Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Patriarchy
Time: 7.40 PM
Date: 03/10/06
Venue: Lonavla Railway Station.
Characters in the scene: A nuclear family, guess they belong to the local tribe, and a whole lot of passengers waiting for the Mumbai bound Indrayani Express.
Date: 03/10/06
Venue: Lonavla Railway Station.
Characters in the scene: A nuclear family, guess they belong to the local tribe, and a whole lot of passengers waiting for the Mumbai bound Indrayani Express.
The lady looked very tired, and the kid very hungry. Their clothes were totally in ragged condition. They were sitting on the floor of the railway station (Railway stations are much dirtier these sides, thanks to the masculine community who can't stop eating pans.Let them eat, but for God's sake, stop spitting them on the floor!). They were waiting for someone before they can start moving. Once can see a saree clad euneche, with a lot of powder on his/her face, her long hair was braided with Jasmine flower (Culture shock: In Chennai, all the females wear Jasmine ribbons/braids, where as in Maharashtra, normally people wearing Jasmine are looked to in a different angle!)
Suddenly, a man comes to the scene. He has a thick Veerappan like moustache, a cloth bag on his back, and a stick on his back. He comes behind the lady.
"Bang!" A huge blow with his powerful hands on her head.
The lady is startled, and looks back, to see her husband fuming at her.
Before she could figure out anything, comes a stream of swearings in the vernacular language, for something which she was to do/not do.
The kid, who is hardly 5 years old looks scared. The patriarch is still fuming. To give vent to his emotions, he starts beating the kid very badly. The kid runs and hides behind the lady.The lady kind of protect him from the father's anger. The lady is in tears!
After this assault, off he walks hurriedly, and the lady somehow gets up, takes the kid on her back and hurriedly follows her husband.
I felt like a useless, unable to do something against this outrageous treatment towards his wife.
But then what could I have possibly done at that time?
And the other people were not as moved as I was, guess for them it is something that is hackneyed.
Suddenly, a man comes to the scene. He has a thick Veerappan like moustache, a cloth bag on his back, and a stick on his back. He comes behind the lady.
"Bang!" A huge blow with his powerful hands on her head.
The lady is startled, and looks back, to see her husband fuming at her.
Before she could figure out anything, comes a stream of swearings in the vernacular language, for something which she was to do/not do.
The kid, who is hardly 5 years old looks scared. The patriarch is still fuming. To give vent to his emotions, he starts beating the kid very badly. The kid runs and hides behind the lady.The lady kind of protect him from the father's anger. The lady is in tears!
After this assault, off he walks hurriedly, and the lady somehow gets up, takes the kid on her back and hurriedly follows her husband.
I felt like a useless, unable to do something against this outrageous treatment towards his wife.
But then what could I have possibly done at that time?
And the other people were not as moved as I was, guess for them it is something that is hackneyed.
Ms. Shobha De: Isn't it yet time for you to get out of Page 3 and come to the villages, to help the needy?
