It's been 33 years since He-Man was first telecast on tv! I remember how my love for superheroes started with it! I would be glued to the tv set every Sunday morning to watch him claim his power! And I knew that I wanted to be a "He-man" when I grew up! Strong and powerful. And I was never told I couldnt be one.
I don't remember playing with dolls. They never fascinated me. I was the one cutting up batteries and opening calculators, looking what was inside them. I could fix the tvs and vcrs when they stopped working. I was the one my mom called out to change light bulbs or to check current leaks from the washing machine.
No don't call me a tomboy. I wasn't anything like a boy. I was very much a girl. A girl who never knew limits. Who knew and still knows that nothing is impossible to achieve regardless of your gender.
My father always taught me to be tough. He got us sisters basic martial art training so we could learn self defence. Even if I had to go far to a new address my father encouraged me to go alone via public transport and find the place myself. All this in the time of no mobile phones. "Dream big!", is what he always told me. "Aim for the stars, so even if you fail, you will reach the moon".
One evening when I refused to go buy groceries for fear of being teased by the street boys, Pappa got angry. "What a shameful thing to say!", he said to me. "All my upbringing and education has gone waste. You can't tackle a few boys teasing you?". Dad had never taught us to look down and walk. He always taught me to hold my chin up, to look everyboy in the eye if they ever said anything nasty and get even with them. I still remember how my sister beat up a couple of boys who were stalking us once at Egmore! This was the way we were brought up. Believing that there was nothing that was difficult to tackle or impossible to achieve. Believing that I was no less than a Superhero.
Years later when Dad offered me a job to look after his computer centre (IT Kids), I remember this one lady commenting, "You must really regret not having an elder son right now", to which my father answered "Not at all! Infact I wish I had two more daughters like her!" Hearing that, was the proudest moment of my life!
Looking back, I see how forward thinking and modern my parents were and how much they believed and trusted their children. If not for my SuperParents I wouldn't have grown up with the confidence that I hold today. Nor would I have reached where I am. There was no He-man or She-woman for them. Just children who were the "Masters of their Universe"!
And I still believe that I have the powwwah!
I don't remember playing with dolls. They never fascinated me. I was the one cutting up batteries and opening calculators, looking what was inside them. I could fix the tvs and vcrs when they stopped working. I was the one my mom called out to change light bulbs or to check current leaks from the washing machine.
No don't call me a tomboy. I wasn't anything like a boy. I was very much a girl. A girl who never knew limits. Who knew and still knows that nothing is impossible to achieve regardless of your gender.
My father always taught me to be tough. He got us sisters basic martial art training so we could learn self defence. Even if I had to go far to a new address my father encouraged me to go alone via public transport and find the place myself. All this in the time of no mobile phones. "Dream big!", is what he always told me. "Aim for the stars, so even if you fail, you will reach the moon".
One evening when I refused to go buy groceries for fear of being teased by the street boys, Pappa got angry. "What a shameful thing to say!", he said to me. "All my upbringing and education has gone waste. You can't tackle a few boys teasing you?". Dad had never taught us to look down and walk. He always taught me to hold my chin up, to look everyboy in the eye if they ever said anything nasty and get even with them. I still remember how my sister beat up a couple of boys who were stalking us once at Egmore! This was the way we were brought up. Believing that there was nothing that was difficult to tackle or impossible to achieve. Believing that I was no less than a Superhero.
Years later when Dad offered me a job to look after his computer centre (IT Kids), I remember this one lady commenting, "You must really regret not having an elder son right now", to which my father answered "Not at all! Infact I wish I had two more daughters like her!" Hearing that, was the proudest moment of my life!
Looking back, I see how forward thinking and modern my parents were and how much they believed and trusted their children. If not for my SuperParents I wouldn't have grown up with the confidence that I hold today. Nor would I have reached where I am. There was no He-man or She-woman for them. Just children who were the "Masters of their Universe"!
And I still believe that I have the powwwah!
She-Woman has the Powerrr !! ✌🏼️✔️
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