My profile as a knower
I always feel that there are two or more sides of everything. It can be the smallest thing like meaning behind a name or a widely discussed topic like feminism.
I often have very strong feelings about the likes and dislikes of the society. Often, before taking a major step I wonder about what the society would think of me. I agree with some of the rituals and beliefs, while feel irritated and agitated by others.
Something that angers me the most is the rights of the women of the society. Sometimes I wonder, are there any rights??
In my homeland, India, there are so many customs that I hate with all my heart. In villages, women are not allowed to work. They are not allowed to eat before men. They are not allowed to cook food or touch anything (live separate) during their menstrual cycles because they are considered impure.
In arab countries, the conditions are even worse. Women should walk a metre or few away from their husbands. They are not allowed to show themselves to the public. They should not sing or dance. It is not fair. However, according to them, these customs have stayed for years and they do not find a fault in them. I love a book called The Thousand Splendid Suns. It is about Mariam, who lives through all these hardships in a Taliban-Afghanistan. It is based on all these issues. In English Literature, we are reading a book called Persepolis, that too talks about the problems of freedom faced by a girl/lady/woman.
I read such genres because I feel I can empathise or even sympathize at times. The practices of dowry and sati in India are ruthless. Dowry - the bride's parents pay huge sums of amount to the groom's side and if they fail to then the bride is horribly tortured. Sati - a widow is burnt with her husband's pyre. The living space of women is hence taken - snatched forever. These things often leave me thinking. Will women, ever revolt? Or will we be forever subdued and treated like outcasts in certain parts or races of the world? I do not have the answer to that and I don't know when I will have the answer. But, I hope that these women will Prove to the world, what their worth is.
There was a discussion in class about how some people don't approve of others of leaving their homeland. I have had such an issue in my life. During one of our trips to India, one of my father's friend started telling us that it is not good for you to live like this, away from your country. You are betraying your own country and your parents by leaving them alone at this age. It really angered me because they really do not know what it feels like to stay away from your country and your parents. It is not by choice that we decided to move. It was because there was a job opportunity and a person needs to make a living out of a job. I realised that if he could tell this and there will be more people. But these people have no idea what it feels like to live like this. No one would want to stay away. There is always a difference between need and want. There is a difference between our mindset, living urban, and their mindset - living rural. Even while they are living in an advanced city there are thoughts and mindsets are still rural. They do not acknowledge the fact that we are efficiently taking care of our homes in two places - the place where we live and our country.
We, as teenagers, have a lot to debate about. Right now our knowledge is limited to what we want to learn. Often we feel that time will make us learn certain things. We do not take an extra effort or an initiative to learn something except for what is being taught already. Our music, social networking keeps us engrossed into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world.
There are arguments at home regarding our behavior. Mostly, our parents are right but we don't want to accept those facts and sometimes we are right but they don't want to accept that fact. They often tell us things that we should know and follow as we pass through our teens but react to certain other things that they would not have done in the teenage hood. At those times, I feel that they should realise that there is always a generation gap and we have to accept the changes of the generation. I am quite lucky that my parents understand all the hormonal, mental - physical changes in me and accept them. There are times they don't. There are times I react badly. but I guess time will heal all these wounds and bring better worldly knowledge to us.
These are just few of those big topics that are a part of our life and which we learn from.
I always feel that there are two or more sides of everything. It can be the smallest thing like meaning behind a name or a widely discussed topic like feminism.
I often have very strong feelings about the likes and dislikes of the society. Often, before taking a major step I wonder about what the society would think of me. I agree with some of the rituals and beliefs, while feel irritated and agitated by others.
Something that angers me the most is the rights of the women of the society. Sometimes I wonder, are there any rights??
In my homeland, India, there are so many customs that I hate with all my heart. In villages, women are not allowed to work. They are not allowed to eat before men. They are not allowed to cook food or touch anything (live separate) during their menstrual cycles because they are considered impure.
In arab countries, the conditions are even worse. Women should walk a metre or few away from their husbands. They are not allowed to show themselves to the public. They should not sing or dance. It is not fair. However, according to them, these customs have stayed for years and they do not find a fault in them. I love a book called The Thousand Splendid Suns. It is about Mariam, who lives through all these hardships in a Taliban-Afghanistan. It is based on all these issues. In English Literature, we are reading a book called Persepolis, that too talks about the problems of freedom faced by a girl/lady/woman.
I read such genres because I feel I can empathise or even sympathize at times. The practices of dowry and sati in India are ruthless. Dowry - the bride's parents pay huge sums of amount to the groom's side and if they fail to then the bride is horribly tortured. Sati - a widow is burnt with her husband's pyre. The living space of women is hence taken - snatched forever. These things often leave me thinking. Will women, ever revolt? Or will we be forever subdued and treated like outcasts in certain parts or races of the world? I do not have the answer to that and I don't know when I will have the answer. But, I hope that these women will Prove to the world, what their worth is.
There was a discussion in class about how some people don't approve of others of leaving their homeland. I have had such an issue in my life. During one of our trips to India, one of my father's friend started telling us that it is not good for you to live like this, away from your country. You are betraying your own country and your parents by leaving them alone at this age. It really angered me because they really do not know what it feels like to stay away from your country and your parents. It is not by choice that we decided to move. It was because there was a job opportunity and a person needs to make a living out of a job. I realised that if he could tell this and there will be more people. But these people have no idea what it feels like to live like this. No one would want to stay away. There is always a difference between need and want. There is a difference between our mindset, living urban, and their mindset - living rural. Even while they are living in an advanced city there are thoughts and mindsets are still rural. They do not acknowledge the fact that we are efficiently taking care of our homes in two places - the place where we live and our country.
We, as teenagers, have a lot to debate about. Right now our knowledge is limited to what we want to learn. Often we feel that time will make us learn certain things. We do not take an extra effort or an initiative to learn something except for what is being taught already. Our music, social networking keeps us engrossed into ourselves that we forget the rest of the world.
There are arguments at home regarding our behavior. Mostly, our parents are right but we don't want to accept those facts and sometimes we are right but they don't want to accept that fact. They often tell us things that we should know and follow as we pass through our teens but react to certain other things that they would not have done in the teenage hood. At those times, I feel that they should realise that there is always a generation gap and we have to accept the changes of the generation. I am quite lucky that my parents understand all the hormonal, mental - physical changes in me and accept them. There are times they don't. There are times I react badly. but I guess time will heal all these wounds and bring better worldly knowledge to us.
These are just few of those big topics that are a part of our life and which we learn from.
