Divine Divas of Blogsville – Curtain Raiser

Eight hours of excruciating pain are finally over. Yes, yes the exam was indeed eight hours long and covered almost every “logy” you could think of – histology, periodontology, embryology, pathology, pharmacology blah blah blah blah…at this point I just want to forget it all – atleast till the time I hear if I passed or failed! The first part was considerably easier than the second one, but then everyone felt the same so maybe we will all pass! Lets see kya hota hai.

Lets get to bigger and better things at hand! Let me rewind a few weeks, when I announced the Divine Divas of Blogsville. So what is it?

The idea for Divine Divas of Blogsville sprung up on International Women’s Day when I read numerous posts about women, the essence of being a woman, and just how different this world would be if there were no women. I emailed most of the ladies I know in blogsville and asked them a series of questions and I have received several replies. Several remain. I also emailed the gentlemen in blogsville asking them to write a few words about the lovely ladies they know. Mind you, these are the people I know. So I might have missed many wonderful women out there and by no means are they any less special. The idea is to highlight the different aspects of a woman, the different roles she can assume, and how each and every one has something different to offer. After reading the replies that I received, I must say I was pretty surprised at how applaudable each and every one is!

Sushmita Sen was asked one final question before she was crowned Miss Universe about 12 years ago: “What is the essence of a woman?” I set out to seek the answer myself. It is easy to answer but so hard to fathom. The essence of a woman lies in her versatility. Her power to lead, her strength to love unconditionally, her compassion, her stylish makeovers, her traditional dresses, her Wall Street jobs, her household chores, her irrational emotions, her extremely logical outlook on life, and so much more – all of these are the essence of a woman. Take a look around at the women you know, each one has her own little place representing one or more of these things.

I quote Shirley Chislom here – “The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, ‘It’s a girl’.” I am sure we all know very well what she means. I have no intention of preaching equality or being overtly feminist. I merely want to present to you a few very special women about who they are in their own words. These women have atleast one distinct quality that sets them apart from the rest. The goal is to discuss women, what womanhood means to them, and what it means to you gentlemen out there. Just a fun little event! We have a little quiz too. I will be asking one question at the end of each post and the person to get most questions correct will get a special prize. Some questions might pertain to one of you – so you will definitely know the answer. Don’t worry, you get free points

Lets start off with our little curtain raiser about what you will hear from these women, and let me start it off.

Most of you know me as the girl from Utterances, and I go by Kaush. Whats in a name, they say? A lot, I know! I have been often mistaken to be a guy, especially in emails, online conversations; many a times I have gone to meetings, and have had honest queries as to why I am not a guy? I laugh it off, and generally don’t mind it. Supposedly, its more of a masculine name, but the female doctor at the hospital I was born at had the same name. So here I am.

A 20-something, I have been more of a rebel in most decisions I have made. I used to not understand why the guys in our society in Ahmedabad would play outside in the mud, while us girls stayed at home in the evenings playing “ghar ghar” with our barbie dolls. I love my dolls, but I also wanted to roll in the mud. There is one distinct event that I remember from that part of my childhood. I have no idea how old I was, but it was one of those evenings and I really wanted to play hop-skotch with the guys in the mud – most of whom are married now and probably dont even remember getting mad at me. So I went, and this guy said “chokrio thi naa rami shakaay” (girls cannot play). I screamed why not! One of the notorious guys said, “we eat mud, only if you eat mud.” Not to be left out, I stomped across to the play are where there was a bit of sand, took a little and put it in my mouth and chomped it off – smirking, showing them I wanted to play too. As luck would have it, my mom was just coming home from work and saw what her precious little angel (yea right) had done. She stormed towards me, shook all the bones within me, and slapped me hard! I was not supposed to eat mud. Gladly, she never said I was not supposed to play with guys. I did from then on. I had done it – my first rebellion. Just a random memory from childhood.

Spoiled rotten by my dad, for most of my childhood I got everything I ever wanted without even asking. I was probably the one where my parents got most training in child care. But things became hard for the family during my mid teen years. I grew up pretty fast in those years, and learnt a lot. Most people I know tell me I act too old for my age, but maybe its going through those hard times that taught me a lot. Moving to America taught me even more, so much that this blog would run out of space. I have been doing taxes for my family since then. Never was I reminded that I was girl, or I wasnt told to do something just because I was a girl. In fact, I was asked to do everything that traditionally a guy would do. I would whine but one day dad said, “thats coz you are not our daughter, you are our son.” I was elated. I did not know if I wanted to be happy because I was placed on the same high pedestal that sons are placed on in our society, where we are not just a transitory member of the family. Or, should I be ashamed that I hadn’t been that docile daughter that I should have been? I even asked, “why, a girl cant do the same things?”

Here is my query for the day, why do we usually stereo type certain roles to certain genders? Sure, thats normal. But when a guy cries we say ” you are such a girl” or when a girl is rebellious, she is a tomboy. So, aren’t guys allowed to have their emotions break free? or are girls not supposed to be outspoken, and confident? Its hard to run away from it, and its the way society is in general.

Here are two comments from three very different people, who know me in three very different ways (gemini hoon – gotta have twin personalities naa). I did not ask for it, but they were kind enough to boost my ego a little with their wonderful words.

Deepak: “one of my bestest friends in blogsville, fun loving and share the most comfy friendship – no hangups, no uptight behavior, casual…and can share any and every silly or profound joke or thought!” (you are da best DJ – and yes, I have put up with many such jokes! Sigh)
Ricky: ” How could I miss you…LOL. You are one of my first friends in the blog-world. You were also my first gujju friend (like ever). You are very passionate about your work which is always a good thing. Your work with NGOs in India is very inspirational. You are very out-going, fun-loving and geniune girl. You have a lot to look forward in life. You are a good friend.” (thanks ricky – atleast now your interest in gujju gals has gone up)
Vicky: ab aapke bare mein kya kahein. hehe.
good friend who is now gods knows where and god knows doing what.
amazing love story. (yea right Vicky – you know a lot about me! )

So ladies, brace yourselves – there is a lot of praise coming your way

Quote of the day: ” Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths.” ~Lois Wyse

Stereotype is word of the day. Your thoughts?

Quiz question: Who came up with the name “Divine Divas of Blogsville”?
Hint: Someone on my “Coffee Buds” list.
Email answers to utterances (at) gmail (dot) com by April 3rd with Subject line ” Q1″

If you have not received an email about this and would lik e one, email me and I will send you one. Slowly but surely