Men, Marina and Mappillai

‘World will prosper in knowledge and intellect, if both men and women are deemed equal.

           -         Subramania Bharathi

These were the words of the famous Bharathiar who was a champion of feminism in the early 19th century. I was instantly reminded of this man when I saw hundreds of women safe in the midst of thousands of men on Marina beach. They stood united for a common cause – Jallikattu. In December 2015, the youngsters of Chennai had displayed their unity and humanity during the floods that disrupted the life of a metro city for weeks. Yet, what I saw today on Facebook and YouTube videos was nothing compared to those numbers. The recent mass molestation in Bengaluru had certainly left me shaken and disturbed.

Why did those men behave like savages? Was it the darkness? Was it the alcohol? Was it the short skirts and figure hugging clothes?

Well, I had read reports that even women dressed in salwar kameez (supposedly safe attire for women) weren’t spared on that fateful night. I was staring at the questions that was haunting each one of us.

How can you stop this? Was something fundamentally wrong in the way we raised our boys? Or did they just grow up to become beasts?

Evening slowly sneaked on the Marina beach and darkness began to envelope the sky. A shiver ran down my spine when the lights were switched off by the authorities! There were women and children in that crowd! Safety had always been an unaffordable luxury in darkness. But what I saw next welled up my eyes and tugged at my heart. Numerous hands went up in the air flashing lights from their mobile phones. The place was illuminated with the chastity of their souls. It is a sheer display of culture of the people who have a written history of over 2000 years…

Most of our friends who do not have their roots in Tamil Nadu may not fully comprehend the meaning of Jallikattu or the spirit of the Tamilians. They are certainly bewildered by the mass movement that has been going on peacefully without even a leader. I do not know what will be the outcome of this protest or what it might lead to in the coming days. But they have certainly sent out a strong message to everyone in this world.

Just because you have the opportunity, you will not violate a woman.

No matter what she is wearing, she is deserves to be respected.

She is somebody’s daughter, sister, friend, lover, wife and mother.

Darkness or crowd is not your license to grope!

It is time men and women are deemed equal. The men of Tamil Nadu have set a perfect example for the men across the globe. These rugged looking men showed the world how to treat women. Subramania Bharathi would certainly have been very proud of you. Maybe the answer to the question of gender inequality lies deep in the roots of our culture and tradition. Let us not forget that we come from the land where women are worshipped every day.


All the mappillais  please take a bow!

Comments

  1. Jeffina20 January 2017 at 23:15

    Vaalga Tamil! Valarga Tamilagam!
    Unga post ah paathu peruma padren.. Arumai en anbu thozhiye..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sahana L22 January 2017 at 15:44

    Nandri en anbu thozhiye :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

Image
When people say first year of marriage is hard, I tell them to live the second year in isolation with your spouse in a lockdown! First year of marriage was a breeze because of the pampering we received from both sets of parents. Later when career made us move to the capital of the country, we were literally on our own. Right from purchasing household items to getting them transported across cities, it was not easy. Finally, when we moved in to the house, which we made our home, the journey of challenges had only just begun. Although I was no stranger to cooking, I had never managed a house all on my own. For a woman, it can be quite daunting, terrifying indeed! Because it was no longer about my own hunger, there was another homo sapien who was equally hungry if not less. I remember the initial days when it was hard for me to manage office work and household chores. All my frustration unfortunately landed on my husband, who was already trying his best to cope with new set of responsibil...
Read more
A Few Moments of Silence … {1} The monsoon had begun a week earlier than the forecast, much to the relief of Bengalureans. It was a dull afternoon with grey clouds, which were heavy with the promise of a pleasant downpour. Abhimanyu looked through the slides of his presentation one last time. He slid his arms into the light blue blazer when his phone began ringing. Before answering the call he made a mental note to put it on silent mode during the meeting. ‘Hello… Ma? Is it something important? I have a meeting in five minutes,’ he said impatiently. ‘Are you at work? But today is Madhu’s birthday!’ He froze. The next second, he peered at the table calendar. The date was well registered in his mind but only for the sake of the meeting. His mouth went dry and he was unable to answer his mother. ‘Abhi, don’t tell me that you have forgo—’ ‘Ma, I have to go now. I will call you later.’ Without allowing his mind to think about the brief conversation, he put hi...
Read more
Two Strangers… One Lockdown! {4} After a few seconds, the door opened and first thing I noticed was Atharva standing with a palette in his hand. He looked surprised and frowned at my sudden appearance. ‘Yes?’ ‘Actually, I have a virtual meeting and it would be better if I have Wi-Fi connection. Would you please share the password?’ ‘Well, I don’t have Wi-Fi here, but I do have a dongle. You could use it. Come in,’ he said and let me inside the room. The room was filled with empty and half-done painting canvases. There were tubes and bottles of paints lying around with brushes in all shapes. Honestly, I had no idea that he was the one who had painted all the paintings hanging on the walls of the house. I had never seen him paint before although he had mentioned that he used to paint as a teenager and college student. Somehow, I did not ask him why he had stopped painting or rather I assumed that work life must have kept him away from painting. Suddenly, my eyes fel...
Read more