Being a second class citizen in this country

Every channel that is flipped on TV , Every newspaper s front page is showing about the horrendous crime committed.

Everybody, from all over the country are reacting to it , either by providing their opinion on it or by participating in candle walks or by putting up statuses in their social media accounts.

  But then, was it really her fault? was she wearing provocative clothes? was she roaming with men at night? was it too late for her to be out?? was she there enjoying with someone else? was she asking for favors? what was her fault really? ….of being a female? or of being a second class citizen of this country

Every person who is condemning the act is asking for justice. To hang them or to shoot them immediately. Their punishment is not declared yet and even if that is done- does it really make a difference?? does it really bring any change to the current societal situation? Does it really stop from committing another such crime in future?

Humans have really little memory. The justice done will be forgotten in no time and the same thing keeps repeating itself again and again and again. Every body keeps talking about the change that needs to come in the society, about how men should start behaving, about how a women should be treated etc,etc,etc.,

But, how many of them really care to make an effort to bring that change? how many of the mothers who ask their daughters to stay safe while out actually ask their sons to behave when out too? how many of the mothers who ask their daughters to help in the kitchen actually ask their sons also give a helping hand at home? how many of the fathers who send their sons out of station or even out of country for further studies or for job actually also send their daughters too?

Even today, when, i see so many men talking about their working wives managing their work life balance beautifully and stuff like that- its feels so sad to hear that….why is it still conceived as a surprise? Why is it still not normal? Why does a man still feel that he is doing a favor by allowing his wife to work? why is he still putting himself in that superior position of ALLOWING his wife? Isn’t it her basic right to decide if she wants to work or no, does she still really need someone else to allow her to do what she really wants to do.

As a girl i want to see a day where my brother tags along with me just because he wants to be with me and not to protect or safeguard me. It really boils me from inside, when i see seats in public transport reserved for ladies or a percentage of quota reserved for girls for jobs or college administration. when we say girls should be empowered or equipped, it shouldn’t mean the reservations…it should mean the equality. we are really really far from it to reach there

I feel all that big changes that we talk about should start as a small change which begins at home – By not categorizing sons to do outdoor work and daughters to do kitchen or indoor stuff. Both of them should be dealt with utmost care and respect so, they value each other equally  And in order to do that, we should first acknowledge that ours is a male dominated society and it cannot be changed over night and would need continuous effort from every responsible citizen who genuinely think that women are no less.

I have a daughter and my worry for her safety increases every single day. I just wish, she lives her life on her own terms with all that she deserves with out any disturbances.

Thanks and Regards,

C.Swetha.

Memoirs of Almirah

Memoirs of Almirah 🚪!!

We all are so very sentimental about things which give us happiness😀 or sadness😐

It was today when myself and attaya wanted to organize her almirah which was just piled up with sarees old and new ones all together.

We started off with the last row of the almirah and were sorting the foldings of each saree and then the discussion started – Attaya has a story for every saree that she has treasured since so long!!!

There are sarees which are selected, liked, complimented and disliked altogether by mamaya…. She holds very clear and fond memories for each one😍

I could just feel her excitement at the ones she liked and loved- she even remembers who all complimented her for a specific one and also her discontent at the ones she disliked and hated, there were also the ones where she had spent so much money but didn’t made any justice to them, where she didn’t liked the saree but was wearing it to satisfy somebody else, there were few which she had worn only once and didn’t wanted to wear again, there were ones which she would want to pass on to us ( daugther in laws ) too … and so on

There were also sarees which tinks picked which are the ones which would top the list of attayas most disliked ones🙄

She even remembers the occasions on which each saree was picked…actually, we all do…don’t we?? (atleast girls do :D)💃

What I really felt was its not just the old photographs📸 or mails 💌 that make us cherish our memories, its also these small remembrances about our belongings which holds sweet to sweetest moments of our life……..I always felt that almirah is meant for saving precious metals but today Ive realized that its way more than that… its actually more about memories than metals…… its more about cherishing the moments like the one that we both are sharing right now, at this very moment……. Sitting in front of the wardrobe and talking about good old times….

I just want to live life composed of many such moments and have them chronicled somewhere in someform ( like this excerpt that I wrote ✒, or like a photograph 📸that is saved in my hard disk, or like a hundred rupee note💵 that was last given by my grandfather who is no more, or like a book📔 that arrives at my doorstep ordered by my husband which was added in my shopping cart long back ) which I would love to visit again … I feel blessed to have these moments captured 😇

I think im having my moment here….. im sure, others will have too…. I just wish they stop, notice and cherish them as well

After rains!!

I’m not a rainy person, as in … I like rains but I’m not the kind of person who enjoy getting drenched.
I like watching rain from the comfort of my balcony. I can watch it standing there for hours…I will have the same feeling when I watch waves at the sea. No amount of goodness can pull me away from it except for my daughter
After rains are always different for different ppl , it could be lot of traffic to the one traveling, it could be lot of water assembled to the one who do not have well paved roads, it could be a hot cup of chai to a tea lover, it could also be a hot beverage to a foodie, it could also mean the rhyme “rain rain go away” to the ones like my daughter
For me, it’s like a cleanse that happens not only to your surroundings but to you as well.
Rains not only wash away the dirt from the threes and your surroundings but it also helps you see things more clearly, I especially have more clear thinking post rains. To be precise, this one that you are reading is written post rain … sitting in my balcony in a single go.
Rains are also a strong example which demonstrates that – nothing is permanent, not the rain, not the clouds, not the water, and definitely not your problems. I stop and look at my daughter who has so many questions about rains and that fills my heart…. I always wanted her to grow more sensitive to the nature than I am. I’m no good at it but I don’t damage anything’s that surrounds me consciously which itself is the minimum that we could leave for our children. I just hope she gets what I am getting … as in the surrounding environment.

Thanks,

Swetha.