Back in Pune

I am back in Pune after almost seven months and this time for strictly family time. This was a surprise visit for my parents to celebrate their 60th birthday.

Then of course, once a researcher, always a researcher. I have been at home mostly but recently we switched from being sworn loyalists of The Indian Express to DNA, the new newspaper in town, new as in a few months old now I guess. As is unfortunately the reality of print media these days, particularly of newspapers, glamour a.k.a. gossip about socialites and the Hindi Film industry and celebrities sells. As a result, news is no longer “news”, it’s more about who’s bum got voted the best in the country. Give me a break! Television “news” channels report ridiculous “news” stories like, “Katrina ne Salman ke kaan mein kya kaha” (What did Katrina whisper in Salman’s ears?)..Are you kidding me???? News? Seriously???

Anyway, I digress. What I was really was getting at was that one of the upside about these stories, print or otherwise is the focus on women. Tucked neatly between stories that talk about fashion trends and uber rich lifestyles, there lie occasional reports about women who have made a mark. For example, today’s DNA reported a piece about Firodia Karandak Best Actress winner Swanandi Tikekar. The reason this stood out for me was because typically, until a few years ago, none of these Karandaks (competitions) really made news. They would be written about in a paragraph or two on some obscure page or column of the city section of the newspaper, unless of course there were some great pictures to go with the piece. This focus on a college level competition is encouraging for those in the performing arts.

The cover story of the After Hrs. Sunday section of today’s DNA highlighted Harshada Deshmukh, an engineering student who excels at car building and rally driving. Her printed quote made sense. She talked about how she was always drawn to wheels as a child and how her parents encouraged her by giving her the freedom to pursue her interests, whatever the field may be. Her comment is reflected in voices of a number of my research participants. Women who have done well in life, career wise, and really excelled in their chosen fields have been those who’s parents gave them the freedom the pursue their passion. Parents stood by their daughters through their struggles and successes. Of course as Indians, such expectations seem natural to us and yet we hear of all kinds of pressure tactics used by parents to either force their daughters into a specific profession or out of it.

The message that I want to get across through today’s blog entry is that parents should support their daughters in their academic and career pursuits. I feel very strongly about this issue. We are traditional daughters who really want our parents’ unconditional support for our career growth and development. In fact, this expectation seems ‘normal’ coming from my sensibilities. This is not to say that girls without parents’ support are unsuccessful but knowing that we have their approval and that we are making them proud is just an added motivation booster. I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have the best set of parents who have always put my sisters’ and my dreams before their own and encouraged us in everything we ever wanted to do.