Mary Kom Packs a Punch!

So, the Facebook Detox Diet was going on in full swing till today. I cheated and allowed myself to log in just to check if there were any new mails or friend requests. And I was right! 2 new mails and a request from an old college pal awaited me, besides birthday reminders of 2 dear friends. But I didn't wait to wish anybody ( I know very mean of me) and all I did was to glance over 4 posts to see if I had missed anything. And it's the same old news- more wedding pics, more celebration pics, more I -dont-know-these-are-up-here-for-the-world-to-see pics and useless updates. For instance, one of the people on my list mentions a single word as his status update- YESS. Now what am I supposed to make of that?

So, I was grinning. Doesn't look like anybody missed my not being there on FB and I realised with a pang of shame that I now suddenly have so much more time on my hands for other things. Like writing this blog post for instance. So, I'm back on the diet and really happy that I don't have any other parameters to compare anything about or in my life to. And going by the sweet encouraging feedback on that one blog post, I was so happy to find that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I used to think my mom preferred to remain outdated in all things techno, but I think she had a wise point which I completely missed 2 years back!

Anyways. So this blog post title is about Mary Kom and so I'm going to swing back to the current hot flavour of India. I've never been one for cricket ( yes I dared to say that!) and I've always wondered about what it must feel like to be an athlete competing in one of the many other sports that most of us don't care about. There's always been a problem of getting funds, sponsors and yes, even big-time cash. How happy I was to know that the Olympics placed people I had never even heard of before(my ignorance, nothing else!) directly in the spotlight, and about high- time too. For a change, the drums beating at the airports and the crowds were thronging not to see one of their dear cricket gods, but the newly crowned Olympic winners. How encouraging to see article after article being written on them in newspapers and the general love of the public which was showered on them.

Mary Kom. She's my new heroine in so many ways. But besides proving that married women with kids don't need to be written off as being useless and ' in their prime', I admire the way she has handled everything with so much of grace. This new found adulation, all the publicity, yes even the hoards of sponsors who are now willing to shell out lakhs for her! What strikes me as unusual and also marks a change in the way at least a part of society thinks is that it is her husband who has backed her up every step of the way, irrespective of the hardships. I've heard that ' Behind every successful man is a woman' but Mary and her husband, Onler have re-written that age old adage. He married her when she was a celeb in her own right and encouraged her to push the boundaries a little bit more each time. To me, he is a man and a rare diamond at that. The kind that every woman should pray her daughter gets for a husband. For I truly don't know, how many men out there in our patriarchal society are willing to play a comparatively smaller role when placed next to their wives and can still hold their own with so much of confidence. It may seem insignificant, but there's a lot to be said about that.

Because every-time the camera bulbs flash, Onler smiles and lets his wife take the lead. Because whenever she has to practice for a match, he is there to take care of the kids. And when she needs that little bit of love and encouragement, he is there right by her side again. What a man! And I've had the good fortune of knowing a few good men who know the difference between being subservient and letting their woman shine. So, if you're married to one such gem, go to him, give him a tight hug and whisper a secret ' I love you'. It always wonders between my parents even now ;-)

Oh, and one more thing to add about North Eastern society. They seem to have a much broader viewpoint about what a woman can and can't achieve on her own. Girls are brought up in such a way so that they believe that they are on par with men in the society. What a man can do, a woman can too. Now, if only that modern and society changing thought could trickle downwards to the south and spread to other parts of India. I can only imagine the number of women whose lives would be all the more enriched by that one change in thinking. And that's why, I've decided that as I bring up my son, I want him to understand that a woman is a powerhouse on her own who deserves all the respect and love in the world. I may not be able to change the way a nation thinks, but surely I can impact the way he treats my daughter-in-law someday.