Feminist fun

Often when I've travelled out of Mumbai I've heard in varying tones -- of admiration, envy, resentment and wistfulness -- the phrase Bom...

Often when I8217;ve travelled out of Mumbai I8217;ve heard in varying tones 8212; of admiration, envy, resentment and wistfulness 8212; the phrase Bombay women.8217; What happens when a whole bunch of Bombay women,8217; most of them complete strangers to each other, get together? Over the last two years a group of women led by the city-based women8217;s outfit, Akshara, has been organising a celebration on March 8, for Women8217;s8217; Day. The event is quite unlike any of the conventional dose associated with feminism. There are no speeches, no banners, no slogans 8212; just a party with a bar, a DJ and a dance floor. So, what happens?

For starters, the location a South Mumbai nightclub and an entry fee does weigh the selection in favour of the English-speaking upmarket type. Which is not to say it attracts the usual teeny pub crawlers. Far from it. A quick scan will reveal women8217;s activists, journalists, businesswomen, bankers, models, artists, advertising executives, filmmakers, etc. The only unusual aspect about the crowd is that itconsists only of women.

The first thing you notice as you walk in is a preponderance of handbags. Slinky, dinky, huge, briefcase-size, they are everywhere, cluttering up tables, slung over chairs, or stacked on the floor. Mobile phones are not in evidence that8217;s what handbags are for. What is, though, are packets of Marlboro Lights. Last month prices of the brand apparently zoomed due to excessive demand 8212; if this evening is any indication then it seems a safe bet to assume that the rising number of women smokers had something to do with it.

Gradually, other things become apparent. The aesthetics, for one, are very, very pleasing to the eye. You imagine yourself at a Monday evening gathering where men predominate, and you see yourself surrounded by dull grey, black, blue, jackets and shirts. But here there is infinite variety. Elegant gowns, short strappy dresses, trousers, jackets, lacy boob tops, colourful waistcoats, saris, salwar kameezes, bracelets and beaded necklaces.

Then there is atmosphere.There is a softness, intangible but something perhaps to do with the pitch of the voices. There is cricket on the screens but nobody appears to be watching. Friends catch up at various tables and strangers get acquainted. Early on in the evening there is a quick fixing up of rides home. But nobody lounges around for long. Almost from the word go, the dance floor beckons. And before long everybody is on the floor swinging, rocking, and having a great time that doesn8217;t end till the place shuts down. Would this happen in any other city?

I doubt it. The social norms in Chennai and Calcutta are way too different. In Bangalore men outstrip women at nightspots and it8217;s not customary there for women to travel alone very late. Delhi with its large number of women8217;s organisations and working women would probably be the closest possibility. Except that when I asked a visitor from Delhi at the March 8 bash last year she just shook her head emphatically. 8220;In Delhi,8221; she said, 8220;there would be groups of women 8211; theactivists, the ad types, the filmmakers, the gay women 8212; and none of them would talk to the other.8221;

Maybe we have a lot to be grateful for. A culture that accepts more than any other place in the country, a woman8217;s right to work, to drive, to dress how she wants, to enjoy herself in a variety of ways. Cabbies that are, by and large, trustworthy, a public transport system that for all its faults, works. The prospect of economic advancement and at the same time a life that is so tough that it blurs gender and other divisions.

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Even, given all these factors, she is a special breed 8212; the Bombay woman.8217; Bright, spunky and independent. Aiming high and working hard. Almost like a man when she wants to be watch her singing along with The Doors, that ultimate laddie are song : Keep your eyes on the road and ultra feminine if she doesn8217;t. Confident and warm and uncomplaining. There she is just inches away from the glass ceiling, having a good time.

The writer is former editor of Elle