L

At the risk of sounding gender-biased, let me confess that few women impress me. Which is not to say that women I meet during the course of the day either because of professional or personal commitments are not intelligent, smart beings; in fact give me women colleagues and bosses any day because most men do not seem to have even heard of the term multi-tasking! But just that in terms of women leaving a lasting impression right from the very first meeting, that bit does not happen too often. Probably because very rarely does a woman give the impression of knowing who she is and what she wants from life. And very often a woman’s life seems to be dictated by the man in her life, or the circumstances tying her to him, be it family, children, money, or sheer emotional dependence.

But the other day, at a get-together, I was introduced to an exception. And I was impressed beyond belief. A few years older than me, L (that’s what we shall call her in this post) has a pretty face but is not attractive in the conventional sense of the term. But once she opens her mouth, you are bound to sit up and notice. She comes across as someone who knows what she wants from life and will give her hundred percent in trying to get it for herself. Opinionated, intelligent, professionally very successful, and armed with a wicked sense of humor and excellent communication skills, L was fascinating to say the least. And we hit it off! So one moment we were exchanging notes and observations on men and relationships, and reveling in the fact that we are unapologetically unmarried, the next moment we were dissecting a movie and fiercely arguing over the idea in it and its execution, or criticizing some common gender biases in the workplace.

As you can see, L left an impression, and meeting her was one of the nicest things that happened last week. Hopefully, we shall be able to stay in touch.