Counting My Blessings: Tribute to the Most Important Women in My Life

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.  Themes, awards, cultural programs and many such events are being organized around the world to pay tribute to the spirit of womanhood. Here is my tribute to the most important women in my life. They are the ones who have been instrumental in helping me reach where I am and who, I know, will be there for me, in my times of need.

My Guiding Angel

As a Jewish Proverb goes – ‘God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers’. It is common knowledge that a mother is synonymous with unconditional love & forgiveness and unlimited caring. My mother is no different.

Decades ago, she brought me into this world and since then, she has been my guiding light and will always remain so. Her adept hand has always helped me navigate through the highs and lows of life, letting me go and enjoy the crests and pushing me to gather strength and face the troughs. While love has been in abundance, periodic admonishment has taught me the difference between the right and the wrong, the acceptable and the unaccepted and if that alone would not be enough for me to understand, her follow up tears drove the concept well and truly for the guilt of making her feel pained is something that I can never forgive myself for. The superhumanly act of handling multiple tasks simultaneously, which all women are adept at, she is an expert of. The efficiency in dealing with dad and my schedules every morning that my mom displayed is a lesson that no professional institute can make you an expert at. Managing the limited resources and yet meeting all family needs and occasional surprise family outings is an amazing tact that only she could display. The subtle lessons that she has given me on behavior, respect for elders, love for mankind, honesty, modesty and other such fine arts have all helped me define myself as an individual, accepted, loved and respected by the society I live in.

The learning that I have got from you, mom, I shall always remember and remain indebted for. I have always strived and will continue doing so to follow the path of goodness that you have guided me on and hope to be able to pass it on to the next generation.

My Better Half

“Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife” – Franz Schubert. I have never met Franz Schubert still he has captured my feelings so well in the quote above. Amazing, isn’t it?

Well, do I need to say anything more about my soul-mate? A mixed bag of emotions and practicality, simplicity and complexity, a vibrant smile and a short fuse, her presence makes the life interesting. The spirit of not giving up that she lectures me on when I feel low is what keeps me going. Although, the same spirit also means that I am the one who has to back out of the arguments between us but, thankfully, those are far and few. A wonderful cook that she is creates a problem for me with my tendency towards gaining weight. Her trait of remaining positive and pushing me to follow the same has helped me sail through many a storms and I sure owe it to her.

To you, my partner, I can never thank you enough for being my best friend and my support system that keeps me going. While I may not have all the qualities that you may have looked for in your partner, I know for sure that I love you and will strive to keep you happy by going that extra mile when required.

Sister – A Friend

It is said that ‘A sister is a friend, forever’. In my case, she is more than a friend. The difference of almost a decade puts me on a pedestal that is more than just an elder brother. And this was always drilled in my mind by all elders, particularly so when the two of us fought. “Don’t you feel ashamed fighting with her when you are so much older than her?” Admonished, I was, still the squabbles continued, often. 

Dad’s darling, like all daughters are, she has followed her mind and heart, almost independently. Never liked being dictated and mostly took own decisions, not getting influenced by anyone else’s opinions. And she continues doing so. A tough personality with a loving heart she chooses the course of her life as she feels like. Independence, though, does not mean insensitivity. While she may not believe in saying it, the love and care that she has for family and friends is unmistakable. Days may go by without talking to her but I know that she is there, just a phone call away. It is indeed a blessing to have a sister like her.

To you sister, all that I can say is that I pray to The Almighty that you enjoy your life to the fullest and no trouble ever come near you.

Family's Darling

She is the Most Important woman (more appropriately, woman-to-be) in our lives. Our bundle of joy, our lifeline, the youngest and the liveliest member of the family, she is my darling daughter. Our lives revolve around her. Raising her has taken me and my wife back to our childhood and also to the realization of how our parents felt while raising us. Of course, there is a huge difference between then and now in terms of the available resources, influencers, atmosphere and even thinking and attitude, the experiences that we go through each day are unique, mostly pleasurable, some irritating, yet all unforgettable. For you my kiddo, I pray to God to help us guide you on the right path of learning so that you grow up into a wonderful, responsible and respected woman.

To all these women in my life, here's wishing you a Happy Women's Day and a BIG thank you for being integral parts of my life and making my life complete. I feel blessed with all of you around. You all are indispensable and should there ever be a time when you feel the need, you can always count on me to be with you to share any burden that you may have to bear.

May God be with us all!

Trampled Womanhood. Time for Action

 “Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men” – Joseph Conrad

It is said that God, after creating Man, realized that his creation was not good enough and left alone, his creation would not survive for too long. There were some essential attributes that were either not enough or completely missing in his first creation. In order to improve upon this first ‘draft’, God created another version with abundant quantities of attributes like love, compassion, mental strength, sacrifice, gentleness, tact and patience and named this creation ‘Woman’.

Since then Man and Woman together have complemented each other to strike a good balance. Woman has mostly been a pillar of strength for her man. She has provided the man with a loving family to give him a sense of belonging and responsibility; extended moral and even material support when required, has taken care of his home, has showered love and care upon him and has largely remained in the background and let the man take the limelight. Yet, it is sad that around the world, a woman is still referred to as the ‘weaker’ sex?

Why?

She is the support system for the man. She bears all the pains through her life, be it the natural periodic cycles, or the pain of giving birth to a child, which a man can never fathom the extent of or even the pains that her man and family members may be going through and she wilfully shares to lessen the impact on them. Still she is perceived to be ‘weak’. Strange!

And if that is not enough, the predominantly man’s world is hell bent upon felling this pillar of strength. The news papers, TV Channels, Internet, Radio, all have umpteen number of incidents of violence against women to report. More so in the Asian countries where women are being treated as a punching bag or a sex object and are being ‘used’ by men to give vent to their sexual and other frustrations. In India, while on one hand Woman form is worshipped as Goddess on the other, incidents of female infanticide, rape, domestic violence, acid attacks, stalking have become the way of life and the authorities are doing precious little than merely watching from the sidelines.

Every year, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day with the idea of felicitating the spirit of womanhood but is there anything to celebrate in these times? Simply declaring a theme, running a media campaign, holding some functions and honouring some successful women is not enough. A revolution is required. A revolution which can usher in a change in each individual’s attitude towards women.  The physically stronger Man needs to understand that “strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will” (- Mahatma Gandhi), which, the Woman has more of.

The UN has declared the theme for the International Women's Day 2013 which is ‘A promise is a promise. Time for action to end violence against women’. Yes, it sure is time for action. The need of the hour is a resolve by each and every person – man or a woman – to ensure that Women are given their rightful due. A place of equality in the society. A respect that she deserves but seldom demands. An equal reciprocal of the love and compassion that she is known for. A life that she can enjoy happily and not live under the constant shadows of fear.

Bring in the change, NOW! That, indeed, will be a true honour for the spirit of womanhood!!