Women…Secret-Keepers?

After a long break from blogging, I’m back (hopefully with a bang).

Recently I saw a news article about Ekta Kapoor’s latest venture at dramatization, this time the target being Mahabharata. And believe it or not, the title of this one too starts with a “K” (for God’s sake!). It’s called “Kahaani Hamaari Mahabharat Kii (hopefully I got the spelling right). I’m mentioning this because it led me to thinking more deeply about this legendary story (and my favourite epic); especially about Kunti. I was helped by “The Thorn Birds” (refer older article) wherein the main character refrains from telling the man she loves an earth-shattering secret just so he could suffer without even knowing that he was suffering (might seem to you readers like I’m blabbing but you ought to read the book to know what I’m talking about). These two ‘incidents’ made me ponder as to whether women really can keep secrets or not.

Not many people know that in the Mahabharata, after the death of Karna, Yudhishthira was driven by grief to curse all women; the curse being that women shall henceforth not be able to keep any secrets. And so it turned out that even Meggie (of “The Thorn Birds”) had to blurt it out due to unavoidable circumstances.

So is it true? Ever told a woman something and asked her to keep it to herself? And more importantly, has she? I believe it depends on the intensity of the conversation in hand. It is a general trait of women to gossip, and women do admittedly pass on to others more than what is required. But they do have a hold on their tongues when it really matters; and isn’t what matters what counts? For instance, tell a woman about a life and death situation and ask her not to tell anyone; she won’t! Women tend to have a better listening capacity than men, especially because the former can sympathize, empathize, gasp and laugh and react appropriately at the right times. So even if women cannot hold secrets, it’s enjoyable telling them anyway!



P.S. : I dunno what I was thinking when I wrote this.