BEATING THE RETREAT … RAHUL MAHAJAN STYLE!
Nothing is more telling (or damaging) in cyber space than instant messaging that mocks a celebrity through clever limericks, as it happened in the aftermath of the ludicrous Rahul Mahajan tamasha. The SMS doing the rounds went like this:
What is Rahul Mahajan’s Facebook status? It reads: ‘Give me sunshine …. Give me rain … give me another wife… to beat up again’.
This was right after wife No. 2 Skimpy Dimpy went public with her bruises and bumps which she claimed had been inflicted on her by an enraged Rahul who couldn’t access the locked keypad of her mobile phone. The 21-year-old Dimpy from Kolkata managed to escape (with her phone, of course) in the dead of the night. And what was the first thing she did? She called a tabloid reporter and posed for pictures. She didn’t call the cops and she didn’t file charges. Instead, she invested her time wisely by appearing on countless television channels talking about Rahul’s brutality and wowing publicly that she was done with him and their farcical marriage (solemnized on television as the finale of a reality show).
That was the cue for wife No. 1 Shweta Singh to join the fray and revisit her own tabloid past in which she too had gone to town flashing her wounds (no guesses – same man, same tactic).
Next to pop up on the small screen was a former girlfriend who spoke languidly about being battered by this brute. All three women took the tabloid route to air their tales of woe. Just as the media campaign was gathering force to go after the villainous man and pack him off to jail (again!), Skimpy Dimpy did an about turn and went back into his arms after damning the ex and hurling accusations at her about phone stalking her wonderful husband.
All this would pass for amusing gossip if the issues were less serious. Rahul Mahajan sounds like a serial wife beater. A man whose record for domestic violence ought to be taken note of and addressed. As of now, we seem to be watching a carefully orchestrated audition for yet another mega bucks reality show starring the abusive Rahul and his docile wives, plus sexy ex-es.
If we allow as important a subject as domestic violence to be thus reduced to a perverse form of entertainment, we will be committing nothing short of a crime. A crime against millions of disempowered women in our society who are at the receiving end of the most abominable abuse and remain powerless till the bitter end. Not being dubious celebrities, the media ignores their plight, and families watch helplessly from the sidelines, unable to come to their aid due to social/financial pressure.
What is alarming is that the number of abuse cases seems to be climbing, not declining. Women appear to be far more vulnerable today than they were even ten years ago. How come? Take a look at the headlines – stories of stabbing, burning, hitting, battering defenceless wives and girlfriends are on the rise. This nasty phenomenon cuts across class and the easiest targets seem to be young working girls, who are perhaps the prime victims in our cities. Social historians examining the data may have a different point of view, but I believe our society – men, in particular – are simply not ready to accept independent women. When the frustration levels of such insecure men rise, they resort to the one weapon they know most women cannot shield themselves from – physical violence.
Urban society expects men to respect the pressures on career women and make the required adjustments, given the financial contribution these ladies make to the family kitty. This doesn’t happen. Unable to deal with a woman who has a mind and money of her own, some men vent their rage by hitting out … secure in the knowledge that most times women will lump it (women are such suckers!).
Perhaps we should revisit some of the more in-your-face reality shows that are raking it in by manipulating our pathetic, vicarious thrills seeking selves. Skimpy Dimpy, Payal Rohatgi or even Monica Bedi were nobodies till they attracted attention on these grotesque shows. More fool us for getting conned. ‘Aal eez well,’ declared a smug Rahul hugging his estranged-for-a-day wife. Oh yeah? Tell that to the marines – better still, announce ‘Rahul Ka Samjhauta’.
We deserve nothing better.