My grandmother knew nothing of Woman’s Day , nor did my mother ,I am aware and conscious of it but my daughter plans for the day well in advance and looks forward to it weeks ahead .Look at the four generations of women ! Each of them strong ,proud women. Yet, so different. It’s that diversity that we must celebrate. I salute all our grandmas and mothers who brought up their children to be independent thinkers , problem solvers and decision makers . And so , they are strong and proud .

In earlier times , the men took over the kitchen , they gave the women ‘Big gifts‘ ( like the refrigerator or the automatic washing machine , a Television ) . It was all that the family needed . The woman was happy and the men were content about their ‘gift’. The daughter / daughter-in-law then stepped in and the personalised gifting began . From trinkets to pieces of jewellery to clothes and handbags on perfumes ,they all came in and the woman is happier . And the icing being a day out to watch a movie at the theatre.Then , we wanted our time , our space , our friends and our way of celebration.

Why did women move from family to social celebrations? Being a woman with multiple responsibilities , the woman lost touch with her close friends.Every gathering was about talking shop. So, one had no time recall happenings that made her laugh or even brought a tear.So , the girlie crowd lunches were meant to unwind with close friends over a little gup-shup of the college and school days . It was a day of remembering and rejoicing each of those incidents that remind us of the person we were . That includes acknowledging all the lovely men in our families who support and encourage and push us to realise our potential. Let’s park our celebrations here and move on to something more meaningful.

Women have the power and drive to make it , to have an impact. We have to use the power to self – reflect and think . Collectively, we have to educate people with progressive thoughts and ethical actions. After the 8 th of March , celebrations will be forgotten and it would just have been another day that we enjoyed. I am more empowered than my grandmother was – with more knowledge and better skills( theoretically) But ,am I as strong and focussed as my grand mother was.? Yes and No ! Yes – education has empowered me immensely. Financial independence has made me self – reliant .But , No – because we are selective about exercising our power of independence. We have to process our thinking to beyond – “What’s in store for me?”

God has made every human being beautiful and gifted. We grow up feeling , some are more privileged than some others.We pick up these complexes on the way. What if we all turn to our grandmas for some gyaan ? She will tell you this-

Be assertive but not aggressive , be independent , not egoistic , be quick in action but not brash , be beautiful , not just pretty , be popular but do not seek popularity , be kind but not be carried away , seek support but not sympathy, be a leader not a boss .

Just be yourself . You are as beautiful as you think you are . And the world will look up to you . Enjoy the day and celebrate each day of your life with the same cheer and joy as you do today . That’s grandma’s recipe for being beautiful .