Phenomenal Woman

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Once upon a time there was a woman, a wonder woman.

 A phenomenal woman for

 SHE 

rose at the crack of dawn,

to draw a kolam,

bending at her hips, feet apart.

Splashing water on her face,

a hurried kumkumam on her brow,

coaxed reluctant twigs to kindle a fire

and boil water for  the family bath.

SHE 

dashed off to have a ritual bath,  

and juggle between filter coffee and finnicky husbands,  the maid and the milkman, an eclectic  menu to suit the  tastes of a grumpy family.

SHE

Whirred and whirled relentlessly,mechanically.

had time only for a  cold, coagulated sip of what was called coffee

made  steaming hot breakfast and lunch  to be packed into tiffin boxes 

carried off to distant schools and offices

where the husband  made a face and said, “ O! how cold is this food!”

where her children screwed their faces, “ It’s cold and boring!” and threw it away.

Nobody knew what passed her, nobody cared.

Back at home,

SHE 

swept and swabbed,

washed the family clothes over the washing stone,

shopped for staples and veggies,

rushed home for a quick meal

before starting the evening grind.

and then were the endless stream of guests to be hosted and feted.

Time tricked her, elusive and furtive like a thief.

Try as she did, she could not  control it .

SHE

had programmed herself and her chores to the last second.

Still had NO TIME 

to do the things she had always wanted to do.

to do the things that she liked and enjoyed

Her life was not her own.

She lived for others, who anyway said, “Oh! She has nothing to do all day!

She is just a housewife”.

Yeah, just a housewife.  

Today the Homemaker has ARRIVED.

SHE 

is a woman who knows her mind.

looks after her family

yet achieves her goals and climbs corporate ladders

is a Multitasker beyond measure.

is  equally at home turning out a pasta or a POWERPOINT presentation.

Livewire, both in the hearth and workplace

SHE 

is a cut above the rest.

has learnt the secret of managing time

has identified  and declared her priorities,

has the space and time to do the things

SHE 

had always wanted to do.

is at nobody’s beck and call. Her duty, she will do.  

Firebrand! Livewire!

SHE 

is the hand that rocks the cradle and rules the corporate world;

is the astute politician leading a fledgling nation by the front.

is the caring cook that tosses a salad and  the careful mother teaching a complex sum.

The home she tends, yet her dreams reach out to the stars,

spanning an astronaut’s step in the distant galaxy.

Storming bastions is child’s play to her,

yet one last one remains

that of a rigid, uncompromising, superior  social attitude;

differentiating and discriminating.

Woman of Substance, Superwoman, call her what you will.

Her spirit will conquer all

for is she not Shakthi, driving out  the demons of ignorance and blind social traditions?

Victory is the mantle she wears.

Jai Mata! Jai Shakthi!