FOUR LESSONS FROM THE MENSTRUATING MAN!

Hi there! I'm sure you are confused to See Me here after I told you I was going on a hiatus? Well in my defense I was,until a remarkable movie I watched today commanded me like, " herrh!... You kraaa why are you like that like that?... Come on write a post about me wohor! wohor! "

So in fear and trepidation, I have yielded to the command and here I am. Enjoy wae!😎😋

Now, those who know me know that I'm chronically addicted to film watching. Yaaaash! You see, Moving pictures and me are like the proverbial moth and the flame. So lately, since our exams reared its alata samina shape like head, I've not  watched as many films as I would want.Then today, in abirekyie-like defiance I watched one! 😝

In my gallery, had been sitting a Bollywood movie I downloaded a while ago. I couldn't find the appropriate subtitle to go with it so the thought of watching it sans the subtitle was greatly unappealing. But today naaa, I said, "no! I will watch, subtitle or no subtitle."

The movie's name is "Pad Man" and I know how off-putting the name might be to some of us but if you don't let your prejudices and Kejetia philosophies to blind you a, you'll find it's one of the greatest films to come out of India!  It grossed like 1.2 billion Crore which is like the Dollar equivalent of what an American will call ' a sh*t-ton of money "

Let me try and give you the synopsis( fancy English for summary!) 

The story starts with the marriage of Laxmikant Chauhan (Akshay Kumar) and Gayatri (Radhika Apte), a happy go lucky couple. Laxmi is deeply in love with his wife and will do anything for her comfort and happiness.

 When Gayatri is temporarily banished from the household during her menstrual periods, Laxmi is caught unaware due to his lack of knowledge about the subject which is otherwise referred to as 'five day test match for women' by the village youth. Laxmi makes his peace with it but gets worried on seeing Gayatri using a dirty rag during her periods. 
When asked about it, Gayatri tells him it's none of his business and he, being a 'pure' human should not interfere in this feminine topic. Undeterred, Laxmi goes to a medical store and buys sanitary pads for his wife which cost Rs.55. 

When he reaches home and hands it over to Gayatri, she reprimands him and tells him to return it as using such costly napkins meant cutting off milk expenses of a month. Unable to return it, Laxmi, crestfallen, goes to work where a worker gets injured. He immediately applies a pad to the injury despite the others referring to it as 'impure'. In the hospital, the doctor lauds Laxmi's quick thinking and says that it is the cleanest choice to stop bleeding. Excited, Laxmi then buys some cotton, cloth and glue and makes a temporary pad which he thinks is a better replacement for the costly one.

Gayatri uses it but the pad fails in its function and she tells Laxmi to not interfere in women's matters again. Laxmi disregards her, again tries to make a pad, and attempts to give it to a neighbor girl which again creates a mess. He then gives it to a medical student who decides to help him out but is deterred by her friends. To add to his woes, the meeting of Laxmi and the medical student is spotted by his close relative which makes his wife think that Laxmi has an extramarital affair. 

Laxmi visits his sister and tries to give her pads which leads to embarrassment in front of her in-laws. Gayatri then makes Laxmi promise to not involve anyone in this mess anymore. Adhering to her words and yet unwilling to let go of the issue, Laxmi then tries it on himself by attaching a balloon filled with goat blood borrowed from a friend, which leads to Laxmi getting blood stains on trousers in public resulting in humiliation. 

This act causes him to be branded a 'pervert' and a 'man with loose morals' by the entire village. Gayatri's brothers take her away and Laxmi decides to leave the village, pledging to fight the taboo surrounding menstruation.

Laxmi then goes to a college to gain knowledge about the materials used in sanitary napkins. In need of money and shelter, he ends up working as a manservant in a professor's house. The professor's son introduces him to the internet and helps him get every piece of information. He places an order for cellulose fibre for sanitary pad with an international company. The professor is baffled by Laxmi's actions and shows him videos of pad making machines worth crores to derail his ideas. Instead, Laxmi decides to make his own pad vending machine and leaves the house. He borrows money for his machine and then manages to make a near perfect pad but has no one to test it. By a chance of events, he meets Pari Walia (Sonam Kapoor), and supplies a pad to her. The next day, Laxmi visits her and asks her for feedback. Shocked, she says that it was just like other normal pads. His joy knows no bounds and he calls Gayatri to give her the news. Gayatri, however, gets upset at his obsession with menstruation and her brother warn Laxmi to stay away from them.

Meanwhile, Pari invites him to an innovation fair in IIT-Delhi with the winner receiving Rs.2,00,000 as prize money. Laxmi's invention is recognized as the 'Life-changing Innovation of the Year' and he is honoured and felicitated. He shoots to fame but the villagers, on realising the nature of his invention, badmouth and insult him. His machine is patented and Pari helps him reach out to and sell his pads to the rural women, who later join him, in his pad making venture under the brand name 'Pari'. Laxmi proceeds to make more low cost sanitary pad manufacturing machines for sale to rural women. He is invited to New York and gives a speech in UNICEF which makes him popular. Back home, he is awarded the Padmashri. Pari falls in love with him but then dismisses her own feelings for his happiness. Laxmi returns to a hero's welcome in his village. The film ends with Laxmi and Gayatri finally uniting and Pari leaving with happy memories of Laxmi.*

It's pretty wonderful meboa?!!... See how you're trying so hard to hide your tears. Oh come on, cry wohor na menhw3!😂(me sef kraaa I cried) 

Anywho, beyond the veil of comedy and drama the movie has draped on, it also taught me some valuable lessons. I've chosen to share four of them with you!

#1. Not Everyone Will Believe Your Dream!

You know, it's okay to have a dream and have others around you, especially those closest to you, not believe it. Some may sneer, badmouth you or even call you mad but that's okay. Your dream is yours and yours alone. It behooves you to go all out in transforming it from  something intrinsic to something extrinsic that entire world can see, feel, touch or better yet, use! Just like the title of the first chapter in Dr. Norman Vincent Peale's book "The Power of Positive Thinking ", Believe in Yourself! 

#2. Be Prepared To Fail! 

So you de3 you got yourself a wonderful dream and you've believed in yourself 333? Wonderful! But don't expect to be big at your first try! You might be tempted to give up after you have done everything right and yet things haven't gone the way you want them to, but don't kraaa. There are only a few people in the world who get lucky enough to have things work out at their first try ooo. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours. So you de3, these few hours you have expended trying to birth your dream no you have failed aaa you want to quit?! Why are you kraa like that?! 😄😂

Start to drum it into your head that failure is part of the success story. You google a lot of the great men and see how many of them hit snags and failures when they started and you'll see what I'm talking about. Say it slowly with me, "Expect to fail! " but don't give up when you do. Stick to your guns, change a few things if you have to but never give up!  Major corporations have Research and Development departments to help them come up with innovations but you, your R & D should be your T & E ( trial and error).
Try big, Fail big and You will Win big! (can I get an Amen?) 

#3. Be Not So much Focused on Money! 

In education, one major characteristic of a Closed Climate is that teachers are there solely because of their salaries. It is no wonder then that the closed climate type is the worst of all school climate types.

Every time you make financial gain the aim of a venture, you limit yourself and the capacities you can perform in. You will never go the extra mile when no money is involved and that will eventually be the end of you and your enterprise.

I'd like to suggest that whatever your dream is, make society and people your focus. Ask yourself, "does my dream advance society? " "does it end up providing jobs for others? " and that "does my dream go to make someone's life a bit easier? "

Answer these questions honestly and I tell you will be on your way to becoming one of the greats! Make people the focus of your dream and not the financial/material gain or prestige you may acquire and see how much more fulfilled you shall be, doing what you love!

#4. Everyone Has Help, Identify Yours! 

In one of his Life Seminars, Pastor Mensa Otabil once bemused, "No matter who you are or where you live, I believe everyone receives help at least once in their life... The real test then isn't whether you received the help but what did you do with it? " 

The Akan of Ghana have a saying that I love so much. It literally translates as when God creates a blind man, he also creates his helper. What is your dream? What is its scope? No matter what category your dream is or how big or small it is, there is someone out there who will help you realize it and that someone will find you. 

But if and when they do come, be not so blinded that you do not recognize them. They come mostly in the form of school teachers,girlfriends,wives,social workers, friends and perhaps that guy trying to woo your sister. 😉

Either way, my point is be ready to receive help. If yours have come, Praise the Lord!
But if not, hold on just a little while longer. Your helper is on the way! 

Credits :
Images - Google Images 
Synopsis - Wikipedia 

Ps: don't keep la, share & comment! 😉😘👌