48 hours i have spent ruminating over nachi's note to me. more an introspection of what i have been saying in this post. to an extent, i have to grudgingly agree, that i have overemphasized a unsavoury past, which is a reflection of my own experiences. i do not mean to generalize it, and considering modern day 180 degree turn in the fortunes of our women folk, my narratives re physical uglification of widows sounds rather quaint, albeit perhaps horribly quaint. we are indeed fortunate enough to live in the 21st century, which inspite of its warts, atleast has succoured many offences and inequalities. this is the age of redemption and upliftment. in our own way we TBs too have been uplifted. we may have uneasiness about our increasing prosperity, but overall i suspect we do enjoy it. bar a few. i have not heard from any womenfolk in my household any desire to return to the 'good ole days'. when my wife married me, she indicated her biggest 'looking forward to' in canada, was the freedom that it afforded her. perhaps TB women in india are like that now too, or close enough. i for one, am happy that we do not deface our widows any more, that we by default educate our daughters as much as our sons, and in many ways treat our children the same, gender neutrally. so, here's to nachi, i dedicate this post of rumination. or as nara would say, 'cheers' or as *** says at the tailend of his every post, 'all the best'.