Reflections of a restless eccentric

This was an article I wanted to write on Mother's Day, when I saw several people glorifying the sacrifices of women. It is yet another form of patriarchy, I thought. But I did not type this article out, because I felt that my words weren't yet ready for the world, they needed to percolate in my mind and gain clarity. Today, a week later, I have found inspiration in a movie, and at that a Bollywood one, which is a very rare occurrence for me. If you haven't watched the movie yet--it is called Thappad (slap in Hindi) -- and would like to do so with a mind that is untarnished with my opinions and descriptions, please read my article after you watch the movie. I do not wish to spoil something so wonderful for you. :) This movie is a superb work of art, something perhaps a little ahead of its time, at least in Indian society. It is a very nuanced exploration of feminism, domestic violence, patriarchy, agency and social conditioning. Without further ado, let's get into what ...

Foreword: I have been wanting to write this for two days now. Even as I landed in the airport after two days of barely any sleep, this article was on my mind. Even as I hit the bed and instantly fell into an exhausted sleep, fragments of sentences swirled around in my sleep addled head, phrases begging to be penned down, paragraphs beseeching me to bring them to life. But I still hadn't figured out how to write this diplomatically, without offending anyone, and to attempt that in a state such as I was would have been folly. Hence I waited, albeit impatiently, till I was in a more cognitive state. But today it strikes me, no matter how delicately I go about this, it might still end up being controversial, because that is the very nature of strong opinions-- there will always be someone who sees otherwise and thinks I'm wrong. Therefore, I will go ahead and make my points, with the disclaimer that I have no intention of offending anyone by writing this, but these are my very str...