Warriors of the NIght

We name our daughters Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati; we worship the divine feminine power in the temples but oppress, repress and even attack the feminine power amidst us. That is the irony in the way India sees its women.

After the safety of the daylight fades, women are seen as easy prey by the predators of the night.

We mark the nine nights of Navratri, the festival of the goddess, by celebrating the dedication and valour of nine real-life women who brave the challenges of the night to pursue their dreams.

PART - 1

Brave Shooter

VEENA GOKHALE CONTINUES TO SHINE AMID ERRATIC SCHEDULES AND LATE NIGHTS

Thirty-five years ago, when Veena Gokhale, 55, chose to be a photographer, her presence at events, heavy camera equipment perched on her shoulder, met with surprise. Undeterred by erratic schedules and late nights, she’s made a mark in the world of photography—from movies to weddings and events with more than 4000 weddings and 12 Marathi movies in her portfolio. “My profession has a new work schedule everyday. Late nights are frequent and sometimes stretch into the morning. My parents were worried about my marriage because everyone wanted a daughter-in-law who had fixed work timings. I refused to alter my career path to get someone to marry me,” she says. But life had other plans for her; at a wedding, she met a man who admired her passion and the two married. Her new family, she says, fully supported her passion. “My profession gave me my life partner too.”

While she’s rarely faced harassment at work, having “fortunately worked at weddings that involved well-behaved families”, she’s often boarded the last train at night after wrapping up a shoot. “The train used to be crowded, with the lady’s compartment full at capacity. That’s when I actually realised that I am not the only woman who is working at wee hours. Mumbai is full of such strong women, who fearlessly, and confidently set out in the middle of the night to do their shifts.”

Work challenges come in different forms and one such difficult shoot was at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel in 2008. This was just two months before the dastardly attack of 26/11. She had to secretly shoot the daughter of a ‘sheikh’ from Dubai. The girl insisted on a lady photographer who could enter posing as a friend, maintain her privacy and not allow even her father to know that she had got a photo shoot done. “She wanted to get casual and candid pictures of herself clicked in different looks and costumes. lace. The girl wanted the pictures for her personal happiness, and she dreaded the dire consequences that would follow if the family found out,” says Gokhale.

Gokhale took up the assignment and they shot without a break for seven hours. “While talking to her, I was constantly acknowledging to myself how blessed we Indian women were compared to many out there. While I was fearlessly filming her, she was scared to even share it with her own father,” recalls Gokhale. But the end came with a surprise, for Gokhale bumped into a six and a half feet tall man. “He was the girl’s father; I was sweating but avoided eye contact and quickly left,” she says.

Over the past three decades, Gokhale has shot 4000 weddings, concerts, corporate events and worked on films such as Sade Made Teen, Gaiir and Harishchandrachi Factory.

Did she face discrimination or surprise at her choice of career? Yes, she says. But Gokhale chose to ignore them. “When I started my career, photography was a laborious job involving holding heavy machines on both the shoulders. However, I chose not to enjoy unnecessary sympathy being a woman. Gokhale has shot prominent personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Ustad Zakir Hussain and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, among others.

The best way to counter male chauvinism, says Gokhale, is for women to stop treating themselves differently. “Stop inviting pity and praise out of sympathy. Trust yourself, be confident and treat yourself equal to men. Once you treat yourself equal to men, the sky’s the limit as life is one big pool of opportunities. This attitude will help combat male chauvinism, she says. Gokhale advises caution while out for work-be alert, be communicative and be aware of who to contact when in crisis. “A good assessment of risk factors and adequate precautions are a few things that need to be remembered,” she says. With that in mind, there’s no stopping a determined woman.