Lamenting the loss of the ‘Sanskaari naari’ #Humor

I write today with a heavy heart. The world just isn’t what it used to be. Indian culture and values are disappearing under the wave of globalisation, and youth from our culture are increasingly adopting western ways. They are losing their ethos, and so is the society.

Just the other day, there was a photograph of one girl who has acted in our films circulating on the internet. I don’t know her name or which films she has acted in, but she was seen with Ranbir Kapoor so she must be significant. Both these people were sitting around in some western country holding cigarettes in their hands. Is this the behaviour of good girls? Sitting around in public with young men and smoking?

Ranbir is a boy, so he is allowed to do whatever he likes. After all, it is the men who will carry forward the society, and not these girls. They will do two films and then (hopefully) take on their domestic responsibilities by marrying some industrialist. And if they don’t, then they can end up like that poor Babi girl, alone and delusional. Women must learn the dangers that exist for them in this world.

But in these days I am not sure if everyone will agree with me. What with all this feminism- sheminism. I tell you, these fads are dangerous to the balance of the society. If all the women come into the workforce, what will the men do? There is already a problem of too many young unemployed people in this country, the problem is doubled when all the women want to work too. But I take heart in the fact that at least some quarters of this country believe that women need to be governed and guided by men, and not let loose on the world. They can be a dangerous force.

Which, brings me back to the smoking actress, who is being dangerous by setting a wrong example for impressionable young girls. By doing so, she is flouting a very arbitrary rule in our culture that only women of poor character smoke, but then every culture has some oddities. It is our duty to uphold it, and not get into stupid arguments about whether it is logical or not. If it has not been done historically, it must be for a reason. Determining the reason is not our problem. How much can a person think about? Our sadhus smoke up all the time, but have you ever seen a sadhvi do it? That is the point.

I don’t know how long we can preserve the purity of our culture. In this Kalyug, the demonic forces have taken over. And the demons seem to have some special affinity to women, making them less obedient to us and creating a ruckus for equality. They say male privilege needs to go. I agree, but then who will do the cooking and the cleaning? We cannot depend on gadgets for everything. A woman is doing the best for herself when she is building her life around her man. These ambitious girls are destroying us, one cigarette butt at a time.