So all I could do is put words to my feelings, which would probably fall flat.. So all I could do is pine and lament a society I am a part of. So all I could do really is – nothing ?

Reams of paper and ink will be lost in a phase, which, in all its probability, shall also pass.

Could we really do anything? Anything at all??

I know each of us is carrying a burden of shame and most probably self-loathing. I certainly am. Let’s face it, how different am I from those who did this heinous crime of crumpling a life which ought to have realised its many dreams, aspirations. Can I be honest and claim I never harboured any ill-feelings, self-germinated or otherwise, for the opposite sex? To me, an act of sexual abuse is just another manifestation of self-hatred, inferiority complex from strong and successful women and not to forget a troubled and biased upbringing. Looking down upon women, belittling women, at work, at college, at any walk of life, to me, is probably as heinous a crime, if not amounting to such tragic and disastrous impact. The impact, we have been brought up with, in our Indian cultured society. And I admit today, I have committed this crime, a few times that is and am as ashamed about it as I have been for judging any other person in my life or forming baseless opinions about them.

Why should even I take pride in the fact that I treat women with utmost respect and love? I have been ridiculed about this trait of mine in the past, amounting to slurs and jibes during college days. My question is, shouldn’t we all respect each other, as a friend, as a colleague and just as another human being. The germ of gender inequality is ingrained somewhere in our sub-conscious, which is probably hard to let go, sadly.

So can I do anything at all? Yes I can – I take this opportunity to apologize to each of you, man, woman, friend or otherwise, for my past behaviour towards you, if that has ever made you question my integrity as a human being, more than anything else.

Have been going through a vast sea of emotions of late, regarding the current state of affairs in India and couldn’t help but pen a few lines…sorry, again in Odia.

 

 

 

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