Finding HER voice

This lecture was the first in what is being planned as a regular series of events to reach out to women,especially those above 40 years of age,and even children and men,in re-defining the approach to relationship problems. On Friday,the speakers,Samadhi and Siddhartha,first addressed the attendees,and then took on questions from them. The queries were written out on chits which the two picked out. What came were revelatory questions which many women grapple with but seldom vocalise.

One wanted to know how to deal with her needs when single while another wanted to figure out a way to communicate better with her husband. The idea for the event came about when three friends wanted to start something to help out women. Priti Chadha,Noopur Pawar and Gauri Dholepatil wanted to take a “new generation” approach to solving relationship problems.

“Women understand each others’ problems better,” says Dholepatil. “We wanted to address all the little and big things about our relationship with our husbands and kids,problems we have all faced. After the age of 40,the dynamics between a husband a wife become routine,and housewives tend to become lonely.” What these three aimed to do was push out the negative thoughts that invariably creep into the lives of such women,and make them more aware of their contribution and potential. The talk was initially planned to coincide with Women’s Day and World Health Day,but had a delayed start.

The professional experience of Samadhi and Siddhartha brought out some unique perspectives. Samadhi is a trained therapist having imbibed both eastern and western techniques,and is also into yoga,meditation and tarot card reading. She has traveled to and lived in Israel,the Bahamas,Canada and now India,so her experience is effortlessly diverse. On Friday,she absorbed all questions for a few seconds before answering and would apologise if she felt she had uttered a politically-incorrect word. “Open-ness is the key to reaching out to your children,” she said when talking about parent-kids relationships. “Instead of scolding and directing,we must support our children. When my son once said that he wants to get his eyebrow pierced,I told him to go for it! He was surprised and called me a strange mother,” she joked.

Her husband Siddhartha has homes in Australia and India,and is a life coach,breath worker,psycho-dramatic therapist. They are the co-authors of the book,7 Keys to a Conscious Relationship. He brought out the husband’s side of thought. Dholepatil says,”We usually never think about the husband’s views while dealing with women’s problems.”