A Man's World?

Let me begin with a confession. When on March 08 each year, the world (or a part of it) pays lip-service to women and their rights, I ponder on it too. But that’s not my confession- the confession follows.

I wonder with childish amazement at the words of wise people who say that it’s a man’s world.

I have faint memories of a man’s world, when in my childhood, my formidable father decided for everyone in the house, including my mother, then the epitome of composure, and no one dared to even think of the situation differently. It was silently understood that no one else was capable of decision-making.

Even at college, when I gave my heart away to the love of my life (my wife now), I didn’t see what lay in store for me, and raised my voice in public platforms supporting the feminist movement with firm conviction. My friends wouldn’t dare make politically-incorrect, male-chauvinistic utterances in my presence.

But today, I stand a sobered man. The two slices of life- work and home- that make up my sandwich existence today are ruled by formidable women. I am now fully resigned to the fact that men don’t deserve power, because they have no inkling how to handle it, and by definition, power and decision-making are words synonymous with women. If ever there is or was a situation otherwise, it is an aberration that has to be rectified. Straddled between a sharp, decisive wife at home and a formidable, firm boss at work (who is well, a lady too) I stand comfortably on firm ground, with the glow of satisfaction at the situation of not having to make decisions at all.

Not having to carry the onerous burden of having to decide, I have smugly settled down to the more crucial area of implementation, and have learnt all the nitty-gritty of this very important task. I must admit though, that my two bosses (at home and at work) have very graciously simplified the implementation process for me, by letting me know, each time a decision has been made by their esteemed selves, the step-by-step method of carrying out the task. I have been conditioned (without placing any blame on the ‘conditioners’) to never deviate from the laid out path. I merely need to walk down.

It has been an enriching learning experience. I have learnt the nuances of meaning that each rise of the eyebrow, each wry smile and each clearing of throat indicate. I have understood that my life’s mission is to replicate what has been instructed to me by my two bosses.

And added to my personal privilege, is the fact that my employer has accommodated my wife and me in a portion of a villa among three villas, otherwise wholly allotted to our lady colleagues. These villas are christened ‘ladies villas’ collectively. I carry the additional burden of guilt for being the lone intruder in an otherwise orderly part of the world. I really know that I live in a woman’s world today.

Nonetheless, a smile often slips out of my mouth, both when I think of my college days or see television footage of people fighting for women rights.

Happy Women’s Day!