We had this weeklong conference on Child Rights. We examined the UN Convention on Child Rights, the history of how it all started, the Millennium Development Goals and all that jazz. I felt like I was back in my M.A. class. But the most exciting bit was a workshop on Child Sexual Abuse. We had this NGO called Tulir coming to work with us.
They gave us this exercise as part of the workshop. It was amazing how people thought! Anyways, here’s the story:
There was a girl called Rani who was deeply in love with a boy called Ravi, who lived in the neighboring village. They’d been seeing each other for sometime now and since it was his birthday, Rani decides to go over to the village and surprise him with her gifts. So, she dresses up and looking extremely attractive, sets out to meet Ravi.
She has to cross a bridge to get over to the other side. But the previous night, it has rained really hard. As a result, the bridge has fallen. This leaves Rani with two options-- Either she decides not to go or she asks the boatman, Setu to row her across because the water was reputedly infested with crocodiles.
Now, since she was madly in love, the idea of not going wasn’t even an option. So, Rani decides to ask Setu. Setu agrees to take her across but Rani sees something in his eyes that makes her hesitate, something that makes her uncomfortable. So, she goes to her friend Vinod and asks him to accompany her.
“I feel uncomfortable being alone with Setu,” she says.
But Vinod refuses saying that he’s really busy and if she so desperately wants to see HER boyfriend, she just needs to muster the courage to go herself. So, Rani decides that she’ll just take the risk.
She gets in to the boat and asks Setu to row her across. Halfway through Setu stops the boat and asks her to have sex with him. He tells her that if she does not, he is simply gonna toss her into the crocodile infested water. So, she agrees and has sex with Setu.
Reaching Ravi’s village, she runs to him and tells him the whole story. Ravi is furious. Calling her a slut and a whore, he tells her that the relationship is over, because he so does not wanna be with a woman, who simply has sex with whomever she wants.
Heartbroken, Rani rushes to her friend Dilip and tells him what’s happened. Dilip rushes across to Ravi and pummels him black and blue. Rani is now very happy.
Ok, so here’s the deal. Tell me who YOU think is the most immoral and who the most moral is. Rank the most immoral as “1” and the most moral as “5”.
PPS: OH!!!! And don't forget to mention why you are ranking them the way you do.
They gave us this exercise as part of the workshop. It was amazing how people thought! Anyways, here’s the story:
There was a girl called Rani who was deeply in love with a boy called Ravi, who lived in the neighboring village. They’d been seeing each other for sometime now and since it was his birthday, Rani decides to go over to the village and surprise him with her gifts. So, she dresses up and looking extremely attractive, sets out to meet Ravi.
She has to cross a bridge to get over to the other side. But the previous night, it has rained really hard. As a result, the bridge has fallen. This leaves Rani with two options-- Either she decides not to go or she asks the boatman, Setu to row her across because the water was reputedly infested with crocodiles.
Now, since she was madly in love, the idea of not going wasn’t even an option. So, Rani decides to ask Setu. Setu agrees to take her across but Rani sees something in his eyes that makes her hesitate, something that makes her uncomfortable. So, she goes to her friend Vinod and asks him to accompany her.
“I feel uncomfortable being alone with Setu,” she says.
But Vinod refuses saying that he’s really busy and if she so desperately wants to see HER boyfriend, she just needs to muster the courage to go herself. So, Rani decides that she’ll just take the risk.
She gets in to the boat and asks Setu to row her across. Halfway through Setu stops the boat and asks her to have sex with him. He tells her that if she does not, he is simply gonna toss her into the crocodile infested water. So, she agrees and has sex with Setu.
Reaching Ravi’s village, she runs to him and tells him the whole story. Ravi is furious. Calling her a slut and a whore, he tells her that the relationship is over, because he so does not wanna be with a woman, who simply has sex with whomever she wants.
Heartbroken, Rani rushes to her friend Dilip and tells him what’s happened. Dilip rushes across to Ravi and pummels him black and blue. Rani is now very happy.
Ok, so here’s the deal. Tell me who YOU think is the most immoral and who the most moral is. Rank the most immoral as “1” and the most moral as “5”.
PPS: OH!!!! And don't forget to mention why you are ranking them the way you do.
posted by Rapunzel at 3:21 pm
30 Comments:
ravi and setu 1...
vinod 3...
rani 4...
dilip 5...
But first, define morality and immorality.
gosh that really is a tough one. id say dilip and setu were a 1. ravi a 2, rani a 3 and vinod a 4. dilip because i abhor violence. setu for abusing the situation. ravi for not standing by his girl. rani for going despite having a bad feeling about setu. and vinod only because i dont know enough about him and i endorse what he tells rani.
god alone knows. immoral and moral don't really count, do they. especially when you get scarred and hurt.
1 - setu the boatman is the most immoral because he simply absolutely just easily takes advanatage of the situation.
everyone else is at the same level. rani because she isn't intelligent enough and also because she gets happy when vinod beats up her once-beloved. vinod because he thinks he can just hit someone. ravi because he doesn't stop to think before calling his once-beloved a slut.
aur kya?
Wow..thats a tough exercise. Lets see how I fare, although I dont think such exercises have any correct answer, as they differ from one's interpretation to another. Assuming that the 5 people are ravi, rani, vinod, dilip and setu and assuming that everyone has to be placed at a unique position, here are the ranks
1.) Setu: I would say he is most immoral. He was a boatman and his duty is to carry people across the river. He took advantage of Rani and the situation; he blackmailed her, forcing her to have sex knowing that any normal person would choose any option over death. Maybe he is mentally sick or maybe he saw the helplessness of Rani - whatever be the reason, he crossed his boundary.
2.) Ravi: Without understanding the predicament that Rani went through, he called her 'slut' and 'whore'. He says Rani wanted to have sex with Setu, but in fact she was forced to choose it, in order that she meets him despite all odds. Ravi should have beat up Setu or report him to police, but he didnt do that.
3.) Dilip: It was difficult placing this guy at position 3 because it doesnt seem he is immoral at all. Only point I can think of is he beat up Ravi, but shouldn't he beat up Setu after he knew the whole situation. He thought beating up Ravi is a solution to everything; when in fact he should have made him understand how wrong he has judged Rani, how he not deserves Rani anymore because of his attitude.
4.) Rani: I place her at position 4 just because the other person Vinod is the most moral guy around and since we have to place every person at a unique position. Also, the fact that she was very happy when Ravi was beat up by Dilip; while what she should have done is she should have initiated the arrest of Setu and be happy when the real culprit - Setu is brought to justice.
5.) Vinod: He is the most moral person. He was genuinely busy and says the most apt words " if you so desperately want to see your boyfriend, you just need to muster the courage to go yourself". He played by the rules.
Wow! Interesting one?
Did everyone not agree on Setu as number 1?
Okay, Setu seems most "immoral" because he does it purely for his own sake. He definitely takes advantage of the situation and the control he has.
The rest are a little blurry. I probably seem to acquit Vinod, since he only refuses to come along and it's only for a probable situation, not a must-have-been situation. If Rani was so sure of Setu, she would have not gone, I guess. Vinod is busy and someone's birthday seems not so very important in comparison.
Dilip seems next at number 2. Beating up someone is just wrong. Well, depending on how black and blue, might as well put him next to Setu at number 1. Rani seems just as much guilty and again, it really depends on how black and blue Ravi got beaten here. Taking pleasure in someone getting beaten up seems just as bad. But, would put her at number three, because she is obviously been through a lot by both Setu and Ravi.
Ravi would be four. Though I am not sure I would say immoral, since he is just acting like a child here. Besides, how long have they been seeing each other also factors in, and my impression here is just some time - it only says Rani is deeply in love with Ravi. Would put him at par with Dilip and Rani, maybe more so, if they really were in love. But, number four here.
Vinod. Well, like I said, he was busy and if it was so obvious, Rani would not have gone.
Of course, making assumptions of morality here.
About morals - I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.
- Ernest Hemingway. ( Death in the Afternoon, ch. 1 (1932))
someone out there-give ur reasons!
HYDE-defining that is part of the exercise. and yes, its more about perceptions than anything else...
शक्ती-lol@'a'. wish i'd thought of that!
methinks-how like me,ooops i mean you, to think of a pearl of wisdom before the actual answer ;-)btw, i jus saw the mail.and the answer is yes *blush*
MITESH VASA-yes you're right...there isnt...but its nice cos it helps you realise stuff about others *knowing look*
SANITY STARVED-yes, u'd think ppl would be unanimous there, wouldnt u??but apparently not.i think bloggers are in general more...sensitive and sensitised.or, they've learnt the art of being poloitically correct. i'd like to think its he former.
SwB-hyde and u seem to be having the same issue :) i know where you're coming from...but in this execrise, that's not really the issue...come on, be a sport and give it a shot!
no 1 slot- setu.
i will not judge the rest.
if rani were older it wd have been a bad decision that she herself has made-not listening to her gutfeel- little point in slotting the world around, you hv to take your own call. and it is such mistakes and blunders - although this is particularly harsh, i know-that helps one develop a map of the world.
so i think.
austere
I dont this Setu shd be given the number 1 slot here..he doesn't do something that falls in the immoral category. He does things for his personal benefit, manipulating the situation and the woman. I would not want to put him as number 1.
Rani, though, is not all that moral either..if Morality is the criteria, then she should have rather sacrificed herself to the crocs..moreover, she feels all happy after her friend has thrashed her boyfriend..why should she feel very happy?
But since you've asked us to rank based on who is moral /immoral,I would put it this way :
1) Rani - FOR CAUSING ALL THIS CHAOS IN THE FIRST PLACE (on a more 'sombre' note, she shd share no. 2 with Setu. She gave in too easily)
2)Ravi - for being too hard on his girl
3)Setu - for taking advantage of the girl's plight
4)Dilip-for being plain dumb
5)Vinod-for saying that he's busy, when he alone knows whether he was.
yes, Ernest Hemingway is right to a certain extent but I think there are certain facts in life that are not grey for eg, rape can never be a moral act...
So herez my judgement:
1.Setu is the most immoral because of taking advantage of Rani's helplessness.
2.Ravi for being the insensitive lover
3.Vinod -if he was a true friend of Rani,he would have helped her.
4.Dilip - like someone above stated, y did he spare Setu? he shud've beaten Setu first.
5.Rani - a helpless victim of love!
I think we shud extend this exercise to the movie 15 Park Avenue with a simple question, is Joydeep(Rahul Bose) justified in abandoning Mithi(Konkana Sen)?
Blogger approval + Word Verification... Grrr!
Hmm... so, are you saying people put Rani at number 1??
One thing about putting it on the web is I got a lot more time to reflect. On first read, didn't record Vinod, until you said rank 5. I did have the luxury of refering back to the story, when needed.
The bloggers here are those who come to your blog, and your workshop has a different bunch. A different set of bloggers might have a different view. My assumptions might have been different in a workshop, depending on how comfortable I am.
Hey! Did answer your question on my blog! Was wondering if I passed :D
In the order that I blame the characters:
# 1 Ravi: For being such a shit
# 2 Boatman: For taking advatage of the situation ad exploiting the girl
# 3 Vinod: He had his reasons but, still, I'd say he didn't prove himself to be such a good friend
# 4 Setu & Vinod: Can't really find fault with either.
I tagged you ages ago, but I didn't come to your blog. Sorry. February was a lousy month for me.
Seems everyone is at the same level, tough one.
Vinod @ no1, for not going with her though knowing she desperately wants to go , knowing that the guy sethu was not good, for feeling bad he's not her boy friend(the capital HER)mustering courage doesnt mean that she can't get help.
Sethu @ 2 easily,
the next three places is confusing so lets put them on number three
the lovers without understanding placed above Dileep,
Ravi seems was enjoying the girls attention .. seems like waiting for the moment to get her off. put him on top. the very top.
Till She goes out to call someone to hit her lover and to be 'very happy', this Girl seems almost Naive.
Dileep doesnt seem to fit anywhere, could have told the girl to take a deep breath, get over the guy and report sethu. His action was wrong, he was helping a friend but not the right way.
that makes
1. Ravi
2. Vinod
3. Sethu
4. Rani
5. Dileep
Hmm...
But did that feel safe getting a pass? Or did that? :p
*feeling quite relieved to have answered that question knowing what rapunzel is capable of...*
what really if i failed though?
*of course, felt like quite a scary prospect!*
Wrong Word Verification+Word Verificiation+Blogger Approval... Grrr!
Ooops! My #4 should've read Rani and Dilip *Looking suitably ashamed and red faced*
define morality and wat degree of deviation from it defines immorality?
wow .. and i thought that setu and only setu was the immoral guy. but i suppose we should listen to hyde and define moral immoral first.
ccording to me, it's still setu at 1. and everyone else is dumb.
i might be a lil too late for the action..so what is the final analysis?? is this some trick question to make setu, the opportunist look like the most immoral?;)
So Rapz, what did you answer to this workshop question?
Hi Rapunzel
This is completely different topic i am talking about.Since you are working for NGO.Have you considered doing an MBA .It will give the required skills to administer the area you are in.A lot of women who work for NGOs have gone in for an MBA.It really enhances your skill set and perhaps one day you can start your own welfare center where you can pursue projects you are passionate about with a practical execution techniques.MBA schools abroad are looking for talented , committed , determined and socially aware people like you.Just give it a thought .I dont know why i am telling you this.But i just had to.
hey read your post abt Mr.MBA.I also know this one Mr.MBA who was telling me how he needs a life partner who is not very ambitious.His exact word were" she should be ambitious but not too much".He was deciding a girls parameters for ambition she harbours.He also went to the extent to say " she should live my dream and my dream shuld be her dream"You are right in saying some men( not all..there r guys who are very understanding also) get intemidated why smart women who have a career.They want a women who is financially ,emotionally and mentally dependent on them.These very men take delight in later telling their wives as to how they have no sense of world and shuld leave all important decesions to them.You deserve a guy who values your captivating intellegence and enterprising mind along with social love you possess for lesser priviledged people.Believe me there are guys like that .Too bad some shallow men prefer a dumb bimbette for a wife to a thinker who lives her life and not merely exists.
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