Nari Shakti...Homeward bound.

Thank You for the new addition in our family and strengthening Nari Shakti. Voila, it’s a girl!! She is my little niece; to be precise. Also thanks for the much awaited trip back home.

I held the little one in my arms and thought about how it changes everything. How can someone so little have this firm hold around your hands and heart? Suddenly I started rethinking my life goals and visualizing her in school uniforms, cute frocks, party wear and what not…all in fast forward.

Yet the harsh truth is I will not be a part of this. Separated by the miles between us, we are always going to see her growing in pictures. I miss her already.

Yet on this visit home, I saw the glimpse of recognition in her eyes. As she held my finger in her tiny little hands, the connection was unmistakable.

So there is hope.

Hope! What a wonderfully elusive word. I see the ‘When’ reflected so clearly in my folks’ eyes. ‘When or if you will have the same joy, the same sense of completion?’ they want to ask but they dare not. For like me, they are also afraid that the answer is a loud and clear no. No, I have no such hope of holding a piece of me in my arms anytime soon. This is the harsh truth and it kills me. But true it is…

I have been betrayed by fate so many times that this year I resolved to give up on love altogether. Not a bad place to be at all. Only thing I miss is being able to feel that bliss…maternal bliss. I would love to be a mother some day, God. How do I make this happen without giving up on my life and freedom?

God knows, Don’t You God?

No Place For A Woman

Dear God

Sample this:

Ladies log ko 8 baje ke baad ghar par hona chahiye.

Ladies ke baithne ka arrangement udhar hai madam, aap wahi chale jaiye.

Ladies ko thoda khana wana bhi banana hota hai na to lunch mein der karne se kaise chalega.

I am really offended at the way people treat the women at their workplaces. I hate it when women are forced to sit with other women irrespective of the fact that they wish to sit within their ranks. Maybe the lady in question does not want your care(!) and the attention drawn to her gender all the time. In many official gatherings, officers and women are addressed separately and it is really very irksome. The whole point of working is trying to make your own identity and people just spoil all your effort by treating you as so called ladies log. So much for gender sensitivity!

Let me address it once and for all then:

Let all the working women firmly resolve that:

1.      In official meetings and gatherings, no matter what people say we will always sit within our ranks and not in huddles as is frequently observed. We are not sheep to be herded in a corner.

2.      We will all take active participation in any function, visit, occasion and celebration and will refuse to just mark our attendance. We will find a place for ourselves and we will assert so loud enough for the world to hear.

3.      We will not be afraid to voice our opinions and take calculated risks and initiatives in our workplace. We will refuse to be treated like a trophy presence and ceremonial roles.

4.      Excluding exceptional circumstances, we will make arrangements for our own commute to office and point blank refuse lifts, pick-ups and drops from colleagues. It is about time, we refuse to be escorted by someone when we step out.

5.      We will have a cordial relationship with our subordinates but we will refuse to let them overstay their welcome and assert our say on all matters. It is important that they know their opinions and suggestions may or may not be accepted.

Let us all try and scratch the Ladies Tag.

PS: Not that we are not already doing that!