THE TURMERIC MASK ON PATRIARCHY'S FACE

IKE many of you, I was taken aback by the shameful, unwarranted putdowns of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Himanshi Narwal, one, a valiant soldier whose great-great-grandmother fought alongside Rani Lakshmi Bai, the other bravely transcending her devastating personal loss to urge peace and clarity.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

I got to thinking about the possible root cause, and the only answer I could come up with was the patriarchy's fundamental lack of respect for women. Don't get me wrong. I am proud of Hindu reform, entirely thanks to which I stand upright as its legatee. I love my religion and culture, well, most of it. But, as with every system, it has its dark sides that lash out even today, and I feel we must acknowledge and address that if we wish to walk the path of light.

In our badly socialised society, women, even if they bundle up and shut up, are legit prey for men of all ages. In this nowhere land between myth and reality, a curious folk tale from Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand comes to mind.

It's a local story about why turmeric is 'holy'. We know that Western science has empirically proven what we knew long ago, that turmeric has many health benefits. I don't relate to turmeric latte, though; it's too medicinal for me. Like others, I've grown up being dosed on the centuries-old Indian home remedy for cough, cold and congestion: a cup of warm milk with turmeric and black peppercorns, honey added to make it tolerable, drunk last thing at night so it can take its proper healing effect while you sleep, which means no staying up watching Netflix.