For those still unclear about what we do...we are a bunch of women in Bombay that meet up every weekend at a pre decided public space and just loiter. No purpose: no shopping, no waiting, no 'on my way' home or to work or to a party or to a dance class or to the doctor...no...just, plain loitering.
Slowly trying to create a new mind space among men and women that a girl, without purpose, in a public space, is NOT a prostitute/slut/loose/suspicious/weird/inviting trouble/unsafe/rash/careless/to be protected/deserves to be raped/harassed/shown her place/rebuked/scolded/sent home/stared at/reported etc etc.
Inspired by the book 'Why loiter?' written by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade, we were two to begin with and now over thirty women have participated in our loitering at least once, we are gaining strength, popularity and solidarity. We are cycling, walking, talking, playing, eating, sharing, reclaiming the night...
Here are some images from our loitering times
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sharing a joke at a public park in Versova
Early one Sunday morning, it was pouring cats and dogs, and we decided to loiter at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Lazing around in a lovely park at Versova
chatting at the Fort gardens in Bandra....Sameera, one of the authors of Why Loiter? joined us
Juhu...past one a.m. ...nocturnal birds
Stop over at a roadside cafe
If you are in Bombay and love loitering, or have been loitering and want to share your story with us on this blog, do write to us at whyloitermumbai@gmail.com
Love these photos and what you ladies do!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Grishma!!
DeleteWow I wish more women came out of their four walls to take time out for themselves.Each picture speaks a million words.So beautiful and proud of you Ladies.Keep loitering!!
ReplyDeletethank you Suja.
ReplyDelete