The overt symbol of the honour was a ruby–encrusted gold bracelet which would be put on her right wrist by a lady nominee of the Supremo himself, in his august presence in a glittering televised ceremony on the South courtyard of the Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. The more mundane rewards included an automatic elevation of herself and her husband Vinay to class I membership of the BJJP (Bharatiya Jan Jagran Party) which was constitutionally elected to rule Bharatvarsha in perpetuity. Her eight–year–old son, Madhu, would get a much–coveted entry into the Adolf Bal Brigade with scholarships for studies in the best of schools, colleges and professional institutions. And to cap it all, she would be enrolled in the VIP quota for a government flat in a posh central district of Bombay.

The written part of the examination was tough but that was not a problem for her — a qualified aeronautical engineer. It is another matter that the New Order barred women from pursuing such unfeminine professions. The toughest part was to master the codes of the New Order — to the extent that she could qualify as a teacher or trainer herself — and to convince her examiners that she not only practises the codes herself but encourages other women to do so.

The preparations had begun a year earlier. Home training followed each weekly tutorial class in the local shakha of the Survabhauma Sangh of Sadhus (SSS) in the observance of the rituals of Sanatan Hindu Dharma. A series of vandanas appropriate for every day and for every occasion had to be learnt. There were the food codes, the dress codes, codes for caste marks, the conversational codes, the codes for interior decoration, and the codes of personal hygiene and procreative process among others. Once every month an inspector from the SSS shakha visited her home to see and certify the progress of the family in the observance of the codes.

The SSS hierarchy had merci-fully published a tutorial aid titled, The Masters Level Manual of The Codes of The New Order which was a great help to her in her home preparations for her examinations. This morning she would continue her study of the manual as soon as she finished her morning chores.

By now she could perform her chores according to the codes almost mechanically. First of all was Swami Vandana which is a short ritual. She merely had to wipe her sleeping husband’s feet with her tresses and pray for his life of a hundred years.

That done, she washed and bathed and started on her other morning duties in right earnest. But there were stirrings of a migraine which had started about six months earlier. She had searched for the cause, consulted her doctor without any success.

She got Vinay and Madhu to complete their wash and bath and join her in the Surya vandana. Then she arranged breakfast — Paratha, curds and fruits (Food on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays had to be vegetarian). By 9 o’clock, Madhu had gone to school and Vinay to office and she was free at last to start her day’s preparations.

She took out the Masters Manual and settled herself comfortably on the sofa, but the migraine was persistent. She took a couple of aspirins and as she was washing the tablets down her throat, the telephone rang.

"Hi, Sally!" It was her childhood friend, Sushma. But, she had to shoo her off.

"Jai Sri Ram, Sushma, but I am sorry I have to call off now. Will ring you later."

‘Hi Sally’ indeed! A stupid and irresponsible woman behaving as if she had a death wish. Sushma knew too well that use of alien forms of Indian names or greetings was barred under penalty of a minimum of three months in a Reformation School for each offence. Add to that Sushma’s undisguised contempt for the sadhus and sants, and she seemed destined for a long period of incarceration. Yet she vaguely admired Sushma’s guts — the person closest to her after her own family. The telephone buzzed again.

"Jai Sri Ram Shaila", said the same voice but mocking this time, "but the purpose of this call is merely to tempt my dearest friend to some fabulous Chicken Xacuti and rice for lunch".

"Oh you stupid woman. Do you want to die and drag me along? Today is Thursday and you’re talking about Chicken Xacuti? Don’t you realise the telephone may be tapped. Please, Sushma dear, let me tell you for the last time that I want to live and succeed in the New Order. I wanted to live and succeed before, too, because I like a challenge and that is why I stormed into the man’s world and became India’s fifth woman to qualify as an aerospace engineer. At the same time it’ll break my heart if they took you away. Be sensible."

"So you have decided you would rather be an adarsh nari than an adarsh designer of spacecraft, eh?"

"I do, I do, I do, and I don’t care how much you mock", she shouted angrily and banged the phone down. The migraine was already announcing a come back.

She took a few long breaths and picked up the manual. She got to the chapter titled ‘The Fundamentals’. It was all in question–answer form.

Q: What are the five pillars on which the New Order stands?

A: 1. ‘Supremacy of the spiritual over the political order’:

The Supreme council of the Sarvabhauma Sanskar Sabha (SSS) has supremacy over all three political organs of the State, viz. the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

2. ‘The principle of Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava’:

All the religions of India have equal place under the umbrella of the Supreme faith, Hindutva. All religious factions have full freedom to practice their own form of religion as long as they accept the suzerainty of Hindutva.

3. ‘A constitution based on heritage’:

The New Order has broken with the past subservience of our constitution–makers to western political philosophy, alien to our culture and heritage. The constitution of the New Order has instead drawn inspiration from the Vedas, the Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and our own glorious history. In a way the real farmers of this constitution are Vyas, Valmiki, Manu, Kautilya and Chanakya.

4. ‘Unity and Discipline in place of divisiveness and anarchy’:

Every major aspect of a citizen’s life — domestic and social conduct, food, dress, religious rites, education, cultural pursuits — have been codified in the codes of the New Order which all citizens must and do conform to.

5. ‘True Democracy’:

Ours is a government of the Hindus, by the Hindus and for the Hindus, which term encompasses all who have embraced Hindutva or for that matter, all who consider themselves Bharatiya. The New Order does not discriminate between Hindu Hindus, Buddhist Hindus, Jain Hindus, Islamic Hindus, Isaai Hindus and Zoroastrian Hindus.

She went through a few more chapters, finding for the first time in her weeks of training that she was not in sync, her mind was straying and ghosts from the past were reappearing to mock her. She needed a rest she thought but as she leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes, she felt the distinct reappearance of the migraine.

What did Sushma say? "So you would rather be an adarsh nari than an adarsh designer of spacecraft, eh?" She opened her eyes and thumped her feet. "I don’t care what that silly girl says, I want the honour at any cost", she shouted at the Ajanta figurine on the wallpaper in front of her.

With gritted teeth she got hold of the manual and came to another crucial part — about a question expected every year.

Q: How would you describe a woman of the New Order?

A: The woman of the New Order has liberated herself from the stranglehold of western culture, ethos and lifestyles. She wants an education as high as she can get, but no longer craves for competing with men in professions not suited to women. Such subjects as engineering, medicine, business management, accountancy etc. attract her no more. Her choice has gravitated towards conventional ‘arts’ subjects with the addition of religion, home science, nursing and childcare. With education being Indianised and spiritualised, hers is a complete education. She has learnt enough to be able to coach her younger children. What is more, she is the spiritual guide to her entire family — husband, children, younger brothers and sisters. She has realised that God has created her to bear and rear healthy children for the New Order. She also knows that when He decides that her time has come, she will go back to Him on the direct path, via the pyre of her husband, if predeceased.

She closed the manual. She felt drained and famished and her migraine was back with a vengeance. Then her head burst with a frightening realisation.

"Oh God!" she thought, "I am simply not up to it. I cannot pay the price. I just cannot carry on with this charade of an adarsh nari." A surge of despair flowed through her spirit and mind.

She did not know what it was that propelled her to the kitchen. Like a woman possessed she went to the gas burner, lowered her face to it, slowly opening the cock. Images of Vinay and Madhu floated past and then there was Sushma still mocking at her, "So you’re that woman so good at accepting challenges!"

She quickly lifted her face from the gas burner, shut the cock and went to the window to take a few deep breaths. "Oh, even the Bombay air is so sweet", she thought. Then, with a few determined strides she went back to the sitting room, picked up the manual and threw it into the kitchen trash bin.

She picked up the phone and dialled. Sushma answered.

"Hi Susie", she said, "didn’t you mention some gorgeous Chicken Xacuti for lunch? Is the offer still on?"

"Wait a moment Shaila. Wait just a moment. ‘Hi Susie’! Chicken Xacuti on a Thursday! Am I hearing right? I’m a gone case, but you? What about the Codes?" asked Sushma.

"To hell with the codes, to hell with the SSS, to hell with Varadacharya and to hell with adarsh nari... I’m hungry", Shaila replied.

"You’re on, my dear Sally. Get here as soon as you can".

"Just let me dig out a pair of jeans and a T–shirt and I hope I’ll fit into them. You just make sure the rice and the Xacuti are hot when I get there".

(This piece is an updated version of a similar article by the writer published by the Amrita Bazar Patrika in 1994)