MARCH 6th 2008

Today is International Women's Day which just happens to fall on Maha Shiva Rathri (Night). International Women's Day, as far as I know, isn't as significant as days such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or even Father's Day. Maybe, because this day isn't really about love. Or more realistically, the real reason, is probably because nothing much can be commercialised on this day as opposed to those wondrous days I have listed above. And you always have those who believe, a day is never enough to celebrate anything. But hey we all celebrate our birthdays on one particular day. Its because its only once in 365 days that makes it special . A day reminds us of the miracles that are often overlooked or taken for granted. International Women's Day is one of those. Women achieved something on this day and in commemoration of that event we celebrate, today, as International Women's Day.

What is it to be a Women in today's society? Have we truly achieved what our elders protested ?Have our dreams come true? Or has feminism just become a over used word, with so many connotations and definitions that we are stalling rather than progressing? As society evolves, our expectations, desires and wishes change from day to day itself, how will feminism have any standard form?

But the truth remains, that as long as we are proud of who we are, and never give up the fight for who we are, we will shine! 'We can con the sexism that evidently prevails in some parts of the world, and uncover new underlying sexism in the western society as well. But on saying this, I'm surprised because this day is sexist in itself. If we were truly advanced, we needn't a day for women, all we need is a day for the over dominated people, which could be either sex.

Furthermore, English is a sexist language. Take Tamil, there's the non gender form of 'avar' (அவர்), which refers to either sex. Same exists in Hindi. Whatever happened to English, god only knows.

With global warming etc. we need to act together to make this world a place as sweet as today or even sweeter for our future generation. To make such changes, we need to leave 'I', it is only a mechanism through which our soul operates. Leaving the 'I' means also forgetting our gender, race, culture, religion, ethnicity and acting together in the time of need, acting as one voice! Differences should not get in our way.

That's my spiel on International Women's Day, totally off the plot. But hey Maha Shiva Rathri ties in with this special day, too. Shivan was once known to take the avatharam (Avatar) of Arthanatheeswari, half woman, half man. This occasioned as result of a devotee who refused to bow to Parvathi, who is Shivan's wife. My next statement will be highly controversial to some, but religion is a manifestation of civilisation and man. Our elders created such gods to teach us a lesson behind each story. Maybe, some of these gods may have lived. But they were ordinary men of the likes of Nelson Mandella and Mother Teresa, just doing incredible things for human kind. Such stories have evolved over time, and Arthanatheeshwarar's story is one classic example of a story standing as a strong message to us all. Be it female or male. Neither is superior or inferior!