on 29th May 2023, from 10 a.m. onwards.

Topic of Panel discussion: "Barriers to pursue Sports as a Mainstream Career." The panel discussion intends to reach the greatest number of youngsters and provide a lively and energetic debate on the same.

Join us for the panel discussion and stay tuned to learn more about our esteemed panelists from the sports background.

International Institute of Sports & Management-IISM

[eatmangoesnekkid]

Even if you are celibate, you want to still have access to arousal in your body instead of numbed out. You still want to have connection to your orgasmic range as well. I also know it's tender thing too because we weren't necessarily taught to think of arousal or orgasm beyond being in relationship to men or a lover. That's the huge shadow I'm seeing buried in the female psyche that hinders us in accessing deeper mysteries. We are literally the only mammal on the planet who has an organ whose sole function is pleasure: the clitoris. I want to be pristinely clear though that when I speak about "arousal" or "orgasmic range," I'm not necessarily talking about sex with a lover. I am, however, speaking the primal truth of the divine nature of a healthy female body and how it functions best--with orgasmic arousal energy flowing throughout from root to crown, whether due to seeing a stunning sunset over the wild horizons of South Africa, feeling the seat of the machine move deeper into your body while doing seated calf raises at the gym, or taking your time while making sourdough bread or incredible love with your Beloved lover. What's important to emphasize is that when you have high arousal or a large orgasmic capacity, you also have an enlarged amount of creative energy. Even if you are celibate, you have to transmute this energy beyond chronically masturbating, moving it up your spine and turning it into spiritual energy to manifest the most incredible ideas, next step directions, and advanced intuition. With celibacy, a movement practice is essential so that your energy doesn't pool or become too dense or heavy. And masturbation is fine, but too much masturbation drains your chi. You need art, hobbies, skills like learning a new language, fitness, creative projects, entrepeneurship, music, dance lessons, and the like. -India Ame'ye, Author

[thehutpoint]

As you might remember Lawrence Oates, despite being born in a rich, upper-class family, therefore a gentleman by birth, was not a typical English gentleman, not exactly fiittng to his class with his behaviour, views or fashion sense. I already wrote a bit about his adventures with sewing (the sack-cloth balaclava, the chest pockets on the woolen jacket and probably the famous DIY canvas pants) , which was not exactly a typical skill for someone of Oates's social strata and profession, I mean even a second lieutenant in the army had two servants tending to his needs, so he did not need to learn how to operate a needle.

Today, dear ladies, gentlemen and scientists, we will focus on another atypical set off skills Soldier had, the carpentry. The carpentry was not exactly an often seen hobby among the upper class in Edwardian society, it was more like something a lower class man, or na aristocrat with such position and family history he could afford any excentricities he fancied without any harm to his reputation, might do. Oateses were not that high in the society though, despite being an old family, Domesday Book and all that jazz. There was no single aristocrat, not even a baronet, on Titus's genealogical tree for all I know, and families from this layer of the social piramid were usually behaving more aristocratic than actual aristocrats.

After that overly long introduction, displaying Titus's hobbies on the background of his social strata, let's get to the carpentry itself. Soldier, sent initially to help with renovating Terra Nova in the West India Docks, made such an impression on the crew with his skills, that Teddy Evans begged Smith to leave Titus at this task, not sending him anywhere else. This way Laurie landed the position of carpenter's mate onboard the Terra Nova and there is absolutely no evidence that the ship's carpenter, Francis Davies, ever complained on his skills.

First construction he made on his own I know about were the horse stalls on Terra Nova, built during the stay in New Zealand. That's where the ponies, bought by Meares in Vladivostok got transported to after a long journey that killed not only two ponies, but also any relations between Meares and Scott's brother in law, Wilfrid Bruce, who was supposed to help, but was pretty useless avoiding any dirty job. Let's get back to my Soldier and his carpentry adventures though. Lo and behold, the stalls:

You can see, that the planks are quite smooth and straight, what is supposed to be vertical is vertical, what should be horizontal is horizontal and everything fits together neatly. Overall it is a good, solid carpentry work, done by someone who had, I think, more than elementary knowledge with it. The crescent shaped indentations were made by the horses, as a number of ponies had a bad habit named windsucking. A windsucker hooks his teeth on the edge of the trough, or the stall board, extends the neck and swallows the air. It wears the teeth a lot and can cause neck muscle issues, the cause is usually boredom. Many bored horses humour themselves also with chewing on whatever they have in their reach, leaving marks like that.

Building the stalls was not an easy task, due to the fact they were on a ship, they had to have a certain size, They had to be wide enough to accommodate the ponies, of course, yet tight enough so the ponies wouldn't be tossed around with every stronger movement of the ship. They gave Soldier a lot of anxiety, as the letter he wrote to his mother from New Zealand and quoted by Bernacchi in his shitty bio of Titus (to be honest Laurie has only shitty bios though), attests.

A you can see Titus was not as imperturbable and calm as he is usually depicted, here he anxieties the living crap out of himself in such a style that I, a seasoned anxiety pro can give him the highest note for his performance. The stalls were all right, ponies fitted in them perfectly and getting them out was not much of a problem.

That's how they were unloaded in Antarctic. Man in the white hat on the right is Rennick, the one in the dark clothes and the one next to the pony are unrecognisable to me. If someone can recognize them, please, chime in. If you look directly above the pony unloading device, you will see a man in white shirt and black woolen hat. That's Titus.

And here we have the stables at thee hut on Cape Evans, built by Titus himself (visible on the left). Also a good quality carpentry in my honest opinion, so it begs the questions: where did this man learn the carpentry? From whom? Who taught him? As for what pushed the rich young man from the idle caste to learn that, well I think there are two things at play here. First, he simple liked to work with his hands. Second, I get a strong impression that he hated to be helpless and dependent on others, that's why he learned how to do things on his own. In one thing I do agree with Bill Wilson: there is more in Titus than meets the eye.

[politijohn]

Hey, I was a bit curious. You mentioned you support democratic socialism. Most of the historical examples we can pick of socialism are inherently non democratic, we can also take examples of some current ones like Venezuela. We can take that a bit further if we include communism in this conversation. How do you propose that fits in today's world, especially when socialism (or communism) is not sought after by world leaders? Even countries who claim to be socialists (for example India) are moving towards capitalism, they are in fact capitalists in everything but name. So I was curious as to how America could be a democratic socialist when it was the one who proposed and actively advocated for capitalism. I suppose what I really want to know is, is that even plausible? And if so, how do you think that could practically happen?

Also wanted to add that I really love the content you put out! Very informative. Sorry if I went too over board!

You posed good questions! It's my view that the next realistic step the US should make is to social democracy, which still adheres to the capitalist framework. Imagine a country where Bernie Sanders' platform is the norm rather than our broken neoliberal status quo.

This is not the end goal, however. Even though social democracies significantly improve their citizen's quality of life, they still perpetuate injustices globally.

Socialism - true socialism - ensures a truly democratic society while addressing injustices. But it is also fragile; greedy entities, which the world is full of, can quickly corrupt the system because the state, by its publicly-owned nature, has been given sole power over societal services and goods.

Socialism, today, has a sour taste to the average American because of propaganda and bad-faith actors co-opting socialist movements did terrible things in its name (We can't forget many of these states were forced into terrible conditions by Western imperialism in the first place). This sour taste poses a real challenge to convince Americans that socialism is a worthwhile goal. Anything progressive in the political realm is painted as socialism, as if it is some evil to be avoided at all costs.

To shift the narrative, we must continue fighting for leftist policy and interventions. They're widely popular, despite what politicians and mainstream media say, and we must make them a reality by demanding that of our public officials. Running more leftist candidates, engaging in direct action, and participating in organized civil disobedience will help hold government institutions accountable. During the FDR years, we saw how our government can work FOR us in a more socially democratic fashion. Convince people that these policies propel society further compared to the status quo and force an 'ah-ha' moment that socialist government and policies aren't so bad.

This, I believe, will allow us to keep moving further left toward democratic socialism. When people's basic needs are met under social democracy, they can increasingly turn their attention and energy to bigger issues like climate change, imperialism, and other global crises.

[teaah-art]

Desi LGBT Fest 2023 (hosted by @desi-lgbt-fest)

Day 7 : Faith/Rituals of Love

Definitely geared heavily towards the 'Faith' part of this prompt as soon as I read it!

If being Queer is defying conventions and if being a part of the Queer community means going against heteronormativity and gender conformity, is it not Queer to forego materialistic ties and the love of a human partner and embrace the love of a greater being you have only heard about in stories?

All four individuals featured here were integral part of the Bhakti Movement and/or Sufism in South Asia. None were married other than Meerabai.

(Panel order from top to bottom)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) : A key name of the Bhakti Movement and the Gauriya Vaishnav tradition in 15th Century Bengal, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was believed to have been a vessel for both Radha and Krishna. Bengali doesn't use pronouns or gendered language and we may never know what they would have preferred to be identified as in a language they didn't know (English), I will simply resort to using They/Them for them. Their written teachings are few and far between but the verse mentioned here is the seventh verse of the only written record of their teachings, the Shikshastakam - a collection of 8 total verses. The translation here is my own and quite literal so that the interpretation is left to the reader.

Meerabai (1498-1597) : [CW : IMPLIED QUEERPHOBIA/APHOBIA] Meerabai was born into Rajput royalty and was married off, also to Rajput royalty, in likely an arranged marriage. While most of the stories surrounding her are folklore whose historicity is yet to be confirmed, her marital status can be confirmed, and so can her devotion and affection for Krishna and the divine, which she has herself penned in numerous poems and songs. Folklore does strongly imply that she was non-committal to her marriage and that her in-laws tried to poison her to death multiple times for it.

Kabir (1398–1448 or 1440–1518) : Found as an orphan by a Muslim weaver couple, Kabir's religion grew to become somewhat of an enigma for future generations. His stance, however, on the topic romance and marital relationships is quite clear - he looked down upon them and a huge chunk of his couplets strongly imply that romantic and sexual relations simply obstruct spiritual enlightenment.

Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) : Bulleh Shah, though an ardent proponent of loving the divine, was declared a Kafir, a non-believer/non-Muslim by a quite a few Muslim clerics of the time. He was known for speaking up against existing power hierarchies of the time and used vernacular speech for his writings (Punjabi, Sindhi) which not only served to popularize his works, but also let people connect to his words.

A personal note on my motivations under the cut.

A while back when I was actively going through the anxiety of finding out that I am ace and that I will never fit into the current South Asian society that the wedding industry has a chokehold on, I desperately wanted to see people from my own culture living happily without a partner. During one of my history rabbit hole escapedes, I restumbled upon the story of Meerabai, how she always insisted on loving and devoting herself towards Krishna, despite being married into a normative and wealthy household and despite her in-laws repeatedly attempting to poison her for not committing to her husband. Most of us from India grow up hearing about Meerabai, her spiritual connections to Krishna, and her struggles. The moral of those stories is always framed as 'believe in god, he will help you through tough times'. But this was the first time I was making a different connection, I was drawing different morals. And when I took Meerabai's non-conformity to her married life and started looking for more examples like hers, I was overwhelmed by how many more individuals existed without a partner, condemned being in a normative, married relationship, admitted to having lost human connections and faced resistance even, and yet stayed true to their orientation and sounded HAPPY! It was extremely hard to narrow it down to these four, but these do make my point! Labels are hard to transpose across cultures and history. But if being queer means being nonconforming of marital structures and being aspec/arospec implies neutrality, indifference, or aversion to romance and intercourse, then no one fits the label if they don't.