Page 252 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

From Grindmill Songs to Cultural Action 227

upon her’, considers her ‘an inferior being’, keeps her ‘lagging behind as
backward’. But there is no need for such clumsy words to express this.
In the grindmill tradition this is articulated with simple words that are
used every day. It is, thus, not difficult at all to convince them of this.
When you agree with us and acknowledge that our mothers and
grandmothers have composed that living tradition while sitting at
the millstone in the early morning, you are tempted to ask why then
did they not act against this tradition. Our answer is that society was
keeping them in check and they were not given any chance to react.
They understood that very well, and spoke up only in a dark corner of
the house and at a time when the men were still sleeping. Nowadays,
ideas are changing and there is more freedom. We toiling women
wearing nine-yard saris take time to think for ourselves. We have
started investigating and seeing through the trickery that stands behind
what was received as truth yesterday. Who did this and for whose vested
interests? A few of us are gathering to study this. But how do we make
our observations reach out to other women? We resort in particular
to grindmill songs.