Being a first lady or just a lady, the treatment is the same
Being a first lady has its own downside. There was not a single woman employed in my office in Southern Railway for decades and for the first time a lady in her mid-forties was posted. She was accompanied by a frail looking man sporting a long grey beard. All eyes were on the hapless woman. The poor lady must have felt like a deer in the midst of a pack of wolves. After a few days she came to know who’s who in the office. She would have got her intuition right that men always think differently - and collectively - have the same attitude on women. I was among the few who had gained her confidence in the office. My colleague was curious to know who the bearded person with whom she came to office on the first day, coolly asked her whether it was her father. The woman without much reaction in her face answered that’s my husband.
One morning she looked a bit disturbed and there was anger in her face. She herself told me the reason. The previous day when she left office walking towards the main road, an Inspector (not police) was hanging around in his bike offered her a lift. She refused and moved away. I saw her turning furious recalling the incident. In that serious moment I calmly said, did he ask you too? He also offered me a lift the other day! Without noticing that I was a male, and offering a lift to me is not anything significant, she nodded her head to sympathize with me. Suddenly she realized her folly and burst into laughter.
Since time immemorial man-woman conflict appears on the horizon on a daily basis. There is of course a limit for a woman to bear such harassment before coming to the street to take the battle to the enemy camp. Once the lid is blown it’s no more a private matter but available as fodder for public consumption.
The other day my seven year old daughter studying in class II told my wife that a boy next door studying in class IV offered her a rose saying a bad word to her - I love you. No kidding, it is the influence of films on the big and small screen that corrupts young and very young minds. The irony is, there is no TV in his home and both parents are well educated and gainfully employed.
Our previous encounter tells it is quite natural for a boy to get attracted to a girl and age factor doesn’t matter much as far as this story goes on. During our honeymoon train journey we had a young couple with a two-plus year old boy sitting opposite. The boy offered snacks to my wife and then a fruit expressing his love for my wife -much to the surprise- of his parents who said he never has the habit of giving anything to anyone. He then occasionally smiled at my wife and drew her attention. Tired of his antics my wife went to sleep on the lower berth and rose up in shock. The little boy in a flash planted a goodnight kiss on my wife’s cheek before hitting the deck. Totally shaken by the act of their son the parents offered their apology for his uncalled for behaviour. Thank God! that was also the time when lip-locks in movies were unheard of otherwise no protection of any kind would have saved that day from more embarrassment. I wonder what separates (little) boys from men!
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