' March 8 as International Women's Day '

The Women's' Day is an occasion to honour women who gave us the gift of life.

Gandhi said ' Men and women are equal but not identical '. It is true that no father desires his daughter to speak with him like his son nor his sister to behave like his brother.

A woman's uniqueness lies in her feminine quality. Ahalya, Draupadi, Seeta, Tara and Mandodari are named as ' Pancha Kanyas ' (The Five Women) in Purana's for the sacrifices they made to maintain the equilibrium of life.

To mark the International Women's' Day, a flag is hoisted which depicts the colours of a muted rainbow, under the Indian national tri colour against a white background.The colours of rainbow signify freedom and new hopes. The other colours represent expanding horizons, new aspirations and skills and yearning for true emancipation.

A woman shows her her feminine quality fully when she becomes a mother. No one can ever perform the duties and exhibits love for the child like the mother. The child grows happily because of the confidence it develops in the hands of his or her mother.

Adi Sankara in his works entitled as " mathru panchakam " quotes :-

" Oh, mother, you happened to suffer from nausea too often after bearing me in the womb...; you had to take cast or oil in a mixture of herbs to protect me in the womb...; when I was five months, you starved in a diet of no taste without salt or chill es...; when I started my tiny movements in the seventh month, you encouraged them by foregoing sleep...; did I not cause you to faint due to the excess atmosphere of gas when I was occupying your stomach in a growth form..; and after giving birth to me, you took such cares which no words could describe and bore my wetting and let-outs..; for all such sacrifices ever since my birth till I undertook saint hood... I could probably never repay in several births also...; all I could perform is only to say my ' pranams ' at the last hour of mine..." so poignantly Adi Sankara's ' Mathru- Panchagam ' describes his true feelings about women hood and mother hood especially.

We see today Indian Overseas Bank proudly announces inauguration of " All Women Branch " @ Basavangudi, Bangalore. Indian Bank declares their Katpadi Branch as an " All women Branch " today. We also hear ' Womens' outfits'; "Women's' Organisation"; ' Women's' Lib and such slogans.
But does it echo loudly or is just feeble to hear?

Why Women's International Day id on 8Th March only. What happens in the rest of 364 days ?