‘’Is
God a man or a woman?’’
When a little kid asked me this question, I did not know how to react. I was shocked too. Somehow, I got reminded
of the dialogue from one of the most
popular Tamizh films- ‘Are you a good person or a bad person?’. Like the protagonist in that movie, I too replied
‘I don’t know’, though not in his tone.
Sadly enough,I did not have the backing of the leitmotif of the Maestro.
But jokes apart, the question made me think. ‘Why should a 10 year old girl worry about
the gender of God? What would have made her do this?’
I asked her the reason. She said ‘’ I am sure it is He. Otherwise why do only girls have some problems?
If it was a She, this wouldn’t happen’’.
The reply left me dumbfounded. She was of course talking of
physiological problems unique to
women. Nowadays, schools educate the children about many
things and this includes certain things considered as taboo traditionally. Forward thinking people should definitely welcome this. Therefore, I had no
qualms about her getting to know about some details regarding the anatomy
and physiology. But what troubled me
is the way a girl perceives her being
a girl. Is it a healthy trend or
not?
Is it a fact that women undergo a lot of hardships
in the world when compared to men? Is it then a sin to be born as a girl?
Then why did the Mahakavi sing ‘Mangaiyaraai piRappadhaRkku maathavam
seithida veNdumamma’?(it needs a
lot of penance indeed to be born as a girl). This is a very vast subject and
requires reams of pages to discuss.
Therefore, let me try and touch some pertinent
points here.
The main point in my opinion is not so much the physiological problems as the emotional
and the mental trauma. By this I
mean the way the society looks at
and treats women. The term society has a larger connotation and
without any doubt, includes women
too. We Indians have a confused mind
when it comes to women. I am not
exaggerating when I say that we are a bundle of contradictions. At one end of a spectrum, we put a woman on a pedestal, make her an epitome of patience, tolerance, love, compassion
and shower encomiums on her. At the other end, we look down upon her giving
some stereotyped roles and go to the
extent of saying ‘Being a woman, you
can’t and shouldn’t do this’.
It is in this band of spectrum that we
see her as a glamourous creature
created for men and to satisfy men in all aspects. We expect women
to act as per the whims and fancies of men.
No, not just ‘of men’ but also ‘of women’ who carry the tag of ‘mother’ by law (or is it in-law?).
Both the ends of the spectrum are
dangerous. We deify women so that
they remain on the pedestal like statues without any emotions. ‘Oh
, how many sacrifices a woman makes!’ we shed crocodile tears. We trample them at the other end, first by branding them as symbols of beauty and
then setting rules. How confused we are!
Isn’t there a disconnect between the two
ends here? Yes and no. ‘Yes’ because
the two are contradictory. ‘No’ because the other is responsible for the one.
No, I am not contradicting here. We put women on the pedestal because we know that if we do that, we can get away with everything. ‘God created mother because He can’t be present all the time’, we
say (here itself there is a contradiction anyway as God is supposed to be omnipresent).
After saying this, we go ahead and disrobe
women (literally and figuratively).
That is why, we have men who say ‘If a diamond is displayed on the road, dogs will surely take it’, ‘ It
is the girl who invites the boys with ‘inappropriate dress’’, ‘ There is
nothing wrong in a rape. Boys just want to have fun’.
Mind you, these were said by men who are supposed to be ‘leaders’.
But when we have the leader of the country himself saying ‘Depite being a woman…’, can’t we
understand the kind of stereotyped
images we all have in our mind?
So, where are we now?
‘ Durga’
to ‘Maa / behenji’ to ‘kya maal hai yaar’ to ‘girls should not wear jeans’!!
If this is not a bundle of
contradictions, what else is?
However, the solution lies within us. Let us stop deifying women. Let us stop denigrating
women. Let us understand and appreciate the problems of women, respect
them in the real sense and treat
them as fellow human beings without any set of written or unwritten
rules.
The rare
gem of the day ‘PaavaiyargaL Maan Pole..’ from ‘Ore Muththam’(1980)
precisely talks about this but in a slightly different way.
The brilliantly written song by Kaviyarasar
puts across both the viewpoints- the ‘traditional
typecasting’ and the modern one.
Needless to say that the former is by a man
(brilliant rendition as usual by SPB)
and the latter by a woman (again a
beautiful rendition by Janaki).
What is most striking is the way the composition traverses through two totally different genres, qawwali and modern pop. Brilliantly symbolic!
Qawwali,
a genre which was ubiquitous in the old Hindi
songs(till late ‘70s) has appeared
in some old Tamizh songs too. But
here it is very special because of the seamless transition. The Maestro has also tuned it in Mishra Khamaj, a Hindustani raag used
prolifically in qawwalis.
The song
starts with the harmonium playing
with sensitivity and making some smooth glides. It plays without percussion for 3 cycles of chatushra ekam
and then moves along spreading warmth for the next 10 cycles.
The pallavi
is in anaagata eduppu and the male sings ‘ Women are like the deer; like the
Cauvery river; If only they tread the path laid for them and live accordingly,
they are angels. Why this modernity?’
The first
interlude gives the quintessential flavour of a qawwali with the shehnai,
the clapping and the harmonium. It is simple and at the same
time zestful.
The first
charaNam talks about having beautiful plait
decorated with flowers and at the
same time says ‘ Jewellery and dress don’t make you beautiful. Sport a smile and walk
with a proper gait.Read Tamizh’.
Let it be understood here that ‘reading tamizh’ is used as a euphemism
here for ‘following tradition’.
Musically, the stanza is marvellous with
the akaaram after ‘choodungaL’
shining like gems on a nose ring.
There is a sudden shift in the interlude which follows. The electric guitar appears with a grin and
moves along dancing. The saxophone
follows and traverses upwards.
The healthy competition
between the two is amazing!
The female
now sings, ‘ A good woman can live anywhere. I know what I am doing and let there be
no barriers . I am like the pure Ganges’.
The TaaLa
pattern now changes to tisram as the saxophone again goes on a melodious
spree. After a brief intervention by electric
guitar, the male sings ‘Wear
a silk saree and you are protected. God comes rushing to you when you wear bindi and flowers’
(Doesn’t this contradiction between the first charaNam and this charaNam typify the mentality of the society?).
The female
replies that even if God comes here
now, He will accept me as times are
changing.
Now, it is the shehnai that follows and moves with a verve.
The stanza
that follows has the male sarcastically
refer to the smile of a woman.
‘Those days, women would walk with their
heads bowed down. And now you all smile directly looking at our faces.’
The old adage about a lady’s laughter being very dangerous, used even in Mahabharata, is used after this.
The saxophone
follows with unobtrusive energy.
‘Ok, now let us come to an agreement. Point
out if I make a mistake. And I shall
point out your mistakes. After all, are’nt women and men equal?’
This is a beautiful line and one sees Bharati in KaNNadasan.
The last
part is rendered by both the male
and the female saying ‘Let
us be friends. There is good and evil in everything. Let us unite’.
The inherent
message is obvious.
So, will we all follow this as well?
And by the way, is God a man or a woman?
Well..Only God Knows!
