Her time in the sun

Bhartendu Sood

YES, it is the perfect time to be a woman in India because, finally, she has got the world listening to what she is saying. A woman in our country was never as domineering as I see her now.

Case 1: Suspecting that her husband was cheating on her, a resident of Sangrur, Punjab, murdered him. If things had ended here, probably she would not have figured in this piece, but she displayed exceptional audacity of putting the body in the kitchen refrigerator and, who knows, she might have roasted it too if she had more time — nearly on a par with Sunil Sharma of the infamous Delhi tandoor case.

 Case 2: Our domestic help is a young woman with a small daughter. She was, it seemed, the sole bread-winner of her family, as her ‘nikama’ husband would idle his time at home. One day, spotting an opportunity, he slipped out of the house with her hard-earned savings. After a month or so, when he had exhausted the last penny, he decided to return, only to find the police looking for him. His wife had lodged a police complaint! With nobody to bail him out, he is cooling his heels in jail.

Case 3: A youth in our friend circle was justifiably in seventh heaven, having found a highly accomplished woman as his life partner. After the wedding celebrations in a five-star hotel, foreign jaunts and expensive shopping were regular features. His family did not mind financing these, in the hope that the daughter-in-law, after the completion of her professional degree, would fill the empty coffers. But to their discomfort, she had other plans. Almost two years after their marriage, she shocked everyone by declaring, ‘I sense no compatibility with my husband and would like to seek a divorce.’ 

In a joint meeting before filing a petition for mutual divorce, the appointed mediator asked both parties to return expensive gifts they had given each other. The man’s family took no time in returning what he had received, but after taking these in her possession, the woman’s mother gently remarked, ‘She won’t return the gifts as these constitute ‘istri dhan’ which can’t be taken back!’

I use city bus for local transportation. Two seats are reserved for senior citizens, but most of the times, young girls are seated there. The conductor finds himself as helpless as I do in such sticky situations.

Probably now you may agree with me: it is the perfect time to be a woman in India. When I hear them saying still ‘more’ needs to be done, I am taken over by a feeling of trepidation — exactly what that ‘more’ would be!