Maasika Mahotsav take the time to unravel some period myths

Nagpur:

Maasika Mahotsav

, a month-long programme putting the spotlight on menstruation, aims to tear down barriers and eliminate the stigma associated with the subject. The second of these planned events, a ‘Period Party’, was held on Sunday at a city cafe, which was a fun-filled evening of games and interactive sessions.

Global Shapers Community (GSC) Nagpur chapter and Muse Foundation had organised the event. It witnessed participation of nearly 70 attendees, including menstruators and non-menstruators. Games on trivia, myths or facts, bingo etc were designed to start the conversation about periods and erase the deep-rooted taboos around the topic.

The trivia round was packed with questions to test the knowledge about menstruation. Questions included ‘How long does a period last’, ‘How much does a pad cost’, ‘When was the menstrual cup invented’, ‘How much blood is lost during periods’ etc, with prompt responses from the teams. The next round had participants busting popular myths about menstruation. The games were hosted by GSC volunteers Aarya Sinha and Sagarika Limaye.

GSC is an international network of young individuals under the age of 30, who collaborate to address local, regional, and global issues. In his opening remark, GSC Nagpur curator Varun Vithalani said, “GSC is a socially and environmentally driven not-for-profit organization. The Nagpur chapter was established seven years ago with various projects under the banner. ‘Shades of Blue’ was the flagship project regarding climate change which discussed how we can mitigate our impact on climate. CommuniTREE was a campaign to facilitate tree plantation.” Vithalani also spoke about other projects like ‘On my period’, ‘Social impact collective’, ‘Mind your head’, and ‘Break it down’.

Vice-curator elect Mandar Pandhare said, “We have multiple communities collaborating with us and the main motto of Maasika Mahotsav is creating awareness, on-ground impact, and celebration. This event was a blend of celebration and awareness. The next event on May 15 is a library-on-wheels townhall, including a talk by a gynaecologist, followed by a discussion on periods and patriarchy.”

Developmental psychologist and counselor Neha Sahu, who attended the session, said, “Team GSC and Muse did a great job with Maasika Mahotsav. The way they got menstruators and non-menstruators to share their experiences and imparted authentic information, and all of that in the most chill way possible.”