BENGALURU: It is the essence of survival that nature sniffs out the weakest and the most vulnerable. In the wild, the smallest creatures contort themselves and puff up to appear larger to save themselves and scare off predators. Even the mighty lion with a headful of mane, is a natural leader along with being more attractive to the ladies of his species. Kumbaya!
Only the human species is the wiliest. In medieval times, warriors donned heavy amour and had to be lowered by a winch into the contraption, usually from a horse. When I saw Henry the 8th’s amour in the tower of London, I was awestruck. The amour plate stood at least 10 feet tall, with huge steel plates to protect his family jewels, whose size was grossly exaggerated. Talk about telling tales that ultimately go down in history as factual! My point here being, that in the days of yore we were more simple-minded and people who resorted to wiles and tears went down in history as evil wenches or swains.
These are trying times. Social media and other visual media craftily do the thinking for us. They use sentimental sound-track and linger for that extra minute on a tear that hovers precariously on an eyelash without falling. I am pretty sure you know I am talking about the infamous interview of the mixed race (almost) princess and her smitten husband.
Everything in the US is like a giant soap-opera. The mere insinuation by some ‘senior royals’ that little (non) prince may not look pasty white, has sent shockwaves through an indignant nation. Oh, for heaven’s sake! They should be in India, where every well-meaning uncle/aunt, stranger and veggie-vendor will first exclaim in dismay over your ‘brown’ baby, and then proceed to give you tips on how to lighten its skin. Your mother-in-law will look at you suspiciously, plaintively bellowing that the brownness must be a throwback to the ‘bad’ gene pool of the mother… Of course!
All this notwithstanding, my initial amusement turned to anger as the hoopla unfolded, with serious topics like racism, sexism, bullying and severe exclusion being bandied about. But wasn’t this the very same successful strategy that the British used to conquer and rule half the world for centuries? Why is everybody getting their knickers in a knot now? Why are the sycophants shamelessly polishing boots while the other half are so shocked? I would think a ‘senior’ royal who had affiliations to the Nazi party and one of the princes being caught in a paedophile scandal is far more damaging. But to the rest of the ordinary folk like us… we avidly watch a drama unfolding, with non-issues and entitlement played out to the hilt! Ah yes! There is a shortage of Covid vaccines in these entitled countries, perhaps a little concentration on that issue will be more prudent, hmm?
In namma ooru, we continued to celebrate brown, black or polka-dotted women (I like that!). After a year of amusing myself and my readers, my good friend, avid golfer and Bonsai enthusiast Champa Kabra invited me to perform for the women golfers at BGC. The night was a riot as the ladies laughed, danced and tippled themselves into a tizzy.
My maverick friend Saritha Hegde, who gave up her flourishing corporate career to make indigenous sauces from home, celebrated her landmark birthday by taking her business pan-India by employing more women who have a stake in her business.
This brassy, intelligent, motorcycle-riding woman is soft as putty when it comes to her bolder and brassier mom, who she has just nursed through an operation.A few of us got together to eat at the new hot-spot Quattro. The food was outstanding and the company scintillating. We were loud, irreverent and boisterous… happy to be alive and well.Strong women, may we be them, may we know them, may we raise them!