Women's Day!

Yesterday was International Women’s day, we had the whole world right from the newspapers and RJs on radio shows to the male colleagues at work wishing us “Happy Women’s day”! But as women …did we wish each other? Or did we get so caught in our mundane chores that the day went by just like any other day. It is of course another busy day for us women….but it is also a day to celebrate womanhood with the women who touch our everyday lives. Let me start with the woman who brought me into this world, my mom who is and will always be my friend, philosopher and guide! My mother-in-law who is an epitome of patience and tolerance and in many ways my go-to person at home! My 95 year old great-grand mother at home who is an institution by herself – her amazing willpower and resilience is inspiring and something to aspire for! Our beloved aunt Geetha, a 59 year old special child whose child-like enthusiasm lightens our mood even in most tense moments! My sis-in-law who is more like a sister I never had! To my boss, a woman herself who allows me enough flexibility at work that makes me believe that it is possible to achieve the perfect balance. To my other lady colleagues, my partners in crime…..and chai time!  Last but not the least to my all girlfriends, the long lost ones and the ones I’m still in touch with – what’s the point in life without some girlie chatter! Cheers to womanhood!

So last night we took some of these women to dinner which I must say could not have happened without my husband managing the logistics of getting all of us together! While we women should feel proud to be who we are, we also need not shy away from acknowledging the fact that we need our men too…just like they need us! Anyway, being women’s day, I read “Cloudette” by Tom Lichtenheld, a story of a little cloud, narrated from the perspective of a girl. Abhay quite liked the story and could somehow relate to it. Although this is a book for just about anyone who lacks the confidence to do what they want to do, I found this book to be ideal for today, as we try to shed the image of women as the weaker sex. Cloudette was a small could who didn’t mind being small at all as she was considered cute by all her fellow clouds in the sky. Because of her size, she could always sneak through tight spaces and hide in small places. She always found a good spot for fireworks, no matter how crowded it was! But at times, she wished to do something important like the big clouds. She wanted to make a difference – like rain enough to make a garden grow or fill up the brook or make a waterfall fall. So Cloudette looked for something important for a small cloud to do – she checked if she could work in the fire department or at the garden centre or at the car wash, but no one seemed to want her. Feeling dejected, she sails aimlessly in the sky only to be caught in a giant storm that displaces her. She gets blown miles away from her neighborhood where she spots a lone frog in what is supposed to be a pond but is now only a mud puddle. So decides to do something about it – she holds her breadth until she starts to puff up and grows into a humungous cloud waiting to burst! Finally she does what she’d wanted to do for ages – she rains cats and dogs! She rains so hard that the mud puddle grows into a perfect pond. As soon as she stops, frogs from everywhere come jumping into the pond and all of them let out a loud RIBBIT in unison to thank their rainmaker! So Cloudette realized that no matter what your size is, there are big and important things a little cloud can do! So this is a message for everyone, be it women or any one deemed too insignificant to make a difference, you are as important as you think you are! Although I’m a day late – Happy Women’s day!