Brilliant, blazing, bright, bold (and beautiful)

Went to NALSAR today for my niece Nishita's convocation. Nishita bagged two golds for Intellectual Property Rights Laws. In all there were 30 odd golds to be won in each subject, instituted by several donors. Girl after girl went ahead to receive multiple golds (the first one got 9 golds). Only 3 boys bagged just 5 golds! Of which, incidentally, 3 were for the best male student in different subjects! Bright, brilliant girls, confidence exuding, marching away to glory, but the cheers were highest for boys - a thing that jarred my reasoning - even if it was from boys themselves.

Where will all these girls go? How will they fare in their careers and lives? How will the world treat them? At the appointment level how many of them got short changed, one does not know yet. As of now, many have good placements, hopefully with same or better salary than boys. (I must get a lowdown on this). Will they be given their due credit or will they forever play second in command? Will they face the bias that we faced in our careers with politically loaded statements, or has the world matured? I sincerely hope that these bright young, brilliant girls will be known for their intellectual prowess more than for their dazzling dynamism, otherwise termed as beauty.

I was tempted to ask them of what they thought of the recent judgement of a supreme court judge stating that kicking of a daughter in law by her mother in law is not cruelty and termed it as acceptable. But I did not have the heart to spoil the festivity and cheer by asking questions that everyone will ask them once they know you are a lawyer, same like a doctor is always asked questions about ailments no matter whether they are in a social function or even at a funeral. So, how will they deal with such people when they have to argue their cases with them? It would be a double whammy - a women's case by a woman lawyer with a judge who does not understand that the world has moved on and values have changed. However, many of these girls will be joining elite causes like IPRs, patents and corporate law and maybe they would not see the seamier side of the society. But then, it is this brilliance that would be needed to change the archaic judicial system. So where are we now?

Anyway, good luck girls - Congratulations on your splendid performance and may you soar in the skies on your new found wings! I did soar too - enjoyed the pleasure of 5th gear driving (finally) from Shamirpet back to the concrete jungle of Banjara Hills, on a rare occasion of empty roads.

PS - At the luncheon, who do I see serving us? Migrants from Orissa - tired, hungry looking and thin. People coming here to chase their own dreams, but their wings are clipped. See my ealrier blog on this subject.