The hunt for a social G-spot

Vartanama, Aug '14
By Pawan Dhall

For some people – biologists, medical experts, social scientists and more ordinary folks – the jury may still be out on the existence of the female or even the male G-spot. For those who never heard of such a thing, perhaps this article will set them off on a Google hunt or more sensual offline discoveries. And blessed are those who know exactly where their sweet spot is! But I suppose half the fun is not in the existence of such a point of pleasure, but in the process of exploration and trying to find it. Moreover, who’s to say that there is only one G-spot?

Transferring judgment into action!

Insight, Happenings, Aug '14
A quick round-up by Pawan Dhall on developments related to transgender and Hijra welfare in eastern India in the month gone by

Purulia / Bhubaneswar / Kolkata / Patna, July-August 2014: The run-up to the first birthday of Varta blog couldn’t have been better! The entire month of July saw a number of happenings in eastern India that took the path-breaking Supreme Court April 15, 2014 judgment on transgender identities and rights that much closer to reality on the ground. This was welcome relief from a slowly building up anxiety about when and how the court’s judgment would be implemented. Not that the question of an apex national body to oversee and coordinate the implementation systematically was answered. But it was good to see both civil society and state government initiatives catch the ball lobbed in the air by the Supreme Court and run with it!

Fulfilment in mental health

My Story, Aug '14
Pallav Bonerjee on his tryst with psychology, people and destiny – the first in a series of personal narratives

I did not choose psychology. It chose me. It allowed me to fool around a bit after high school, attempting competitive exams to get into engineering colleges like most of my friends, without adequate preparation. It gave me sleepless nights when all the entrance exams that I took for engineering closed their doors on my face due to abysmal performance. It gave me a chill down my spine as my best friends started their academic curriculum in professional courses while I stood around clueless, not knowing how to get back to studies again. It made me feel terribly embarrassed in front of family and successful cousins. It got me wondering about subjects I never knew existed. It made be swallow my self-pride and pushed me into exploring colleges I wouldn’t have wanted to be seen dead in. And then, as I was almost about to give up hope, it gracefully accepted me.

Micro-poetry jewels

Poetry, Aug '14
By Bauke Kamstra

Your eye

when it sleeps

leaves me dark

open

it is fire.

***

Cries for help

only draw

predators.

***

Still alive

still with passion

not rendered

inconsolable

by the memory

of pain.

Bauke Kamstra, artist and poet, resides in Nova Scotia, Canada. His book We All Reach the Earth by Falling will be published in November 2014. You can often find him offering poetry on Twitter https://twitter.com/Wyrde.

'Varta' blog 1st birthday album!

Clickhappy! Aug '14

Birthday messages from Varta team members . . .

Madhuja Nandi: To me the name Varta carries a big meaning. Varta is not only a form of media, but is also a ray of hope. It means a thin white line of light, which can lighten the dark room in my heart. Birthday wishes and loads of love and affection to Varta.

Reproductive tract infection alert

Advice - Mind, Body and Family, Aug '14

By Dr. Tirthankar Guha Thakurta

In the previous issue we discussed about sexually transmitted infections or STIs. This issue will focus on the basic idea about reproductive tract infections or RTIs.

What is a reproductive tract infection?

The male and female organs of reproduction are often called reproductive tracts. Any infection of the reproductive tract can be called a reproductive tract infection.

Gender change legalities

Advice - Rights and Laws, Aug '14
By Kaushik Gupta

Reader queries

I am a female-to-male transgender person living in Kolkata. I am a central government employee. I wish to legally change my gender from the existing female to male. In view of the Supreme Court judgement of April 15, 2014, what are the steps to be taken by me for the same?

ST, Kolkata