Posted:
Gr8 topic.
I love the name Runjhun. Runjhun. Soft, feminine, graceful, musical, and so happy. Runjhun. Brings a smile to my face. What joy in a name. Runjhun.
Good question concerning defining strength in today's woman. Especially the point of being educated vs uneducated. Gr8 point. I think this is one of the most imperative issue to discuss in this fast changing global village we live in today.
A woman's self respect surpasses ALL these issues. Respect for self, first & foremost. Then comes strength of mind.
"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself"-Jane Eyre
To be able to have respect for the self is the most defining trait of a strong woman.
(&in today's world, I don't mean being strong&independent implies applying fairness cream or having implants, or injecting botox-to emulate Kim Kardashian or to prance around scantily clad in the latest male dominated Bollywood film.-All this does not define independence nor strength-sry to digress).
It is only through the knowledge of the self that one is able to open one's eyes to the injustices of the world and stand up to it. Self-worth in mind & determination- to remain true to self.
Runjhun's situation is that she is trapped in a very Evil place. An orphan who suffers humiliation of being dependent on the charity of her relatives. She craves to be part of the family. Even though these ppl are illtreating her, to her they are the only family she knows.
To the relatives besides being their Lucky charm, she is a servant. They do not consider her to be a living, rational being. She does not exist for them except in connection with the household chores she performs for them and as their "GoodLuckCharm".
There are a couple of scenes where she tries to stand up for herself, however, she does this with others, not family members. The scene with Guddu in particularly stands out, where she throws her wedding attire in the burning fire in front of him. She mentions that she has dreams like any woman, her dream is to see herself as a bride. That was heartwrenching dialogue. Its a subtle scene but powerpacked. For it defines Runjhun as a woman with dreams who does indeed have self respect. Doesn't matter if she is uneducated, or educated, this self respect comes from her upbringing. This scene describes that being assertive alone does not define being strong, its the the decision R made to go & defend herself because she thought the insults, humiliation she was subjected to in front of the neighbors was just so wrong! She learned in that situation to think, to decide, & then act upon her decision. She stood up against injustice done to her. She is young, but her Amma has instilled in her a moral code of ethics. Amma, herself seems very courageous. Runjhun is witnessing all that, I am sure she is learning to defend herself. Only thing is she needs to learn to defend herself against her biggest enemies: Her own relatives.
(I recently watched a film titled "No One Killed jessica", Jessica's sister, Sabrina was caught in a terrible situation where she had no choice but to fight for her sister. She was kind of trapped in a situation where there was tremendous betrayal. Even thought she was up against just pure Evil, she tries her best to do the right thing, to fight for injustice. Sabrina faces the Evil doers with her quiet strength, her dignity, & unsurmountable courage.)
In conclusion, it is self respect that will eventually determine the difference between rights and wrong-& provide the strength to face in situation in life.
(I wonder what would happen if Runjhun just tells her relatives that she will not be illtreated and runaway from her situation-but where would she go?)
