Volition

 

“The new Mayor of Chennai Corporation is a woman.”

“11 out of 20 Mayors in Tamizh Nadu are women.”

These lines are part of the headlines in leading newspapers last week. What does this convey?

Women Empowerment? That women in our country are now out of the clutches and that the cliched Glass ceiling has been broken?

Before we attempt to draw any conclusions, let me reproduce a small passage:

“Listen to me. You may be the President of whatever of that ‘xyz’ company, but when we come home, you are a wife and a mother and a daughter. Nobody can take that place. So, leave your crown in the Garage.”

This passage is extracted from the autobiography of Indra Nooyi, the first woman CEO of that multinational company and that ‘dialogue’ was uttered by her mother when the CEO-Designate drove back home and broke the news to her mother.

The headlines quoted in the beginning and this passage may sound relevant to some and may sound irrelevant to many. But the fact of the matter is, women-not just in India, but across the world- are discriminated against, their roles being stereotyped with the ‘crown’ sitting uncomfortably on their heads, ready to be dislodged at the drop of a hat!

‘All said and done, she is a woman’- Is there anybody who has not used this expression? And this includes women too.. Indra’s mother, a woman herself cannot extricate herself from the definition of the ‘duties of a woman’. In a way, she is no different from that gentleman called Manu, whose lines have been quoted ad nauseam.

At the other end of the spectrum-which is diametrically opposite to that ‘empowerment theory’, we get to see crimes and atrocities against women continuing unabated, not just in the oppressed class, but also in the elite class. The shameful and nauseous incident involving the Malayalam actor which happened in 2017 and despite all evidence, being dragged by the court of law with the main accused continuing to enjoy the ‘immunity’ and even continuing to act in films, is a case in point. The fact that the female actor is audacious and doggedly pursuing the case without giving up even an inch despite the aspersion cast, is indeed appreciable and shows the light at the end of the tunnel.

Women are not objects or subjects but are human beings with a free will. If we realise this fact(and here ‘we’ means both men and women), only then can we say that women are empowered.

Being glorified as ‘Shakti’, being put on a pedestal, being considered a gold ornament which is at best kept inside the locker or used only as an ornament on occasions, being made to occupy powerful positions only to keep reminding them of their ‘duties’ as a ‘stree’, are not things a woman wants. What they want is Respect in real sense without assuming that the power to give freedom lies with a male.

In the song of the day, I feel that freedom. ‘Karpoora Mullai OndRu’ from ‘Karpoora Mullai’(1991) reminds me of a free bird which flies without any inhibitions.

The beginning itself suggests this. The female voice humming ‘Bam ha Bam Bam’ with the chorus joining in soon and the different sound which sounds like a ball falling down and bouncing back, kindles interest. A kind of interest which would make anything interesting. The bass guitar and the keys follow suit and produce sound which can be called ‘naughty and notorious’. In short, Freedom at its best!

We move like that uncontrollable river in a forest- sings Chitra in the Pallavi in which the bass guitar and the drums back the vocals in their signature style.

The bass strings continue their journey in the first interlude with the brass instruments peeping in in the beginning and then going on their own trip. The bass strings enter again but this time the violins join them and it is two different melodies superimposed. The bass strings take a turn and chart their own path, after a while and lead to the CharaNam.

The beginning of the CharaNam is different yet again with the chorus singing in harmony.

We can no longer be tied like how a snake is made to sleep inside a box. No longer are we the ‘Sitas’ to be confined to the boundaries – sings the chorus.

We move like the silver chariot in the night, singing and dancing to ourselves.

It is the funny sound of the guitar which first attracts us in the second interlude. The strings follow moving like a stream. The chorus hums a melody and though it is repetitive, it does not sound stale because of the tune and also because of the guitar which backs the vocals.

A river flows on its own. It need not ask anybody about its path.

A cuckoo sings on its own. It need not seek permission.

Hope people who build dams or people who cage the birds are listening!