Yes, women go crazy over Saritha!
text_fields
Kerala is now where America was in 1960s. Changes are seeping in: women are becoming bolder, assertive, sophisticated, experimenting with hairstyles, wearing their best, educated, reading books, opinionated, and socializing with male friends, and having ideas about love, marriage and child bearing. But one thing they lack is great role models. The danger is any woman with seemingly bold-self could fill up the gap. So Saritha Nair could step in to the vacuum. Is she already there?
But American women of 60s had many bold leaders. Betty Friedan, the leader of American feminist movement, just published her trendsetter, “The Feminine Mystique” in 1963. Women nearly worshiped her. Until then many of them read only cookbooks, and sat home watching sitcoms, and used their brains just to plan an evening party, or tell apart a flannel skirt from a cotton one.
Their husbands came home tired in the evening and wanted the best coffee and their soothing presence. Women became the best wives like the ones on TV adverts. Betty Friedan says in her book of a woman who chose marriage over university education; because, educated women, then, had difficulty finding husbands. Things changed thankfully partly to Gloria Steinem, another leading feminist then. Women came out of their slave-attitude and discovered their identity.
Yes, women of Kerala too are on the cusp of a total change. Education, job, regular income and access to technology could help them to overcome social barriers. They are not feminist the way woman’s organizations want them. Perhaps they don’t go out to protest against a rape but would be inwardly angry. More than 70 women out of a hundred would want the freedom of living their choices. Men mostly are still bound to old-time rules. And they can’t accept women taking more social space. Men as politicians don’t want women so either.
Saritha Nair emerged at this context. The crimes she is accused of are male stuff. Men do them exceptionally well. The big thing is she allegedly cheated many powerful, wealthy, and important men. That would have wanted her to use great managerial skills, courage and focus. She had them all. This English-speaking woman could convince men the way she wanted. Even MPs and government ministers struggled to defend themselves. Saritha became an acid test for them. Many wondered, “How could she do it?” Women must have asked themselves the same.
Soon we found men queuing up to her venues. That was nothing new in Kerala if you remember how Mariam Rasheeda was treated during the ISRO espionage case. But why women crowd to see Saritha Nair is a mystery.
Saritha gets hearty welcome on TV. Asianet risking its credibility wooed her on a talk show and made her to sing and dance. Race for rating could take TV channel to extremes. May be Asianet already started feeling the heat of it. Many Kerala channels already have programmes for clearing sex doubts. It has parallels internationally. Earlier one US channel had women discussing various sex positions. Recently a UK TV channel went to the extreme with their Sex Box programme. Couples would come on the channel to have sex in a box and come out to answer questions about their experience. Many European channels run ‘ near--to--porn’ programmes. If our channels could lure viewers by way of sex-education, soon we will be where western channels now are. Bringing Saritha on the talks show, Asianet turned her into “entertainment stuff”. It was an injustice done to its viewers. Some really wanted to throw up. Yes, Saritha is gaining popularity unlike any accused ever before.
Earlier when she visited a temple, many women queued up for autographs. That was just shockingly amazing. And the last heard is Saritha is to act in a movie. That will become a sort of quantum leap for her. That is absolutely a modern American style today. You could use your negative publicity for fame, and you could become somebody important eventually. Now on people will have one more great reason to worship or negate her, and in either case, it will make her even more popular.
More women than men crowd about her court appearances (at least in some places). It goes against tradition, because typical Kerala women openly and privately hated women with negative publicity. They didn’t like Silk Smitha or Shakeela, although they were just actors.
Now let’s come to the question: why women go crazy over Saritha? You have a stock answer: they like her vast choice of sarees. That is completely wrong. It is not about saree but women are attracted more by her personality.
Saritha walks boldly. She faces media unflinchingly, she smiles while being walked by police, and her body language is one of a star’s. It would seem police were her security men. Even her co-accused, Biju Radhakrishnan, had a body language of a man in trap. She never even for once appeared so. In all her interaction with media, she talked freely, openly, her voice very clear and assertive. That is something new for a woman accused of serious crimes and faced vast media attention. Where men accused of crimes cover their faces Saritha walks unashamedly. Thus the general feeling toward Saritha is one of hero-worship.
Some mystery videos of her were reportedly leaked, but Saritha remained completely bold. Quite unfazed. She said she would never commit suicide over it created a new message. Suicide for Kerala woman, and women across India, is a safe-escape route from humiliation. Saritha fought it out bravely. Even men, supposedly strong minded, would fail here. The general phrase about her is, “how bold she is” not “how shameless she is”. Soon she could be invited to do motivational speeches. May be she could write a book on how to face difficulties of life. Because she alone is capable of pulling that book off.
If she earns good money from movies, she could set up charity and become social activist. Given her gift for public speech and flexibility, she could become leader of masses someday. Then people will talk about Solar Scam as a blessing in disguise. Otherwise Saritha will not be there to lead them.
His other articles:
Why didn't Indian media see him ?