International Women's Day it is!

Today, the 8th of March happens to be the International Women's day, a fact I was rather oblivious to, till I checked my Facebook page late this afternoon and even that didn't touch any chords for me, for I thought it was just another fad. As I continued with my work, a female friend of mine, pinged me reminding me or rather demanding me to wish her on the occasion, and that's when the significance of the event hit me. The women folklore in our lives do deserve a little appreciation for the roles they play in our lives. So this one goes out to all the women community out there: thanks for being there for us.

This calls for the mention of one very special woman in my life: My Mom. Moms, what can I say about them, one of the few selfless people I know. I have always been a Moma's boy and I ain't ashamed about it. There are really no words that can express my gratitude to my Mom. All I can say is thanks a ton, Mom! I cannot even imagine what I would have been had it not been for your pampering and support all throughout the two and half decades of my existence. (Two and half decades, that's scary!)

After my mom, it's my aunts and grandmas who have again played a major role in my life. They have all showered me with love and affection, and guided me in the right direction whenever I was lost and looked up to them for guidance. Thanks a lot aunts and grandmas.

Next come my sister and cousins. We have been a close bunch of siblings and cousins who fought more often than we played together. But then with each fight we learned more about each other and that drew us closer. I miss hanging around with my cousins now that we have all grown up and taken to different career paths, based in different parts of the world. To all my sisters, thanks gals, you always gave me the female perspective of things, which has helped me immensely over time.

Now last but not the least I thank all my friends of the opposite sex, for all the help and guidance you have bestowed upon me over the years. I have debated at lengths the guy's perspective vs gal's perspective with several of you, only to realise that we just compliment each other. All the fighting apart, our worlds are just incomplete without the presence of other.

Just a small piece of advice to all the guys: take a little time out of your busy schedules and wish the important women in your lives on this occasion for we all know women play an important role in our lives.

Before all the guys start accusing me of gender bias, let me tell you that there is an International Men's Day as well, which falls on the 19th of November and is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Australia, India, United States, Singapore, Malta, South Africa, Hungary, Ireland, Ghana and Canada (Source: Wiki). I was surprised to see both India and Singapore in the list, where I have lived all my life, oblivious to existence of this important day. So guys, don't worry come November 19th, we will get (or rather claim) our share of appreciation from the women folklore.

P.S- Interesting co-incidence: Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in the Academy Awards' 58-year history for her movie-The Hurt Locker, which beat her ex-husband James Cameroon's US $ 300 million budget (read over hyped, mediocre) movie-Avatar.