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But something changed, and she was compelled to think. Not about the menu, but about herself. She was 29. But when she glanced at her face on the flipside of the plate she just washed, she seemed 40. Tired, beyond her years.
With the incessant downpour, Revathi was forced to take a break. The school had texted the parents in the wee hours that school shall remain closed.
She sat by the window, watching her life pass by. There was a time when she loved dressing up for her own self. Time when she mattered. A time when she wanted to pursue her love for psychology. Child psychology, she whispered. But to her relief, Avantika and Viren were sleeping. Cuddled together. She smiled. The smile seemed forced, but they were her world.
She struggling to gulp the concoction which has been standing since 30 minutes. It tasted like tea. Some essence was left. The irony left her flabbergasted. She was like that cup of tea, cold, unaware of its power to brighten the day.
Revathi never blamed anyone, her choices were her own. Succumbing to the unending circle of monotony was her beckoning.
Brushing away the webs of desperation, she rushed to take the shower. When she heard Beeji calling out her name, “Revathi, Kahan reh gayi? Sunn bhi rahi hai?” (Where are you? Do you hear me?)
She drapped the dupatta around her neck and rushed to her mother in law’s room. “Ji Beeji, naha rahi thi.” (Yes, Beeji, I was having a bath.)
“Naashte mein kya hai?” (What’s for breakfast?) Beeji asked in a tone of urgency.
“Abhi banaya nahi, jo aap kaho?” (I haven’t made anything yet, what would you like?) That was a rhetoric question for Revathi. Basically it was Beeji who decided each morning, noon, and night what would be served on the plate.
Beeji paused and asked, “Tu kya khayengi?” (What would you like?)
Without taking a breath, Revathi asked, “Me?” She hadn’t ever thought about it. Her preference, what she wanted to eat, or wear, or do.
A small question, it seemed like a mountain she was forced to climb now. “Kuch bhi, jo sab khayenge.” (Anything. Whatever everyone would like.) Revathi added.
“Kyon? Tera koi Mann nahi hai kya?” (Why? Don’t you want to have anything in particular?) Beeji pushed her to a point where she just broke down. She was crying. Cajoled out of her trance, she went to the kitchen and started banging those pots and pans to put up a decent meal on the table.
She remembered when Avantika had started walking, she had almost turned 1 year 6 months old. People called her a late walker, but Revathi couldn’t let her grit fail. Twisted legs, baby fat, and things that pinched her soul. Even the doctors were unsure if Avantika would walk. But Revathi knew, that she and her daughter deserved a second chance.
And now, she knew, she deserved that second chance more than anyone else. She deserved herself. She wiped her face. And shouted back, “Beeji aaj Gobhi Parantha khaoge?” (Beeji will you like Gobhi Parathas today?)
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
A new Gallup poll reveals that up to 40% of Indian women are angry compared to 27% of men. This is a change from 29% angry women and 28% angry men 10 years ago, in 2012.
Indian women are praised as ‘susheel’, virtuous and to be emulated when they are obedient, ready to serve others and when they put the wishes of others before their own. However, Indian women no longer seem content to be in the constrictive mould that the patriarchy has fashioned for them. A Gallup poll looked at the issue of women’s anger, their worry, stress, sadness and found that women consistently feel these emotions more than men, particularly in India.
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