Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Treat boys and girls equally.Ladka ladki barabar hain.

A long time ago , people used to watch a channel called doordarshan.If you still watch this channel , please contact the Discovery Channel team.I hear they are making some kind of documentary on "eccentric personalities and their eccentric preferences" , and they will love to feature you.

And I have to tell you this.My home did not have a satellite cable connection till May 2004.I think cable TV entered indian lives sometime in early 1990s.But all the TV at my home carried till the summer of 2004 was doordarshan.Two channels.One.Two.And then back to one.Lets not get into the reasons.But the talk of the colony used to be Mrs.Malhotra's extra marital affair,the aggarwal family feud, and the absence of cable TV at our home.

This channel , doordarshan , ran a regular news bulletin. The news there was read by women as sexy as Uma Bharti and men ashot as a cold coffee.And that was typical doordarshan.Women as plain as they get.It usually ran movies from the 1970s and the 1960s.The ones which proudly attached a little "eastmancolor" under the movie name.So while my friends watched Shahrukh stammer his way to glory , I watched Dilip Kumar ride a "taanga" in "naya daur".While salmaan attempted to destroy the indian shirts industry by promoting a "say no to shirts" campaign, I watched Manoj Kumar lose his eyes , legs and arms in every second movie.And while Karishma Kapoor wiggled her butt to "sexy sexy sexy" before drooling husbands and angry wives in cinema halls , I watched a saree-clad , no-noodle-straps, yet radiant Waheeda Rehmaan.

But thats not the point.The point is the break between the news bulletin.The time when those government sponsored advetisements came on.Say NO to drugs.Say NO to drinking.Say NO to "kandom" less sex.And say NO to girl discrimination.It showed stuff like a girl saying "bapoooooo main padna chahti hoon " , "main apne feet pe stand karna chahti hoon" , "main daaactar banna chahti hoon".These advertisements ended with the girl smilimg and clutching her degree victoriously.And then the message flashed :

Stop discriminating between boys and girls.ladka ladki barabar hain.
Treat boys and girls equally.

And I plead with the world around me.Treat boys and girls equally.

Take away the huge advantage girls get at every step of life.

Stop this "man"handling of boys.Stop treating the "UNFAIR" sex ( thats boys ) unfairly. As a sidenote , an american boy's skin is as white as snow.A south Indian girl's may be more like coca cola's color.But shes still said to belong to the fairer sex.Anyways, Let me explain the ways boys are treated unfairly.

There may be villages called daaruhera and jharsa where men drink "desi" hooch till midnight, go home , and beat their wives till the wine shop reopens.But I have never been to that village and can only write about what I see.

Have you ever driven a blood red BMW at 160 kms per hour with the car stereo playing some altaf raja song ? Neither have I.Instead I have to use a combination of auto ride , bus ride and hitchhiking to get to home each evening.Talk about asking for a lift.I stand near a barber shop after a day of hard work with my sleeves rolled up and tie loosened.I stick up my thumb to every passing vehicle.I keep an expresssion as if my wife is to have a delivery in three minutes and I need a lift.Still I have to wait for almost half the duration of a soccer match before some guy on a shaky scooter decides to stop for me.

And then this girl walks up next to me and stands there before the barber shop , seeking a lift . And the next leather clad guy on his monster bike screeches to a halt almost grazing my toes , let the dust cloud settle , looks back at the girl and asks "need a lift ,miss ?".She leaves with the uzbekistan wrestler clone.And i keep on my "I need a lift" show running.

Scene moves to the DTC bus.I am a small guy.So a lot of girls are capable of mashing me and stuffing me to make a stuffed vagabond parantha.But still these broad shouldered , biceps flaunting girls have these ladies seats reserved snugly for them.I have to stand in the crowded bus and struggle to keep my nose away from the armpits of the guy to my left and to keepmy butt away from the "dance master"-ish gay looking guy on my right.

Now for the interviews.Me in a starched white shirt.Navy blue trousers.A necktie.I walk in.The interviewer looks like a cross between a crocodile and kadar khan.I hand in my certificate file.He hardly looks at them.How many types of fan regulators do you know about ? , he asks with a frown. But saaaar , I am a computer engineer , I protest.He looks at me like his cellphone has more grey cells than my head.Havent u studied electrical engineering in term 3 ? Now I cant tell him that I got 37% marks in electrical engineering and dont know much about a fan , forget its regulator.I am out before you can spell regulator.

The next candidate in is a girl.White starched salwaar kameez.Enchanting smile.Pretty eyes.Heavenly ears.Wonderful nose.Even the hair in her nose would have looked marvellous.She walks in.The crocodile-kadar khan cross looks at her and forgets about his overweight and loud wife.He smiles widely.She sits down.She hands him her file.He goes through it with the interest of a teenager going through a porn magazine for the first time.OHHH , you have learnt Bharatnatyam ?? !! Tell me about it , miss ! And the next10 minutesare about the "mudraas" and whatever ways they twist their bodies in Bharatnatyam.And then the interview ends.No fan regulators.She is selected.I get ready for some other crocodile clone some other day.

And the list is endless.I am running out of time so would have to stop my outpouring about the gut wrenching discriminationI as a boy have faced till now.But believe me , its for real.And getting really real by the day as I watch the world around me.By now , the women liberation movement supporter in you would be itching to send a mob of angry and agitated broad shouldered women to my place.I swear I have never been to Maharashtra.I swear I have not accepted a nickel from the RSS.Neither do Ikeep a passport sized picture of Bal Thackrey in my wallet.I dont even have a trishul hidden under my bed.So as I get ready to leave office now ,you guys just remember the Doordarshan advertisement.

Treat boys and girls equally.I have to go now.An hour and a half later ,I would be found standing before the barber shop , sticking my thumb, asking for a lift from passing scooters and mopeds, in this unfair world.

*****
And yea.My lovely sisterly angel (angelicsoulsback.blogspot.com) has got All india Rank 1 in the IIT master's entrance.And without any unfair advantage.A huge congrats to her !

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

very true
ever wondered why "male chauvinism" is called a disgrace but feminism is a "movement" ?

VM said...

Funny post.. I posted a lont time back on the same note; just a bit more serious and disgruntled ... check this.

Came here from TT's blogroll...and pass my good wishes to your sisterly angel she's gonna need them :p

Anonymous said...

IIT Masters entrance kya hai?? Is it a new nomenclature for IITJEE??

Tipsy Topsy said...

The girl who takes lift from the uzbekistaan weightlifter look alike is either a hooker or putting herself into grave danger of being raped. Any sensible woman in Delhi shall under only very very dire circumstances think of taking a lift. In reality, she walks on the road casting furtive glances behind her to make sure she is not being followed...walks as far away from the road as possible to avoid the four-men-santros.

The reservation for seats in buses. While u just have to avoid the stinky armpits, if the woman was standing she would have had to avoid the groping hand. have u ever had a guy feel u up in bus? I have. and at an age where I didn't even understand what was happening.

The interview. While u r being asked questions pertaining to ur intelligence, she is being treated like a piece of flesh. She might get the job. but what happens to self respect?

Sorry for the outburst.

Abhi said...

@ TT : whoa.i dint mean to make it so serious yar.im sorry if u really took it so hard..i wasnt very serous when i wrote all that..

Tipsy Topsy said...

sorry i took it in the wrong spirit. its just that as i went on reading it..i kept on feeling that this chap has no clue what he is talking about. hehe. sorry again. show this post to a lady sitting a coupla tables away from u..she headed the women's development cell in college.will blast u ;)

btw, the cable tv bit, we had it on and off in the house.. i usually forced my parents to get it disconnected (yeah. nerd!) went for a college reunion last sunday. one question asked, "did ur parents finally get cable?" hehe

Abhi said...

@RK : ja tu ash kar.tujhe vice prez MMM ka bana dala.

@anat :well , considering the mood TT is in , i wont like to agree with you.but i dont disagree either.

@Bhim : Hey i checked out ur post.n its the very same thing of choice VS responsibility i was plannin to write b4 i dropped the idea fearing frayed nerves here n there.but its there.men cant watch TV soaps all day if they want.women can.

@Hehehe :nopes.its a different exam.n ye hehehe kya hai.is it a new nomenclature too ? :p

@TT : maafi sarkaar.

@Naveen :u got a point man.i mean , those girls did accept the admissions.knowing it wasnt about their intelligence.n the same is seen at the IIM placements.

Anonymous said...

Come on, all those blames sound too much to be realistic.Dear Abhi, were u with the girl when the interviewer asked her abt her Bharatnatyam?It is not true tht girls get an easy entrance coz of such men.May b not every girl raises a voice against such ppl in authority but ofcourse they don't flaunt themselves to grab an opportunity. Such questions are offending to every girl and noone wud think of taking an advantage of the situation.

One place where girls are treated better is queues :-) There is a separate queue for women everywhere and tht does help a lot.Ever reserved a train ticket? Tht is the time when I feel lucky to be a girl.

Tipsy Topsy said...

Naveen, the true feminist movement is all about making her realise that she is not a piece of flesh and she should stand up and say that. As for those who keep quiet not becos they lack courage but becos they want to use the unfair patronage, i personally cannot respect such a person, irrespective of sex. However, i dont think this is usually the case and such opportunists are very few.

Abhi said...

@annonymous : gimme a break.you know these things happen.n its natural.any guy would want to see a pretty girl in his office each day , rather than seeing me.i agree most girls dont flaunt it , but they dont even mind getting the easier cake.

@RK : abe she reads my blog sometimes.no mention about her on this blog from now on.over n out.;)

Abhi said...

@TT : Buddy am sorry about hurting ur feelings.i dont know u much , but the way u reacted , u seem to be a person of real self dignity and sense of respect.this post wasnt about good people like you.im sorry for generalising things .

Anonymous said...

saram dharam aath ki naahi....aourat logan ke bare me kuch to bhi anaap sanaap bakat ho....aurat maa hai , bahan hai,patni hai,bahuria hai.....aage se kuch bolan ke pahile 10 baar sochat ka....samgha budbak...:-)

Abhi said...

sasur saram gayi tel lene , ehan hum wahi likat hai jo ee sasur kaleje me aaawat hai.aur aurat mein nazaakat bachi hi kahan hai , aajkal to oo kaa kahte hai..haan ..jeans aour top pehnat hai saari ladki.samjha budbak senior.:)

An Unknown Citizen said...

trememdous post abhinav! finally someone decided to write about discrimination against males. It is prevalent everywhr right from schools to colleges. No one can deny tht, the "fairer sex" gets unfair advantage in all technical institutions. Typical questions 4 ladies in vivas r how many sisters u have? what does ur father do? which school did u pass frm?
N for boys hardcore technical questions r asked which he inevitably fails to comprehend. This is then followed by "how did u pass class 12"? " even the jharuwala is more intelligent than u!" "have u ever opened a book?"
we shud always be equally, no doubt abt this.

Anonymous said...

hehehe...:-)

Anonymous said...

thik bolat ho bhai....ka jamana aayi gawa hey....thora duri se dekhiyega to farke nahi malum chalta hai larka, larki me........:-) super senior burbak...

Abhi said...

@ All of you :: hey buddies , please dont take this post gravely.i have written wat i felt , but the aim wasnt to offend anyone or clean the soceity of any evils.i dont even care to clean my room.my sole purpose was to write fr fun.so please dont take this seriusly.be good and do good.treat boys fairly;)

Anonymous said...

Managers don't employ ppl to look at their faces! On work front,girls are actually at a loss. Most of the guys misbelieve tht beauty and brains don't go together.No matter how intelligent and hardworking girls be they r always considered dumb in comparison to boys.Unfortunately,this is the real situation in offices here.

shantanu said...

I can only say "about time" that somebody spoke about it...good going dude...

VM said...

Seriously, we have taken a humorous post too seriously :)

Anonymous said...

I agree, the post is humorous and I went a lil too serious evaluating it.

As always, good writing, buddy :-)

amit said...

bang on target abhinav. very true !!!!

vaise u r writing big posts. kya E n Y mein koi kaam waam nahin hai. aisa hai to i wud also like to do my summers at such a cool place next yr

Archana Ramesh said...

Vagabond,
First let me hear that a man was raped by a woman, then I'll agree that woman are on top!! :)) Until then, its a male dominated society.
A woman dominated society --> A woman raping a man...can you imagine? oops there's nothing to imagine :))

Anonymous said...

Thank you :) check out that emo boy one on this blog:
http://emo--boys.blogspot.com

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