I’ve been wanting to write about this for a long time but did not find the time. So here it goes…
Tamil poet Bharathiyar (WHO? If you don’t know then Google him)…In 1908 he wrote a poem titled Pudhumai Penn. The translation is A Vision for the New-Age Woman. It’s a long poem but I wanted to mention a few lines.
Nimirndha nan nadainaerkondapaarvaiyum
Nilathilyaarkkumanjaathanerigalum
Thimirndhagnanacherukkumiruppadhaal
Semmaimaadharthirambuvadhuillaiyaam.
(
(Her head held high, and looking everyone in the eye,
Unafraid of anyone because of innate integrity,
Possessing assuredness born of courage of conviction,
The Modern Woman never feels inferior to any)
I actually met this modern woman during my last visit to Chennai. Her name is Evangeline (Eva). She came from Indore.and we met in a hospital where her mother was undergoing treatment for cancer and her father was undergoing dialysis in the same hospital. Eva is an only child who is taking care of both of her parents at the same time.
I asked Eva are you a student or do you work?
She said she has her own business. I asked her what kind of business.
She said she does custom fitting for motorcycles.
Excuse me? I think I heard you incorrectly. Exactly what do you do?
She said (paraphrased):
I have a shop in Indore. It is called TIME:CYCLES Garage Café. I believe in building extraordinary custom vehicles with an immense amount of attention to details.
I take an ordinary bike and customize it according to the wishes of the customer.
Like building retro bikes that look old but have all of the newest features.
Most people, especially students, like to go for high speed customizations.
I also customize exhaust pipes so the bikes sound incredible. Great sound is like music for bikers.
I thought, a lady in the custom fitting motorcycle business seems extremely non-traditional.
This is a first for me. I’ll add her to my existing list of non-traditional female friends…that include commercial and fighter pilots, train engine drivers, and truck drivers.
In addition to have a startup business in Indore, she came all the way to Chennai for her mom’s cancer treatment and dad’s dialysis treatment. She had all the things that Tamil Poet Bharathiyar described in his poem. Eva’s head was held high and looked me in the eyes when she spoke to me. Definitely gave the impression that she is not inferior to anyone.
Oh by the way, remember that I asked her if she was a student or working?
Well there is a reason why I asked.
She is only 27.
