Water

I was in a mood to watch some nice movie. Somehow, I stumbled upon this article, which piqued my interest to watch the movie "Water" on youtube. Its a very nice movie to watch. It reminded me of the hypocrisy in the Indian society in the name of tradition. The Chuhiya's character reminded me of the stories my great granny used to narrate from her childhood days. She was one lucky woman though that she had one of the best mother-in-laws who pampered her during her childhood days.

My great granny's younger sister(chinna paati) was married at a very young age to my great grandpa's brother. She became a widow at the tender age of 9 and remained a widow until her death last year. My great granny's mom was a very enterprising woman.. she pretty much ran small businesses from within the confines of her home, that the wealth she earned is still feeding many a family generations later. The story goes like.. my great granny's mom let my chinna paati wear silk clothes and jewels after her husband died until she reached puberty. My great granny's father-in-law was so irked that he used to fight with my granny's mom.. whether she's conspiring to get her daughter married again. Later, when my chinna paati realized her status as a widow, she switched to widow attire. The pathetic part of the whole story is she remained a widow of somebody whom she had hardly seen. People within my family never shunned her under any circumstances that she was let to plait or dress up the brides on their wedding day.
Everybody felt that she should have been remarried..damn the customs of those days. As the Narayan's character clearly puts, its the economic factor that lets people to keep such traditions alive.

Dont get me wrong that I am condemning traditions on the whole.. its just the practices with total disregard for the feelings and welfare of the affected individuals that I find ridiculous. Even to this day, I find widows in many families not participating in auspicious functions. The case of my chinna paati has brought about a totally different attitude in my family that they ensure such a treatment is not bestowed on somebody for no fault of their own.