November 19 is indeed a unique day. Well, it is the International Men's day. During the supposedly post feminist era these days, the usual discussion on a day devoted to men sounds superfluous. Not in my opinion. Currently it is indeed much More needed, in fact.
Why? Because I believe that this 'not commercialised as yet' day can be used to enlist supposedly the essential qualities of the much maligned 'Man'. Who indeed is the real man? The macho Man? Certainly not. A Man with toxic masculinity? Of course, absolutely not. The Spider Man!?! He looks fine in the comic( s) pages alone! Is he the richie-rich chappie? Certainly not.
The real Man is first and foremost okay with himself. He does not need to flaunt anything, neither his brains, nor his achievements, nor his accomplishments, and certainly not his wealth , even when gotten honestly. He is certainly perfectly comfortable in his own skin. He hence needs no trophy girl to flaunt.
Beauty is skin deep, he knows. With the modern cosmetic advancements, it is very, very easy to look good, is the universal truth he is aware of. So the usual trappings of success hardly matter.
He is honest with himself and his close ones, for sure. He does not mind sharing household work. He may not change the nappie expertly, but he is ready to learn because he loves the Baby. He is, in brief, okay with the feminine, gentle, soft, mature side of himself.
Equally ready he is to accept others' self assertions, be it the children or the wife. Extremely supportive, he never allows anybody to insult anyone of his close ones. Neither his wife, nor mother nor sister(in-law), nor his in-(c)laws traditionally at loggerheads supposedly with each other, but actually with him, right?
A good guy, he may not gossip about politics, but would be active in the 'polis' duties of multiple varieties. A Good guy who is not a goodie-goodie, but ready to work on himself! Let us celebrate him on a day when a well-known leader cried openly in public because his wife was humiliated. What a genuine day indeed that breeds hopes for a (wo)Man made India!
Pratima@ Papa was such a Man, I think. In those days, looong, long ago, he chose to stand for his wife's respect in the family circle, was a wonderful father, and an ideal in his dreary profession.
No comments:
Post a Comment