A Special Day?

There are times when there is a Christmassy feeling in the air and I get headaches trying to show that I remember this day – that I am a know-it-all! A trip down the Google lane and a slap from the Google Doodle notifies me of my ignorance. My brain somehow ignores all these “Days”. My mother always calls me up and reminds me one day in advance, I still manage to mess it up at times – I am so full of talent. My thought process is a bit different. I am at times stamped as Insensitive - as Irrational - as Crazy - as Weird! But, I am carefree in my own ways :) I never think that a bigger herd is a synonym of power or popularity. I am not fond of social bindings and peer pressures. I dislike formality and hate nosing. Finding comfort in my circle of selected few, I actually have a tiny list of things that I am actually fond of.

So, this is one thing not in my list – Days. I have never been a firm believer in days, in the compulsion that make things follow a routine, in various hopes that have no base, in things that create a virtual cocoon and give us a fake sense of joy. I sometimes wonder if the HQ (Happiness Quotient) is taking a constant dip. We are trying to hold on to the power of thought; emphasizing the nonexistent. I, personally, would prefer going to a breath taking hill station, rent a cabin and meditate; spreading this Serum of Happiness in every part of my body and afterwards giving a 32-out smile to everyone who passes by. Although I will find it very amusing, it is actually creepy! :D I was thinking about a few matters during the first week when my whole thought pyramid got unstable by the fuzz about 8th March – International Women's Day. The first thought that came to my mind was ‘Jesus! Not another one!!’ I immediately pulled up my socks and took out my pen (well, not immediately, it just gives me a nice feeling thinking that way). People, especially ladies might call me jealous, but I will finally be able to use the cold look. Or, maybe I will dust off my invisibility cloak. After all, having a handicap is nothing to be jealous about.

I tried tracing back the history of this day. The first noticeable incident was in 1909, when women, tired of the tyranny and bindings, raised their voices in the United States – the voices finally strengthening and succeeding in 1917 in Russia. Since then it is a symbolic day – Showing the world that genders are equal. I see many long faces on this day (Like many other days that continue all year round); this is the “hairy lot”. Well, chip up guys! Men probably don't have any days named after them because they didn't struggle as much for their rights. I mean, yes, they did struggled for freedom, equality of voice and opinion, but not for the equality of gender. Women earlier were raised as maids, no right to education, no right to opinion, no independence – household chores and children were their sole responsibility and purpose. The revolution brought awareness, followed by the education and development; mind still trapped in a mirage of inequality.

Women should be proud their position in today's society (I am not really sure if proud should be the word). Eating fruits of someone else’s sacrifice is not the right thing to do. Should the “Post-Struggle” menu items be lectures, parties, wishes and gifts? The day can also be celebrated by honoring the women who have excelled in different fields, but that would be a contradiction to the fundamental concept of equality. It’s a day to lift your collars high? Think again. Popular = powerful? Or, Louder = Weak? Is it a day vibrating with the voices of the past or pure business? It is a happy time for vendors and event managers – selling crap and asking for loud applause. Just listening to the great things done by the same gender is nothing to be proud of. Barack Obama is the president of United States – that certainly doesn’t give me a proud feeling of belonging to the male gender.

I do believe in equality; I never see people as any different from me. I never believe the things that I hear – I observe and I conclude. I agree that the society has come a long way. But, mindsets – Have they really changed? We all are born equal – genetically a bit different, yes – but more or less the same. Our behavioral pattern changes in accordance with our upbringing and hormonal fluctuations. What handicaps us is the society. People are still holding on to the traditional thoughts. In the confusion of moving backward and forward, the present is suffering. The laws are made for healthy long term political careers and kids are raised with the same traditional values. Girls are still seen as mothers; still taught to sacrifice for the family. They still want a thought in mind that male is the head of the family and responsible to make ends meet; girl’s job is the icing on the cake. But, when guys show dominance, they are criticized. The whole mentality has become very contradicting.

The laws are made for female protection and the charts show a rising alimony. The other day I saw a police van on the street – for crimes against women, children and senior citizens – it left me wondering if there was a sleeping side to my personality; if I should be chained to my bed at night. A male dominated society – in terms of population or in terms of rights? After all, no laws are made for males in case of murders. We need to realize that not everything is in black and white; good and evil are not gender dependent. A time will come when we will have a death sentence for looking at a woman. Funny thing being – a girl will still hold the right to seduction. An equal right is the first step towards a balanced society. Everyone is raised to make a name, we all have talents, we all fall in devil’s trap – let’s shred this cloak of discrimination.

The same old laws wouldn’t work anymore; we all have become shrewd. An internal change and a social development is the need of this hour. We need to work on three things – Respect, Unity and Understanding. Respect will come from inside. We need to work together for the time when a successful lady is respected for the hard work; the time when her qualities are acknowledged. We never tend to respect people who haven’t worked as hard. A biased celebration gives a handicap and a handicap takes away that respect. We men need to learn that the things should be done in unity. Until we bury that urge to dominate everything that moves, we will never rise up. Instead of assigning duties to opposite sex, we must learn to lend a helping hand. We need to value her engagements as much as we expect ours to be. We need to move towards a better intimacy – a better understanding.

We always look for reasons to celebrate; we never grab that reason to make a difference. We go out to fancy restaurants, eat a rich five course meal and come back laughing and hugging each other. We are not making new bonds, we are not doing extra ordinary things – we are simply following a routine – following the herd of sheep! We tend to repeat things that we want to be true; taking the help of our subconscious to instill that thought in our brains. I never see the genders as very different – except of course the way they should dress and carry themselves – the way they should talk and laugh – the way they should work and stuff. But, I shouldn’t be used as a bench mark, I like pulling legs. :D Women have become equal, but the days like these will always be an irony.