Dear Sansa, Today I was standing in the balcony of a restaurant, looking at the road and the people trying to find their way out. Suddenly a beautiful woman (who I am sure is reading the letter now) called on my name from behind. I turned back but did not recognize her baby. I felt very sad about it but she comforted me. She told me that she has been reading me for some time now and that my letters to you have touched her soul. She also told me about a picture that I have with your younger uncle and that she was happy that I was so beautifully connected to my family. Later we went to the same cafe where dad would sit and work everyday. There were four of us. Coffee, salads, tea, watermelon juice and a lot of talking. All four of us connected beautifully and later she invited us to her house for dinner someday. I came back home, took a good long shower, bathed myself in pears and some fancy shampoo. And now i am sitting in the balcony writing to you. Something more beautiful happened just a few seconds ago, a woman whom i have loved and respected most as a friend, a companion and a lover, chuckled telling me : where are more letters to Sansa? I want to read more from my most loved writer. If there is a seventh sky baby, its got to be right above our balcony somewhere. Right where I am. Men are conscious baby. Self-conscious. No matter how hard they try to look strong and sure. A womans tiniest gesture can shatter or build them. Your father is well built, strong and for that baby, he has to thank all these women who have contributed in one way or another. Abut men! They are my brothers! Hundreds of them stand by my side and I can just party with them, hug them tight, get them drunk and sit and talk to them like a brother and that will do. But women are calm, they prefer reading themselves in silence. So we write them baby, so we write for them. Baby! I was thinking about stereotypes today. In the morning when I was sitting in the cafe, a bunch of women came and sat at the next table. They were discussing things and later other people. I heard one comment: She is a woman, she must take care of herself, dress well, smell good. I loved the sentence till she must take care of herself. Why dress well and smell good? I mean why not! But why just because she is a woman? Arent men supposed to dress well and smell good too? You understand how meaningless this argument is baby. The society that you will grow up in is full of such meaningless stereotypes. People will come up to you and tell you: you are a woman, you dont know how to cook? Oh! You dont know how to paint your nails? Braid ? No? French braid ? No ? And these statements come from both genders. Women can be more stereotypical about other women than men sometimes. So I was thinking, when someday someone asks you these questions, how could you answer them? Like Sansa, You are a woman, you dont know how to cook? Answer: My father would just not let me cook in the kitchen, I can play the guitar while he cooks though. Sansa! You dont know how to paint your nails? : My father wanted to become a painter too, he failed disastrously and now my nails are the victim. I never get a chance. Sansa! Braid ? Ah! My grandmother was a tomboy in the 1970s, you expect I really care about long hair and Italian French Cuban braids? You have to answer these people baby. And every daughter of your age has to answer all of these people so insultingly that they ultimately feel ashamed and stop creating meaningless gender biased stereotypes. Your mother cannot wear hot-pants in most of the parts of our country because of these stereotypes. Can you take that baby ? You cant right ? So cant I! We do have some kicking ass to do! On a lighter note today. Daddy ends the letters and tells you to try catch a sleep. In case you cant, I am sitting right here in the balcony. Sit with me! Kisses, Dad. ( Letters to My Daughter Sansa - Pushkar ) #letterstosansa
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 18:54:37 +0000
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