Sunday, August 24, 2003

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Though one would like to believe otherwise, the ‘innocent date’ no longer exists. Teachers, doctors and counsellors are alarmed at the spurt in casual dates leading to severe molestation and even rape. They report a large number of young women in the city are suffering from consequences of what they thought was an harmless outing with ‘friends’. Prerana Trehan investigates what it means to go on a date and the dangers inherent in it.

NEVER mind what the ostriches among us say, dating isn’t just something that happens on the other side of the globe. And never mind what Mills and Boon would have you believe, dating isn’t all moonlight and roses. The danger of date rape, and here the term has been used to cover even those incidents of unwanted sexual advances from boyfriends or dates that do not actually end in rape, is far more real than one would suspect.

• Dos and don’ts for couples

• Dos and don’ts for girls

• Dos and don’ts for guys

• Legal viewpoint

Seeking salvation at Nashik
S. Iyer
AS Nashik soaks in the rain gods' generosity, the devout take the vagaries of nature in their stride. "The rains are heavy this year, but one is used to such things," says Swami Jagannath as he gingerly finds his way out of the Nashik bathing ghat and on to terra firma.

Daku Raja becomes devta
Sanjay Austa
MOTHER TERESA may need three miracles and a five-year-long observation period before the Pope can proclaim her a saint, but in the Chambal Valley in Uttar Pradesh, notorious for its breed of dreaded dacoits, sainthood comes easy. Man Singh, the archetypal dacoit of the Chambal ravines and a thorn in the flesh of the police in the 1940s and 50s, has been deified and has a temple to his name.