Its Her Day and My Day

“Good Morning” I smiled. She balked and scuttled away. “C’mon babe, I’m not from outer space” I thought.
I’d noticed her around. Always dressed neatly, carefully arranging her dupatta, everytime she felt it had slipped. She moved around quietly, most of the times looking down – a picture of meekness.
She (Bharti) is the cleaner woman, working in our office.

And as the Women’s Day came and went, strangely enough I thought of her.
This was supposed to be her day & my day.

We both work in the same organization. She, just like me, is the only woman in her team. But therein ended the similarities. During my coffee breaks, I hang around with rest of the gang,
often making brash jokes about other colleagues and office happenings, sometimes arguing loudly
about whose method should be followed to reconcile the unbalanced figures. And then, I see
Bharti and her gang also taking their chai break. But Bharti always sits away from her colleagues, gingerly sipping her tea, not talking at all, and looking down most of the time.
She’s always so aware of her gender, whereas at work, I forget I’m a woman – I’m just a colleague.
Sometimes when I literally breeze in to the washroom, I absent mindedly comb my hair, just
splash a little water on my face, admire my countenance in the mirror and be on my way. Whereas Bharti stands demurely in front of the mirror, applying a little lipstick or so, and as soon as she sees anyone observing her, shyly turns away.

Is she the epitome of feminity – demure, shy, silent, prim and proper? Or is that passé?
God knows??

On 8th of March, all of us women at home just found another day to celebrate it as “our day”….generally decided to take a day off (which any ways we try to do over the weekend). Did the odd job amidst laughter and jokes, got ourselves “chocolate fixes” for lunch, lazed around and saw a Miss. Marple murder mystery on the TV…….generally tried to have the perfect weekend laze……And we told each other that we’re doing this because its Our day ………

But wonder what Bharti did? Probably went about her daily household chores, cooked for her hubby, pampered her children, dusted, cleaned, mopped, haggled for vegetables, and on and on…just another normal day.

Did she know it was her day???
Dunno….and though both of us seem from different planets, yet 8th of March is her day and my day.

Happy Women’s Day.