Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Female Fury

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 "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned"

...William Congreve


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Take it from an old man...never ever enrage a woman. You will regret it forever.

Everyone knows how Draupadi ferociously annihilated the entire Kaurava race. It is a different matter that she lost all her sons in the process.

When I went to Bengal in 1965 to join as a junior faculty at IIT KGP, there was an Andhra Association with about 50 members of staff and their families. And I was asked to join the Association but I demurred. For one thing I was a bachelor, and too shy to mingle with people of a single region. Variety remains the spice of my life.

After I got married I was worried if my wife would insist on joining it. But she was even more shy than I was and scared of people in general. So everything was fine for us.

The said Association was supposed to be a predominantly cultural organization and organized music festivals, dramas, and screened vintage Telugu films.  But these were free for all whether one was a member or not. Sometimes there was a ticket priced as low as one rupee. And my wife and I used to attend these things once in a while.

There was also a Fete which was another name for eats. The food was Andhra Specials and very good and once again everyone including students of all regions were invited. You buy tickets and wait in queues in front of various stalls selling idlis, dosas, vadas, upma, and other idyllic stuff prepared by campus Andhra ladies. 

And we never missed an outing there.

But, as in every such organization there was unavoidable politics.

I recall a musical extravaganza arranged by the Student Secretary in the Raman Auditorium. It was supposed to be an exhibition of campus Telugu talent.

The poor Secretary was afraid that there won't be enough ladies willing to show off their musical talent and so invited as many as he could muster to participate. And gave them a month's time for preparation. 

But you know how it is...either it is too much or too little. Robert Burns wrote:

The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

  
And whoever took the stage hogged it without letting the mike go in spite of repeated requests from the Sec.

And there was this Mrs Prof K who enrolled her young daughter as one of the artistes. And she was made to prepare arduously for the upcoming event.

And by the time half the ladies sang and shut up, it was already 3 hours. And the Sec suddenly announced an end to the program leaving Mrs K's precious daughter in the lurch...she was asked to go home and sing...in the bathroom ;)

And this so enraged Mrs Prof K that she went on to the stage, and in full view of everyone, simply spat on the poor Sec...hack...thoo!

And returned to the audience without uttering a word.

I was told that the student Sec was hospitalized for a week for PTSD...Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

I was reminded of this because of what I read in the newspapers.

Sometime ago, a Bollywood Hunk offered to embrace in a tight grip a lady politician of UP...out of brotherly love.

And look...he ended up in jail...serving his long sentence now.

And a while ago, a Bihar politico whose name rhymes with aloo promised that he would make the roads of Bihar as smooth as the cheeks of a famous South Indian Bollywood actress.

And he is on his way to jail today...


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