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For stay-at-home women, there is judgement when it comes to everything. But break these shackles! Read what you want, watch what you choose. It's your life, after all.
For stay-at-home women, there is judgement when it comes to everything. But break these shackles! Read what you want, watch what you choose. It’s your life, after all.
Life always has challenges. And some times I laugh, when there is no challenge in life because at such times, life itself becomes a challenge.
My challenge is not that big. It is just that I am a well-educated, married, stay-at-home woman with a passion for good literature, thought-provoking art and off-beat movies. Reading thought-provoking or watching those movies is not an easy and comfortable affair. One needs to invest a lot of time and attention. And it could also make you restless, some times for as long as a day or two.
But, this leisure activity has always been food for my soul and mind. This is what makes me feel alive and also leaves me with regrets. Reading a good book is like an addiction- until you finish reading it, you can not sit peacefully. There were so many times when I couldn’t focus on important matters while reading an interesting book. And there were times when I have been made to feel that there is no point in reading fiction or someone’s imagination. I have been told that, after all, it is a total waste of time that will not give me any money at the end of the day.
Quite often, I have tried to justify for my own sake that reading good books is not a waste of time and argued with others in anticipation of winning my arguments. However, I recently watched Vishal Bhardwaj’s trilogy on Shakespeare’s plays’ adaptation- Omkara (Othello), Maqbool (Macbeth) and Haider (Hamlet). These movies left me in awe of the director and his interpretation of the classic plays in a modern context. It made me realise that literature can never be old or obsolete. Literature has always been a shadow of the past and a window of the future. How could something like this be a mere waste of time?
We live in a society that is always judging us. I am also the part of this society and do the same with others. After all, I am also human and could fall to my temptations despite being knowledgeable. So, my point is that we have brackets for everything.
When you are working and can afford to read a book, not just monetarily but investment the time too, you become a role model. But if you are jobless or non-working and pursue a good hobby, it is seen as a waste of time. Instead of giving leisure to you, it fills you with guilt and regret and makes you realise that it might be the only reason for you being a failure. It could make you feel bad because you don’t earn money, contribute to the economy and thus, your existence doesn’t matter.
When I was a child, I was told to focus on the academic books as they will help me have a better future. I was told not to waste time on books or movies. When I started working, I hardly had the time or energy to read a book. But now that I am not working and I want to spend my time creatively, I am told to pursue something that adds value to my education and my future. Pursue a passion which will earn me money.
But I am convinced now that my hobby is my choice, it makes me a person of depth and fills my life with colour. And I don’t need anybody’s approval for this. If your gossip could be office politics or family politics, why should I not see the world from the eyes of Shakespeare or Rabindranath Tagore?
Literature has not originated simply from the seed of someone’s imagination. It has been the mirror of our contemporary society and thrives only because of some readers like me who challenge the society to pursue this ambition.
Though this is the irony of our society that a good reader and a good listener or good audience is not highly celebrated yet. Maybe one day we would be able to see a category for the ‘Best Audience Award’ in a most sought after gala functions with glamorous stage.
Till then in the hopes of the positive paradigm shift in peoples thinking, I keep quenching my thirst for good books and movies with no regrets.
Picture credits: Pexels
My name is Indu. I am a computer engineer by profession and qualification. I am also a very analytical person and have interests in analyzing the things from a different perspective which convince me to read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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