TatTvamAsi
19 April 2010, 09:59 PM
Namaste,
When it comes to women and womanhood, there are varying opinions; some interesting, others not so much. Yet, we can all agree that womanhood is best described through examples of exemplary women, whose lives are filled with virtue, principle, and grace; the epitome of SATTVA.
When it is regarding Indian womanhood, two are at the forefront of most Indians' (Hindus') minds; Kannagi and Savitri. There are scores of others such as Mirabai whose devotion is unparalleled or Andal, or Gargi, or Maitreyi, the virtuous wife of rSi Yajnavalkya. The list goes on.
Yet, those pillars of womanhood are examples from bygone times; mere remnants in memory or allegories in esoteric stories that are somewhat hard to encapsulate for today's children. Modern examples of Indian womanhood are becoming increasingly scarce. This is fact when you have the Bollywood imps imitating Hollywood in vulgarity, crassness, and worse, lack of real tradition. This has a damning effect on society and consequently many Hindu girls are swayed by the fickle-mindedness and prevarications of the media.
And, among all this unrest and ruination of culture and the slow degradation of Indian womanhood in the ethos of Indian society, there are paragons much like Savitri and Maitreyi; shining beacons of Indian womanhood and Hindu virtue that set the standard so high that we sometimes forget we are in such a hedonistic and materialistic society after all. Such women bring out what is good in human beings; the tradition that flows through them in their speech, demeanor, intellect, and if I may presumptuously state, their character, is to be inspirational to others.
An example of a modern day Savitri, I believe, is Smt. Vishaka Hari, a debonair and (yet?) profoundly Indian (Hindu) woman.
She is thoroughly involved in the wonderful ancient tradition of KathakAlakSeBaM (discourse through beautiful music). Incidentally, she is a chartered accountant (CPA) who earned the 3rd rank in the All India Chartered Accountancy Exam and was offered highly lucrative positions by various firms which she rejected. She decided to pursue the tradition of KathakAlakSeBaM and enlighten people of the glorious heritage of India and Hinduism!
Examples of such intellect paired with self-sacrifice and devotion to tradition are rare and precious.
Here is a video of one of her "performances":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWSaWiMEVBo&feature=related
*Most of it is in her native language Tamil and there are no subtitles. Yet, language is not a boundary so I suggest everyone listen to it.
Perhaps Saidevo would be kind enough to translate? :D
Namaskar.
When it comes to women and womanhood, there are varying opinions; some interesting, others not so much. Yet, we can all agree that womanhood is best described through examples of exemplary women, whose lives are filled with virtue, principle, and grace; the epitome of SATTVA.
When it is regarding Indian womanhood, two are at the forefront of most Indians' (Hindus') minds; Kannagi and Savitri. There are scores of others such as Mirabai whose devotion is unparalleled or Andal, or Gargi, or Maitreyi, the virtuous wife of rSi Yajnavalkya. The list goes on.
Yet, those pillars of womanhood are examples from bygone times; mere remnants in memory or allegories in esoteric stories that are somewhat hard to encapsulate for today's children. Modern examples of Indian womanhood are becoming increasingly scarce. This is fact when you have the Bollywood imps imitating Hollywood in vulgarity, crassness, and worse, lack of real tradition. This has a damning effect on society and consequently many Hindu girls are swayed by the fickle-mindedness and prevarications of the media.
And, among all this unrest and ruination of culture and the slow degradation of Indian womanhood in the ethos of Indian society, there are paragons much like Savitri and Maitreyi; shining beacons of Indian womanhood and Hindu virtue that set the standard so high that we sometimes forget we are in such a hedonistic and materialistic society after all. Such women bring out what is good in human beings; the tradition that flows through them in their speech, demeanor, intellect, and if I may presumptuously state, their character, is to be inspirational to others.
An example of a modern day Savitri, I believe, is Smt. Vishaka Hari, a debonair and (yet?) profoundly Indian (Hindu) woman.
She is thoroughly involved in the wonderful ancient tradition of KathakAlakSeBaM (discourse through beautiful music). Incidentally, she is a chartered accountant (CPA) who earned the 3rd rank in the All India Chartered Accountancy Exam and was offered highly lucrative positions by various firms which she rejected. She decided to pursue the tradition of KathakAlakSeBaM and enlighten people of the glorious heritage of India and Hinduism!
Examples of such intellect paired with self-sacrifice and devotion to tradition are rare and precious.
Here is a video of one of her "performances":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWSaWiMEVBo&feature=related
*Most of it is in her native language Tamil and there are no subtitles. Yet, language is not a boundary so I suggest everyone listen to it.
Perhaps Saidevo would be kind enough to translate? :D
Namaskar.