THE REDUNDANCY OF A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

“No more the knight, in shining armor dress'd
Opposes the pointed lance in his breast…”

Once there was a time when every little boy wanted to be a knight. They were something to be admired and yes, feared. Dressed in glittering steel, lances dipped in molten gold, blazing swords in hand; they dispatched off their enemies in a single blow and won favors from their ladies in tourneys and battles alike. Glib of tongue and bold of hand, they fenced with both words and swords. And they were armored in more than steel. Gallantry was a predominant part of the traits they displayed. A gallant knight is a beautiful thing. Knight errantry included rescuing fair maidens from foul creatures, emancipating princesses, known for the bewitching quality of their beauty, locked up in castles guarded by fire-breathing dragons that petrified lesser mortals but never hindered those magnificent knights, drunk in their lust for blood and battle and single combat. Snarling, those creatures of fire and blood would reach out to cleave their body from shoulder to hip, ripping the very entrails off the knights, but somehow, every single time, the knights prevailed. With their weapons to hand, fair lady’s name on lips and a song in their heart, they would proceed to destroy the dragon, plunging swords of steel into its fiery heart and then rescue the princess from the tower, a princess whose reputation as a beautiful and charming creature, full of wit and vivacity preceded her.

The 21st century brought about innumerable changes, one of which was that these ‘princesses’ no longer needed rescuing. They still remained beautiful, charming and vivacious, but they acquired a certain steely quality to them which was a marvel to behold. Strong, businesslike women, with a full head upon their shoulders, who knew what to do and how to do it, became the norm. They walked upright in all of their glory, beauty and splendor. But most of all, their intrinsic strength and diligence finally woke up the world to what power the descendents Eve could wield when she set her mind to it. So here’s to five women today, in five different fields, who made a name for themselves, by themselves and brought back the days when women were like the Spartans: Courageous, bold and their own persons, bloodthirstily so.

POLITICS: ANGELA MERKEL

"There is no alternative"

When thinking of powerful women in politics, Hillary Clinton may be the first one to come to mind. I mean, U.S. Secretary of State? But there is another. One more powerful and influential. The second Iron Lady after Margaret Thatcher. A woman who has ruthlessly risen from the profession of a physical chemist to the de facto leader of the European Union. The incumbent German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. 

BUSINESS: INDRA NOOYI

"When I was president of this company I thought 'Okay I can do this- piece of cake'"

"Pepsi! Change the game!" How many times have we heard this slogan, blaring on our televisions while we sit down to watch the IPL? But have we ever thought of the force behind the giant American multinational company PepsiCo, that manufactures this wonderful beverage? CEO Indra Nooyi is an extremely controversial woman, but not less powerful because of it, breaking glass ceilings, making her presence felt in the food processing industry. For PepsiCo does come under that after its acquisitions of Tropicana, Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods. This woman also seems to have a great sense of humour which came across when she delivered a commencement address at Columbia University’s business school. Briefly, she compared the human hand to the economic and political powers of the world, saving the middle finger for the U.S. She knew what she was doing: “If used inappropriately – just like the U.S. itself – the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble.” And trouble she got, although she declined to give the students a demonstration of that particular point in her speech. It was an extremely witty and even profound analogy, but apparently some people's senses of humour are not very developed.

MEDIA: OPRAH WINFREY

Genius, Billionaire, Playgirl, Philanthropist

Genius. Billionaire. Playgirl. Philanthropist. This woman broke the chains of poverty and squalor and was ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century and one of the most influential women in the world on account of her running a self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011, the Oprah Winfrey Show. She revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre, known to be pioneered by Phil Donahue, and focused on literature (don't I just adore this woman), self-improvement and spirituality. She achieved all of this after facing numerous adversities that would have daunted a lesser man. Born in poverty to an unmarried teenage mother, she wore potato sacks to school as dresses on account of their extreme abjection, molested by various family members (ones she looked upto, in fact) at the age of 9, she ran away from home at 13 and gave birth to a little baby boy at 14, who died a few months later, the list just goes on. But she never gave up. And went on to become one of the richest people in the world. This, surely, is one woman to emulate.

NON-PROFIT: JOSETTE SHEERAN

"Committed to improving the state of the world"

When she was the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, she saw the largest humanitarian agency fight hunger around the globe.She believes that hunger and poverty must and can be solved through both immediate actions and long-term policies. At the Millennium Development Goal Summit in 2010, she outlined 10 ways the world can end hunger. They include providing school meals, connecting small farmers to markets, empowering women and building the resiliency of vulnerable communities. She has a long history of helping others. Currently she holds the position of Vice Chairman at the World Economic Forum. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Josette Sheeran, who has led the fight against hunger in numerous third world countries, from the frontlines because let me tell you, she is not one to be content with a desk job. An extraordinarily committeed and well qualified woman, she deserves to be on this list because everything she has achieved is due to her own merit, unlike a few others who dispense inherited money everywhere. While that is an extremely noble thing to do (of course it is!), I feel that Josette Sheeran's achievements in this field are not to be ignored. Here's something that might convince you.

SPORTS-MOUNTAINEERING: ALISON HARGREAVES

A dream to scale the three highest peaks in the world.

She might not be the first woman to climb Mount Everest but she's the only one who climbed it solo. Without supplementary oxygen. And all the other great north faces of the Alps in a single season, which included climbing the famously difficult north face of the Eiger in the Alps in 1993. And she did all of the aforementioned feats alone. But the most amazing fact yet, is that she did a lot of the major climbs while she was pregnant. She died while scaling Mount Godwin Austen (K2) in August 1995. She has been described by many as an unfit mother and spouse but I have enormous respect for what she did and the way she was so completely her own individual, following her dreams and career. Also, our birth dates coincide.

These were five women, each different in her own way. But all of them have one thing in common and that is determination, fortitude and a slight audacity to do whatever their wont. Seriously, they make the phrase 'Knight in shining armor' an extremely outdated one.

I shall end things with a very appropriate (isn't it always?) quote:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. "

P. S. Remember, women are helpless only until their nailpolish dries.

-Shoe.