Sourabha Rajyam - The land Where Women Don't Matter

"Yatra naryastu pujyante, ramante tatra Devata, yatraitaastu na pujyante, sarvaastatrafalaah kriyaah." Where Women are honoured, divinity blossoms there, and where ever women are dishonoured, all action no matter how noble it may be, remains unfruitful.

-MANUSMRITI

Women are an embodiment of divine grace. They have been blessed with the ability to create and destroy. Only women are given the unique ability to give back tenfold what they receive. If we give them rice and vegetables, they convert it to food. If we give them a home, they convert it to a heaven. When a man marries a woman, she gives him a family. When you provide knowledge to a woman, she educates a society. But when you wrong a woman, everything is destroyed due to her wrath.

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Foreword : Societies have been patriarchal since time immemorial. they slowly evolved into matriarchal societies in some parts of the world. But whatever be the type of society, men have wielded a lot of power. While some men strove to make the most of their power to satisfy their greed, lust and other perversions, others used it to create an ideal society; a society without discriminations.

Societies that had a clearly defined social structure, division of labour, high sense of morality, advanced education and learning, progressed rapidly providing wealth, prosperity, happiness and health to their citizens. Religion also flourished in these societies and was used as means of ensuring a way of life that was beneficial to all.

Human nature is so complex that it is almost impossible to say what drives a person to achieve something or for that matter the lack of a goal in life. Many leaders have tried to answer this lack of enthusiasm through deep introspection and research while others have tried to channel the energy of hardline achievers to progress.

Why does one person become a great scientist while another becomes a stubborn zealot rejecting rational thought? Why does a man respect women while another looks down upon them? Why do societies have so much strife for equality between men and women? What is the reason for such struggle?

These questions have remained unanswered since humans evolved into vibrant civilizations. Will humans ever find the answers? There is no definite answer while men and women continue to fight for what they perceive is right. This eternal battle of wills between the two genders provides a great fodder for writers all over the world to turn on their creative side in a vague attempt to find an amiable solution.

Is that possible?

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Sourabha Rajyam – year 8872.

Sri Latha was running late. She had to get the 7.20 am bus to Amaravathi University if she hoped to reach her history class in time. She was doing her thesis on 'Ancient World History – The disparity of Gender through the ages'. Her guide Professor Kalyani was an expert herself on Ancient Human History and was helping her through her research through valuable suggestions regarding the required material and also in getting that material.

It was the day of the convocation and Sri Latha would be receiving her Doctorate from the hands of the great monarch Emperor Ugra Vasantha Raya. It was one day she couldn't afford to be late. She cursed herself for sleeping late that had resulted in her getting up late and then rushing through everything in a desperate bid to out run time itself.

"Shit, Shit, shit!" she started an long tirade of the choicest curses at the 7.20 bus that she had missed by a whisker. Now she had to resort to outrageous means to reach the university. She saw a share-taxi slow down and stop. She knew it was a bit risky but she was not in a position to bicker.

"Amaravathi University?"

"I go till the Bus Terminus Ma'am."

"Ok." She got in and sat between two males which was the only space available. One of the males could have adjusted so she could have sat beside the window but chivalry was such a rare quality. She had to be patient till she reached the Bus Terminus and from there she could get a bus that would drop her in 20 minutes time at her destination.

She felt a hand brush against her right breast whenever the taxi driver applied brakes. She could never understand the need to apply brakes on a perfectly smooth road that had very light traffic. After the government had come up with sky-ways, road traffic had been reduced to a large extent.

Only taxis and public transport buses used the roads while sky shuttles catered to the very urgent services and long distance travel. Sky stations littered the skyways all over the planet connecting different parts of the world. The whole planet was now one empire under the rule of Emperor Ugra Vasantha Raya.

Long distance travel had become very short. You could now decide how long you wanted to travel and could opt for the appropriate service. The Slow Service took the longest time and was used by those who couldn't afford to shell out a fortune for travel. It was also the cheapest, had the largest number of stops and was the preferred choice of the masses.

The express service was used by the Salaried employees for their work related travels. It was faster than the Slow service but still took a long time. It was neither too costly nor cheap and could only be afforded by those who could get back what they spent in the form of travel allowances and Dearness Allowances.

The Fast Service was preferred by the rich as it got them quickly over large distances at an affordable cost. It was comfortable and not too tiring either. They did not have to spend too much time on jet lag. Another advantage was the Service provided by special wait staff who provided everything that the travellers required during the journey.

The elite used the Super Fast Service that was priced atrociously high. This was preferred by the insanely rich and influential persons in the society. It was also a way of showing off their wealth. Each passenger had a personal attendant who would cater to their needs.

The Uniformed Services Special was used by all the Uniformed Services – the army, navy, air force, space rangers, inter-planetary services, the diplomats, the police, paramilitary, doctors, engineers, architects, white collar employees etc.

The Educational Services Special catered to the teachers, students and other staff working in schools, colleges and universities. The passengers were issued special identity cards that were scanned before they entered the Sky-Shuttle. This was used for intra world transfers.

The Royal Service was used exclusively by the Royal Families and had the highest security. Commoners were not allowed without permission. Any unidentified person attempting to approach the royal Service were arrested and taken for interrogation.

For very short travel, taxi and cab services along with Public transport buses were the only option. These were limited services and one had to be very punctual to catch one. It was usual for some of these services to run empty as they were bound to follow their time schedules rather than the passengers who used them.

Another hand rested on her thigh making her look at the offender angrily but the man was looking elsewhere as if it was normal for a man to place his hand on the thigh of an unknown female passenger in a shared taxi. Sri Latha ground her teeth in frustration as there was nothing she could do. Laws prohibited women from complaining about groping in crowded places; it was a law that the men took advantage of.

She tried to ignore the feeling of insects crawling over her body as the offending hands continued to roam on her body violating her. It was the longest ten minutes of her life as the 20 year old woman waited for the Bus Terminus to appear.

She nearly jumped out before the taxi halted completely prompting the driver to shower a string of curses at her. He was more concerned that she might run away without paying. He almost snatched the fare and drove away.

"There goes my change!" she muttered as she walked towards the entrance of the Duvvuri Subbamma Bus Terminus. She almost ran to platform 87 and jumped into the bus that was just backing out of the platform. She was out of breath as she sat in the nearest seat.

"Amaravathi University." She gasped to the conductor who deftly punched her a ticket.

"Going for the convocation?" he asked.

"Yes. I need to be there by 8.20 am."

"Don't worry. We will drop you there by 8. So, what are you studying?"

"I am getting my Doctorate in Ancient History today!"

"Wow! Congratulations!"

"Thanks a lot!" she blushed with pleasure.

"Your parents must be really proud!"

"Yes, they are."

"Then why are you alone?"

"They had an emergency appointment they could not reschedule."

"Oh. All the best."

"Thanks."

The conductor moved onto other passengers and she thought of her parents.

Note from the Author:

I would like to know how the book is through reviews and chapter comments. I am trying my best to give you very good story. The regularity of updates depends on your response and patronage. I hope you will enjoy this story.