Chapter VII the Anatomy of Culture, Body and Glamour

241 Chapter VII The Anatomy of Culture, Body and Glamour Culture always refers to refine intellectual manners of human beings. Indian culture is unique in its own way which is rich and diverse in comparison with any culture all over the world. The manners and means of living in India captivates even foreigners which remains unchanged as it is deep rooted in the veins and minds of people. Woman has been given enough space in Indian culture since ancient times. The place of woman is defined in different dimensions through the patriarchal society in ancient India that has consistently denied female voice. Like man, woman is born free, but she is in shackles which subtly and sometimes invisibly restrict her freedom. Throughout ancient history, women were compelled to undergo the laws made by men. However, it is also true that Vedic society gave ample place for woman who enjoyed social status equal to men, as in the case of Gargi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra, and Ahalya. In the case of Draupadi, polygamy was not considered as ‘adharma’ and later stages of the evolution of Indian history, created a half for them. According to Manusmriti, the woman is so vital to man’s life by assisting him - an adviser in his work, a slave in service to him, a partner in noble deeds, as earth in tolerance, a mother in affection, an embodiment of pleasure and beauty in bed and a friend in enjoyment. But critics say that Manusmriti restricted the freedom of women in different stages of her life by father, brother, husband and son which make her 242 lose identity and become dependent on masculine power. Co-education existed in the earlier period and the girl had the freedom to select her husband under certain circumstances. Divorce and remarriage of women were allowed under special conditions. Vesyas (Dancing girls) were permitted to make a living in the society, but were regulated by a code of conduct especially made for them. In the mythological times, women were appeared willing to accept polygamy in different ways. One of our much venerated mythological women, Draupadi was married to five Pandava brothers. Another revered mythological woman, Tara, married the monkey king, Vali, and married his brother, Sugriva after his death. The Adharvanaveda mentions that a woman can marry after having ten husbands. In the epic, ‘the Ramayana’, Sita was humiliated in the hands of Ravana; in the ‘Mahabharatha’, Shakuntala showed much patience in order to meet her husband, Dushyanta, and Draupadi was insulted by Duhsasana, who attempted to undress her in the court of Kauravas. The epics end with a message to respect women. N.R.Srinivasan in his article, “Status of women in Hindu Society through the Ages” says: “The ancient traditions of India have always identified the female of the species with all that is sacred in nature” (1). Medieval India was deemed to be the Dark Age for women. Medieval India faced many invasions by foreign conquerors like Muslims, who brought with them their own culture and customs. Indians either adopted some of their customs like veiling a woman’s countenance, etc. or reacted against them for 243 the protection of women. As polygamy was a norm for these invaders, they seized any woman they wanted and kept her in their ‘harems’. In order to protect themselves, Indian women began using ‘Purdah’, (a veil), which affected their freedom covering their body. Some social evils such as Child Marriage, Sati, Jauhar and restriction on girl education followed during this period but they were confined to Hindu society. As compared to the Hindu Society, women in other societies such as Buddhism, Jainism and Christians enjoyed more freedom and were liberal in their approach. The Bhakti movements tried to restore women’s status and challenged some of the forms of oppression. The status of women in modern India is a kind of paradox. On one hand, she is at the apex of ladder of success; on the other hand she quietly suffers the violence afflicted on her by her own family members. As compared with past, women in modern times have achieved a lot, but in reality, they have to still travel a long way. Women have left the secured domain of their home and are known in the battle field of life, fully armored with their talent. According to the census of 2001 in India, there are 933 females per thousand males which is much below the world average of 990 females. Strongly, female foeticide is an alarming trend in some communities known for their affluence. Owing to prevalence of dowry custom, a male child is as an asset whereas a female child is considered a liability. This sex ratio of India shows that Indian society is still 244 prejudiced against the female. But Andreas Huyssen in his article, “Mass Culture as women: Modernism’s other (1986)” Says: Even though the French readings of modernism’s “feminine” side have opened up fascinating questions about gender and sexuality which can be turned critically against more dominant accounts of modernism, it seems fairly obvious that the whole theorization of modernist writing as feminine simply ignores the powerful masculinist openly states its contempt for women and for the masses and which had Nietzsche as its most eloquent and influential representative. (4) Some critics say that women have no separate identity of their own in the culture of a society because their existence and consciousness are rooted in an environment created and dominated by man. The entire social ethos is more masculine than feminine. On occasions, where women are given a lot of exaggerated reverence, it is often due to man’s patronizing attitude to women. Selden in “The Theory of Criticism: From Plato to the Present: A Reader” quotes: Man can think of himself without women. She cannot think of herself without man. And she is simply what man decrees … She appears essentially to the male as a sexual being. For him she is sex-absolute sex, no less. She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is incidental, the inessential as opposed 245 to the essential. (Quoted from Feminist literature by Manmohan Krishna Bhatnagar, 128) Aristotle labels that the female is female by virtue, of certain lack of qualities. The German Philosopher, Nietzsche asserts that woman is the source of all folly and unreason and that she is God’s second mistake. The tale of woman’s oppression during the colonial context is two layered in which there is a clash in between the ideas of Modern Indian Nationalism and Feminism, when the struggle for women’s rights began. Sinead Caslin in an article, “Feminism and Post-Colonialism” emphasizes: “The undeniable fact that colonial oppression affected men and women in different ways should be recognized, as females were often subjected to what has been called a ‘double colonization’, whereby they were discriminated against not only for their position as colonized people but also as women” (2). The social reformers of this period such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Eswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Mahatma Jyothirao Phule, Swami Dayananda Saraswathi, Ambedkar, Kandukuri Veeresalingam, etc. helped women gain respectable status in the society, But it was Mahatma Gandhi, who awakened women to realize their power by calling them to join the freedom struggle, having an awareness of the potential power of women in influencing society. The position of woman was redefined giving enough space to revive her own identity. Anita Singh in “Aesthetics of Indian Feminist Theatre” quotes: 246 The National Council of women in 1921, and All India Women’s Conference in 1927 and 1930 protested against the feudal forces, which kept Indian women under subjugation. Sarojini Naidu was in the forefront of Indian freedom struggle and struggled to redeem Indian women from the clutches of slavery and superstition in 1920, the power of vote was first given to women in Cochin and Travencore and in 1921 in Madras Presidency. Many laws were passed after 1947, like the Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu succession Act of 1956, Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, which gave a wide spectrum of right to Indian women. (2) The post-independence Indian woman started searching for new avenues, where she could enjoy much liberty and freedom. After independence, women benefited from modern education remarkably. Though the girl-child from village background has not often benefited from elementary education of a very primitive kind, girls from towns and cities made a mark in education up to the higher secondary level. Middle-class girls quickly opted for jobs with SSLC certificates and qualifications in type-writing and shorthand. Women from middle-class families emerged as employees supporting their parents or their families in general. Though they did not wield power, they were the pioneers of women’s empowerment and economic emancipation. Urbanization and globalization have opened new prospects of employment, which are different from traditional ones. Even though the free India has had elected 247 woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi for over a decade, the condition of urban women has improved much rather than average woman. A woman in modern India is caught into the inescapable cage of being a woman, wife and mother. She cannot exist outside the boundaries of married life in the patriarchal society and be considered a ‘Pure’ or ‘chaste’ (whole heartedly devoted to her husband). Sudhir Kakar in his book, Intimate relations: Exploring Indian Sexuality emphasizes: “In the ideals of the traditional culture, the “good” woman is a pativrata, subordinating her life to the husbands’ welfare and needs in a way demanded of no other women in any part of the world” (66).

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