STEVENSON'S BLACK DOG WAS MY HERO: WHY MOM SAID I CAN ASPIRE TO BE A PRINCESS AND NOT A PIRATE!

(WOMEN PIRATES ON HIGH SEAS WHO PLEADED THEIR BELLIES)

I would feel a rush of adrenaline every time that one-eyed lame man's picture flashed before me! BLACK DOG! The dreaded pirate of R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island. Instead of dreaming about princes and kings of fairy tales, I forever wished to get married to a pirate on high seas, or a cowboy on the prairies. I even disclosed to my parents my choice, which they stereotyped and said a girl cannot be a pirate. You need aggression, which unfortunately I never displayed. Little did they know I had an inner strength that was far more resilient than any physical one. Well, I did not land up being either a princess or a pirate! But that doesn't deter me from reading about them and still fantasizing. And indeed there were women pirates who were dreaded even by men.

Anne Bonny of the 1700s was one such woman. An Irish by birth, she was often dressed as a boy by her father. who called her "Andy". Anne was good looking with flaming red hair but had a fiery temper too. At 13, she stabbed a servant girl with a table knife. She even set fire to her father's plantation as he disowned her from his property for marrying a poor sailor. Later she moved to New Providence Island, known as a sanctuary for English pirates. While in the Bahamas, Bonny began mingling with pirates in the local taverns. Here he met John "Calico Jack" Rackham, captain of the pirate sloop Revenge and fell in love with him and his profession!

Bonny met her accomplice Mary Read, another woman pirate  who stole the ship William. Their crew spent years in Jamaica and the surrounding area and captured many vessels and an abundance of treasure. Bonny took part in combat alongside the men, and the accounts of her exploits present her as competent, effective in combat, and respected by her shipmates. While, Mary Read was the widow of a sea captain, whose ship was captured by Rackham while she was sailing to West Indies. Read joined Bonny in her exploits or may be she was forced to.

In October 1720, Rackham and his crew were attacked by a King's ship. Most of Rackham's pirates put up little resistance as many of them were too drunk to fight. However, Read and Bonny fought fiercely and managed to hold off Barnet's troops for a short time. Rackham and his crew were taken to Jamaica, where they were convicted and sentenced to be hanged. Both Read and Bonny were then pregnant and hence they pleaded their bellies as by English law any pregnant woman could not be hanged.

MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP: ENDURANCE RUNNER SUMEDHA MAHAJAN SPEAKS ON HER INCREDIBLE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS AND ABOUT BRAKEFREE

 

(WHY SUMEDHA CAN RELATE TO THE MOVIE DANGAL)

 

She has fought asthma and a degenerating bone disorder. She ignored a patriarchal society that finds it difficult to accept a girl as an athlete. She challenged all odds and is a success story today. Sumedha Mahajan is indeed an inspiration. If the movie Dangal was an eye-opener to how women are treated and groomed by their families in sports, Sumedha’s life is no less than a filmy tale. Though she comes from a North Indian state which has one of the highest rates of female foeticide, Sumedha’s parents treated their children equally, though they often faced the wrath of their extended family for being ‘so liberal with their girls.’

 

Like Geeta and Babita of Dangal, Sumedha and her sister Mrinalini were coached by their father in tennis. Though her dad was a great friend and loved his girls beyond words, he was a tough coach and showed no sympathy even when asthmatic Sumedha would go breathless during her training sessions. She had to take inhalers and again go for practice. Even her long hair was chopped off and she had to get up every morning at 5am for her training. But Sumedha feels her dad gave her immense strength and she owes a lot to him. 

 

Sumedha’s health was a constant challenge. It is really tough to believe that a girl who has been suffering from asthma could even think of sports! But she did. She overcame any challenge by sheer tenacity. In her childhood she often had to miss her tennis tournaments because of her asthma attacks. Next, came a degenerating bone disorder and SI joint dysfunction in 2012. Her spine and hip joint malfunctions forced her to take a break from running between 2013 and 2015. But she was unperturbed. She returned to the tracks in November 2015 and won the 100km trail ultra in Bangalore.

By 2016, she gave up running and decided to launch her own women sportswear brand called BRAKEFREE. Her 30-day experience while running in the Delhi-Mumbai Marathon and her interaction with several female runners from India, made Sumedha believe there is an immense need for quality sportswear for women. The women sportswear brands in the market till then were mostly international brands that were high priced and difficult to afford for most Indian sportswomen. Hence most women in India were forced to wear men’s sportswear. As she says: 'Quality sportswear for women is a basic necessity for all women athletes. When I tried to talk it out with international brands with which I was associated, I was told they can’t help. Instead, some sarcastically suggested I should launch my own brand if I was so concerned about women athletes and their sportswear.'

'I took it as a challenge and risked all my finances, took loans and severed ties with prestigious brands that I endorsed, to launch my dream brand BRAKEFREE. As an athlete I realized every sportswoman needs comfortable, sweat free and odour free clothes to help her perform on the tracks or courts. That is the basic necessity, something that was lacking.' Sumedha also believes Indian parents must encourage their girls to take up sports and this country should spend more on women athletes. 'Most sports grants that colleges and universities receive are spent on male athletes, this must change.’

Sumedha is so correct. Last Olympics was an eye-opener where the medals won by Indians all came from female athletes. Her brand BRAKEFREE is supporting a few female athletes too and trying to promote sports among girls.  Like Sumedha has miles to go before she sleeps, so does her brand BRAKEFREE has challenges ahead, to compete with internationally established sportswear brands.

 

But BRAKEFREE was Reborn to Win and so shall it be.

RAINS OFF A SMOKY SKY: TALE OF CONSCIOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS 

PRITAM MANDAL

NOTION PRESS: Rs 300

I took an instant liking to the book the minute I received it. And why not? The cover says it all. Nostalgia, rains, romanticism and rediscovering oneself. Every page of the book reflects the tale of a woman who steps out into the world of her dreams, from the small village to the big cities of the world. With it she carries the tale of many like us, who harbour dreams of doing it big but in the end realises the ultimate is to rediscover oneself, rather than enjoy the fruits of a long cherished dream.

Pritam is an IITan and studied abroad. No wonder the protagonist Anurita, who calls her other personality as Rita, also comes from a village like Pritam does and pursues her education to become 'someone' in this world that runs on money and fame. She becomes that 'someone,' from her village life, she fulfils her ambition, goes abroad and starts working. The author pens down the village life with a lot of truth and passion. Anurita's growing up days is a tale of any woman. From her friends in school to the males of her locality and how their gaze towards a growing girl changes over years, her first kiss when 'Aviroop uncle' forces himself on her and how she even enjoys that infringement in her life. They are all vivid images of how a village or a town girl goes through as she aspires to be that 'someone' in life.

The best part of the book is the dual personality that probably all of us have. When we start speaking to and dealing with our own inner strengths and demons. Anurita does the same. She is lonely despite having a great group of friends at her workplace. Anurita is fit for this cut-throat world but her inner self Rita is not. Rita is a  die-hard romantic, fantasises, and finally breaks down when she meets with an unexpected tragedy. Pritam is a great story-teller and a nature enthusiast. His depictions of fireflies and other minute details of the nature around Anurita is a proof of that.

A great read too as the style of story telling is pretty out-of-the box.