Anyway just skimming through the book..(and I’m sure I’ll find a lot of interesting stuff as I get further into it…).
In the section The Epics, History, Tradition ,and Myth, I find these lines from ‘The Digit of the moon”, by F.W. Bain
Here we are presented a legend or fancy on the creation of women….
A Digit Of The Moon - F.W. Bain translation (1901)
In the beginning, when Twashtri (the Divine Artificer) came to the creation of woman, he found that he had exhausted his materials in the making of man, and that no solid elements were left. In this dilemma, after profound meditation, he did as follows. He took the rotundity of the moon, and the curves of creepers, and the clinging of tendrils, and the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of leaves, and the tapering of the elephant's trunk, and the glances of deer, and the clustering of rows of bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the weeping of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds, and the timidity of the hare, and the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrot's bosom, and the hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey, and the cruelty of the tiger, and the warm glow of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of jays, and the cooing of the kokila, and the hypocrisy of the crane, and the fidelity of the chakrawaka ( a kind of duck I believe), and compounding all these together, he made woman and gave her to man. But after one week, man came to him and said: Lord, this creature that you have given me makes my life miserable. She chatters incessantly and teases me beyond endurance, never leaving me alone; and she requires incessant attention, and takes all my time up, and cries about nothing, and is always idle; and so I have come to give her back again, as I cannot live with her. So Twashtri said: Very well; and took her back. Then after another week, man came again to him and said: Lord, I find that my life is very lonely since I gave you back that creature. I remember how she used to dance and sing to me, and look at me out of the corner of her eye, and play with me, and cling to me; and her laughter was music, and she was beautiful to look at, and soft to touch; so give her back to me again. So Twashtri said: Very well; and gave her back again. Then after only three days, man came back to him again and said: Lord, I know not how it is; but after all I have come to the conclusion that she is more of a trouble than a pleasure to me; so please take her back again. But Twashtri said: Out on you! Be off! I will have no more of this. You must manage how you can. Then man said: But I cannot live with her. And Twashtri replied: Neither could you live without her. And he turned his back on man, and went on with his work. Then man said: What is to be done?
Very poetic and all ..but ...
"In the beginning, when Twashtri came to the creation of woman, he found that he had exhausted his materials in the making of man?? "
Why this second class treatment ,and not only here..Eve was also created as an after thought…
3 comments:
On one hand I ask - are you really surprised when you see 'second class treatment' ?
So you want He took the rotundity of the moon, and the curves of creepers, and the clinging of tendrils, and the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of leaves, and the tapering of the elephant's trunk, and the glances of deer, and the clustering of rows of bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the weeping of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds, and the timidity of the hare, and the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrot's bosom, and the hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey, and the cruelty of the tiger, and the warm glow of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of jays, and the cooing of the kokila, and the hypocrisy of the crane, and the fidelity of the chakrawaka
and also want first class treatment ?? Just kidding :p.
But yeah something amuses me as to why there is no such thing as female chivalry or an equivalent. (I actually think there is - calling it chivalry may not be chivalrous for men ;) ). If you strip off all convention and courtesy, in the strictest sense chivalry is condescension - you dont 'pamper' (crude word but still) someone you genuinely look up to.
I personally think every pair of human being will evolve their own code for levels of chivalry expected and delivered. Interpretations of chivalry range from "making a pass at me" to "touchy, possessive and lacking faith in me".
I think female chivalry exists !! And even if it doesn’t men shouldn’t become boors.. …
I think 50% of guys are chivalrous give or take some percentage. it probably goes back to that rudeness debate of a few months ago ..
Also somehow I don’t think I’ve ever confused ‘over friendliness’ with chivalry.. but I have heard related ideas especially with regards to Indian guys, how if you as a girl are ‘taken’ or in other ways uninteresting( to the guy), some guys wont open the door for you , lift way heavy bags etc etc, because they have nothing to gain.. I don’t subscribe too much to this idea, not too many people I know are like that ,but yea that whole rude nation thing does play a part ,along with “yea she’s a girl I’m a guy, don’t want to be thought of as a flirt … would have helped if she was not a girl” type thing ..
Statistically, there are asymmetries between the two genders. You wouldnt have said this - "I think female chivalry exists !! And even if it doesn’t men shouldn’t become boors". Whether that is nature or nurture or combination of both is another debate altogether.
Equality of any form is not an end in itself. The debate about gender equality ( and whatever other forms of equality that is aimed ) I hope is about that of oppurtunity...that you dont deny an oppurtunity merely cos. someone is a guy/girl kind of thing everything else being the same ( which it rarely is ) unless quite obviously reasonable. Once that is laid down things will shape up by themselves.
I am not an egalitarian except in the above sense ( of oppurtunity - extending beyond the gender dimension) because from my experience I see asymmetries and I recognize them and which is why I recognize that chivalries from either ends arent a bad idea.
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