Sapno Ka Shaher

56. Empowerment

Shubham stood in the balcony, his hands apart on the parapet wall and his eyes fixed somewhere on the ground that was still painted in the multiple colors.

The two days of Holi holidays had definitely cheered the society. He too was feeling rejuvenated amidst his hectic schedule in the office due to the financial year ending. As the darkness was slowly covering the sky, Sea Queen Society was getting back to normal after a lull afternoon.

A sound caught his attention and his gaze shifted. There was a noise of helpers of mandap decoration and caterers, taking the tables, chairs and the material of the pandal back in the tempo. Vanita was standing close to the gate– supervising, talking to their chief guy and counting the notes in her hand– all at the same time.

Vanita was indeed a good leader, Shubham mused. She was a strict yet very efficient secretary of their society. All the events that took place in the society were always well managed under her supervision, which actually required good planning and execution.

He recalled the time when some families from their society had issues with her being the secretary— a woman. It wasn't a regular practice in some houses to listen to a woman's orders, or to take your problems to a woman to solve or to attend the society meeting filled with mostly men but headed by a woman.

They had the committee including the president and treasurer, but only for namesake. He had seen only Vanita actively doing almost everything single handedly. She has a dominant personality, good at decision making and at her economics too.

A long time ago he had casually asked her if she ever wanted to work, and her reply wasn't even surprising to him.

'Kya hi karenge hum job karke? Aur hame job dega kaun?'

There couldn't be a worse thing than a woman underestimating herself and not realizing her worth. That she's made for much more than she thinks. That she can ask for what she wants as a man can.

Shubham had only smiled at Vanita's answer that time, but today, he recognized the gravity of it. That it was the yearlong conditioning of women that made them think inferior of themselves. Had she been working somewhere, she would have been a very good manager. Shubham's notion about Vanita after that answer stayed true even in this moment.

Being raised in a patriarchal mindset, Shubham wasn't a person who would understand a woman's point of view, despite being surrounded by women. He was in his 20's when he lost his father and with the hesitation and distance that comes with age between a son and his mother, he had very limited topics to talk about with his mother and grandmother. And with the age gap he had with Tanvi, there were never discussions about a woman's life, her challenges, her interests and her conflicts.

However, when Preeti came into his life, her jovial and filmy nature showed him new perspectives. His wish to have a transparent and friendly relation with her made him understand her as a woman first, listen to her chatter without interrupting and learn to be happy with little things. It made him look at things through her lens, perceiving things with a touch of sensitivity and subjectivity... unlike the numbers and percentages and profit and loss from his economics.

What was transpiring in their house from the past one year was like a wave of change. He never experienced so many changes in his life than what he did in this one year. He wasn't bothered about it, rather he himself was the driver of these changes. And what happened today was the fruit of all those persistent efforts.

His wife and sister getting job offers from their respective fields...

And his sister sharing with him about being in love with someone and wanting to marry him....