Offering our Maitri to "Brave Girls" - A Movie about and for deeper reflections !!!
Dear Friends,
A few days ago we shared our Maitri keeping at the center a fine piece of art crafted by our dear friend Yashaswi Desai. It was an exceptional evening of emotions and deeper reflections about and for " “BRAVE GIRLS” " - the story of 3 girls Afsana, Sameera, and Karishma and brave girls all around us. The Brave Girls documentary film manages to show the complexities of women’s lives in a small town of India named Dholka and their stories of courage to break free. As Karishma, Apsana, and Samira, decide to go back to school and give their 10th-grade exams, their horizons widen beyond the four walls that they had been trapped in. Yet, societal expectations catch up and their families begin to arrange their marriages without their consent, leading them to make important decisions. Filmed over 4 years, Brave Girls explores the urgent questions about the empowerment of women in the developing world from the perspective of the women living those questions and facing the consequences of answering them.
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Our circle was unique in more than one ways - one for the fact that every participant was shared a link for the movie before the call and was expected to spare 1:15 hour of time watching the movie before the call, second, for the first the time in this circle space we had sharings keeping a Movie and its theme as the centerpiece for inspiration and reflections, third we had an amazing soul Yashaswi sharing her journey of the moving making and her personal movements of transformations through the movie and lastly we had some very deep personal sharing taking a center stage on this platform providing an opportunity for each of our deepest emotions being shared in the form of Maitri with the Sangha...
The Circle opened with a beautiful introduction by Trishala for her friend Yashaswi. Trishala told us how Yashaswi is an exceptionally talented visual artist, a facilitator, and a holistic healer. Yashaswi has a unique gift of observations that beautifully translates into her work of art and on the celluloid too. Besides being a dear community friend, Trishala also knows her to be fiercely independent and a rebel who stands her ground and has a strong self-belief. And no wonder the film itself speaks volumes of courage and bravery that Yashwavi and her co-director Ellie Walton have shown in dealing with the subject that very few will touch upon.
The circle of sharing started with Mili sharing her personal journey and inspirations she received from the movie. She loved the way the movie spoke about the real issues in the society pertaining to women and how each story was so relatable and yet unique in their own way.
Ashima told us about her struggles and victory when she chose to break societal barriers and chose love over communal discourse. She could very well relate to the girl in the movie who wanted to live life on her own terms but did not find enough voice of support from her family or community. Luckily for Ashima, it was for her Father who stood like a rock beside her and took all the societal brickbats in order to defend her decision and her choices. Each battle is personal but it becomes easier to fight if you have a family that stands by you!
Masuma was touched with the unconditional love that Karishma got from her mother and how fearlessly Afsana lives her life on her terms and believes in the philosophy of "Listening to all but doing what the heart says".
Shyamji shared with us his point of view on the movie and the extreme steps taken by one of the girls in the movie towards the fulfillment of her dream. Shyamji also shared his personal dilemma when he was caught in a difficult family situation and how he sailed through it with consensus and held his family together creating space for individual freedom as well as oneness.
Meera Autie was in awe of the movie, bravery of the girls, and above all courage shown by the 2 directors in bringing to life such an important topic. Meera Auntie has been working with kids from diverse backgrounds for the past 10 years and could completely relate to the stories, challenges, and aspirations of 3 girls in the movie.
Kunal loved the scene in the movie towards the end when Karishma leaves for home in Rikshaw and meets her mother, it was a goosebumps moment for him. The movie served as an inspiration for him on many fronts and probably one of the most memorable films he has seen in recent times.
Trupti had a great time watching the movie, one for the fact that this movie was on her to-do list for a long time and finally, she got an opportunity to see the movie because of the invite and second for the stories were heartfelt and real for her to relate. She was in particular amazed to realize the fact that a girl's dream could even be as simple as "to wear a jeans trouser" someday, which we take it for granted in our daily lives. While she liked the boldness with which Afsana choose to live her life on her own terms, she realized relating it back to her own experiences as to how important family support is and how much of morale booster it is to receive those affirmations from family - something that constantly received in abundance from her family.
Jayshreedidi along with Trupti felt that it was brave and wise on part of Directors to be part of these girls' narrations, yet, despite being deeply involved with them they never intervene in their decision-making process and kept their distance as 3rd party observer. For her key take away was Communication - It is important to communicate with your family, parents, friends, a teacher which can be a key to most issues in life. Communication at the right time with the right person helps an individual overcome every difficult situation in life.
Amita highly appreciated the 2 qualities of the makers of this movie - their devoted listening ability and extension of love. A heartfelt congratulations from Amita to both the directors and the entire team for listening to such important stories and sharing them with love with all of us. For her, there was something to learn from each character in the movie, especially the mothers who despite being pulled on multiple fronts continued to shower their unconditional love towards their daughters. She expressed her gratitude towards service space for providing an opportunity to create a space where such movies are shared and discussed. This movie in many ways has done a great service to the community.
Trishala has seen the movie twice and each time what has struck her is the Patriarchal structure of our society which decides even on how much a girl can think! Unfortunately even today there are many women in our society who are actually given a set structure to think and cannot go beyond that even in her thoughts. She could totally relate to a few situations in the movie because like the girls in the movie even her grandmom in her times despite all the boundaries being drawn was successfully able to break them all and emerge as an achiever.
Radhika while reflecting the movie shared about the paradox existing in the society about how sadly on one side girl is considered to be the pride of the house or workplace yet in the name of protecting that pride she is never given an opportunity to express herself or even live her life at her will. She finds herself a bit privileged because unlike many other girls in our society (including the 3 girls in the movie) she at least has the 'luxury' of making her own decisions and setting her own terms for living.
Nidhi and Krunal offered their gift of silence to the circle.
Jaimit's key take away was how this movie is going to serve as an inspiration for the future generation of the community where the movie was shot as well as every place where the movie has already traveled. It left a deep impact on him as to how the 2 girls in the movie Karishma and Afsana, despite all the challenges they faced have a resolve to educate their girl child and ensure they get a life of their choice. Jaimit was also impressed with the fact as to how a simple effort of community building has immerged as a national and international movement for Women's rights, girl child education, and women empowerment.
The call had many emergences and many more ripples to come. Overall it was an evening where each one of us got a unique opportunity through this movie to deepen our selves in the practice of compassion and love and attain a certain sense of stillness through heartfelt sharing.
As a closing remark, this is what each one of us felt for the movie and the circle...
A big big THANK YOU TO YASHASWI and Her team for working so hard and introducing to us such beautiful labor of love... We loved the movie and more so the pure intentions with which you created this piece of Art... More Power to you and your Team...
Sending lots of love, smiles, and virtual hugs from all the Maitri Circle Participants .... THANK YOU !!!
Regards,
On behalf of Vadodara Maitri Circle Volunteers.
A music video collaboration inspired by the documentary, BRAVE GIRLS, a bold and intimate portrait of three young women in rural India growing up on their own terms. Watch the full documentary here: www.bravegirlsfilm.com
Brave Girls
Dear Friends,
A few days ago we shared our Maitri keeping at the center a fine piece of art crafted by our dear friend Yashaswi Desai. It was an exceptional evening of emotions and deeper reflections about and for " “BRAVE GIRLS” " - the story of 3 girls Afsana, Sameera, and Karishma and brave girls all around us. The Brave Girls documentary film manages to show the complexities of women’s lives in a small town of India named Dholka and their stories of courage to break free. As Karishma, Apsana, and Samira, decide to go back to school and give their 10th-grade exams, their horizons widen beyond the four walls that they had been trapped in. Yet, societal expectations catch up and their families begin to arrange their marriages without their consent, leading them to make important decisions. Filmed over 4 years, Brave Girls explores the urgent questions about the empowerment of women in the developing world from the perspective of the women living those questions and facing the consequences of answering them.
Our circle was unique in more than one ways - one for the fact that every participant was shared a link for the movie before the call and was expected to spare 1:15 hour of time watching the movie before the call, second, for the first the time in this circle space we had sharings keeping a Movie and its theme as the centerpiece for inspiration and reflections, third we had an amazing soul Yashaswi sharing her journey of the moving making and her personal movements of transformations through the movie and lastly we had some very deep personal sharing taking a center stage on this platform providing an opportunity for each of our deepest emotions being shared in the form of Maitri with the Sangha...
The Circle opened with a beautiful introduction by Trishala for her friend Yashaswi. Trishala told us how Yashaswi is an exceptionally talented visual artist, a facilitator, and a holistic healer. Yashaswi has a unique gift of observations that beautifully translates into her work of art and on the celluloid too. Besides being a dear community friend, Trishala also knows her to be fiercely independent and a rebel who stands her ground and has a strong self-belief. And no wonder the film itself speaks volumes of courage and bravery that Yashwavi and her co-director Ellie Walton have shown in dealing with the subject that very few will touch upon.
The circle of sharing started with Mili sharing her personal journey and inspirations she received from the movie. She loved the way the movie spoke about the real issues in the society pertaining to women and how each story was so relatable and yet unique in their own way.
Ashima told us about her struggles and victory when she chose to break societal barriers and chose love over communal discourse. She could very well relate to the girl in the movie who wanted to live life on her own terms but did not find enough voice of support from her family or community. Luckily for Ashima, it was for her Father who stood like a rock beside her and took all the societal brickbats in order to defend her decision and her choices. Each battle is personal but it becomes easier to fight if you have a family that stands by you!
Masuma was touched with the unconditional love that Karishma got from her mother and how fearlessly Afsana lives her life on her terms and believes in the philosophy of "Listening to all but doing what the heart says".
Shyamji shared with us his point of view on the movie and the extreme steps taken by one of the girls in the movie towards the fulfillment of her dream. Shyamji also shared his personal dilemma when he was caught in a difficult family situation and how he sailed through it with consensus and held his family together creating space for individual freedom as well as oneness.
Meera Autie was in awe of the movie, bravery of the girls, and above all courage shown by the 2 directors in bringing to life such an important topic. Meera Auntie has been working with kids from diverse backgrounds for the past 10 years and could completely relate to the stories, challenges, and aspirations of 3 girls in the movie.
Kunal loved the scene in the movie towards the end when Karishma leaves for home in Rikshaw and meets her mother, it was a goosebumps moment for him. The movie served as an inspiration for him on many fronts and probably one of the most memorable films he has seen in recent times.
Trupti had a great time watching the movie, one for the fact that this movie was on her to-do list for a long time and finally, she got an opportunity to see the movie because of the invite and second for the stories were heartfelt and real for her to relate. She was in particular amazed to realize the fact that a girl's dream could even be as simple as "to wear a jeans trouser" someday, which we take it for granted in our daily lives. While she liked the boldness with which Afsana choose to live her life on her own terms, she realized relating it back to her own experiences as to how important family support is and how much of morale booster it is to receive those affirmations from family - something that constantly received in abundance from her family.
Jayshreedidi along with Trupti felt that it was brave and wise on part of Directors to be part of these girls' narrations, yet, despite being deeply involved with them they never intervene in their decision-making process and kept their distance as 3rd party observer. For her key take away was Communication - It is important to communicate with your family, parents, friends, a teacher which can be a key to most issues in life. Communication at the right time with the right person helps an individual overcome every difficult situation in life.
Amita highly appreciated the 2 qualities of the makers of this movie - their devoted listening ability and extension of love. A heartfelt congratulations from Amita to both the directors and the entire team for listening to such important stories and sharing them with love with all of us. For her, there was something to learn from each character in the movie, especially the mothers who despite being pulled on multiple fronts continued to shower their unconditional love towards their daughters. She expressed her gratitude towards service space for providing an opportunity to create a space where such movies are shared and discussed. This movie in many ways has done a great service to the community.
Trishala has seen the movie twice and each time what has struck her is the Patriarchal structure of our society which decides even on how much a girl can think! Unfortunately even today there are many women in our society who are actually given a set structure to think and cannot go beyond that even in her thoughts. She could totally relate to a few situations in the movie because like the girls in the movie even her grandmom in her times despite all the boundaries being drawn was successfully able to break them all and emerge as an achiever.
Radhika while reflecting the movie shared about the paradox existing in the society about how sadly on one side girl is considered to be the pride of the house or workplace yet in the name of protecting that pride she is never given an opportunity to express herself or even live her life at her will. She finds herself a bit privileged because unlike many other girls in our society (including the 3 girls in the movie) she at least has the 'luxury' of making her own decisions and setting her own terms for living.
Nidhi and Krunal offered their gift of silence to the circle.
Jaimit's key take away was how this movie is going to serve as an inspiration for the future generation of the community where the movie was shot as well as every place where the movie has already traveled. It left a deep impact on him as to how the 2 girls in the movie Karishma and Afsana, despite all the challenges they faced have a resolve to educate their girl child and ensure they get a life of their choice. Jaimit was also impressed with the fact as to how a simple effort of community building has immerged as a national and international movement for Women's rights, girl child education, and women empowerment.
The call had many emergences and many more ripples to come. Overall it was an evening where each one of us got a unique opportunity through this movie to deepen our selves in the practice of compassion and love and attain a certain sense of stillness through heartfelt sharing.
As a closing remark, this is what each one of us felt for the movie and the circle...
Joy
Jordaar
Courage
Happiness
Gratitude
Bravery
Exciting
Reality
Love
Amazing
Experience
Feminism
A big big THANK YOU TO YASHASWI and Her team for working so hard and introducing to us such beautiful labor of love... We loved the movie and more so the pure intentions with which you created this piece of Art... More Power to you and your Team...
Sending lots of love, smiles, and virtual hugs from all the Maitri Circle Participants .... THANK YOU !!!
Regards,
On behalf of Vadodara Maitri Circle Volunteers.
A music video collaboration inspired by the documentary, BRAVE GIRLS, a bold and intimate portrait of three young women in rural India growing up on their own terms. Watch the full documentary here: www.bravegirlsfilm.com
Brave Girls
Reflections
Share your thoughts or questions