Sensitising About Menstruation One City At a Time: Nithin Sridhar

Ever since my book ‘Menstruation Across Cultures: A Historical Perspective’ was published in December 2018, I have been touring different cities across the country, promoting my book and speaking about traditional knowledge and cultural practices related to menstruation. The multi-city tour has been organized by Indic Academy as part of its initiatives to promote Indic authors and books that enunciate Indic knowledge.

The first book event was organized back in January 2019 at Patna, Bihar in collaboration with Global Shapers Community and since then I have toured a total of 14 cities (including Patna) and 15 book events (two events were held in Warangal) across the length and the breadth of the country. They include Patna and Agra in the North; Vadodara and Pune in the East; Bhopal and Vidisha in Central India; Mysuru, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Warangal, Hyderabad, Madurai, Chennai, and Coimbatore in the South.

(Pic: Author Nithin Sridhar with participants from Vadodara)

In Trivandrum, the book was launched by HH Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi, the Princess of Travancore, who expressed deep appreciation of the book especially in the context of its relevance to Sabarimala Debate. Many of the events were organized at academic institutions like NIT Warangal, Institute of Leadership and Governance at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, and Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science for Women at Coimbatore where I spoke to young boys and girls who were very receptive and enthusiastic about the subject. I also spoke to a community of doctors in Warangal. The latest event was at the Hyderabad Central University organized in collaboration with the Department of Sanskrit Studies on October 30.

(Pic: Participants in Coimbatore)

Speaking to people from different regions, different age-groups and backgrounds, especially to youngsters has been a very positive and learning experience to me. The tour has of course been of immense help in promoting my book; but more importantly, it facilitated me to connect with people on the ground. A lot of people, especially women approached me at the end of the events appreciating the fact that I could put into words what they always knew intuitively, or for facilitating them to perceive the cultural practices in a newer positive light. The Q & A sessions were especially enlightening as it not only allowed me to clarify the doubts of the questioners but also understand the concerns and thought-processes of my audience.

As a whole, the book tour has been absolutely wonderful and satisfying to me and I am deeply grateful to Indic Academy, especially Sri Hari Kiran Vadlamani ji for facilitating the growth of young authors like me.

YouTube Link to the Mysuru Launch of the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGzIocC-vo

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article belong to the author. Indic Today is neither responsible nor liable for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in the article.