19 Dec 2011

What’s that word again? …Con…Con…Con…Condom!

By Shruti Moghe, An Informed Nutcase!

Wonders will never cease!

We all have our weird days, and I had another one of mine recently when my five girlies who are by the way in their early twenties, said to me, “We’ve heard about it, but have never seen one and… don’t really know how it works!”

Well, what is it?

….A Condom!

So they didn’t know the C of condoms. Now that’s a bit shocking, especially for someone who has been in the condom and safe sex promotion business for a while, talking about it all day and fetching a salary from it (yeah!). Their revelation almost had me knocked down and if ignorance is bliss, as some say, it can come with a baby or a deadly virus.

So why was I shocked? – Because we’re ladies, we have a uterus and it’s not 1924 anymore. If not anything else, we owe it to ourselves to take our lives in our own hands. If you decide to have sex, with whomever you want to, you should know the nearest supermarket or chemist shop, and definitely know how to put a condom on correctly. After all, what fun is sex if you’re left worrying afterwards about pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) –including HIV/AIDS!

Getting back to my story – Pushing my shock aside, we got straight down to business (the business of discussing safe sex) and I spilled the beans and cucumbers and bananas (Haa!); Consciously within the boundaries of friendly boasts, I threw a series of innocent banters at them and got them talking.

And so went the night when the Estro-Club revealed their outdated sex-ed status, and I felt like a sexed-up beacon. Thankfully with friends you can (and must!) take those few extra liberties and tell them what they need to know, before it’s too late. They will be embarrassed, but hey, who isn’t? Remember your first encounter with a condom advertisement? Or how you sat still when it flashed on your TV screen while you were having family time? Or even when you bought your first condoms?

In the end (or shall we say beginning?), why you need sex is definitely a no-brainer, but what you do before and during is something you might want to think about. And if you don’t know, please get to know. The deal is simple: know your sex stuff, be ready, use a condom and be on top (pun intended here!).

And by the way, I showed my girlies a condom… for starters.


Posted in Musings of the young and informed
Written by: bbcwst


19 Dec 2011

Being the face of HIV in India

An article by Malika Malhotra, Project Officer with the BBC World Service Trust, India

Rajkumar and Sweta were the first HIV positive couple to appear in Indian television advertisements (produced by the BBC World Service Trust) on HIV and AIDS related discrimination. That was in 2003-04.

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2011, sitting across us at the BBC WST’s office inDelhi, Rajkumar recounted how their lives changed after talking openly about being HIV positive on national television.

For full article click here


Posted in Condom is Just Another Word, Latest News
Written by: bbcwst


12 Dec 2011

You need just one. But it helps to know you have choices.

You need just one. But it helps to know you have choices.
By Tanmay Guha Roy

I wish I could begin this blog with words like ‘it was a particularly rainy day…’ but I cannot. The day would have been like any other but for a friend of mine and his metallic black and green pouch. The glint in his eyes boasted of a deep sense of machismo.

He went on to reveal how he got hold of this extraordinary condom, which would glow in the dark and impress the hell out of his new girlfriend. What followed was a trail of unprintable banters, as is required in any self-respecting gang of boys.

The next morning, none of us bothered to find out if the fluorescent rubber managed to light up their sex-capade. But the incident got me thinking, what are the varieties of condoms that are available in the market to feed our incredible range of desires and fantasies? Google threw up a slew of surprises. The results of my research can be categorized from ‘Clever. Why didn’t I think of that?’ to ‘OMG! Who thinks this stuff up?

Condoms with vibrating ring:

If you shied away from the rubber because it was low on the pleasure quotient, think again. This condom comes with a power cell that’s fit into its base ring. With every thrust it sends a strong wave of vibration stimulating ultimate pleasure for both partners. It can last up to 15-20 minutes, they claim. You can turn it on and off too.

Spray-on condoms:

No more fretting about the right (or wrong) size. This quick-drying latex ensures custom fitting for all. (Not available in the market because they haven’t got the science down to a T yet).

‘Viagra’ condom:

Talk about a ‘magic wand’. This condom comes with a certain gel inside that strategically increases blood circulation to help you last longer.

‘World’s fastest condom’

Unfortunate branding aside, the little thing is rather convenient. As claims suggest, it takes exactly two and half seconds to put on because it comes with two plastic handles.

Edible condom:

We did see this one coming, didn’t we? After edible lingerie and flavored condoms this was, I suppose, an organic next step. Purely for fun though, because it neither protects nor prevents.

At the end of the day, as long as you have one that is quality approved, you’ll be good. Remember to check the expiry date before you buy!

Tanmay Guha Roy is a Web Content Manager/Producer at the BBC World Service Trust, India


Posted in Condom is Just Another Word, Raves and Rants, The Risk is Real
Written by: bbcwst


8 Dec 2011

Love You Right Back.

It’s a nippy winter morning in India and we’re basking in the warmth of your love. Because we were just informed that our humble website crosses 1 lac hits! That’s a lot of love, even for people who are in the business of making lovemaking safer. We not only wish to thank you, our visitors, but also our unlikely champions who helped us get here. So thank you to our know-it-all parrot, our Kabbadi king, our pot-stirring wedding guest, our puppy named Condom, our bathing beauty queen, “our acrobatic lover” and everyone else.

We’ll refrain before we look like we’ve broken into a repeatedly rehearsed yet impromptu acceptance speech. Because while the clear consensus is that yes, we’re a hit, let us assure you, that we’re just getting started. And we’ll save the waterworks for when we hit the big C.

Ciao for now, dear lovers.

Mansi Jain is Creative Supervisor at the BBC World Service Trust, India.


Posted in Beat The Itch, Condom is Just Another Word, Latest News, Raves and Rants, The Risk is Real
Written by: Mansi Jain


1 Dec 2011

The Second Sex

Pompidou centre exhibit invite

Rules are different for men and women in India when it comes to sex.

An article by Radharani Mitra, National Creative Director and Executive Producer at the BBC World Service Trust, India, in the Sex Survey 2011 issue of India Today.

“Sex. It does not happen in India. The country that gave the world Kama Sutra. The country that put erotica on the temple walls of Khajuraho and Konarak. Today, India has 1.21 billion people, the fastest growing population in the world. And yet sex is taboo.”


Posted in Beat The Itch, Condom is Just Another Word, Latest News, Raves and Rants, The Risk is Real
Written by: bbcwst


14 Jul 2011

BBC WST’s Kabaddi film goes to Paris Art Show…

Pompidou centre exhibit invite

Condoms get people talking in Paris

A film from BBC WST India, part of an award-winning project to make condoms more acceptable, has been honoured with inclusion in a major exhibition of Indian contemporary art at France’s most prestigious modern art venue, the Centre Pompidou.

News Coverage:

The art of advertising

The TV advertisement creatively tackles a subject still taboo in India: sex. Answering the question, “how do you get men to talk about condoms”, it answers; a kabaddi match, an animated parrot and an unlikely chant of “condom”. Watch the film at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dttvHzUYovo

The groundbreaking film was part of a two year project using mass media to make condoms socially acceptable, which would in turn encourage condom use and make condom users look smart and responsible. The project reached 150 million men across India.

It has been selected alongside works by celebrated Indian artists including Atul Dodiya, Bharti Kher, Dayanita Singh, Jitesh Kallat, Krishnaraj Chonat, Subodh Gupta, and Vivan Sundaram.

Curators on the Kabaddi Film

Curators of the ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay’ exhibition, an exploration of present-day Indian society through the eyes of Indian and French artists, said of the film: “The BBC World Service Trust advertisement combines humour and tradition to great effect, commenting on the tensions between traditional beliefs and a new sensibility emerging in contemporary India.”

Asked about the inclusion of a mass media output in such a prestigious exhibition joint curator Ms Sophie Duplaix added: “[it] demonstrates the emergence and importance of new forms of art in reaching modern audiences. This was a hugely successful project in terms of its effect on attitudes towards a taboo subject, and is a great addition to the show.”

Pointing the way

The ‘kabaddi’ film effectively highlights some of the rapid societal changes taking place around identity, traditional beliefs and behaviour, playing with conventional Indian notions of masculinity and destiny.

National Creative Director of BBC WST India Radharani Mitra said, “We wanted it to act like a compass… to point towards a space where men can feel good and clever by doing something that they would previously not have done. This imaginary kabaddi match actually stimulated discussion about new patterns of behaviour and has helped people move a few steps closer to accepting condoms.”

“We are delighted the Centre Pompidou has given us this recognition, and is highlighting the importance of culture and creativity in encouraging social change in India”, she added.

In India, sex is still taboo and condoms are associated with disease, mortality and promiscuity. The idea was to get men to talk about condoms, as research shows that discussion has a positive effect on use.

Running for two years from December 2007, the initiative reached more than 150 million men across India and brought about improved attitudes towards condoms across a range of criteria. Research shows that nearly 70% of those who saw the advert discussed it with their friends.

The films were produced by the BBC World Service Trust, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and adopted by the Government of India as part of the National Aids Control Organisation’s (NACO) HIV prevention effort.

‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay’ is showing at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, until 19th September 2011.


Posted in Condom is Just Another Word, Latest News
Written by: bbcwst


24 Feb 2011

Con-dama-dam

Valentines day at Hindu College
It was the day of ‘Love’ in the times of Sex and Dhokha. Hindu College students gather around the Virgin Tree on Valentines day.

Valentines day at Hindu College
Damdami Mai, the official Devi of Love is bedecked with ‘balloons’ of all
kinds by her worshippers to invoke her blessings.

Valentines day at Hindu College
One can risk the ire of the teachers but young people these days know
where the real risk lies.

Valentines day at Hindu College
Condoms are certainly the way to please the Devi and get lucky in love.

Valentines day at Hindu College
A true lover…
Never forgets the rubber!

Valentines day at Hindu College
Risk na lo bhai
Jai ho Damdami Mai!

 Credit line:

Photographs by Sanjay Shrivastava, a creative director-turned-photographer

Thank you Sanjay for your time and effort in capturing these wonderful images.
You can connect with him at mojosanjay@gmail.com or www.twitter.com/mojosanjay

Soma Katiyar, Creative Partner, BBC World Service Trust


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Posted in Condom is Just Another Word, Raves and Rants, The Risk is Real
Written by: Soma Katiyar


24 Dec 2010

porn stars do it, so should we.

Get tested regularly for HIV that is.

Some of the lovely women involved in the multi-billion dollar erotic art industry recently got together to create this PSA. The noble campaign is called “Get Rubber!” and encourages people to get tested frequently as well as use condoms while having sex. Please let’s all look beyond the fact that none of them, as far as I’ve been told, actually use condoms themselves, at least not while working. Because, the bigger picture, as the girls clearly mention is that safety comes first. So take it from the pros. And “Get Rubber!”

Also, I’m not sorry for the misleading headline.

Mansi Jain


Posted in Condom is Just Another Word, Latest News, The Risk is Real
Written by: Mansi Jain


2 Dec 2010

taste test, figuratively speaking.

Ok, so I admit that I’m a bit of a sucker for mindless online tests and quizzes. And yes, I have taken tests ranging from “Which Disney princess are you?” to “Which serial killer are you?” on Facebook. I must add that the latter declared me to be as harmless as Winnie the Pooh. Hand to God.
But this time I came across a test that combines my work with…ahem!…pleasure. Behold the “Which Trojan condom are you?” test!
Click here to take this fun little quiz. I got a pathetic “Dear guest, you’re a lubricated condom.” Hope you’ll find a more exciting latex avatar.

Mansi Jain


Tags: , , ,
Posted in Condom is Just Another Word
Written by: Mansi Jain


8 Oct 2010

we hate repeating ourselves. usually.

Just a few months after our second blog where we gave a shoutout to Project Runway, we have to repeat ourselves. And we could not be happier.

In the reality show’s latest episode, its standout contest, Mondo Guerra revealed that he’s been HIV positive for ten years. On Friday, he shared his struggle with his condition and the burden of keeping it a secret from his family for a decade. Loneliness. Alienation. Constant torment. He’s clearly lived with everything millions of HIV positive people do, across the world. But, he doesn’t wallow in morbid self-pity and guilt. Instead, he expresses himself through art and colour; translating his trial into the most joyous and vibrant clothes. Of course, that state of mind must have taken him years to achieve. But he seems to be there now and, without a doubt, he personifies the fact that AIDS is just another disease.

The truth is that most HIV positive people do not look like the walking dead and do not lie on a bed awaiting death. They can be at the forefront of their industries. They can have painfully normal families. They too could be sitting next to you on a flight suffering through Friends’ reruns. Just like you or me, they don’t need a handout. Just a level playing field. And that’s precisely what the judges of the show gave Mondo. He wins because he’s amazing, and not because he earned pity points.

Watching him at work repaints the image of an AIDS patient created by Angelina Jolie in Gia or Tom Hanks in Philladelphia. He’s not dying any more than the rest of us are. He’s talented, witty, charming, deliciously catty, and heck, this 32-year old is possibly the only thing saving the show’s credibility this year.

Mansi Jain


Posted in Latest News, Raves and Rants
Written by: Mansi Jain

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