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

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

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

To mark the International Womens' Day, a flag called " Ananya", is hoisted which depicts the colours of a muted rainbow, under the Indian national tricolour 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 when she becomes a mother. No one can ever perform the duties and exhibit 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 castor oil in a mixture of herbs to protect me in the womb...; when I was five months, you were on a bland diet without salt or chilles...; 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 stomoch in a growth form..; and after giving birth to me, you took such care 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- Panchakam ' describes woman hood and mother hood.

Today Indian Overseas Bank proudly announces the inauguration of " All Women Branch " @ Basavangudi, Bangalore.
and Indian Bank declares their Katpadi Branch as an " All women Branch ".

We also hear ' Women's outfits'; "Women's Organisation"; ' Women's Lib and such slogans. But does it echo loudly or is it just feeble to hear?

Why do we celebrate Womens' International Day only on 8th March ?
What about the status in the rest of 364 days ?

' Women, in your laughter, you have the Music of the Fountain of Life ".

' A woman takes birth as a baby, growsup as a daughter, a sister, a wife to a mother ; the journey of a woman ends nowhere. She enlightens the world as she is the second creator of the world around her'.