An Ode to My Grandmothers on Women's Day

It was my walk time and somewhere possibly on my 5th round, as I was having my conversations with the moon and enjoying the fresh air, I overheard a chat amongst a small group.

While I didn’t pick up on what they were discussing, one of them said “arey woh nahi chalegi, bahut modern hain, sambhlegi nahi”.

It got me thinking about this label “modern woman”. I wondered if I would be labelled one, what is it to be one, if I really was one, is it wrong to be one or is it a fad to be one. I got a little lost in my head thinking.

I went back two generations. I remembered both my grand moms; Ammamma and Bapamma as I called. I had no stereotyping for them but realized I was blessed with some amazing role models.

Those two women –

Intelligent enough, to know what to say and how much to say

Mature enough, to know when to keep quiet

A leader enough, to influence people in her own way

Dignified enough, to not let her mood affect her manners

Learned enough, to make time for her interest/s

Kind enough, to help family and strangers

Gracious enough, to always acknowledge efforts

Smart enough, to manage a large household

Immaculate enough, to keep the house running perfectly fine

Hospitable enough, to make outsiders feel like one of her own

Polite enough, that visitors could share their woes

Assertive enough, to ensure no one trampled upon her or her family

Flexible enough, to navigate through various situations

Honest enough, to say what she means

Sagacious enough, to make the right judgement

Go-getter enough, to know that you have to go and seize your own day/ happiness

Astute enough, to draw her boundaries and guard herself

Proud enough, to display what she inherently is

Accepting enough, to embrace all viewpoints

Brave enough, to fight her own battles

Independent enough, to pick up broken pieces and restart

Fearless enough, to know that a tragedy isn’t the end of life

Wise enough, to know that real wealth lay in good health and strong relationships

And

Enlightened enough, to know that real joy lay in Surrendering

Apart from our clothing sense and that I can earn/ travel/ live independently; the “modern woman” (going simply by the times) in me wishes to be them at the core.

I want to regress to being those old-fashioned women, who didn’t know about feminism but knew the immense strength and responsibility that lay in being a woman.

Happy Women’s Day!