The X chromosome does wonders and creates a being like no man can ever understand or even comprehend to understand….forgive this “feminist’’ narrative but today I had to pen my thoughts as a woman………….be assured that the hoarse and lame cries of Womans Day and the yawning clichéd fair sex related disputes have nothing to do with this passage…rather I guess when you cross that untouchable 30+ number, probably you start your self-discovery and reflective journeys as you see yourself unwillingly accept the transition from the moppy haired school girl to the responsible woman (that people see you as)…Everyday, that dreamy eyed Ghubra school girl wakes up and sees herself in the mirror…tagged with a mangalsutra…….streaked with a few grey hair…burdened with a few responsibilities….trying to inch her way ahead of the ‘other woman’ that society creates within her…some days the girl wins hands down, some days she succumbs to the ‘other woman’, few days they co-exist without a fight!
Every early morning is jumpstarted with an overhyped desire for a fit and fine body………its so important to look and feel good for a woman…….the constant phobia of bulging tummies and expanding waistlines lives with you………..the sight of a streak of grey hair can thrown your mental equilibrium into thin air ….a nice hair do, a sincere complement creates flutters in a woman’s heart………..its silly and yet so true! However much you scream the mantra of ‘inner beauty’, deep down a woman needs the pamper of pedicured feet and conditioned hair!
Once you feel so you have done your bit for that hour glass figure, then you start your next focus point…of enjoying a morning with your bitter better half……..there is so much to talk and you need that ‘other person’ to hear you, to acknowledge and challenge you in your hundred and one views of the world………….a woman’s talk and chat capabilities have been mocked too often..to elaborate on that skill would be a waste of precious words……..once my ‘chat’ appetite is satiated, I need my window with the world….when my little friend called newspaper tells me the ways of the world……..the things that moved and the things that didn’t move the earlier day…….it’s a paradox that I get a sense of control sitting in Bangalore after reading the state of affairs in Syria!!
Once I feel that I have conquered all the world’s affairs, I step outside to earn my daily bread………..a job for a woman is such a mixed bag…its a reward to myself for the long crazy nights spent in educating myself…….its my expression of freedom from the rest of the world…its my ticket to guilt-free trips to shopping malls……..its my way of escape from the haunting image called homemaker (erstwhile housewife)….Once you land yourself in that corporate realm, you are a different being, you forget about your ‘bad hair day’, the milk that spilt in your kitchen and you are on the rampage to the race for the ultimate success story……..There again a woman is accosted with strange encounters…………you have to hide that despair when a long night schedule may break something back home, you have to silence that beloved call to answer the needs of an organization, you have to put on your ‘brave’ act and cloak your embarrassing fear for late night cab rides! You are in a constant race ….a fair and unprejudiced race where the terms fair sex, woman and homemaker have no placeholders!
Once you eject yourself from the battle ground, the four letter F word makes it ugly presence…FOOD…you realize that you are also the ‘bread maker’ in your family….I fail to comprehend my enemity with vegetable markets..but it is the most painful and boring shopping trip for a woman (like me)…after a quick sprint purchase, you enter that sacred space which generations together have reserved for the culinary woman! The kitchen is the next battleground where you battle the world of vegetables, spices, taste and health to cook up a meal in record time! Swallowing self-made food without an option to whine or complain are ‘defeat’ moments that you try to overcome with the good old ‘practice’ routine!
After the 6 to 11 routine performance, a few precious moments of mission unwind……..you need your own private ‘space’ ..you need your ‘girly chat and giggle session’ with your best girl friends…you need that warm no-holds conversation with your mother….Moments to remember the person that you are, to relate to the passions you have, to bond with the people that you love….before you sleep tight as the ‘complete’ woman!!! (pardon my plagiarism)!
