“The spirit of women” … A tribute!!

A woman has strengths that amaze men... She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions... She smiles when she feels like screaming... She sings when she feels like crying, cries when she is happy and laughs when she is afraid... Her love is unconditional!

There is only one thing wrong with her, she sometimes forgets what she is worth!!
... with these lines I offer a tribute to those women, who with their sheer grit and determination have not only withstood the trials and tribulations of life but having the courage to tread a path unknown and unfathomed in the times they lived in... Flourished to enlighten the generations that followed...

My Feudal Lord… In the Name of Honour… Princess… Not without my daughter… A Thousand Splendid Suns… … All these novels have in common is the fact that they all are tributes to the "spirit of women" ... Women from in different eras… different nations... different age groups… Women interwoven in times… Women interwoven through circumstances… Women who have had the grit and determination to deal with and rise against the atrocities, crimes, deprivation, suppression ... Women who have had the resilience to strike back and survive the atrocities committed against them…… survive... and survive well… and… GROW…

When I see the news today… the incidents in the remotest regions of Pakistan that face the resurgence of the Taliban… take me back to the time lucidly described by Khaled Hosseini in the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”.... a time when the finest of the poetry was being penned down in native Persian... Afghanistan of the early 80's which was emerging as the capital of cosmopolitan culture, Persian literature was at its best... The Taliban suddenly emerged ... snubbing any talk of literature, education, freedom... the Radio... which was once a source of insights into Persian literature and poetry suddenly belted out views and ideals of the Taliban ...

The enormousity of the state of women in these Islamic nations as described in these books actually sunk into me the day I read "A thousand Splendid Suns" and... what’s amazing is that a man could feel and narrate with such sensitivity what other men had tried to crush under their bare heels... "the spirit of women" ... Sensitivity… to feel and understand what these women have had to undergo in a nation so war torn and ripped apart… the beautiful place of his birth lying in shambles… bullet ridden… bitter… ruined … misery and oppression marking the streets… that there could be no better tribute than to give an expression to the silent sentiments of these people…

Women authors… bold women who have defied the norms of the society they lived in… women who have been ostracised for giving a voice to a silent generation… And as for women… who have written these poignant descriptions are none other than women who have experienced these heart wrenching scenarios first hand… women who have lived through the oppression and have managed to survive... not only survive but grow into women of grit and determination... they have given a voice to the silent world of these women in the Indian subcontinent... it is their sheer determination that has encouraged women in these nations to speak up, be educated and most importantly ... Be Free!!

Women!!…
Realise your own worth because if you don’t no one else ever will!!

Men!!…
Women are all around you… Love them… cherish them… hold them in your hearts… but most importantly understand and respect them… Do not take them for granted … realize that they are not just mere objects of desire but thinking individuals with their own opinions and ideals… And most importantly never try to trample the “spirit of a woman”… you might end up losing the battle!!

So long… till then just have a glimpse…


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siJXPRFKs2A

यादें...

पलकों की चिलमन से, सौंधी सी धूप छलक रही है...

यादों से आपकी, हमारी रूह महक रही है...

दिल की जिन गहराईयों में आप बसे हैं,

काश के हम किसी और को बसा पाते...

इश्क में आपके इस कदर डूबे हैं,

काश के हम खुद को उबार पाते...

समाँ है रंगीन, हवाएं दीवानी हो चली हैं,

फिजा-ए-मोहब्बत भी गीत गुनगुना रही है...

हकीकत और ख़्वाब का कोई मेल नहीं,

फिर भी न जाने क्यों यादों को संजोये जा रहे हैं...

रूबरू होने की आस है, उम्मीद किये जा रहे हैं,

आपके दिल का आलम भी हो कुछ ऐसा...

आपकी यादों में हम हो उसी कदर समाये,

जिस तरह दिल है हमारा सराबोर हुआ...

ख्वाबों में बसे हैं आप और यादें हैं कि जाती नहीं,

न कोई पैगाम आया ना मिलन की कोई उम्मीद ही रही...

अब तो सिर्फ यादें हैं आपकी हमारे दिल की वीरानियों में, 

जो रह रह कर हमारी रूह को महकाए जा रही है...

पलकों की चिलमन से, सौंधी सी धूप छलक रही है...

यादों से आपकी, आज तक हमारी रूह महक रही है...