Living on the edge

Well, alot! Few days ago I read an article that said ‘Lots in a Name’ and how Japanese new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was elected not because of slowing economy or threats from neighbours but because of Japan’s marital law that allowed women to chose their own surname. In a developed country like Japan, a law like this, for a right that seems so inherent, does sound astonishing. And it reminded me of my own experience.   I still use the name that my school certificate carries and my marriage never obliged me to change the same. I have always felt the discomfort in changing my name as if someone would snatch away the very identity that I had carried right from birth. Nor did any situation force me to change or adopt otherwise. However I have seen many educated, highly qualified women changing their surnames in my own fraternity and it always made me utterly uncomfortable. Can changing one’s identity and legacy be a trend? Can being included in someone else’s identity give us a...

My mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 2 in 2017, just few days before I appeared for my first UPSC CSE interview. I remember she coming to Delhi and being with me as a support system for my UPSC journey. I couldn’t have managed clearing exam without her. Now when I think of it, she was living with the disease since then. Immediately after the interview, I rushed back home. Her treatment was being done under the able hands of Mr Pathak, in Nagpur. We would travel every week to Nagpur for her follow ups, her chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions. The whole process lasted more than 3 months. Considering we lived in the remotest corner of our district, it would take us more than 4 hrs of one way journey to Nagpur. Driving our way through potholed roads. She was (and still is )so brave and positive during the entire period, that it still amuses me as to how she breaks stereotypes so easily. Since then we regularly carry out her check ups and any signs of relapse. There ...