HOMAGE TO CHIVALRY BY VANITA SRINIWAS

BEING MALE IS THE MATTER OF BIRTH, BEING A MAN IS THE MATTER OF AGE BUT BEING A GENTLEMAN IS A MATTER OF CHOICE.

HOMAGE TO CHIVALRY

My grandmother often narrated interesting mythological stories. I grew up listening to such surreal stories but also had the opportunity to get acquainted with lot of other historical, factual, fanciful stories. We all grow up with the stories. The stories are interesting. The goodness prevails in all these stories. Had the goodness not prevailed, the story would not have been told.

Recently the stories making their way into the headlines are not the ones we would like to be even remotely associated with. They are deplorable and baneful ethically, morally and socially.

The stories from times immemorial have impressed upon us the importance of values, morals and goodness.

o   Where did we go wrong that the recent news/stories of atrocities against women are exactly contrary to what we have been brought up with?

o   Why did the mankind suddenly become grossly unkind to the womankind?

o   What transpires in the minds of the rogues while outraging  the modesty of a woman who is a wife, daughter or sister to some just like his or more truly to someone just like him.

o   How can one convince oneself into deriving the grotesque and monstrous pleasure of a dastardly act.

o   When did we lose the human aspect in us and pave our way towards inhuman spheres.

A shift in this psyche is not sudden. The society has, over a period of time, covertly conveyed its contempt and disrespect towards women. The root cause of all these evils is the attitude of Parents who have time and again pampered their sons and deprived their daughters.

Following are to cite a few conducts and their ratiocinations

• A girl child is murdered in the womb….The birth of a girl has no meaning
• Daughters are not encouraged to study….Education of girls has no utility.
• Daughters-in-law are not allowed to express themselves in the household issues….Opinions of ladies does not matter.
• Sisters are not allowed to dress up as per their tastes…Decent appearance is vanity.

Attitude is a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways. Tolerance towards inhuman, uncompassionate acts encourages the culprits. A recent incident of violating the modesty of a girl and then slitting open her lungs and cutting and throwing off her heart is yet another most gruesome of the incidents we have come across. In sane and sensible situations we would have expected an uproar and outright rejection of this act. But the politicians shied away from acknowledging it, Police shirked their responsibility and the society disowned the onus of the incident.

Why has the youth digressed from the right path? Where did the chivalry so often referred to disappear?

The situation is not going to improve unless we all collectively commit to bring back the deserved honour to the womanhood. The charity begins at home. The grandfather has to respect the grandmother. The father has to give the deserved status to the mother and the brother should shower all respect and affection on his sister. A radical change in the attitude of every family can alone bring an optimistic change in the society, A society we can be proud of. A world where the girl feels safe and belonged, A place where the girls would pray to be born again as a girl.