I am working in an AC office the whole day and am out in some remote village the whole night!
That's how my life is this month of March!
If my employer reads about this post, I might face some issues, but well...that's the truth!
I feel like a journo, sleep deprived and exhausted but excited like hell! There's this rush of feelings and energy and all I can do is just get up and go! Mamma asks me to call it a day and come home and rest for a while, and I too think, yeah man! It's getting a bit too difficult to handle! But I would hate to stop this adventure now that it has started!
A few weeks back I attended "Musal dance" at Chandor. All I get is a call , mostly from Sangam, "There's this thing happening here tonight, let's go!" "Okay let's go!" and we are on it! If my parents were those doubting types, always messing me up with "Yeh samaaj kya sochega? log kya kahenge?" questions, then this adventure of life wouldn't have been possible!
I can't imagine my folks asking me to get home by 8 pm!
I just can not get home by 8 pm!
All the fun starts after 8 pm!
And yes, fun doesn't mean only fun with boys, or fun with drinks! There's a lot more to the night life of Goa out there, especially in this month of March which is culturally very significant!
The interesting part is that our society does not allow their girls to explore the nights! That makes me a rare species!
I am not afraid of the dark, and I am not afraid of roaming around at nights. That doesn't mean I am careless about my safety. I roam around with people I trust, and I do not go alone in dark corners. But yes I do get stared at, like they are judging my character! I have been followed and groped, like that doesn't happen in the day in the middle of a crowded street in India! In fact I have been touched inappropriately in the day more often. When things like these happen I have had the courage to scream, push and kick! But these are extremely rare incidents, and when they happened they tested my courage, they taught me how to be a fighter, so yes, they were important in making me who I am!
Women in India need to stop being so afraid of the dark! It's a fear systematically created by the society. We have to go out there and see for ourselves what it is like! It's fun....it's calm, quiet and peaceful! It's almost like we live only 12 hours a day, those 12 hours which are lighted! Maybe at the most 15 hours....but after that? We are chained to our walls or our wards! Why? God gave me 24 hours a day, that includes the night! Why should I limit my freedom only to the day?
So question!
Find people who think alike!
Find support!
Rebel and upset your folks!
Our culture needs to change! And if that has to start, every woman needs to change!
Change does not happen by sitting quiet! And it does not happen by being "obedient"!
We need the disobedience moment out here!
I get the "dislike" look from many elders most of the times. In fact it is extremely rare to find an elderly person who opens his heart to me. People come with their agenda's and when they meet someone who does not sign up on their agenda they show complete displeasure!
So ,
Dear world,
Dear world,
My life has my agenda with it's priorities!
I know I don't make you very comfortable....but that is your problem, not mine!
Stop suppressing people and trying to control them to suit your requirements to make yourself happy!
"To make myself happy" is my fundamental right to life under article 21, as long as I don't harm anybody legally, all is well!
Don't think pointing out my mistakes makes me weak in front of you!
Like you never made any mistakes anytime!
Like you ever dared to take any chance in the first place!
I am a woman, and if you think I am weak you are mistaken! For it is only I who has been blessed with the capacity to produce a 1000 more like me! And I will make more like me.....this is just the beginning!
With love, passion and a fight (if that's the language you understand)
Janaki
And as a closing note, a quote by Napoleon Hill, " The majority of people permit relatives, friends and the public at large to so influence them that they cannot live their own lives, because they fear criticism'.
And as a closing note, a quote by Napoleon Hill, " The majority of people permit relatives, friends and the public at large to so influence them that they cannot live their own lives, because they fear criticism'.
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