The Modern Orthodox

 

No matter how educated we become, rigidity is our birthmark. We can’t let go of that. No matter how globalized and open minded we become, thrusting our ideas as the ideal benchmark is our second nature, and we can’t get rid of that.

You must be thinking, why is she so furious. Why should I not be?

It doesn’t matter how hard we try, we can never run away from our inclination of moralizing certain specific attributes as the most pious and glorified attributes. A few Bollywood actresses chose to paint their weddings pink, and Indians have to poke their nose in that. Are we so so so very jobless! It’s her wedding. It’s her big day. If the actress decides to wear a peach lehenga over a red lehenga, what is so annoying about it?

We don’t have much to say when the country is privatizing the Government jobs. We don’t feel the need to take a stand at the employee exploitation in corporate sectors. When people get suddenly fired one fine morning, there is no need of a protest, but if an actress decorates her big day with light colors; that is indigestible to Indians! When will we really grow open minded?

Or did watching R-rated movies was the only ‘open-mindedness’ we have learned so far? Rather let’s say, the nut-size brain can’t be more spacious!
Oh Wait, The Fun has just Begun!

While talking about Women Empowerment, we forgot selecting the attributes ‘liberation’, ‘freedom’ and ‘right to choice’ for women, by the women.

Through the past recent years there has been a massive debate over movies like ‘Kabir Singh’ and ‘Thappad’, why? Revolving on the representation of reaction of two different female protagonists. Where in Preeti, we find a woman who accepts all the patriarchal nuisances to maintain a balanced life in accordance to her character and upbringing. In Amrita we see the portrayal of refusal to any form of insult. And thus began the debate over which character is more akin to womankind, and how a woman should actually react upon domestic violence, etc., etc. At such, no brilliant mind found it more important to accept that choosing to react or how to react should be a choice to be left with the women. We can make laws to bring down domestic violence. But idealizing one spectrum of women over another just because it suits your modern believes, isn’t that unfair? And the fun part is, audience was debating over the different reaction of women. No one felt the need to strongly condemn domestic violence or disrespect of women.

When will we really liberate? When will we emphasize on a flexible attitude? No matter how literate and qualified you are, it’s in vain, if your education didn’t liberate your mind. As long as rigidity exists, so will co-exist orthodoxy.

Idealizing the choice of dress, the color of lipstick, the design of my lehenga, the reaction of any form of violence is but a curbing a freedom in its own way. Once our History teacher had told us that sati-pratha hadn’t existed since forever. It was but an act of women who in grief of her husband’s death gave up her life on his pyre. And people idealized the sight and glorified her love and devotion towards her husband. That women died, and died with her many more such innocent girls. So, the next time criticizing an actress’ wedding delight seems important to you, make sure the stray dogs in your colony do not sleep with an empty stomach.