Kiran Bedi, Sonia Gandhi, Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, Mayawati, Sania Mirza, Arundhati Roy… well the list can go on endlessly but what is common in the above names? Yupp…they are all women. They all are from India and they all are very successful in different walks of life. Now, let’s have another set of names— P. Archana, Devi Kumari Singh, Suman Sinha, Isha Sharma, Lalita Agarwal…and the list can go on and on and on and on… What is common here? Once again, they are all women. They all are from India and even they are very successful in their life. But who are they? Alright, you can stop scratching your head. I’ll unfold the mystery.
P. Archana is a bus conductor in Visakhapatnam. Every day she sells and checks tickets for scores of commuters traveling on the route 400 N in that coastal city and she is the one who actually fined me for not buying a ticket( though I can still swear that I bought the ticket but misplaced it –courtesy- my absent mindedness) . The sheer confidence and sincerity which emerges from her can be felt by the ease and dedication with which she does her job. Being a woman, by no means, intimidates her but makes her more responsible. She said once, “Men forget because they are absent minded, women forget because they are women. This attitude of the society makes me more determined to maintain perfection”. No doubt, that she is a successful woman.
Devi Kumari Singh is in Delhi police and she usually monitors the traffic near Chanakyapuri, South Delhi and she is the one who caught me roving without a helmet (Yaar…helmet hi kharidne ja raha tha ). Once again, she is a woman who has to interact with dozens of law flouting idiots (like me) and once again, the candidness and poise won’t let you go unimpressed. Wearing the Delhi police uniform with pride, carrying the baton with authority and walking with a head held high, she is indeed a successful woman.
Suman Sinha …sorry…Dr. Suman Sinha is a dentist in Lucknow. She owns a clinic in a busy marketplace and she is the one who admonished me for having stains in my teeth ( Yuppp…I was addicted to tea once upon a time). Teeth have no gender, but the brain, a few inches above them, is gender biased. On being asked “Don’t you feel that men would prefer a male dentist for getting their tooth extracted”, she smiled and said, “Some people with a tinge of chauvinism do tend to think like that but most of my patients want a neat job, obviously with less pain- to the gums and the wallet.” Today she is among the most sought after dentists in Lucknow and earns more than most of the men in the city (including me (sigh)). I think she is successful too.
Isha Sharma, age 22, works in a software firm in Noida. She was my classmate in school and she is the one from whom I copied a few answers during a maths paper in school.(That was the first and the last time I copied…I swear!!). From the very beginning of her academic career she showed an exceptionally good aptitude for the so called male-dominated-subject. Rejecting the sincere advise of many to take up arts, commerce or biology (the so called girlish subjects), she preferred mathematics. Her father wanted her to take commerce in graduation and stay at home but she went on to become a software engineer and now she lives on her own. The same father got an expensive wrist watch on father’s day and proudly proclaimed, “My daughter earns more than my colleague’s son.” (fortunately or unfortunately, my father is the colleague he was talking about). I think I have full rights and reasons to believe that she is successful as well.
Lalita Agarwal is a house wife. Her elder son is an engineer and the younger son is a tremendously successful businessman. She was always a bright student throughout her academic career but after her marriage she found that her husband could hardly spare time for the family owing to the immensely huge business he had to look after. She chose to sacrifice her own aspirations and became a home maker. She diligently looked after her children, often playing the role of a father when her husband was not present. Today she is extremely satisfied with her life and says, “I could have become a successful professional but I m not sure then what would have been the fate of my family. I’m satisfied that I was always there with my kids whenever they needed family support. I’m glad that my husband could give his hundred percent in work, without worrying about the family. He knew I was there to care. Today my family is happy, I’m an achiever”. She surely is an achiever by judging the status of his husband, the success of her children and by the immense satisfaction, illuminating her face.
Famous or not famous but women in India are achieving new heights. They are doing things which were unimaginable a decade ago. They are everywhere. Besides taking care of their children, net savvy home makers are buying stocks online. Women are in the army, in the police, in hospitals, in call centers, in research institutes and obviously in our houses, converting them into homes…Shayad yahi hai- ‘Buland Bharat ki Buland Naari ki Buland Tasweer …!!’
For a while
12 years ago
Good choice of Subject!
ReplyDeleteThe most prominent change in Middle India - the transformation of the urban female. They excel in whatever they do - animation to astronaut! I hope the Urban female can show the way to rural ones and the transformation is spread to Lower India as well.
Good, you didnt missed out the tribute to the Housewife(rightly called the Homemaker these days!).
Looks like an attempt to move out of "humour" tag - first post devoid of humour!! Good fluid story telling and portrayal of real life characters.. Keep it up.