I am a "daughter" !!!

I recently saw a Hindi movie...it was a waste of time but it made me think about my own identity and my entity. The movie was about the struggles of a girl, from a small town, who comes to Mumbai. She tries to make the ends meet and take care of her family. She doesn't find a decent job and due to her father's illness and stuff she gets into prostitution. Most of you must have guessed the name of the movie by now, it is "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag". The movie was a drag and was so regressive in nature that I could not bear to really watch the whole thing.
The best character in the movie was the protagonist's father. He was into gambling, did not work but always found something to complain about. He is critical of his daughter all her life but in the end has a turn of heart and decides to pay her a compliment. This is where my irritation with the movie reaches its peak... The best compliment he gives her is "Beti, tu to mera beta hai" ("Daughter, you are my son"). At this point I really wanted to kill the director, story writer and the dialogue writer or anybody associated with the movie.
I was born a girl and am every bit proud of it. Is the best compliment given to a women is being equal to a man? Is that the best women can get? It is like telling an Indian, you are so good, you are like an American. Does it even make any sense? It did not even make any sense to me.
I am a beti and would like to be a beti only. I would not want to magically turn to a beta when i do something good or turn back to a beti when i do something wrong.
Love your daughters like daughters and not like the second best thing to a beta. I am thankful to God that my parents love me just the way I am!!!

Pankaj Juyal

Pankaj Juyal- To many this name might sound familiar (something they have read in a newspaper), to some it might not mean anything but for me this name symbolizes the person who defined my life and my love for my country. He was my school friend. He was a good friend and was always supportive of me in every decision I took. He was shy and seldom spoke to any girls. We all went our separate ways after school.
I met him after three years, when I was doing my engineering and he had become an officer in Army. He was posted in Bangalore for some time where I was studying. It was a shock to see him for the first time. He had changed so much. He had become more outgoing and smarter than ever. I could see the change in his personality after joining Army. He said army was the best thing that had happened to him and I believed it. It was evident by the way he talked, laughed and even looked at people.
I spoke to him often after that via phone and emails. My brother-in-law is in army too so I have a special respect for army officers. After one year I got the news that Pankaj was being posted to the same station where my sister was located. I became very excited at the thought of meeting Pankaj again, but fate had something else in mind. I got the news after a few days that he had expired in a bomb explosion in Gujarat. That news shook my faith in life and also in justice. Here was Pankaj who had never ever hurt anyone and was always so good to everyone he knew but he was so mercilessly taken away from us. He changed every life he touched and will always make a difference in our lives.
Maybe we realize the value of our friends and relatives only after they are gone. We tend to take them for granted when they are around but value each and every thing related to them once they are gone. I could not even see Pankaj’s face a last time because there was no face left. I only have the last memory of Pankaj when I last met him. He had sent me so many cards and letters in our friendship of twelve years but the one that I treasure is the New Year’s card that I received after his death.

(Pay your homage to the martyr's here:
http://indianarmy.nic.in/martyrs/homage.jsp?pic_id=60706
)