Divya Venkattu

Divya is a columnist for the Culture section of The Glasgow Guardian, the official student newspaper of the University of Glasgow. Her writing has appeared in print papers such as The Hindu and The Times of India as well as online media including Film Companion, Live Wire, and Feminism in India(FII). She served as the Star Correspondent of The Times of India(student edition), Chennai, in 2014.

Her interests include film and entertainment, gender equality, media studies, and sociology.

The Glasgow Guardian •

Review: A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego

A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego is the latest in the offering by acclaimed Scottish feminist theatre company Jordan and Skinner. Following a popular world premiere during Edinburgh Fringe 2019, the show has been reworked as a performance for the screen to allow for digital viewing. Directed by Caitlin Skinner and performed by Melanie Jordan, A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego is a sharp, critical analysis of continually evolving gender dynamics in society. With the backdrop of the H
The Glasgow Guardian •

From the page to the stage: capturing the essence of books in screen adaptations

My standard response after watching several adaptations of great books has long been: “The book was better.” However, the 2020 series Normal People served to challenge that view by being nearly as good as the book and there are many reasons to love this book-turned-series. From its brilliant casting and the intense chemistry between the lead actors, to its convincingly vulnerable equation to the colour palette of each frame and camera lens zooming in to convey intimacy, there is a lot of meticul
The Glasgow Guardian •

Women called to complete survey on safety in Glasgow

In a bid to make the city a safer place for women, Glasgow-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Wise Women and Glasgow Girls Club have come together to create an online survey asking women to highlight specific places where safety is a concern.

The survey invites women who live, work and study in Glasgow to share their experiences and safety concerns. Participants are asked to identify the neighborhoods in Glasgow where they have felt unsafe, and share information regarding them. There i
The Glasgow Guardian •

To an emotionally unavailable generation…

We are the generation that has more opportunities than ever before to connect with people; yet we still struggle to form real connections. One of the biggest hurdles that we must overcome is emotional unavailability. According to Healthline: Emotional detachment is an inability or unwillingness to connect with other people on an emotional level.” There are several reasons why people become emotionally unavailable, including trauma. When someone gets heavily invested in their relationship and it
Live Wire •

Longing, Belonging

Just over two months ago, I packed my bags and flew a few thousand miles, leaving everything familiar, everything that I have grown up with, that I have been accustomed to – the sights, sounds and the people – to land in a bustling city in the UK that I had never been to before.

In The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri writes that one of the characters, Ashoke, was born twice in India (the second time when he survived an accident), and a third time in America. When you move cities, countries or continent
The Glasgow Guardian •

Love me, love me not

There is a certain solace that comes with imagining yourself in an unattainable romance. No - I am not talking about your real-life crush who you have not yet confessed your feelings to; I am referring to the latest celebrity you've been shamelessly thirsting over. Whether you have been drooling over Timothée Chalamet’s droopy-eyed stills, or you cannot stop crushing on Penn Badgley’s famously attractive character - Joe Goldberg - despite him being a carnival of red flags (for starters, he is a
The Glasgow Guardian •

UofG partners in new project to boost broadband access in South Africa

A new collaborative initiative seeks to bridge the digital divide in access to online educational resources exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. The "Fibre before the Fibre Project" is a project that aims to provide wireless broadband internet to schoolchildren in South Africa who live in areas that currently lack digital infrastructure.

The project is funded by The Royal Academy of Engineering and it will have a phased roll-out in South Africa within the next six months. It
The Glasgow Guardian •

How to shop for books

In 2020, the year that the Covid-19 transformed life as we know it, one of the things I missed the most was the feeling of entering a bookshop. Rain or shine, the bookstore has always felt inviting and comforting to me. Oh, to be nestled among bookshelves, to gaze at neatly stacked piles of books, to ruffle through every type; hardcopies and paperbacks, new prints and old, illustrated and with plain text, large or small. Being the old-fashioned non-Kindle convert that I am, I missed taking mysel
Live Wire •

Knowing Your Privilege

While the Buddha is an extreme example of someone who renounced all his worldly privileges and attained Nirvana, it is safe to say that most of us continue to enjoy the privileges that have been bestowed upon us. The word ‘privilege’ means a special advantage that only a specific group has and you, by attribute of belonging to the said group, enjoy it. Privilege can be multifold; it could be benefits you enjoy by virtue of your economic status, gender, race, caste, social connections and so on.