One of my biggest learnings has been that you can transcend the limitations of what people, or even you think you can achieve.
Even when many scoffed, and most would argue that a woman’s place is behind and under a man, I proved them wrong. This is not coming from show-offishness, but from an inherent belief I had that you’re actually capable of much more than your mind convinces you of. Three decades ago I believed I could. A young girl, I rose to be an empowered woman, and got paid more than the men. I negotiated my own modelling contracts as my Air Force/economist father taught me growing up—Manage your finances—and showed me the importance of savings. With investments, you get a seed (of cash), you grow it into a tree that bears fruit and flowers, which you can sell if ever need be.
And today, financial awareness is a part of yoga—something I initiated with Anufunyoga. To maintain a healthy lifestyle and a hassle-free existence, one should escape from vrittis (mental fluctuations or disturbances that arise in the mind). Putting an end to vrittis, is one of the deepest goals of yoga.
Last month, certain incidents provided an occasion for me to remember the love, celebrate my ‘knowingless’ and also my ‘nothing-ness’ that followed it. Woman empowerment can certainly happen through raised salaries, but “women haven’t had it easy, be it pay parity or promotion”. While this holds true, what gets mostly ignored is the fact that what also is at risk is the rumblings that happen inside the women’s mind. The hidden emotional diaspora that plays hide and seek with love and betrayal. With the history of subjugation that has been inflicted effortlessly on women, before giving them power we need to enable their minds to manage the power. Priority shifts are dangerous as they also shift power and again all is not well in our kingdom.
Stats show that we have 1.5 million women elected to our Panchayats, which is the largest cohort of political women any country has. I think it is high time we celebrated not just those in the Parliament or even those in banks and corporations, but also those who work at the grassroots levels. We have 10 crore women who are a part of an economic revolution in our 6,44,000 villages. They have a yearly economic opportunity generation of $37 billion. It reminds me of a hidden fact. When my Masters in Social Work course was nearing completion, I announced to my mother’s dismay “I am joining an NGO working for women’s rights in Bodhgaya.” “Bihar is unsafe!’’ she said. I didn’t go and instead karma had me become a supermodel. But then life had also taught me acceptance—to genuinely smile at whatever life gives you—a crash or a flight. You could be caught in a devastating air crash, or you could end up as the single survivor in flight.