Somewhere around the BORDER

PC: Internet 

Alpha and Luna sat in silence over the hilltop, in deep contemplation. There was something – a huge thing – happening among the humans living around them, the visuals of which had deeply disturbed them. It was all just too gory and bloodstained. That human beings would turn so very bloodthirsty,

that go against their own species, was a mind-blogging thought for the parents of the wolf pack.

Soon, a group of five cubs surrounded their parents. They too had seen the gruesome sights of the happenings around, and it had piqued their interest. Their parents had forbidden them from investigating the matter on their own, so it was now on the shoulders of the parents to quench the curiosity of their young naïve cubs.

Alpha snapped out from his contemplation when he noticed all the inquisitive eyes around him. He looked at Luna, who gave him a short nod. Signaling his kids to come closer to him, he begins his narration.

“It’s a case of marking territories. Just like us, human beings too mark territories and don’t like any trespassers.”

“Wow! Humans seem to be as territorial as animals.” exclaimed Vinexa, the second among the siblings.

Alpha nodded “They indeed are. The concept of territory is deeply ingrained in their brains, just like for us. Migration within territory happens, but in case of other territories, only visiting is usually allowed. They are very possessive over their territories.”

“Such possessiveness about territory is encouraged, just like among us. They call it patriotism.” added Luna.

“But how do they mark territories? I haven’t seen any human releasing their scent. Nor are there any natural territory boundaries here, like a river or a mountain.” observed Wang, the eldest sibling.

“No, they don’t use natural markers as boundaries. They make their own boundaries. They create drawings of landscapes and mark boundaries on that. Such drawings are called maps.” Alpha explained.

“They mark boundaries on drawings! That sounds so artificial.” squeaked the youngest one, Koko.

“They are indeed artificial. But when have these humans ever done anything natural?” sneered Luna.

All of the pack jeeringly approved.

“Yes” said Alpha. “These humans are heavily inclined towards everything that is unnatural and artificial. Look at this particular case. We divide territories on the basis of natural divisions like genetics and bloodline, but these humans here are diving it on the basis on the basis of religion, which is again a man-made construct.”

“Religion?” enquired Lomb, the third sibling.

“Well, it’s what the humans call their ritualistic practice of trying to connect to their Primordial Sense.” Alpha clarified.

“These humans have gone too far from Nature. They are too much dependent on their mind, which has led to them being cut off from their own hearts and gut. They can no longer hear the Higher Call. One clear example is the way they die en-masses when any disaster strikes. They can’t sense it

beforehand, even with all the brainy stuff they use. They can’t escape like us in advance. This shows how lost and far they are from the Primordial Sense. That’s why they have developed religions – with

exaggerated, over - elaborate practices to help them connect back to their instincts which they call the “Inner Truth”. Luna elaborated.

“And there are a number of religions among the humans. Each differs from the other in its practices. These differences often cause conflicts among humans.” sighed the wise old Alpha. “Same is the case here. They have marked boundaries on the basis of religion and people are rushing about to be on the

correct side of the border, based on their religion. This is the cause of all the mayhem we are presently witnessing.”

All the cubs let of sighs of relief, with “hmm” and “ooh” sounds – indicating that their curiosity was finally satisfied. 

Suddenly, the thoughtful Shwna spoke up. “It means that these humans are killing each other only due to their difference in the way they connect to the Primordial Sense? How ironic and idiotic!”

Alpha gave a wry smile. “Yes. It is indeed ironic. Killing without reason (food/defense) shows lack of empathy and compassion, which just shows how far these humans are from the Higher Sense. Killing for seeking to connect with the Higher Sense in a different way … that’s something which is really silly and absurd.” 

“And then, these people have the audacity to boast of being the most advanced among all creatures! They think of civilization as being as far from Nature as possible. They are disconnected from the Primordial Sense itself and depend on pretentious rituals to connect back. Also, they make big claims about all the brainy stuff they use. But one should look at them when a calamity strikes! They suffer horribly, despite all the luxuries and comforts they allegedly have.” Luna ended her rant with a deep breath. 

Wang took after his mother’s rant with one of his own. “Worst of all, they think that equalizing them to animals is an insult. Rather, equalizing yourself to us is an insult to US! Please stop it! We may be cruel, beastly, cunning, uncivilized, barbaric – whatever you think of us to be. Our brains may be not as developed as yours. But we are way better off. We live in the lap of Nature. And we are connected to the Primordial Sense. We rely on our gut instincts for survival, which has always proven to be far more efficient than your brainy stuff. You kill your own species on trivial matters … your species itself seems to be a nuisance for Nature.” 

All of the pack smirked in agreement.

They then turned towards the setting sun to take note of the time, so as to continue with the day’s duties. 

Being a TRUE Woman

PC: Internet 

I’m an introvert in an extrovert world.

I’m a feeler in a world of thinkers.

I strive to be authentic in a world of fakers. 

And worst of all, I’m a woman in a (supposedly) man’s world.

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌗🌗🌘🌑

“One gets birth of a woman due to past life sins” – declares the Hindu scriptures. This seems to just be a casual rant of a misogynist who later gained fame as a philosopher (as it often happens in patriarchal societies). But the Indian (especially Hindu) society makes sure that these words come true. Society makes sure that women feel cursed for just being born as women – by burdening them with roles, duties, expectations, judgements, traditions, etc. 

… ... ... 

Religion is said to be a path to self-realization. It’s supposed to make people shun away the

distractions of the world and make them turn inward, towards the Inner Truth and Authenticity. 

But in reality, religion was hardly any of this - it encouraged mindless superstitions, endless rites and rituals and other such rubbish. It felt hallow, with no substance – it was very shallow with no depth or meaning.

But I am a “modern”, “educated” woman, right? Why should I bother about religion?

Well, to be honest, being educated just makes it worse. 

I can no longer remain blissfully ignorant and turn a blind eye towards all the blood boiling injustice meted out by religion. 

I can no longer buy into the bunkum that all the restrictions are beneficial for women and does good to them. 

Also, the so-called “modern”, “educated” society was in no way better than the “orthodox” “traditional” society. It was just as fake and superficial. It was quite pretentious in nature, with people who boasted to be broad-minded but in reality, were cold-hearted.

Both the societies are equally misogynist – just that one is open about it and the other more subtle.

Both have expectations about women – both expect women to uphold certain standards – both judge women for not being good “enough" ... 

Enough !!! 

I have had ENOUGH !

I just wanted to leap out of all this mess.

*Neither religion nor education gave answers to my haunting questions about life. 

*Neither of them fulfilled me nor did they give me any form of peace or solace in

life. 

*I wanted to break free from this restricted life – shackled by religion on one hand and modernity on the other. 

* I wanted to live on my own - find my own purpose of life and live authentically, all on

my own, without the need to be pretentious and fake.

A woman leading her own life, leaving behind her family, was traditionally unheard of. Indeed, the very idea was scandalous. A woman was ALWAYS supposed to adjust and compromise with her husband’s family, in spite of facing grave problems. 

And here, I didn’t even have any such problem. I wasn’t harassed by my husband or in-laws, so according to the standards of the society, me thinking of leaving my family behind was just an outburst of frustration caused by routine life. “Don’t worry, it will gradually fade. Just worship this particular deity every day. Recite this stotram, you will get peace of mind.” – This was their standard reply.

And then there were some gossip-mongers, who slung mud on my character, saying that I was planning to elope with some other guy.

HUH!

A guy who does the very same thing (of leaving behind family) becomes a saint, a Guru. But a woman who even thinks of it becomes a whore!

Religion had heavily restricted the whole concept of attending the Ultimate Truth only to men. Women were immersed in the darkness of superstitions and weren’t allowed to seek the Truth, perhaps due to the fear that they would cease to be slaves if they did! 

And what to say of the modern society? It was certainly not free of gossipers and mud-slingers. But unlike the orthodox society, it didn’t object to women leaving behind their families, as long as they became corporate wage slaves and immersed themselves in the mire of materialism. Finding the Ultimate Truth, in their context, often translated to finding a job which one enjoyed. I didn’t want that; I didn’t want to erode my energy trying to fend for myself – so the modern society didn’t approve of me. 

Also, the “modern” society only liked to side with women who were “victims” – widows, domestic violence sufferers, abandoned women, etc. I was neither of these – and was therefore considered to be unsuitable for their support and charity. The “modern’ society only liked to pity women and sympathize with them – it didn’t actually seem interested in any form of solidarity or empowerment. 

My idea of leaving behind my family, when I had no problems within sight, was always met with ridicule. “See a physiatrist, dear. You need counselling.” was the oft-repeated advice I received from the modern, educated society. 

Hounded thus by people of both sides, I one day took the bold step and escaped into the forest. 

I saw the old haunted mansion there. As I neared it, an old lady came out and looked deep into my eyes. 

There, in her eyes, laid all my answers … 👀👭🔥🔴

When WOMEN connect ...

Characters : Virmati (Difficult Daughters), Rosie (The Guide by R.K. Narayan), Priyanka, Esha, Radhika (One Night at a Call Centre by Chetan Bhagat) 

Virmati’s eyes turned all around the café as she sat sipping coffee. She was waiting for her friends - four of them - who were her soul sisters. Though Virmati had tons of friends in her personal and professional circle, the bond she shared with these four women was unique – it was more soulful. It was not just blood-bound or professional. It was more of matching wavelengths - born out of shared ideologies and experiences.

All of them (including Virmati) were “modern, educated” Indian women, who were independent and opiniated. This was something which was totally radical in Indian society, and had therefore alienated these women from the rest of the society (including their own families). Besides ideology, bitter experiences due to patriarchy was another thing which these women shared in common. The lives (both personal and professional) of each of these women had been hounded by patriarchy. While this was a common thing for almost all Indian women, what set these five women apart was that they chose to rise above it and took their own lives into their own hands and decided to work out their own destinies.

Rosie, who happened to be one of Virmati’s oldest friend, was not even an Indian. She was the wife of a British archeologist, Marco. Her “educated” British husband had bound her up in unseen chains; he had forbidden her from following her passion of dance. However, she later found an ally in Raju, who helped her pursue her passion. But this very ‘ally’ turned out to be a nuisance later on, when he wanted to make as much money as possible from her dance performances. He even started to assume that he had control over Rosie, as he had given her a second chance at life. Thankfully, Rosie had ditched him and was now leading an independent life.

“Poor Rosie, she just jumped from the Devil to the Deep Sea.” mused Virmati. She would relate a lot to Rosie, as she herself had been foolish enough to fall in love with a (already married) man, believing that he would help her follow her dreams.

“Depending on any man to fulfill our dreams is never a good idea, no matter how-much-ever friendly he seems. It’s always best for women to be self-reliant.”

Virmati had decided to impart this very piece of wisdom to her three young friends: Priyanka, Esha and Radhika. All three of them were quite young and it was only natural for them to seek male partners. Two of them – Priyanka and Esha were already dating, while Radhika was a recent divorcee.

All the three girls were quite smart and determined. They also had significant dreams – which Virmati feared would go haywire if they fell in ‘love’ and started to depend on their man to “support” them.

The three of them were former colleagues at a call center. A strange call one night had changed their destinies forever, when they decided to face the battles of their life upfront and live out their own dreams. Each had already been disowned by their families – but they lived together and supported each other, giving strength and encouragement. Their sense of solidarity and sisterhood had impressed Virmati a lot, and she had taken the three into her guardianship – becoming their matriarch.

Priyanka had been a victim of her mother’s internalized misogyny, just like Virmati. She had to constantly put up with her mother’s double standards at home and had to even fight off a forced arranged marriage, which she had been coerced to agree to by her manipulative mother. Priyanka had discovered that her would-be husband was a spineless momma’s boy, who had lied to her and was trying to trap her by flaunting his wealth and riches. Her mother had continued her scheming drama and had faked three heart attack when Priyanka called off the alliance, but Priyanka stayed strong and didn’t bow down to her mother. This had made Priyanka’s relations with her family turn sour. Virmati would easily relate to her; Priyanka was as much a ‘difficult daughter’ as she herself had been. Priyanka had now quit working and had gone back to study B.Ed. (with her own money), as she dreamt of opening a nursery playschool. She had also gone back to dating her ex-boyfriend Shyam. He was her colleague and the two of them had dated for several years, until Priyanka’s nosy mother caused disturbances in their relationships, ultimately leading to their breakup. The two of them had now prioritized their career and were working hard to build up a stable career before entering into a stable relationship (marriage).

Esha had the worst experiences of all in the group. She had modelling aspirations, which had led to her being sexually harassed. She had once “sinned” i.e., had agreed to be used as a sex-object by a creepy old man who promised her modelling chances. That had caused her a lot of guilt, shame and trauma. She was now slowly recovering, helped by her friends (her family had already disowned her because of her modelling dreams). She was working for an NGO and was also dating Varun, her colleague from the call center. He was the same guy who had abused and called her names for her "sin”. He had, of course, apologized, but Esha’s choice of dating him was not something Virmati approved of. Virmati also hoped that Esha doesn’t give up on her modelling aspirations due to fear of societal judgment and the sexist setup of the field - but would continue to pursue her passion, fighting every hurdle that came her way.

Radhika’s story was that of a typical modern Indian girl. Fell in love in college - got married against parents’ wish - became a slave – harassed by husband and in laws – blinded in love - discovers she is being cheated upon - divorce. She was now depressed, with her confidence and self-esteem shattered. Realizing that her “love” held little value in the eyes of her man was itself a huge blow for her. And her parents were rubbing salt to her wounds, by repeatedly pointing out her “mistake” of not obeying them. She had no other source of emotional comfort now, except her friends. Her husband had made several attempts to cajole her (as he wanted a maid for his family), but Radhika had toughened herself up and didn’t heed his pleas. Her friends were helping her in healing her wounds, even as she continued to work at the call center to financially support herself. 

Virmati let out a deep breath as she sat pondering over the lives of her friends. She took a sip of her hot coffee, as she sat waiting for her friends.