"Now listen ma, I am going to be a femist. No I am already a femist." Suchita sounded serious. Tears had already collected in the corners of her eyes.
Anita did not lift her eyes from the book which she was reading. Bringing up a kid was not at all easy.
"Ma...did you heard what I said?"
Anita was quick to correct her daughter this time,"Look Suchi, it is did you hear..did you hear what I said." Anita looked at her seven year old daughter. An editor by profession, Anita could never tolerate a grammatical error.It struck her immediately like a wrong note in the octave.(Rude joke:Editors always search for mistakes)
"Ok...did you hear?"Suchita had her hands on her hips. Anita found her seven year old daughter extremely cute. Her hair looked unruly. She looked wild, but aren't tiger cubs a delight to watch.
"Did you...did you hear?" she tried changing the tone since the initial question did not fetch her an answer.
"Suchi..come here" Anita just stretched herself from her chair to comb Suchita's hair with her fingers.Suchita stood uncertain about what to do or say next.
"Ma,I am a femist." she did not move.
"What -ist?" Anita's brow showed clear lines and her teeth had coffee stains. The brown lipstick had slightly overstepped the corners of her lips.Without even a pause,the question continued in a tone of surprise "chemist?"
"F-E-M-I-S-S-S-T" some air escaped along with the 'sss'.
Suchita stared at her mother.
Anita placed the bookmark on page 204.Now this needed attention and some sort of analysis. What was her seven year old kid saying?
"Suchi...what is that?" Anitha sounded ignorant.
"What?Femist?" Suchita sounded like a speaker at the international conference who was half way through a knowledgeable lecture when some participant had asked her the title of the topic.
Anita nodded.
"I heard Mini aunty calling you a femist. Smitha aunty also said she is a femist.Brinda aunty should be a femist.Grandma said she will be one if I want."
"Who is a femist Suchi and why should you be one?"
"I don't like Vivian.So I want to be a femist.I know,you dont like a boy, you are a femist."
Anita needed time to settle her thoughts. She rested her right leg on her left and turned to Suchita.
The angelic innocence of childhood should not be lost in schools of thought that could not be comprehended by a tiny tot. How should I put it across?What should I tell her?
Anita pulled Suchita close to her and placed her on her lap.
"Ha..so that is it. You dont like Vivian and so you are a "
"femist"confirmed Suchita.
"Feminist...Not Femist Suchi...Feminist...ok...Why dont you like Vivian?"
"He pulled out my hair band...See my hair" Suchita had registered her complaint.
Anita knew her daughter was upset with that incident and was just making a complaint with the wrong choice of words.With time and age,she would understand what the movement meant and how it had often been misquoted thus.
"Suchi...", Anita knew she should be careful with her words."Vivian is a small boy.He is younger to you dear.Feminism is not hating Vivian.It is about he being good to you and you being good to him. He should not have pulled your hair band. We'll ask him.Where is he?"
"He went home crying. When he pulled out my hair band, I just caught hold of his pocket and it came off tearing his shirt." Suchita looked innocent than ever before.
Anita heard herself shriek "Suchiiiiiiiiiiiiiii......"
Anita did not lift her eyes from the book which she was reading. Bringing up a kid was not at all easy.
"Ma...did you heard what I said?"
Anita was quick to correct her daughter this time,"Look Suchi, it is did you hear..did you hear what I said." Anita looked at her seven year old daughter. An editor by profession, Anita could never tolerate a grammatical error.It struck her immediately like a wrong note in the octave.(Rude joke:Editors always search for mistakes)
"Ok...did you hear?"Suchita had her hands on her hips. Anita found her seven year old daughter extremely cute. Her hair looked unruly. She looked wild, but aren't tiger cubs a delight to watch.
"Did you...did you hear?" she tried changing the tone since the initial question did not fetch her an answer.
"Suchi..come here" Anita just stretched herself from her chair to comb Suchita's hair with her fingers.Suchita stood uncertain about what to do or say next.
"Ma,I am a femist." she did not move.
"What -ist?" Anita's brow showed clear lines and her teeth had coffee stains. The brown lipstick had slightly overstepped the corners of her lips.Without even a pause,the question continued in a tone of surprise "chemist?"
"F-E-M-I-S-S-S-T" some air escaped along with the 'sss'.
Suchita stared at her mother.
Anita placed the bookmark on page 204.Now this needed attention and some sort of analysis. What was her seven year old kid saying?
"Suchi...what is that?" Anitha sounded ignorant.
"What?Femist?" Suchita sounded like a speaker at the international conference who was half way through a knowledgeable lecture when some participant had asked her the title of the topic.
Anita nodded.
"I heard Mini aunty calling you a femist. Smitha aunty also said she is a femist.Brinda aunty should be a femist.Grandma said she will be one if I want."
"Who is a femist Suchi and why should you be one?"
"I don't like Vivian.So I want to be a femist.I know,you dont like a boy, you are a femist."
Anita needed time to settle her thoughts. She rested her right leg on her left and turned to Suchita.
The angelic innocence of childhood should not be lost in schools of thought that could not be comprehended by a tiny tot. How should I put it across?What should I tell her?
Anita pulled Suchita close to her and placed her on her lap.
"Ha..so that is it. You dont like Vivian and so you are a "
"femist"confirmed Suchita.
"Feminist...Not Femist Suchi...Feminist...ok...Why dont you like Vivian?"
"He pulled out my hair band...See my hair" Suchita had registered her complaint.
Anita knew her daughter was upset with that incident and was just making a complaint with the wrong choice of words.With time and age,she would understand what the movement meant and how it had often been misquoted thus.
"Suchi...", Anita knew she should be careful with her words."Vivian is a small boy.He is younger to you dear.Feminism is not hating Vivian.It is about he being good to you and you being good to him. He should not have pulled your hair band. We'll ask him.Where is he?"
"He went home crying. When he pulled out my hair band, I just caught hold of his pocket and it came off tearing his shirt." Suchita looked innocent than ever before.
Anita heard herself shriek "Suchiiiiiiiiiiiiiii......"
good Farah..Keep writing.
ReplyDeletefarah...:)
ReplyDeletegood one yaar...
'cute' i would say..:))
seems u got d inspiration from real life :))
@Liza..thanks dear...
ReplyDelete@Neetha..thanks Neetz...inspiration....hmm...donno...but when i was typin i was reminded f sm1....true....:)))
haha..wn i was going thru d story i was reminded of smone..dts y..
ReplyDeleteyour power of observation is really good :)
Feminism is being good to each other? i thought that was kindness...anyway,you have captured the innocence of a seven year old, but could have thought of a more powerful ending...it fell on ordinary lines..think about it...and come up with a better one next time..
ReplyDelete@Zac..hmm...sure pa...:)keep postin ur valuable comments...:)
ReplyDeleteHi Farah... Accidentally i was redirected to ur site...Happy to see u as a writer instead of a good speaker.But i did nt agree with ur theory of Feminism.Besides of ur thought of way was super .Keep writing n be ambitious...@jais
ReplyDeletehey Jaison..thanks a lot fr reading n commenting on wht i had written...dont agree wth my theory of feminism??? well, did i try bringin ny theory here...no i guess...nyway I accept wt u hav said..continue posting..n once agn...thank u..:)))
ReplyDeleteTruthfully i did nt mean 'ur ' theory of feminism.I said about feminism . if u r a feminist writer then u might also feminist.Is it right..?The actual problem is most of male readers does nt like feminism writing.From my thought of view, u should be careful about that..otherwise u will loose ur popularity...Mean while i surprised very much when i knew u r emerging writer..Keep the momentum as much as possible n waiting for ur good creations...@jais
ReplyDeleteoh dt way round....not necessarily....u can write n still stay detached...well i dont kno...nywas I am not a feminist...:))
ReplyDeletethnk u fr ur valuable comments..:))