The most significant and challenging activity of MAVA in this regard has been the publication, since 1996, of the Marathi periodical Purush Spandana (Men’s Vibrations/Heartbeats) jointly with ‘Purush Uvach’, a like-minded organisation based in Pune. Brought out annually during Diwali, Purush Spandana is probably the first and the only publication of its kind in the country. It focuses on gender issues and voices, in different forms, the ideas, views and sentiments of men from different walks of life. The periodical has received prizes from various literary bodies in the state. The seven volumes of Purush Spandana present a complex melange that is difficult to describe in a few words.

One could start with the subtitle of the journal, Manuspanachya Vatevarachi. If read together, the complete title now reads: ‘Men’s Vibrations (feelings), on the Path towards Humanness’. The pages of the journal explore in a variety of genres this difficult journey of the modern, post-feminist man, through a treacherous terrain of relationships and ideologies, towards a goal of a more egalitarian, gender-just humanness. Most importantly, this journal foregrounds the ‘genderedness of man’ in unprecedented ways; apart from discursive essays, men’s gendered beings are uncovered through poems, short stories and one act plays. The seven issues of the magazine include confessional accounts by men, personal experiences narrated with great candour and passion (e.g. Abhay Kanta’s unreservedly honest account of the post-feminist crisis of his masculine personality, or Sanjay Pawar’s dramatic monologue with his inner masculine self); theoretical reflections that take up complex issues such as the social construction of gender and patriarchy (e.g. Vasant Palshikar’s mature and nuanced investigation of the gender divide in our social world). One of the abiding concerns of the journal is the relationship between feminism and the modern, post-feminist man. A trenchant questioning of the attitudes within the women’s movements towards men is found in an essay entitled ‘Men’s Issues vis-à-vis the Women’s Movement’[12] by Ravindra R. P., an editor of the journal and a member of MAVA. This article, I believe, reflects an empathetic critique of the women’s movements that the members of the organisation appear to have developed through their close association with various women’s groups over a fairly long period of time.

Coming back to the other programmes taken up by MAVA to create gender-sensitivity, here is a list that may shed some light on their astonishingly wide scope:

· Gender sensitisation programmes for different target groups including school and college youth, voluntary bodies, residential colonies and employees of business organisations. This is done by using different, innovative media like street-plays, posters, wall newspapers, radio-plays, talks and discussions by veterans in the field.

· Sex education programmes for school and college students.

· Organisation of special programmes to raise awareness on matters such as sexual harassment at the workplace, child sexual abuse, and the misuse of amniocentesis and the foetal sex determination tests.

· Organisation of marital guidance workshops for men. The purported task of these workshops is to “prepare men for marital life”[13]. These workshops include discussions about the changing nature of relationships between men and women, while attempting to understand the expectations and apprehensions of the participants regarding marriage and married life. The participants are also counselled regarding their fears and anxieties about matrimony and attempts are made to demystify myths regarding sexuality and sexual relations.

· Self-defence workshops for women.

· Neighbourhood projects to address issues regarding domestic violence.

· Involving Ganesh mandals in creating awareness against domestic violence.

· Medical Aid Drive for Dipti Khanna, a 19 year-old girl badly burnt in an acid attack in 1995. (MAVA raised over Rs. 75,000 by appealing to well-wishers and members of the public to contribute towards the expenses on Dipti’s medical treatment.)

MAVA’s work has been widely recognised and appreciated. The organisation’s Honorary Secretary, Harish Sadani was awarded the prestigious Maharashtra State Yashwantrao Chavan Yuva Puraskar (2000) for his significant contribution to the involvement of youth in developmental activities.