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They had chosen the village as their impenetrable refuge- Malar from her broken relationship, and Madhavi from the war. Each of them meant the world to the other: a mother, sister, daughter and all.
She started packing her bags. As she went around collecting her books that lay scattered across the floor, she caught a glimpse of her bleeding lips and a swollen eye, reflected on the glass cabinet. Grabbing her bags, she walked over to Vaishnav’s room. A sickly sweet aura of tobacco and alcohol assaulted her senses. Bile welled up in her throat, as she stopped to stared at her drunk abuser for several minutes. Or hours. Or seconds.
“Good bye, Vaishnav. I have to go”, she whispered to the alcohol infested being that lay sprawled on the floor. Without a second glance, she walked out.
Madhavi was frying fish as Malar entered the kitchen. “Wow! Fish fry? Good for me!”
Madhavi grinned at her. “What do you think? Has it been done well? Guess what, Malar akka? This is my maiden attempt! I’ve never cooked fish before.”
Malar sat cross legged next to her and reached over to a large chunk of fish from the stainless plate on the kitchen floor. “Hmm…delicious!” she said, through a mouth laden with the spicy delight. “..Mm…Remarkable for a first attempt!”
Madhavi blushed. “Come on Malar akka, now you are just kidding.”
Malar knew her enough to see that it was Madhavi’s way of acknowledging a compliment. She continued munching away some more fish in contented silence.
It was at the Mandapam refugees’ camp that Malar had first met Madhavi. The nine year old skinny girl in a tattered Paavadai-Chattai was sitting with resolute uprightness, with her dead grandfather’s head on her lap. “He is just sleeping out of exhaustion”, she repeated stubbornly. “He was wide awake all night wondering who was going to water the trees and feed the goats…”
She would not let them take him away from her. She could not lose him. Not after the war had taken away her parents, her little brother and Valli Chithi. And suddenly, she knew that it was she who was lost.
It was six months since Malar had reached the coastal village and joined the NGO that operated to serve the basic needs of the refugees. She had seen dying men and desolate, desperate women, but nothing had shaken her as much as the little girl who would not let go of her dead grandfather.
She turned on the TV. A prominent political leader was speaking, “If only you would promise your vote to my party, I would save my kin and kith dying out there in the war, across the sea…if only you would pledge your vote…”
She turned off the device, shaking with rage. She knew she had to do something. She walked over to her makeshift cardboard book case and took out her father’s diary. She opened it up and the scrawled words on the first page read, ‘Be the change you want to see.’
A year later, all formalities were complied with, and Madhavi was legally adopted by Malar.
“Yumm…wish you had cooked more of them… yummy fish, you know”, said Malar as she walked hand in hand with Madhavi on the sea shore. Madhavi looked up at the guardian angel walking by her side and offered a silent prayer of gratitude. She knew she was not lost anymore, as she walked on, looking up at the sky merging with the sea in an seamless blend of freedom, hope and peace.
A version of this was first published here.
Image source: YouTube
Sindhu is a writer and a mother of two. A self-confessed bibliophile and a movie buff, she finds relief and meaning in doodling, cooking, escaping to hill towns, and her friends. A big fan read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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