The British Broadcasting Center (BBC) might have had their share of fun when they disclosed their controversial documentary on India wherein they referred to the subcontinent as a ‘land of snake charmers’. But what they forgot to mention was the rest of the comparison, or should I say, ‘analogy’…
If India is the land of snake charmers, then we sure are charming many-a-snake who crawl towards us from all parts of the world –
Tourists – from every nook and corner of the world, all enchanted by the mystery and magic that out great nation has to offer…
That’s right – I couldn’t be more proud when I say that I am an Indian and that I adore our ‘charming’ culture.
I remember learning the definition of civilization in school as “the culture and way of life of a particular area or period”. Well, we were home to one of the most ancient civilizations of the world – the Harappan Civilization. We boast of a heritage that most nations of the west can hardly fathom (Yeah, now tell me who are the barbaric lot and who constitute the civilized clan!)
Although my young mind could not be captivated by the painfully long and somnolent chapters from History which goes on at great lengths about archeologists doing a great deal of ‘digging’ to unearth a tiny piece of pottery that had fine miniature symbols on it, which to me looked like a pretty design, but to them it was some sort of language that they did not yet understand, I was much enthused by the great Indian epics – the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the amazing morals of the Bagavat Gita and the Panchatantra.
It truly wove the cultural fiber of our country, then, with the ethical values that we uphold, even today, with such seamless ease that it makes one gape with awe at the glory that this nation was in its days of yore.
The golden era has surely elapsed. The country has gone through a lot of change – the early wrinkles brought about by the colonial rulers with their ‘Divide & Rule’ strategy; the worry lines that came as the newly-independent nation entered the fray, striving against the prevailing social evils and acute poverty; the much-needed face-lift that was ushered in with the advent of the IT boom that marked the christening of the nation as the ‘new IT hub of the world’.
Over the years, the country has witnessed a volley of troubles; it reeled under severe misfortunes, reveled with immense pride, suffered in silence, basked in glory…
We have come a long way – from the times of the kings and queens, the divine asthras, the grand chariots, and the opulent palaces, to the world of socialism and communism, the democracy, the nuclear weapons and lush government bungalows.
We have changed our lifestyle, our surroundings – but what still remains, almost innate to our land, is our ethics, our guiding principles and our social order. Epics like Mahabharata & Ramayana are so popular even today, not just because they are stories of the Gods, but also because these books talk of a society much like ours is, today. Since we still abide by the same morals, and live with the same prejudices of those years, these epics hold the same privileged position and relevance for the people of this country, then, as well as now.
But how does this seem possible – when the lifestyle of the people has changed, how can their value system still be so firmly rooted in the past? Strange, isn’t it?
I am sure if an Indian is reading this, his/her chest would be puffed up, by now, with immense pride. And if you are not an Indian, you might be awestruck by now, at the mere thought of the moral dynamics that this nation has preserved intact, untouched and unharmed with the passage of time. But is this a matter that we should pride ourselves in, entirely? Or must our retrogressive social system make us hang our heads in shame?
Let me elucidate my point by taking the help of an example – a topic that is very close to my heart – The position of women in society.
The Ramayana talks of the ideal son, the ideal ruler, the ideal wife, the ideal brother…
For those who do not know – the book tells a story of a great ruler, a great human being, and the best among men (Ram) who leaves his kingdom to live in a forest for 14 years just to fulfill the promise that his father gave to his step-mother. His wife (Sita) dutifully followed him into the jungle, only to be kidnapped by the king of demons (Ravana) who was allured by her beauty. The story’s climax is a huge war fought between the demon-king and the good guy Ram. The good guy wins (like every other time…). Now, after the rapturous victory and the 14 years spent wandering in the deep forests, it was time for the royal couple to return to their kingdom. Here comes the catch now – the king has to prove the ‘modesty’ of his wife to his subjects, since she was abducted and held captive by another man. So, he asks her to walk through fire – if she is unhurt, then she is pure; otherwise… oh, well, she wasn’t really worth the battle.
So our lady, docile as she was, obeys what her husband tells and walks through fire. Needless to say, she was unhurt, thereby proving to the world her chastity and devotion to her husband. Now, the story proceeds and there are two more occasions where this lady needs to prove her modesty!! I know – as if one wasn’t enough, fancy three!! So, heartbroken and saddened by the lack of faith her husband had in her, and appalled by the audacity of his wish, she decides that it was time for her to leave. So amidst much lightening and sound-effects, she says – “If I am pure after all, then let this earth part and pull me within!.” And that’s precisely what happened – Mother Earth takes her away – away from her husband who needed her to prove her innocence, away from the world that would not accept her without ‘proof’.
Then we have the Mahabharata. This tale of two royal families is so eventful, and ridden with drama, vigor, romance, humor, courage, and tact that putting the story in a nutshell would only spoil its essence. Hence, let me explain a small portion of the story that I feel is relevant to the discussion at hand:
There is a gambling match (which also happens to be the turning point of the story) in which the 5 husbands (the good guys, a.k.a the Pandavas) of a lady (Draupadi) play their cousins (the bad guys, called Kauravas). They lose one asset after another of theirs and eventually bet their wife Draupadi too. Seems they were on a ‘losing-spree’ that they lose that game too. Consequently, the Kauravas proceed to humiliate the losers by disrobing their wife in a packed-assembly full of ministers! Although their plans failed, she promised herself that she would take revenge for this embarrassment, and she sure did too – at the end of the book, when one of her husbands killed the man responsible for the heinous act.
So, as you can see, women were always required to follow the shadow of her man (I say shadow because she wasn’t expected to look up at a man). They must have the tolerance of the dame from Ramayana (Sita) exhibited when she was asked to walk on fire. Revenge was not the privilege of a woman. If she so hell-bent on reprimanding someone who offended her, then she probably needs to pray to the Gods and wait for her second-birth, when she is born as a man… or if she is rather impatient, she’d better get a man who could help her get her way, as in Mahabharata.
Our present society hasn’t changed all that much, you see. Even now, women suffer from harassment, eve-teasing, rape – you name it! And justice still eludes the fairer sex.
There are, even today, numerous cases when women suffer in silence, be it in private buses, on deserted roads, dark alleys… The public most often attributes such traumatic experiences to the lady-in-trouble, blaming the gall of the lady who went to the ‘wrong-place’ at the ‘wrong-time’.
Slowly the maxim was modified to say:
‘A man by her side works better for a woman than the law of the land, if safety is what she has in mind.’
But today, the rule has become almost obsolete –
No longer will a woman tolerate such acts in silence. No longer can sex-offenders gain an upper hand considering women to be naïve and docile, and hence the ‘weaker sex’.
The modern woman of India has stopped waiting for a man to help her fight her own battles and has finally stood up for herself. Now, a lady doesn’t mind the scene it creates when she raises her voice/hand against anyone who attempts to offend her. Gone are the days when women labored endlessly for more representation in the legislature – she doesn’t favor the law any more than the law favors her. She has evolved into a practical thinker: Now, I don’t say that a lady will be any safer if she protests against such advances than she would be if she swallows her pride and endure the shame in silence, but isn’t it better to attempt to salvage herself and lose rather than not trying at all.
At least she’ll have a clearer conscience and a higher self-esteem for making her point heard…
If you still find this change of the Indian woman hard to reckon with, may be this incident will help you clear the blur –
A soldier armed with his service rifle allegedly made advances at a lady, barely in her twenties, who was managing a store. In keeping with the classic Bollywood movies, you might expect the lady to scream in despair, in a vain attempt to attract the attention of a passer-by who might come to her rescue.
Well, talk about red herrings! Instead the village was startled by the cries of agony of the soldier who was pelted with stones and beaten up by the lady, (and might I add) single-handedly.
The weeping sari-clad docile Indian wife is history now. As the country goes through a ‘makeover’, so do the ladies – be it the independent women of urban India, dressed in chic formals exerting their equality to men at the workplace, or the ‘desi-kudi’ in salwar kameez who’d turn around and slap the pervert who makes a pass at her.
Its nice to see that we are finally breaking the shackles of centuries-old doctrines that bind us to an age that has passed and move on with our times to the new India – a land where women are not mere vessels of forbearance, but are people with great strength of mind and enough courage to wage their own daily battles and have the power to win it too.
Way to go, ladies!
