Celebrating Womanhood

A famous expression states you must walk in someone else's shoes to understand what they are going through. Growing up, I watched my mother and her friends celebrating Teej around this time of year. They seemed pleased and excited, and I could not understand what was all that happiness and excitement about. I thought they just hung out with their friends, dressed up, and danced, which did not seem that special. Last week, there was an event in Denver to celebrate the same festival, and it was a ladies-only event. I have attended many family-friendly events, but this experience was very different. The vibe was very positive when I entered the event center. I saw women celebrating and enjoying life in a way I had not seen before. I had one of my friends in the event who is from Trinidad and Tobago, and she said she has not seen women celebrating like this her entire life. Yesterday, I met one of our other friends/elder sister who attended the same function, and she resonated with the same feeling I felt that day. In retrospect, I finally understood why Mom and her friends used to be all exhilarated at this time of the year. It's because, ultimately, they have time for themselves. They get a break from all the hustle and bustle in life, from their partners and children for a few days or hours. The modern equivalent term is "me time." It was time for them to say that everything in life can take a backseat for now and time for them to enjoy and celebrate life.

For this event, we all dressed up in a saree. Women who have worn a saree know it is challenging to drape a saree and carry it for an entire evening. Personally, it is a nuisance to wear a saree. It is cumbersome to wear and time-consuming to dress up in a saree. In addition, you have to put on makeup and other accessories like bangles, necklaces, and earrings to embellish the look. However, my perspective on the attire changed that evening while conversing with my friend/coworker who was born and raised and lived her entire life in the western region of America. She told me that the saree celebrates womanhood. So I asked why she thinks so because I always thought the opposite was true. So, I asked her to elaborate. She explained, for instance, if she wears a crop top, she would not look good because that is not designed for her body type and would look good on a specific body type. And most of the Western outfits for women are created in that way. However, she saw all the women wearing a saree that day, which looked equally good on everyone regardless of their shape, size, skin color, and age. I never thought about the saree from that lens. I realized sometimes, you need an outsider's perspective to see our culture's values, richness, and inclusiveness.

A few weeks ago, I listened to one of the interviews of former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and one thing that struck me from that particular interview was when she stated that we, as women, are very good at maintaining friendships but could improve at networking and be more successful in our careers. This is true because we think differently than men and prioritize different things. It is almost impossible for us to compartmentalize things like men. Relationships, work, family, and friends are interconnected and complex for us as women. And yes, this tends to bring complexities in our lives. However, this is our strength, too. We have evolved and figured out how to navigate all these things, put all our differences aside, and still have fun and laughter together like we did at that event. Throughout history and to date, our unwillingness to compartmentalize our lives has been looked down upon. However, it's time to celebrate that because all our complex thoughts help us view the world from different dimensions and perspectives and also with compassion and empathy. And Is not that what differentiates us humans from all living beings?

PS: Thank you to all the women who inspire me to write this piece!