I am proud as a teacher, a father, and an Indian male of Wing Commander Pooja Thakur, who became the first woman ever in India to give the Inter-Services Guard of Honour to a visiting head of state today. And I was thinking of Subhas Chandra Bose, who created one of the first all-women's army regiments in modern times.
It is my prayer that today's young girls, especially educated girls, would look up to the likes of Kalpana Chawla and Pooja Thakur, Meera Borwankar and Leila Seth and Arundhati Bhattacharya and Nirupama Rao rather than Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut and what they are wearing and which males they are flirting with. And it is my regret that not one of my girl students has grown up in that mould for me to boast about, though some have learnt all the smart buzzwords as, I suppose, a workable substitute - in their own eyes.
3 comments:
Dear Sir,
It is exactly what I thought after reading the news on the newspaper today. I too felt very proud on seeing Pooja Thakur as the Guard of Honour.
I don't know why, but I find the attitude of most of the girls towards life repelling. They prefer to dress up and look more beautiful while going mad over some male actor or a new purse. On the other hand, when it comes to do some really serious work- they prefer to work in an air of haughtiness and if they don't understand anything - they will begin quarreling with no apparent reason whatsoever.
regards,
Soham
Sooo politically incorrect of you, Soham! Don't you know that women don't have faults, and if they do at all, it's all because of the male-dominated society they have grown up in?
I got this heartwarming email from a 16-year old student a few minutes ago:
"Hello Sir,
You know Sir, when I read in the newspaper that day, that Pooja Thakur is the first female Guard of Honour leader in India's history, the first thing that came to my mind was that you would be very proud of the girl. Anandabazaar Patrika has quoted her saying that she is an officer first, and then a woman. It seemed to echo what you had told us sometime ago, that only when a girl realizes she is a human being first, can we expect some changes. It was good to read your blogpost on this."
Bless you, Baisakhi. On the likes of you I pin my almost faded hopes.
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