BENGALURU: There is a sense of exhilaration whenever I address women in one of my training/empowerment seminars where their bright and hopeful gaze opens up a plethora of possibilities for us all. A level playing field, a gender-bias-free workplace and an environment unfettered with egos and subversive behaviour is perhaps a utopian dream. We think we can do it, we work tirelessly to change traditional and archaic mindsets for ourselves and our daughters till it comes down to brute strength.
As a tall woman who claims her own space, I have often had arguments with my male friends on how women cannot fight wars, (not to say that we want to) or compete in sports. As I have grown older I have learned to conserve my energy by not picking gender-bias battles. We are not at war…but the sheer magnitude of prejudice and inequality must end. It is not a battle of whether XX or XY chromosomes are better or inferior. It is about creating a space where both are welcome. Their strengths are celebrated and their weaknesses are accepted. An ideal world perhaps?
That is why I hooted and clapped at the ‘Shefs at The Leela’ event at the BhatiyaCity Leela Hotel. This (now pan-Indian) enterprise creates an equal platform for female chefs to showcase their culinary finesse thereby giving them an opportunity to be presented to a world largely dominated by male chefs. My dear friends GM Virender Razdan (a beloved old-time Bangalorean) and Sheeba Razdan made sure the event went off like clockwork.
The seating arrangements, the choice of distinguished guests, the service and the cuisine personally created by the ‘Shefs’ was impeccable. Interspersed between courses, we had the emancipated danseuse, Madhu Nataraj’s all-woman troupe perform relevant pieces denoting ‘Shakti’ and ‘Rasanendriya’ (sense of taste). My feeling of euphoria knew no bounds, thinking that perhaps the ‘equal-platform’ synergy is here to stay…
The news articles about ethnic violence filtering in from our Northeast had me worried. But like a true-blue escapist, I hoped it would blow over. But, as it has been said before, whenever you celebrate small victories the big problems slap you in the face. I was appalled at the violence the mob unleashed on the women. Rape and molestation is a weapon used to subdue the rest. When I was doing the play Vagina Monologues, writer Eves Ensler discussed how raping women was a tactical tool of war. I am so outraged and angry at the turn of events that sometimes it is hard to breathe. This is not a ‘woman’ problem. It is a ‘Human’ problem.
I met the very savvy Sonal Holland in Mumbai at a restaurant in Mumbai. She had her family with her and we naturally got talking. My husband remembers that when I went to reconnaissance the buffet table she kept my hubby company. There are other attributes to this talented first lady of wine including being the first recipient of the prestigious ‘Master of Wine’ title in India. The informative wine dinner hosted by Marriott Whitefield, and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission was a resounding hit, with Sonal regaling us with wine information and her easy wit.
A woman is safe in a gilded cage but God didn’t create women for that…
(The writer’s views are her own)