I have been thinking for a long time as to how the society has created the entire system convenient to men. Today is Independence Day for India. I wonder have the Indian women got any freedom at all? When I look at the urban women population of India, those who stand in the way of their freedom are women themselves. When we just start passively accepting what the society has lived by for thousands of years, how do we grow? Isn’t it time to start thinking of a new system?
I have had numerous conversations with a friend of mine who truly believes in the liberation of Indian woman. He sent me the video of a tamil girl called Meena Kandasamy who is pretty famous these days due to her poems and other social activities. One of her poems is about the story of Ahalya which is a part of Ramayana. Ahalya is punished for her promiscuity by her husband who is a sage. Even though I did not understand her poem nor did I agree with a lot of what she had to say, it kinda made me think and I came up with this poem.
We should all start thinking of a new society – a society that is created for women , for women who have it all!
I live in a New World
The Grass is still green
The sky is blue
But the women do what they want to do
The World is a land of Krishnaa- the dark skinned woman
Whose features promise intelligence
Her identity is no longer restricted by her beautiful figure or her intelligent face
She is no longer bound by age
“Age to get married”
“Age to have a baby”
“Age to give up your dreams”
She does not constantly crave for acceptance
“Acceptance by Men”
“Acceptance by Older Women”
She does not feel guilty of pleasure and enjoyment
She is no longer restricted to serve others in the name of age old tradition
Nor does she have to put up a masculine façade to enjoy the many privileges mankind enjoys in the name of MAN
She does not wait for a man to declare her as an equal
She knows she can have it all and strives boldly to pursue her destiny
5 comments:
beautiful poem .. and on the independence day is such a sweet poetic irony !
lines I loved the most -
The World is a land of Krishnaa- the dark skinned woman
poetic license used in full measure and beautifully ..
at the end of the poem, I am curious to meet a Krishnaa !
Nor does she have to put up a masculine façade to enjoy the many privileges mankind enjoys in the name of MAN
I think these 2 lines sum up the poem and everything else you wanted to say on this issue ! and these 2 lines denote complete blissful freedom ! and if the reader interprets sharply these 2 lines are a 2 way sword - it pricks men for creation of this manly universe as much as dreaming about an equal world where women live and enjoy as freely !
Gud stuff overall !
Thanks Anna!
I somehow knew that you would like these two lines. I think it is poetic intuition. LOL!
Hi,
This is Saranya(coincidentally), Annamalai’s little sister. I just read your poem and felt liberated. I do agree with many parts of the poem. It’s a wonderful poem and reflects my
dreams too.If I had read this poem before marriage, my interpretation would have been different. It would have been a fabulous poem and I would have agreed to each and every
word in it. But now, I’m a woman who is being seasoned by the passing years.
I believe that as woman we are naturally designed to crave for acceptance, to belong. It’s not our fault that we feel guilty of pleasure and enjoyment. It’s in our system to serve
others and seek happiness from that. For a woman, ultimate happiness lies in making people around her happy. If she buys herself something or does something for just herself,
she feels guilty because she doubts herself of being selfish and this makes her a little unhappy, whereas when she makes a sacrifice just to make somebody else happy, she feels
proud of herself and this makes her happier. It’s just there on her genes to feel so. It’s like a lime is sour because it’s a lime and milk is white because it’s milk. Hence,” craving for
acceptance and feeling guilty of pleasure” is being a woman. There's no point in wanting to alter this as it's in our very nature.
The highlight of the poem lies in these two lines :
“Nor does she have to put up a masculine façade to enjoy the many
privileges mankind enjoys in the name of MAN”
But my favourite is “ She does not wait for a man to declare her as an equal”. I somehow feel that all the feminist movements, rallies, write-ups are in one way or the other trying to
shout out, “Hey MEN, why don’t you declare that WOMEN are as good as you are?” Women want MEN or somebody for that matter to say, to declare that we are powerful and
are equal to men in all possible ways. I really wonder why women fight to get their freedom? And from whom? Men? Older women? Who is holding us down as slaves? It’s none
other than women ourselves. We can all be a ‘Krishnaa’ . We don't have to wait for somebody to set us free. We can be,if we just open up our mental blocks. I have learnt to be a
Krishnaa in my own right. I do what I want to do and the way I like it. I have created a world for myself where I care a damn for what others have to say. And the mantra I have
learnt is “IGNORE,IGNORE” to all those people(Men and women alike) who impose restrictions on me. A woman doesn’t have to be bound by age or anything for that matter to
dream,to change for better. As Gandhiji says, “Be the change you want to be”.
Be a Krishnaa, dream big, and most important believe in your dreams. Dreams do come true.
Maybe, for the next Independence day, I will find many Krishnaas commenting on this blog(hopefully,not on matters of women liberation)!
Hi Saranya! I am so glad that you can understand what I am thinking.. I am going to write a seperate blog post on how the environment plays a big role in the "Seasoning factor " you mentioned. Thanks again for your comment. Keep reading my blog... Congrats on yr gold medal....
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