an equal place

It’s a fact that everyday when I get up the first thing I do is open my Facebook page and try to catch up with the 7 hours I missed while sleeping. Why do I do that? Is it an addiction? Yes, I am addicted. I’m addicted to knowing what has transpired in the lives of my friends in the other part of the world which was awake while I slept. For all my “friends” on FB are indeed my close friends. They are a reflection of my past, present and the times to come. Every day I look for something to move me, an uprising I can participate in and sometimes just an axe to grind J this morning a very simple article on Suchitra Sen’s resonated with me and I started to think on how a very small natural gesture has the power to change the world. It is a fact that in our society boys/men are valued over girls and this stems not just from the adage that “Boys will carry on the family name” but also from our scriptures which stress on how a person can attain salvation only if their last rites are performed by their male child. Millenniums of this belief cannot be erased by mere talk shows or panel discussions. It’s now embedded in ur DNA and I have seen many an enlightened parents of girls who in their last moments give in to societal norms and  their own insecurities and look for some male, however distantly related to give them the last farewell on their last journey. In that one instance the girl who was more than equal for her entire life gets relegated to being second. The only way to change is to be the change you want to see. Moon Moon Sen performed her mother’s last rites and it sent a very powerful signal that its ok to have your daughter bid you farewell and yes that you will go to heaven and attain Mokshya. Hopefully the gesture by a very revered and public figure will go a long way to chip away at this not-so-fair belief and girls will get the same honor and place as the sons. And I hope when the time comes my parents will accord me the same honor as I know for sure I will accord to my daughter.