Three Women on International Women's Day 2010

If there is some truth to the comments that people make about my
good nature, there are three ladies who are responsible for that, 
my Aunts : 
Charity, Winifred and Victoria Miller of Pune India

Together, and individually they put aside all notions of Marriage and instead
focused on the immediate problem at hand : raising myself and my sisters
after the death of my Mother, which occurred when I was barely five.
My Father gladly left us in their care while he went about eking a living in
the Indian Film Industry making only rare appearances to the Miller home.
A home which we shared along with other similarly unfortunate relatives all the
way to adulthood.

They were Women in the Indian Army under the British Raj, Winifred being a
Nurse while Charity and Victoria went on to become Fellows of the Royal College
of Surgeons, making Gynecology their life's work until age forced them to retire.
Their combined expertise exposed me to the sick, the poor, the underbelly of
Society. I was fed, clothed, educated, beaten and loved in equal measure, with
the Bible as the driving force behind my upbringing.

Through them I was introduced to Musicians like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven,
Strauss, Elvis, the Platters, Mario Lanza and the Beatles, Writers like Pearl Buck,
Dickens, Kipling and Twain, Humanitarians like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi,
and Meher Baba.

From them I learned just about everything a decent man needs to know about
life, love, respect, tolerance, humanity, humility, hard work and patience.
I would have to write three separate volumes to do some justice to their
selfless work, and I will never finish even one !

And so on this International Women's Day 2010 I celebrate their memory
using the words of John Lennon who not only gave us 'Imagine' but also
'Beautiful Boy', 'Mother' and 'Woman'

Click on the pics to view the originals on Flickr
 
Woman  
I can hardly express,
My mixed emotion at my thoughtlessness,
After all I'm forever in your debt,
And woman I will try express,
My inner feelings and thankfullness,
For showing me the meaning of succsess,
oooh well, well,
oooh well, well,

Woman

I know you understand

The little child inside the man,

Please remember my life is in your hands,

And woman hold me close to your heart,

However, distant don't keep us apart,

After all it is written in the stars,

oooh well, well,

oooh well, well,

Woman 

please let me explain,
I never mean(t) to cause you sorrow or pain,
So let me tell you again and again and again,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,
I love you (yeah, yeah)...

I had originally planned this for Mother's Day but decided to do it now.
Thank you my kind, dear Aunts for opening my eyes, and apologies for not doing
this while you were still alive. Happy Women's Day !

My related story from 2009 on Now Public