Ek Radha, Ek Meera

I first heard this song in late October two years ago. Then on International Women's Day on March 8th last year, a casual talk on the portrayal of women in movies and literature on twitter set a discussion going. There is always a Penelope waiting for an Odysseus, who remains faithful and protects her virtue keeping suitors at bay, while her husband is away. Why? Why do we never find an Odysseus who waits for his Penelope when she is not ready? Do we ever find representation of women as other than waiting damsels in distress?

This song titled, "Ek Radha, Ek Meera" from the Raj Kapoor directed movie, Ram Teri Ganga Maili speaks of the anguish Meera and Radha go for loving the same person. I am not going to dissect the song, but hearing it over and over, one can't help feel a bit sorry for Meera. Torn between bhakti(devotion) and love, these two represent women from all ages and lands. Why, it is Descartes himself who wrote something on the lines of how both men and women are equal but men perhaps only excel on virtue of their physical strength. Seeing the unequal and ridiculous representation of women in many countries even today, it is a question we must ask to ourselves if we have failed to create an equal land of opportunities for both the genders. Like Orwell wrote, All men are equal, but some are more than equal. I hope I can tweak it a bit and extend to say, all men and women are equal but only when it is suitable. Non- accessibility to information, assertion of their rights is killing women's prospects for a better life and future. So many regions in the world still do not give women freedom to choose their lifestyle and this is marring the cradle of life. Suppress women, imbibe ownership and make them the weaker sex. Keep reminding them their position in society with regards to men and what happens to women all over the world is known to us. The great sociologist Mrs. Irawati Karve has published a series of articles on relationships of women with different women, men and amongst themselves. She calls the strong women standing behind their men as Mhalkaya- Salkaya, the ones who support, run, and rule their households in tribal societies since matriarchal society is the norm there. I immensely loved reading about these strong-headed women who make up for their men's shortcomings. Then, I also read Sultana's Dream written in 1905 by Begum Rokeya Hossain. What a wonderful text that espouses story of a utopian land called Lady land where women rule the land and men stay put in a purdah system. I admit, I was thrilled beyond words to read this fantasy whim. I want it to be made compulsory reading in schools.

I don't know if it is fate that ties women to the traditional structure of society but on eve of yet another women's day, I whole-heartedly wish women reclaim everything there is to be for them to achieve. Let this not be just another celebration of the International Working Women's Day where we remain the centre for 24 hours and get back to fighting the next day. But of course, women have been fighters from the start. That spirit hopefully never dies down in us, come what may.