When Prasanna heard John and I were leaving Hari's farewell party to join Ravi in the trip to Indian Institute of Science, PS let out a characteristic sigh and said "all the best". It probably comes from experience of how incorrigible people in elite institutions are when it comes to thinking about broader determinants of health and communities.
After all, I wasn't wearing my usual grey short pants either. I had to dress for the "vibe" of the place. I was wearing a long pant and a full sleeve shirt. Even Ravi was wearing a shoe. And when we reached the place, we were welcomed by Dr H Paramesh who was wearing a suit. The only person who was under-dressed (relative to their usual) was Pruthvish who was at the venue too, but didn't wear a suit today.
Places and events like these have a way of making you uncomfortable in your skin. There's a level of "sophistication" that's expected in the way you carry yourself. Is it written down anywhere? No. It's just the air. You won't be able to breathe if you're not walking and talking the way everyone around you is.
Gender non-conforming people have stated how in public places, it is sometimes overwhelming for them when everyone is looking at them like "they don't belong here". Trans women feel unwelcome in healthcare clinics for similar reasons.
Perhaps what I feel is a bit like what they feel.
Would you expect a trans woman to speak about "Health for All" at Indian Institute of Science? Or a garment factory worker? Or a manual scavenger?
I wouldn't. Because they would always be under-dressed. No matter how expensive their clothing is.
It affects the content of the discussion too. There are certain "sophisticated" ways you would give a talk in a place like IISc. You can talk about things like "equity". Even "gender equality" is fashionable. But words like "caste", "transgender", etc would not pass the vibe check.
That's the trouble I frequently have when "engaging with the system". The system has certain methods. And certain taboos. It is often the taboos that are at the heart of the problem.
It is only if we talk about the terrible lived experience of the caste oppressed, or the gender minorities, or the poor that we can start to expose how unjustifiable the position of scientists in ivory towers are. When lived experience of discrimination and oppression and ill-health is put on the table, people will have only two options - either turn their faces away and ignore it, or accept how they are part of the problem. They can no longer sleep comfortably saying "we're also doing our bit". Because nobody is doing their bit as long as people are suffering.
And those who are suffering will never be invited to talk to the system.
The responsibility then falls up on those who are invited. To give a second hand account from their experience of the lived experience of suffering. To amplify the voices of the marginalized. To pass the recording, when they can't pass the microphone.
But that won't pass the vibe check.
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