Happiness sometimes comes in unexpected ways

It was 6:35 a.m , Friday morning. The alarm clock rang and I woke up with a start. So its finally another day and I will have to go to office. Why cant they give a optional holiday on Fridays? With my body reluctant to move and my eyes wanting to be closed again , I literally dragged myself out of the bed.

8:05 a.m : I am sitting in the bus which has been parked near a petrol pump and will leave in another 10 minutes. I called up my parents. As I disconnected the call, I could hear some hummings. I was feeling too tired after so much office stress but somehow the musical tone had some magical effects to my ears. I saw 2 blind girls were sitting on a bench by a shop and were practicing songs they are about to sing on stage. There were other ladies to guide them, which made me realize that they are from some ashram or home for disabled children.

They sang  beautifully enough to take away all my tiredness in few seconds. I was amazed that God might not have given them vision but has provided them with beautiful voice.

In the meantime another boy of age around 18-19 years was seeing playing with small children. He was mentally challenged. One of the lady who was the group leader, asked him to sit down and sing one song just for the time being their car comes to pick them up for the venue. He silently obeyed and started singing a song on his own. Nobody was interested in what he was singing. But I was listening closely and with full attention how gifted he was in the matter of music. I dont know whether they get any music training or not but its the God's gifted voice with which they continue to sing on their own without being conscious whether they are singing good or bad, whether it is "Surila" or "Besura" , they just sing with their heart and soul oblivious to the world where they know they are treated as "Disabled", treated with sympathy denying many of the human rights.

The scene filled my mind with happiness and realization that even with blindness  or mental challenges, nothing stops them to move on in life. We have so much stress, tension , work and family pressure which keeps us on our toes right from the time we wake up till we hot the bed again. But life is much more than that. 

Some thoughts on women empowerment

A lot is being spoken nowadays about Women empowerment. I would share some of my real life scenarios to elaborate on my thought about the topic.

Scenario 1: One day a colleague was complaining about his health. We started discussing about it and as the discussion progressed he told me that some people in his apartment has put into his wife's head the idea of taking up a job. She instantly found it to be worth and informed her husband to help her in finding a suitable job as she was getting bored of being just a house -wife. But her husband was against the idea as to him "agar woh job karegi to ghar mein khana kaun banayega?" He needs his wife to get up at 5 a.m and cook for him all that he loves to eat and also do the household chores. He doesnt want her to work lest she becomes more smarter than him. Her wife is non-demanding and he thinks himself to be Parameswar who has the authority to scold, abuse or even beat his wife.

Scenario 2: Another colleague added to this point. He wants his wife to be working and never ever leave the job just because he is afraid he cannot meet up the family expenses. His wife will have to contribute in everything he does starting from family expenses and should take care of her own needs. He is not ready to pay her shopping bills, And her wife should be contributing if he buys something for both of them.

Scenario 3:  The discussion continued with another colleague informing that her in-laws demanded her salary to be deposited to her husband's account. They asked her how much savings does she have and what all does she do with those money. And definitely she being the " badi bahu" , should wear saree to office, would never wear western and also is expected to cook for them 3 times a day. Even when she was carrying her child her in-laws insisted that she travel all the way from her maternal house to their house. And the moment she reached, her mother-in-law asked her to prepare tea for the whole family knowing pretty well that she is in her ultimate stage of pregnancy.

All the above scenarios let me ponder about the plight of a woman. To me a woman needs equality and freedom to choose her life. She is not a maid servant who would silently work for her husband's happiness and will satisfy all his needs, someone who would cook all the time, does her job and deposits the entire salary to her husband's account. WHY? Why does men think their better halves to be someone with a lot of sacrificing capabilty?  Why should a woman be forced to work even if she doesnt want to work? If men can pretend to be householder then why should they not take care of their wives basic needs? Even today many of the people dont like their daughters to wear jeans. They believe in getting them married once they pass college. They dont want them to study further or work just in fear of not getting a decent groom.

Now again my question is why should we demand anything less than equality?  Why should not a women be respected for her vital duties? We need empowerment. People should be aware that their daughters are no less than their son. A woman should be respected for her different roles, as a daughter, as a sister, as a wife, as a daughter-in-law, as an executive or as a mother. Starting from getting up early and handle all her roles is what makes her more powerful than anyone else. Without her it will be a different world to live.