B'Personal

You must have heard "maturity has nothing to do with age". I have also heard it and always trembled in my heart with fear because I knew I was not becoming mature mentally, i mean more practical or balanced or wise , or worldly wise or things like that. Unlike my younger sister, who is always politically correct, diplomatic and oh so polite in whatever she says (even in anger) I just knew I stand no where. I was always playful, giggling, rebellious and adamant and on top of all argued with my parents while growing up, which of course gave me bad results in future. I was always worrying when will I become mature? When will I sound and be wise and serious looking and pakki in duniyadari... phew... all this, kind of scared me all these years, say after teenage said bye bye.

There was this Advertisement on Indian TV channels long back in which a lady dressed up in a business suit walks down the road, but seeing a group of children playing with the skipping rope, breaks into a girly act and starts skipping with the kids. Her lady-like poise suddenly takes a back seat when she chooses to become a kid with the kids.

This ability to become a child when in the company of these small wonders is beautiful. Otherwise also, being able to do silly little things and laugh and enjoy like a child is quality, I think we should have. There is a child in all of us, our innocent self, our playful self. Ever tried getting in touch with that child?

Most of us are born with a clear gender identity - either male or female. But, a Brown University study concluded that 1.7% of population develop in a way that varies from standard definition of male-female. Inter-sexuality is much more common than Down's Syndrome or Albinism.

It appears to me that these days I walk in a state of semi-detachment from the world. I cross traffic-clogged roads dreamily without looking at either sides. I board and alight buses and trains with my eyes firmly lodged on my IPhone.What happened to me? You may wonder. Well nothing out of the ordinary. I am just being an NRI.

 The first thing I asked when I saw him was, Maa, is bhai a boy or a girl? I was disappointed that he didn’t look like a doll I was expecting. He was thin, gangly and cried all the time.Even though he was my long-awaited sibling, I just couldn’t get myself to love him. In one stroke, he had taken away all the attention from me. All of a sudden, my Maa and Baba were just not mine anymore. I was expected to share their love – God, I so resented it.

The world seems to think beautiful women have it easy - they are dead wrong. True, you get pursued all the time and it gets tough turning down so many eager proposals but if you are looking for a serious career, you can forget about it. It seems good looks can dim your prospects at landing a job, especially if it is considered macho.

Whenever a woman tries to be revolutionary, it seems that society considers it as being an outcast and blames her. Be it the dress she wears, be it if she is raped, be it harassment at work, be it if she wants to be financially independent, be it eve teasing, harassment of widows.

This is something I strongly feel about, so here it is without much description or declarations... Read on... There are absolutely, no second thoughts about the fact that the Indian woman has very successfully established herself in various fields and spheres of life.
Today, she is working as a renowned politician, lawyer, doctor, poet, writer, painter, social worker, the list is endless. And noticeable is the fact that she has come out with flying colors in every role she has played.

Let me guess… a good life? A rich husband? A perfect man (the one with six pack abs)? Happiness with lots of chocolates? Nail-polish maybe?

Hmm…

Well, I’ve known a lot of women in my life, like for example… my mom, my sister, my girlfriend, HER girlfriend (Yes, after one full year of dating her I came to know that she ALSO likes women). After this incident I often wonder that… do I really know women?

An 11-year old is all eager and excited to get into teens and a 16-year old girl can’t wait to turn 18. Then, why is, that just a day before your 20th birthday you tell your age precisely to be nineteen.