Akshay Kumar Pads Up!

As Padman, the actor is helping make menstruation part of the mainstream discourse

- Anuja Chauhan

When my eldest daughter first got her period, I told my son (then seven) exactly what was happening, as matter-of-factly as possible. I must have explained things very badly, however, because later I overheard him authoritatively telling his friends that girls have to wear a pad between their legs to ‘catch the egg’ that drops out of them every month. He managed to give the whole thing a very sporty, wicket-keeping feel. I got the distinct impression that he was going to be following his sister around, hoping to catch the egg when it dropped, and stash it in his Crazy Balls collection.

Still, compared to the stuff most Indian men believe about women’s periods, his version wasn’t too bizarre at all. There are some crazy stories out there—of black magic, and witchcraft, of temples being desecrated by unclean menstrual blood, of the rotting of crops that are standing ready in the field, of the curdling of milk and the souring of pickles. And, these weirdo tales are taken so seriously, that even in these ‘modern’ times, girls cannot enter temples and kitchens and engage in social activity, like offering refreshments to guests, simply because they’re on their period. Which is confusing, because if the point is to not let anybody know that this ‘shameful’ thing happens to you every month, then why does tradition dictate that you so obviously set yourself apart when it happens—shunning the kitchen, the temple and the common utensils—practically walking around with a neon sign on your forehead advertising that your period is on?

To me, it seems like the patriarchy just wants to poke its self-righteous nose into my chaddis, in a proprietorial, voyeuristic, control-freaky sort of way, as well as blame me for everything that happens to go wrong in the universe.