Tribute to Lady Doak College

Saw the below image circulated in fb, lots of my friends shared it. Each time someone shares it I was reminded of  Lady Doak College. Don’t know what could have happened to me if  join LDC.

Before joining LDC I was a literal spoon fed baby. Everything will be taken care by my ever pampering patents and a lovely brother. Haven’t seen what life is. No hardships no tears not even smaller responsibility.

Dad put me in LDC because it is near his office and he could  just drop in if anything needed. On the second day of my college I found my pen missing. I just ringed my dad from the coin phone inside for a pen I could buy in the opposite shop. Yes, I was that irresponsible. What ever I do wrong my family will mend. And I happily enjoyed a privilege, without realize it as a privilege.

God put my in the hands of LDC, to prepare me for the much awaiting life. LDC taught me what a women’s life is and the struggle of millions of women for centuries to attain education for me now. I was seeded with social responsibility, made me strong and showed the whole I in myself.

Slowly I developed into a different person. From a parasitic state I moved to a interdependent life style. More assertive and ready to face the real life out of my ever pampering life. If I weren’t here I would have become nothing.

The storms blows hard

This is where I learnt

To still travel and do not break

 

The cocoon enclosed

This is where I learnt

to sew the wings and fly around

 

Life’s up or down

This is where I learnt

That I am I  and to stand firm

– A proud Doakian

Category of Women

There were so many archetypal categories of women; as good or bad, as pretty or plain, as virtuous or villainous, as lovely or arrogant and as submissive or aggressive. Being a woman I have seen only one category of women, woman, who wants what she wants. The Book of Esther is a good example of this.

Here Vashti and Esther stands against the king Ahasuerus with his bad company.  The story begins with Vashti refusing to summon before the men and display her beauty. She considers it as too low for her to accept the order made “when the heart of the king was merry with wine”(The Book of Esther, 1:10).  He saw her as object of beauty and wanted to have pride as he has had the best of all women.  For Vashti she is not the show but a woman with self-respect.

Vashti had immense courage to stand against him and risk her life. She gives up her power and position as queen to retain her self-respect.

Here comes Esther with the same courage Vashti had but with a different need. She has a mission to get a safe place for the kids to grow, a hopeful life for the young men and women holding hands in trust and a peaceful death for the people grown old. For this she gets into the contest, which could either make her a powerless queen or doom her life into the lower house. For it says,

In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines….

– The Book of Esther, 2:14

This contest shows the wickedness of the king and his men. Esther was not the first woman to go to the palace. She has seen so many of these women getting through this, but still wanted this for her people. Winning the contest does not make her in anyway better but only in a powerless state. After 5 years of marriage, she will not even be able to meet her husband in need, without put her life into risk again.

Now Esther stands before the egoistic Ahasuerus to save his people. When Vashti gave a blunt blow at his ego to defend her self-respect, Esther pampers it to get on to his head and get what she wants.

She also deceives Haman by inviting him to the banquet. So the king will not be poisoned against her as it was done against Vashti. When she completely took the power over Ahasuerus, she disclosed her need to save her people and puts an end to the enemy Haman.

The Book of Esther was what God destined to show the power of women. With Moses, He brought in His miracles power to save the people, where as with Esther, He chooses to use the will and courage of women.

This is the same with Vashti. She was never referred as bad. It clearly states that the king made his order when he is obsessed by wine. He feels bad for what happened.  Vashti has been a threat to the king’s men with her intelligent. They took this as an opportunity to doom her.  The story of Vashti did not end there. The voice of this first feminist is been carried on to all the women who came after her. And has taken us till here and even further.

Happy Women’s Day

Who’s Money

 

I am me

Call Me a Kali!

An Angry destroyer

full of ruth, Intolerant

to what’s nothing for you.

 

Call me annaporani

The ever provider

for all your need as you want

With selfless self

 

Call me white or black

bright or grey

A bounty angel or wicked witch

But  I am  me

 

frown for a frown Smile for a smile

Can’t kill myself

For a rosy name

I am not Mary

 

Call Me Something

As you can call me anything

But  I am just me

And nothing more

Invading is Masculine and Expanding is Feminine

There were so many perception about gender. Old traditional theory wants women to be submissive claiming that they are weak and depends on men. Feminist schools denies this as both gender as equal. Some do even deny the gender and calls it as a myth. Here is a gender perception of my granny.

Granny was very very old and strong. Some would even say that she could work like a man. For me it is demeaning her. I would say that she is a strong capable good hearted women.  She hasn’t heard of feminism or gender equality. They are greek and latin for her. But, the patriarchy could hardly move her a inch. She has her own priorities and desires influencing her decisions.

She had poultry.   Whenever there is new chick hatched the gender of them to calculate the prospect she could get. She would do that within two or three days before there is any physical changes in the chicks. Believe me her prediction has never gone wrong. I would alway test this, but then she is right in this.

One day she told me her secret. The chick that keep calling for a fight and fights for prolonged period are male. And the chick that get provoked for fight only when called and would return to feeding within half minutes is female. She whispered, “Men go for valor and always wants to prove himself. Whereas women go for prospect and she would alway have an eye on the  available sources. So be a strong women.”

Comparing genders and arguing about equality and inequality is keeping two unrelated thing in a same scale. They are neither equal nor in-equal as they are completely different.  Always compare the human character and elevate it so that we all could move towards it to create good society for us.  There is no use in comparing masculine and feminine characters.

This is the gender perception I grow into. So what are you going to do for your daughters? 🙂