A great woman behind every man

As in every year, the International Day of Women was observed a few days ago. A piece on the position of women in the socio-political-cultural milieu, the challenges arising therefrom, as also the responses organised, in different parts of the world, appeared in this column, sometime ago. But, then, as Enobarbus says in Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra,' the subject is such that "age cannot wither her, nor custom stale…." So many are the issues concerning the state of women in society, and so complex the responses called for, that it is worthwhile revisiting the subject.

The exalted status, granted to women, in the history of mankind, can hardly be overstated. Whether it is Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ, or Adi Shakti in Hindu mythology, who is the source of all divine energy, woman has been regarded as the source from which mankind itself, and the universe, emanated.

In Hindu philosophy, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva constitute the 'Trimurti's or Triumvirate of Gods, all manifestations of Adi Shakti, the original Creator of Universe. Brahma represents creation, Vishnu preservation and Siva the cycle of life, birth and rebirth. In the case of Siva, it is believed that he is part male, and part female, with the male part representing the God, and the female part his consort, Goddess Parvati or Adi Shakti. Taken together, they constitute Ardhanareeswara, who possesses a constructive, and generative, power, symbolising the inseparability of male and female principles, and conveying the unity of opposites in the Universe.

The Holy Quran, the fountain of Islamic religion, makes a strong statement that woman is as important to life as man is.

From 69 BCE, until today, women have played a crucial role in shaping our world, fighting against all odds, and battling the patriarchal mindset of those who thought women only served the purpose of populating the world.

Meryll Frost, the plucky quarterback of the Dartmouth football team, who was recognised as the most courageous athlete of 1945, said, after receiving the trophy, that "they say behind every great man, there is a woman. While I am not a great man, there's a great woman behind me." A statement that was subsequently to be adopted, as a slogan, for the feminist movement witnessed in the 1960s and 70s.

And now, a stage in the history of mankind would appear to have been reached when the woman is not only in front of the man, but perhaps the 'great person' herself!

After all, it cannot have been for no reason, that Harry Belafonte, legendary crooner of the 1950s, sang, to the mesmerising Calypso beat of the Caribbeans, saying "but I say, that the women of today, smarter than the man in every way."

Everyone has memories of the contribution which great women have made to their lives. In my case, for example, I had the good fortune of watching, from close quarters, the personality, and the energy exuding therefrom, of such historic persons as Durgabai Deshmukh, Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher. I have strong memories of Durgabai, whom I regarded as my aunt, she having been a close friend of my mother from childhood. It was she who took me to Mahatma Gandhi, in the third month after my birth, as a premature child. The Mahatma had come to Chennai, at that time, to lay the foundation stone of the building of the well-known Andhra Mahila Sabha, which Durgabai had founded. It was following the blessings I received at the hands of Gandhi that I was named Mohandas. I had, for long cherished hopes of serving as Durgabai' ji's Private Secretary. Indira Gandhi, I watched only from a distance and for short spells. As a District Magistrate, I was in the convoy in which Chief Minister Chenna Reddy accompanied her on an election campaign visit to Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh state, in the 1979. Much later, while serving as Secretary to Vice President Hidayatullah, I had another brief, but interesting, encounter with her. The Vice President was to officiate as the President of India as Gyani Zail Singh, who had undergone a heart bypass operation, had been advised rest for a while. After being sworn in as President, Hidayatullah was required to append his signature in a book, which I had to carry from an adjoining room through a narrow corridor. As I was entering that corridor, I found Mrs Gandhi at the other end. After both of us had made a couple of attempts to enter first, she flashed a smile at me, and said, "you go first!". And, that gave me an opportunity to go home that night, and tell my wife, that I had spoken to the Prime Minister of India!

Even shorter was my meeting with Mrs. Thatcher, the much loved and hated, and admired and feared Prime Minister of Britain. She had come to 10, Janpath, where Vice President Hidayatullah was staying, before shifting to the present official residence at 6 Maulana Azad Road. As required by protocol, I received her, shook hands, and as a gesture of respect and courtesy said, "Madam, you really have a tight schedule." She grinned at me, and said, "Youngman, it doesn't pay to waste time!"

A picture, from the 1960s, doing the rounds in the social media recently, showed Mrs Indira Gandhi, then the Prime Minister of India, seated in her chair in the Prime Minister's office in Parliament, while several important leaders stood around making representations to her. A very telling photograph, speaking volumes about the respect, and authority, she commanded. A photograph that puts an end paid to any arguments, against the reality, that woman force has come of age, in all spheres of modern life.

Surely, humanity would appear to have come a long way from the concept of woman, as portrayed by the Sloka of Hindu dharma, which goes "Karyeshudasi…. durlabha". No longer is a good woman required merely to possess the qualities of being a good mother, an attractive wife, strikingly beautiful, a wise minister and an efficient servant. She is quite the equal, if not far superior, to man in every aspect of human endeavour.

Can hardly help recalling, in this context, a limerick my father had composed during the days of the national emergency – "In her cabinet of Kauls, Pandits, and Pants, it is she who wears the pants!"