wrote this article for our kali puja magazine,for kali puja oct,2007,mit,manipal. TODAY'S KALI GONE DRUNK??!!...
oh and dont take me as a chauvinist!... it's just that i was concentrating on a women centric issue...
GROWING ALCOHOLISM IN TODAY'S INDIAN GIRL .
* If i am going to follow a god,why would i follow a god of my creation?that would be an alcoholic,idiot jerk god! - William.j.blake*
Today india is witnessing an era of the empowered indian women,the independent,self confident,financially secure Indian girl who has everything in her and nothing can stop her from success.Men,first looked at them with contempt and neglect,then envy and today with reluctant and hesitant respect.Even that will fade away and soon the divide between them will melt away.Today's urban indian girl is the real incarnation of Kali Ma,she is the epitome of power,self assertion and actually she doesnt care to apologise and show her tongue when she has comperehensively drubbed and stepped over the Shivas of today and yesterday alike...she has earned her place on top of men,why should she be embarrased? But then comes the universal law into action,that "He (rather she!!) who has power fancies the consequences of its abuse and corruption"..... I am talking of this new evil that has crept in ,amidst the middle class urban indian young women,the power is her financial stability,her strong personality and the corruption is ALCOHOLISM. For years it was believed that hard drinking and men went together,but a survey conducted by bangalore's NIMHANS in 2005 found that drinking pattern or the age of starting drinking (about 20 years)....was not at all different between men and women of urban india.Young modern indian girls want to break barriers and experiment.With job comes the money,,,and the evils along with it follow. Moreover in case of girls,a date,or her male colleagues are eager to pay for her drinks to her fill.This goes on and she never comes to know when she got hooked.And then ends up one day in the hospital,if its not too late already. In many cases the story never stops at drinks,addiction passes over to drugs and then the final "the end".And where the story starts?for the section of women and girls i am talking about in 90% cases it all starts with a harmless night out with friends and just a peg of beer or vodka,just to chill,just to change your mood yaar!Sensible girls of today just need to be told that thats the beginning of the end. But there's alway a streak of light in the darkness,the scene is not so bleak.One of the best solutions to reform alcoholic women is to persuade them to women's alcoholics anonymous groups or women specific rehab centres to combat the problem as well as respect a woman's need for privacy.Women alcoholics face greater social ostracism than men.They dont come out in the open for the fear of being branded as immoral.In most cases there's no support from peers or family. Our society,our indian girls-today's Kali,have to realise that alcoholism is a DISEASE that knows no caste creed or sex!The sooner people stop denying this the better, And then India will have its true Kali and Durga in every nook and corner propelling her nation to prosperity,strength,success and most importantly peace,happiness and serenity.
" Alcohol is a very patient drug,it will wait for the alcoholic to pick it up one more time "
" When a women drinks,its as if a child were drinking.Alcoholism is scandalous in women and a serious matter,its a slur on the divine in our nature"* - Marguerite Duras
(Technical information courtesy the Times Of India,Nov 2007)
1 comment:
I have to confess I hve a strong objection to most of the views presented in this article. I t was written at a time when I myself was construed of a different mindset and ethos is what I can surmise on retrospect. I ll let it stay as it was what I felt and wrote and one point in time in my life, but I feel many of them don't corroborate with my viewpoint as of today.
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