Come
December and Goa used to be thronged by the ‘Hippies’, a popular term which
Indian aunties have described the western folk who '‘bared all’ on the
golden beaches. Look at her, someone would nudge at the temple, pointing to a
girl in a mini skirt with a huge backpack. She looked only sixteen. ‘’Their
parents leave them alone and then they do these vulgar things’’. I didn’t’
bother listening to the remarks. For the seven year old me, the girls were
awesome, travelling alone in a foreign land.
In
fact there may be so many Indian ladies young and old consumed by the
wanderlust and yet whose dreams are shunned. Why? They are women.
How
will my Beti go alone? The question parents ask so often has broken many a
dreams.
School
in faraway place? No.
College
in different town? No, will she be safe? Will get into bad habits.
Job
in different town? Nahi… koi baharwala ladka mil gaya toh.
Achha,
sasural in different town? Hesitation. Pata nahi kaise log honge!
I
agree safety is a concern but overprotection is yet another. Today education
for girls is no longer a debate but I appeal to the new age parents of today –
let your daughter roam freely in her own city, let her commute late hours from
work, take that week long education trip, go for a hike in sahyadris, stay in a
camp with boys and girls and travel to different parts of the world by herself.
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| credit:flickr.com/rowenawaack |
You
are buying her gold for her birthday? Create a travel investment fund along
with her education plan instead. She will certainly glitter on her wedding day,
enriched with her experiences from travel and what a graceful bride she would be
having interacted and mingled with different cultures.
Am
I going the movie ‘Queen’ way, you may ask? Somewhere around, perhaps
reinforcing it. I did not strike 100% chord with the movie, maybe because I
have encouraging parents and I have travelled in groups and bit on my own. But
I did hit a note when ‘Rani’ stays in a hostel with boys. I have good friends
who are boys and after many ‘zordaar’ planned trips and subsequent drop out in
numbers, my dreams of Zanskaar in Ladakh or attending a concert in Bangalore have
flopped .
I could have gone ahead with those trips but I would be the only girl
!! ‘’ Come na, whats the problem?’’, ‘’Areeyyy’’’ and I would give some excuse…
What a touchy subject to bring up at home! Although my parents knew who the ‘’boys’’
were, I could never get myself to ask them about it. Well, we have a long way
to go…..
Why
am I advocating travel for girls? Karan ‘Mulgi Phirli, Pragati Zali’.
