Dependence Vs. Independence
The hustle bustle of the festive flavours made me ponder over the significance of this word ‘Independence’ which by all means has turned into an annual celebration of sorts for most of us. And I am no exception to the rule either. Although I do not belong to the times of battlefields nor am I exposed to the extremities of survival at gun point on a daily basis, but I do belong to the times of the Nuclear war possibilities. Of cold political wars that lay within them a dormant possibility of erupting into the worst catastrophe mankind ever imagined in their worst nightmares. I live in fear, anxiety and anticipation.
On the other hand I am also a fortunate woman who is living in the suburbs of one of the most commercially viable cities in the world; which just means a lot of transformation, a lot of change and a lot of liberty. Aah ! I love the sound of that word, ‘Liberty’! But that leads my train of thought to a place where I’m forced to question myself; am I truly liberated given the time and age I belong to?
Yes, I am liberated enough to eat , dress and have a career of my choice. I can also choose to be a single mother defying the need of a man in my life. I am also liberated enough to go ahead and get a sex change done or give birth to test tube babies or decide the size of my breasts by paying for it. Yes, I can afford it as well. I earn as much as a man does today, and sometimes more. But liberty does not lie in competing with the opposite sex or proving a point. That by all means, means nothing but having shallow and unsubstantial goals.
Am I independent from the clutches of my own mediocrity, the preconceived notions that have been instilled in me ever since I was born? Am I truly liberated in my thoughts to see things for the way they are, not clouded by what others believe is the right way a woman should look at things? How truly different am I in my head from the ‘not so liberated’ woman who existed fifty years ago?
Those women were slaves to their men and the ones their men were slaves to. They did everything they could to keep their men happy, maintain the peace and decorum of the house and run their kitchens as smoothly as possible. This is 2010 and believe me, I am no different.
I am a slave to the claws of continually proving my worth. I am a slave to the perpetual struggle I go through to prove myself as an equal. I am a slave to the gadgets, the technology. I would love to believe I spend my time in pondering over issues such as this one, but that is just because it gives me the satisfaction of; again, proving my worth as a ‘thinking’ aka ‘liberated’ woman.
So when does ‘Liberty’ truly happen to me? Probably the day I stop struggling to prove my worth and be comfortable in my own hide. When there is no ambiguity in what I have to say, do, think or feel. The day I actually stop questioning myself if I truly am liberated or not; because that will be the day when I would know it for sure that I am.
Happy Independence/(still dependent) day folks !
P.S : I love the variety of sweets these ‘festivals’ bring with them. 
