Bharatiya Naari !

Had time to catch up a typical 90 s Bollywood flick today. Though entertaining I could not help but notice the way Indian women have evolved onscreen. In 90s women could ve been a working woman but stil she would still be the damsel in distress who needs a man to protect her. Her purity was held by a certain part of her body. She dint seek for love but for marriage. She was the God fearing obedient daughter, dutiful wife, in short the "Sanskari Bharatiya naari" . Well our heroines today are still all that but much more. They are unapologetic about who they are and work not just to make a living but for the love for their work. They crave for true love not marriage. They may be in distress sometimes but they equally or even single handedly find a solution. She certainly doesn't try to prove her sanctity in old ways. Of course this evolution is reflected and evident in society today. With much larger percentage of women on their own feet, financial independence has certainly given more confidence to today's women. But in her core,may be women has always been this way, waiting for the opportunity to be herself for years. Because in 1980s and 90s far from those quintessential Indian movies, men like Mahesh Bhat (long ago in arth ) or Mani Ratnam ( in his pallavi Anu pallavi ) have always had strong women leads who are not just women as society wants them to be seen but the way Indian women really are. Strong with a mind and flaws of their own and don't necessarily need a man to complete their lives. Well surprisingly Tagore did the same almost hundred years ago in his stories, be it Chokar Bali or aparichita.This makes me think may be Indian women have always been the same but only some great unthreatened observant minds saw it then too.