Ramya | IdeaSmith @ideasmithy@mastodon.social

Would you mind telling me? Which of these have you liked most in my toots? If you have a suggestion for what I should toot on, please comment.

My experience of getting harassed and how Mastadon dealt with it brought up some insights.

1. I joined Mastadon yesterday, a network that presents an alternative to toxic social platforms.

Rest in the pictures below 2-5.

#Introduction Hello Mastodonians (which I hope is a word you like), my name is Ramya Pandyan. I'm a writer, occasional stage performer, purveyor of all things colourful. I live in Mumbai which is also my identity, my cross to bear and my family. I've been blogging since 2004, a journey that led me into other social platforms, a career in digital and a new identity.

I'm going to toot about #Mastodon (for the benefit of my birdsite community), some poetry, plenty of saree and lipstick pics.

Suggestions for new #Mastadon users from Twitter:

1.Populate your bio+pic
2.Toot who you are, what you think you'll say
3.Search Federated tab on Mastodon and #Mastodon on Twitter for accounts to follow
4.Tweet your Mastadon account to @diaporesis
5.Toot @Deepsealioness asking for Boost
6.Be polite, respectful, non-spammy and friendly. Don't be toxic, don't tolerate toxic.

#India

Find a way to be grateful for EVERYTHING.

Call Me Hope

#poetry

Insights from a literature festival

#TataLitLive

"There is a lot of solace to be had from feeling included in a word. But the need for solace doesn't have to be tied to a particular identity community. The more attached we get to identity, the less kind we get to people who we don't recognise. The question to ask is not why people need so much solace, but how can we provide more solace giving spaces, instead of identity labels." - Madhavi Menon

#TataLitLive

How do we use words like cunt, dick and how do we feel when these are aimed at us? - Rohini Ramanathan

A question on the use of the word 'kuni' (meaning faggot in Afghanistan) to Nemat Sadat since a writer using a word makes a political statement.

#TataLitLive

"I don't believe in Pride parades in India. Because we don't have the same historical context. If we assume we do, we are assuming we only have a history of about 300 years." - Madhavi Menon

Wow, this contains history, honesty and such a strong sense of self.

#TataLitLive

The difference between identification and labelling, the first comes from a person and the second is imposed by others. Well put, Rohini.

#TataLitLive

"As an ex Muslim, I find I also have to move away from militant atheists." - Nemat Sadat

#TataLitLive

"I'm looking for representation in language too. When people say LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, I say I like soup." - Koninika Roy of Godrej India Culture Lab.

#TataLitLive

"On Ayyappa - most people north of the Vindhyas don't seem to know who that is. Bombay, well, Bombay doesn't feel like a North Indian city (which is a compliment)" - Madhavi Menon

😅😅😅
#TataLitLive

The limited narratives about sexuality in literature.

"Gender identity was about the position you preferred, not your object preference, in the Kamasutra" - Madhavi MenonThe impact of capitalism on language.

#TataLitLive

The impact of capitalism on language.

"The state wants to know who you are because they can better control you." - Madhavi Menon

#TataLitLive

Literature goes beyond books and includes digital poets, mediapeople and more.

"You may not like Rupi Kaur but to ignore her is just as non inclusive" - Rohini Ramanathan

#TataLitLive

The first session of #TataLitLive. This is a discussion of gender identities in language.

Coming in to #TataLitLive, lady in the lift asked if I was part of the literary world. I've never been prouder to say yes or surer of my identity. In whatever small way I belong, my world is about making life a bigger, more inclusive, richer experience.

Alright I managed a full pic, though only because I had to make an emergency period stop. This is a indigo cotton saree paired with a white balloon sleeve blouse, a rhinestone waiste chain, silver jewellery and black boots. As some of you may have noticed, grey lipstick too.

Mater thinks I look like a black-and-white pic of an Indian freedom fighter. I'm off to a Lit Festival so this is on point. Call me Sarojini.

#SareeStyle #IWear #OOTD

I'm watching a children's dance competition and it's making me so happy. Children have such grace, such unadulterated exuberance on stage. I wonder how many of them will be able to hold onto it into adulthood.

No time for a full length picture but I grabbed a selfie this morning. How's your Saturday looking?

Scorpio season is being hard with all its intensity and burning. I don't know if I'm looking forward to Sagittarius month though. Callousness and stubborn destructiveness don't balance out great ideas and mirth for me. Jupiter, be kind.

I find myself distancing from people who smoke. It makes people messy & stinky. Realising it's not just the smoke that makes it hard for me to breathe. It's the furtive, defensive, escapist attitude of the smoker. Smoking is a form of addiction and addicts are not healthy people. I'd rather breathe easy.

Flowers, a salad and a book, these are the morning companions I need for a rich life. I'm very grateful to have these today.

I found Urban Dictionary useful in one way that regular dictionaries weren't - for books by non-white authors. 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas about police violence against black people, is full of blackspeak, black cultural terms that don't show up on Dictionary.com but do on Urban Dictionary.

How Linguists Are Using Urban Dictionary https://daily.jstor.org/how-linguists-are-using-urban-dictionary/