SHE - Episode 1

Dear Vandhana,
You are very right. All the women are like Shalini. All of them share the same kind of fiery rebellion. But Shalini much, much more than all of them. And the fire in her is not put out by marriage. Given her speed, it might happen the other way round.

Rishi's father's characterisation is deliberately stereotypical only to enhance the the brightness of the fire in Shalini's character.

But it is quite real. I know some retired army men who are so obssessed with the military discipline that they would always turn on the road in right angles; in the same way the soldiers do when they are marching.

Thanks Vandhana, once again.
regards,
sridhar

Hello Meena,

For me Shalini represents the entire womanhood. I am doing some kind of a retribution on behalf of all men for the atrocities we committed against women. For subjecting them to slavery and calling that marriage.

Cotton saree, though like Aashree pointed out, takes some time to wear. More often you need another woman to streamline the crease. But after all that it adds not just beauty, but also a kind of majesty which even that 54000 colour silk saree cannot do. Dont worry I will make her wear all types of dresses.

I would be happy and grateful if you and other ILites can furnish information on the dress that would suit this fiery character.

Meena, you are a veteran in this site. You know very well when the next episode is due. It is exactly 168 hours after the posting of this episode.

Thanks Meena once again for your appreciation.

regards,
sridhar

Thats a good one. But she does not let the availability of time or the lack of it,decide her dress. May be going in pajamas to the dining table is not a permitted dress code in Captain Ramnath's house. We dont know yet.

Will the part that survived still be Shalini? Thats a million dollar question. Lets make the future episodes answer this question.

Thanks Aashree for the kind words,
regards,
sridhar

hello sridhar sir,
very interesting,eagerly awaiting for the 2nd episode.

Dear Sridhar,

Good start indeed!!!!!!' Your captain 'character reminded me of Captain Georg von Trapp from sound of music and of course that was with his children. I can't wait to see how you build Shalini's character, will she be docile,rebellious etc,etc. Your episode 2 will be worth the wait.

Love,

Hello Sridhar,

cotton sarees need not be the crisp cotton but maybe a mix so it's easy to drape. I remember wearing nice cotton sarees to marriage and I've got loads of compliments. shalini can be in Jeans and tops tooo but then our capt may not like it, looks like he pokes his nose into every corner of the house.
But then, I'm waiting to see how it affects Shalini in the long run - most fo the in-laws are ever SETTING RULES and the DILs most of the time have NO SET RULES but then if Rishi is a normal husband ( a little love & care & reasonably good) then it shldn't really matter. maybe it's too early to dissect the story.
shall wait (eagerly) for the next episode.

Hi Kiran,
Welcome to IL and welcome to these forums. I am happy that SHE has induced you to introduce yourself. Thats what I have in mind for SHE. That SHE should make more of a woman of every woman and make them proud of the fact that they are women.

We are eager to know more about you, about your loving Kishore and the little princess Akshita. Do post the detailed bio in the Who Am I Section.

I am happy that you like Shalini and her characterisation. I have been nurturing this idea in my mind for the past 7 years. And thanks to IL I was able to give shape to it.

Varalotti is my native town, actually the native place of my adoptive father. And his name is Rengasamy, so I adopted the pen name Varalotti Rengasamy.

Varalotti is about 40 kms from Madurai in the Virudhunagar District. And Kiran, I do have some connection with Telugu too. Interested to know more? Follow this link
Varalotti On VARALOTTI
Thanks once again,
regards,
Varalotti

Hello Vivbass,
Thanks for the thumbs-up simile. Second episode is less than 150 hours away. Stay tuned.
regards,
sridhar

Dear Anjana,
Thanks for those words. In fact I was totally restless till I finished the first chapter. Then I became even more so. Only when my wife after reading through it said in her characteristic drag, O....K.. did I heave a sign of relief.

Will Shalini be bound by the chains of her marriage? Of pre-set social rules? Of the laws that were designed at the time women were treated like mere chattels?
As of now time alone can tell.

Thanks again,
Love,
sridhar

Hello Meena,

Thanks for the supplementary info on women's dress which I might use sometime in future.

I chose cotton saree for my heroine in the first chapter because I was impressed by its elegance. And it adds some strength of character to the wearer, especially if she is a professional or a career-woman.

One of the lady CAs here in Madurai wears cotton sarees most of the time. She is just plain looking (I am yet to see a woman CA with dashing looks) but the saree gives her some majesty. So I draped Shalini in that material.

What will happen to Shalini? It is too early to tell. But first we are going to see what happened to her so far. stay tuned.
sridhar