Hell Hath No Fury.....

When my father’s friend introduced his wife to us, saying “Meet my better- half!”, I was pleased as punch. So even the men these days were openly admitting that they were the worse –half! But when I questioned him about whether he’d opt to be the better- half, given a choice in his next life, he laughed aloud and said “Oh no! I prefer being the worse- half, as I don’t have to do any work, at least since I’m in India. Only the label of a ‘worse- half’ doesn’t bother me at all!” Even as his wife glared at him, he continued talking in the same vein.
When she couldn’t take his ‘light-hearted’ ribbing any longer, she too ‘casually’ remarked “Let’s see whether you get dinner at home today! This is the punishment for being the worse- half and not being apologetic about it too!” Her remark showed that she wore the pants in the house.
Immediately my brother remarked “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned!” quoting from Shakespeare’s play. What had started as a brief introduction, soon turned into a lively debate with a good sprinkling of phrases and idioms which included the feminine gender! Of course, my brother was referring to the ‘punishment’ declared by that elderly lady who felt that she had become the laughing stock; just due to her husband’s insensitivity.
Meanwhile, I was reminded of an awe-inspiring story that I had read in my childhood. That of Kannagi, the wife of a Brahmin who had been falsely accused of stealing the anklet of the Queen of Madurai and who was later sentenced to death by the King. When it was proved by Kannagi that he was innocent and had been wrongly punished, the King was repentant, but it was too late. The bereaved widow, Kannagi cursed the kingdom of Madurai to be burnt to ashes. Thus it truly depicted how “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned!”
My mother suddenly jumped into the fray and supporting the elderly lady said that “Behind every successful man is a woman. If your hubby and my hubby have made names for themselves as eminent people, it is in no small measure, due to our unstinting work, faith and devotion to our husbands. We toiled to provide them food, support and succor whenever they needed it.”
Just then, my father butted in with a cheeky rejoinder. “And what about Mr. Khanna, who was driven to alcohol-addiction, due to the continuous nagging by his wife?”
Both, the elderly lady and my mother looked at Dad venomously, with daggers-drawn. Now it had truly become a question of defending the honor of womankind!
I wanted to contribute my mite to the women’s cause, hence I said gleefully, “What about the fact that we women can multi-task so efficiently and even stay all alone, whereas you men are totally at sea without the mistress of the house around? We women don’t really need the men for anything!”
All the men remarked disdainfully, “Oh, the same old feminine liberation blah, blah!”
‘What men do, women can do better,’ was proved by my friend when she deftly changed the subject by announcing that she was going to become a fighter pilot! She would shatter the glass ceiling and break into the sacred bastions of male hegemony.
Now all those who were present in the room looked at her with awe and admiration, their debate about male versus female supremacy, temporarily forgotten.
Grabbing that opportunity to show an olive flag, my Dad and his friend applauded “Three cheers to the gutsy woman. Hip, hip, hurray!”
They had realized that they had just averted the Third World War. They knew that their famed, bloated, male egos had been neatly punctured by the Adam’s ribs! Yes, they silently acknowledged, women would always reign supreme. Or so they, the men would always lead them to believe. For they knew on which side their bread was buttered! Hence there was no harm in ‘buttering them up’!
Not one to give up, I asked the men “So who wins this debate?”
There was a chorus from the grinning men. “You Mademoiselles, you!”
**************************************************************************************The copyright of this article is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan
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Kindly read my story titled "The Litmus Test" which depicts how a happily married lady who has skeletons in her closet comes clean in public.... How will her husband react? Will things be hunky-dory thereafter? Read on to find out for yourself. Over to my blog dedicated to stories...