10-01-2006, 08:54 PM
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> When Hindus wear the burkha
Jyoti Punwani
[ 1 Oct, 2006 1005hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
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Care is taken not to offend their religious sensitivities, they say. "I was told at the very beginning, 'We are not going to convert you,'" recalls Nalini Mohite. While one of the teachers admits that she's hesitant to eat non-vegetarian food here, another points out that during Shraavan, the canteen makes special vegetarian fare. Visiting preachers who come to talk on Islam are informed that the staff includes Hindus. (Apart from one Christian, 35% of the non-teaching staff and 19% of the all-female teaching staff, is Hindu.)
Twenty seven-year-old Prerna Krishna commutes three hours every day, but has turned down offers from other schools because, "For me what matters is the work environment and the students' response. The students (all Muslim) reciprocate our concern for them, and the staff is very co-operative."
And the burkha? Doesn't it matter at all?
Interestingly, none of them knew when they responded to a newspaper ad that they would have to wear it. Senior teachers recall being told about the 'dress code' during the interview. Then the school got wiser and began informing applicants about it when they called them for the interview, "so as not to waste their and our time," says supervisor Shireen Parveen.
"Wonderful, I thought, when I was told there was a dress code," recalls Nalini. "Now I won't have to bother about looking smart every day." Her elation dipped sharply when the dress code was spelt out. "But the Hindu HRD manager reassured me and showed me the Christian telephone operator wearing a burkha. 'If she can, why not I,' I thought."
Nalini had experienced dress codes earlier. Sarees had been compulsory in her previous job, "making me look middle-aged, especially since I used to wear my mother's," says the vivacious 28-year-old. "And in my final year of college, I had to give up jeans. So I told my parents, 'It's not a burkha, it's part of school discipline.' After all, I'm not being asked to expose, but to cover myself. Nothing wrong with that."
Initiated into the garment by supervisor Parveen, the girls find the burkha convenient. The entire school is air-conditioned and the garment keeps them warm. But the veil takes weeks of getting used to, even though they can lift it up in the two areas where they spend most of their time - the classroom, where it's important for students to be able to hear them and see their expression, and the staff room, where they can remove the burkha altogether, since all their colleagues are women. "But we don't, it's become a habit now," Nalini says.
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> When Hindus wear the burkhaJyoti Punwani
[ 1 Oct, 2006 1005hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
Care is taken not to offend their religious sensitivities, they say. "I was told at the very beginning, 'We are not going to convert you,'" recalls Nalini Mohite. While one of the teachers admits that she's hesitant to eat non-vegetarian food here, another points out that during Shraavan, the canteen makes special vegetarian fare. Visiting preachers who come to talk on Islam are informed that the staff includes Hindus. (Apart from one Christian, 35% of the non-teaching staff and 19% of the all-female teaching staff, is Hindu.)
Twenty seven-year-old Prerna Krishna commutes three hours every day, but has turned down offers from other schools because, "For me what matters is the work environment and the students' response. The students (all Muslim) reciprocate our concern for them, and the staff is very co-operative."
And the burkha? Doesn't it matter at all?
Interestingly, none of them knew when they responded to a newspaper ad that they would have to wear it. Senior teachers recall being told about the 'dress code' during the interview. Then the school got wiser and began informing applicants about it when they called them for the interview, "so as not to waste their and our time," says supervisor Shireen Parveen.
"Wonderful, I thought, when I was told there was a dress code," recalls Nalini. "Now I won't have to bother about looking smart every day." Her elation dipped sharply when the dress code was spelt out. "But the Hindu HRD manager reassured me and showed me the Christian telephone operator wearing a burkha. 'If she can, why not I,' I thought."
Nalini had experienced dress codes earlier. Sarees had been compulsory in her previous job, "making me look middle-aged, especially since I used to wear my mother's," says the vivacious 28-year-old. "And in my final year of college, I had to give up jeans. So I told my parents, 'It's not a burkha, it's part of school discipline.' After all, I'm not being asked to expose, but to cover myself. Nothing wrong with that."
Initiated into the garment by supervisor Parveen, the girls find the burkha convenient. The entire school is air-conditioned and the garment keeps them warm. But the veil takes weeks of getting used to, even though they can lift it up in the two areas where they spend most of their time - the classroom, where it's important for students to be able to hear them and see their expression, and the staff room, where they can remove the burkha altogether, since all their colleagues are women. "But we don't, it's become a habit now," Nalini says.
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