Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Silent Spectator: A note on the Current Events

My country is in a turmoil.
The markets are in a free fall, the students are up in arms, and there are "Jats", who think that they are being short changed and not given equal opportunity.
There is also the annual budget, and the budget session of the Parliament, where as I write this, an uproar has already happened.

Let us start with JNU, and the politics of sedition. A handful of students felt that the country is going to the dogs (which it is) and they decide to do a protest inside the university campus, where they are just discussing and shouting (like how it happens on the News Channels these days); reports suggest that police is there and don't give a fuck (because at the end of the day it was just a bunch of kids going against the successive governments and how the country is going to the dogs). A news channel covers it, and in the fight of who sensationalizes it more calls it an anti national activity.

The feed is picked up the over zealous other new channels, and a small event of plain dissent is turned into a mob fury and a way to vent out the frustration at students who know a lot more (because they study and understand). The police because the content was anti-modi has to take cognizance (see, news channels trump the police and that becomes an ego issue) and arrest a person who is shouting hoarse that he did not say anything anti national.
More goons from BJP (who unfortunately happened to be the chatri wale do takke ke lawyers at the lower courts) bash up the guy inside the court premises (for the record: I am totally appalled and condemn the acts of these so called lawyers, and it is thanks to them that our name goes down the drain. Hence they should be barred permanently) and the spineless bar council of India (apex body for the lawyers), is hesitating to take any action.
The courts in the meanwhile have become wary of all the drama and tell two others who have been accused to follow the damn procedure. Which they do.

In all of the above, the social media has added fuel to fire. There are half truths, an overwhelming amount of half baked theories and analysis has been doing rounds. The country of the Mob Mentality has been given more food to fuel their mob mentality and pseudo nationalism.

It is sad that people have started reacting first, and reading later. Somehow, the national sentiment is never first priority when they pee and poop in public, demand dowry, kill and rape the women of their own and other countries, or commit female feticide, or when they deface the walls, the rivers and everything else that our country is made of. A few alleged slogans got their nationalism to a level of 100%.....!!!!!! MOB MENTALITY!

On the south west side of Delhi in the neighbouring city of Haryana, the Jats decided that fuck the economy, water, food and travel to the capital or other northern regions, let us just sit on the dharna. Let us hold the government at ransom. Burn the shops, kill people and smash the public transport. Also dam the canal so that Delhi doesn't have water. HA!
For what?
For asking the government to declare them as a backward class.
That they are. They do not respect their women. Or Men. Or anyone. They own lands and lands and pajeros and fortuners and havelis and cows.. BUT they are backward, and special, and should be given special treatment.
Now, the funny thing is that their actions, of holding the government, and the people for the ransom for reservations happens to be more anti national than a few alleged slogans in a university campus. But guess what? They may just get what they want, and a regular tax payer like you and me will be further suppressed because of these fucking reservations.

The Country is in turmoil. The so called strong PM of the masses, has not spoken a word when all of this is happening. The budget session is round the corner literally, and these distractions are going to help the NDA government which is probably going to present a totally lackluster budget without helping any one of the common man.

We are country swayed by slogans, and not by the work done by the Governments. We are being taken for a ride, and no one is seeing the storm building over our heads. 

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Waah Taj!! (Travelogue)

The Taj Mahal (PC: the Husband)
Our wanderlust is insatiable, and to indulge in a city with its history is an experience that even if I can, I won't describe in words. Travel is an experience and words can never justify the experience. 

As cliched as it is, Shayon and I officially got together on the 14th of Feb, 2005, and that means we have been together for 11 years. Each year it is the same story, oh so what are we doing? Which would usually lead to something that we do in any case on any other couples night. This year though, the closet romantic that my husband is, decided to do something super cheesy. He decided that we should go visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. 

It is the monument of love, but mostly, because Husband had never seen the Taj Mahal. [He went for a couple of hours to Agra about a year back, but couldn't make it to the Taj (he had a flight to catch)]. So while, I had my first tryst with this 400 year old monument when I was 1, husband dear was yet to see the glorious mausoleum. So he set up our Valentines' Day there. 

We left at 6.30 a.m. from Delhi (South Delhi) and took the Yamuna Expressway. The expressway is the extension of the Noida Expressway connecting to Greater Noida. And that road is a piece of art. I have seen it during the day, but even at night, it has been done beautifully. It is properly marked, 12 lane highway that makes Need For Speed a reality. 
[TIP: The Yamuna Expressway is also known for its notorious nature. The road is made of a weird material, which heats the tyres up, and there have been many a incidents on that highway because of tyre bursts etc. This is mostly in summers, and therefore it is recommended that your tyres are checked and filled with the nitrogen air. During winters, its the fog, and the bender fenders are 30 cars long. You will be enticed by the highway to push the accelerator to the maximum. It is of course suggested, that speed limits are followed. ]

We reached Agra by 7.45 am, and then got to know that there is a marathon that is happening in Agra, so all roads leading to the Taj have been closed. They were to open by 10.00 a.m. and that sorta put a slight dent in our plans, because we were trying to avoid the crowds. With two hours to spare, we decided instead to go to Fathepur Sikri, lesser for its heritage value more because of the fond memories that I have of that place. We reached the fort by 9.30ish (Fathepur Sikri is about 40 kms from Agra) and was the original fort where the Mughals (Akbar) started staying and then moved to Agra due to paucity of water. 
We were stopped by the guide, and were given some gyaan about how we will end up spending more if we don't take his services. We ended up taking the guide (his name was Irfan) and he made us park our car in front of a restaurant [There is a government sanctioned parking, quite far from the fort]. We parked our car and then he offered to take both of us on his bike till the entrance of the Fort. We decided to walk that distance of about 1/2 a kilometer. We approached the Fort from the backside/ alternate entrance. It was less crowded. You have to remove your shoes at the entrance. And we went inside the fort. The fort is basically a burial place for the Mughals, and there are quite a few tombs inside. There is a dargaah of a famous pir baba, where it is said that if you ask for something you will get it. The entire fort is made in the red-stone and the darghaah is in white. While it is claimed that the donations in the form of the chaddar, flowers and the dhaga are voluntary, it is encouraged by the vendors inside. We were shown the karigiri of the mughals, the optical illusions in the structure and a tunnel which apparently connects India to Pakistan, and Afganistan. This apparently was used as the escape route for the famous courtesan "Anarkali", when her execution was ordered by King Akbar (because she and the price Salim were having an affair, the family honor story). 
We went inside the dargaah, and did the needful. Also tied the holy thread. Oh, shorts are not allowed inside. So be wary. 
We then saw the "Bulan Darwazaa". It is approximately a 200 feet door that was constructed by the Mughals, and is the biggest door in Asia. That is also the main entrance to the Fort. It has about 52 stairs leading from that door to the roadway. The most amusing thing of all, the platform in front of the door which connects the door to the stairs is supported by beams. Just beams. We saw that through a crack. Talk about scary. The wooden door attached to the Bulan Darwaaza has a lot of horseshoes stuck on it. The legend is that the horses who fell ill, their owners prayed there and when the horses got better, their horseshoe was attached to the door by the owner of the horse as a mark of respect. we even saw some recent ones. 

After our tour of the Fort, we had breakfast at a place called Govardhan. It was strictly okay. 

We drove back, and were in Agra by 12.30. Husband had made lunch reservations, and we headed straight there. The Lunch was at a rooftop restaurant called the Mughal Room in Hotel Clark Shiraz. It was a mughlai lunch, and it was really great. We had the view of the Taj and the Red Fort. A hearty lunch later, we were ready to go embrace the Taj. As a great gesture, the Hotel told us to leave our car in their parking lot and take an auto instead to the Taj. I was also advised to leave my purse behind in the car. I decided though to take the purse with me and it was a huge mistake. 

We took the auto and the auto dropped us at the west side entrance of the Taj. Husband wanted a guide here too, and I was like why do we need a guide at Taj Mahal! But, trust me when I say that it was a great great decision. We reached the entrance and it was a mayhem to say the least. The line was super long. But thanks to the Husband's panache for research, we did two things. We took the foreigners' ticket as opposed to the Rs. 20 ticket. We got a guide right there (His name was Salman, and he was good). As soon as we got our tickets, he got us two bottles of water and shoe covers for us (as a part of our ticket). He also had a photographer attached to him and requested we take his services. And as cheesy as it sounds, we also got a photographer attached to us. The Foreigner's Ticket helped us skip the entry line and we were at the security barrier in like less than 2 minutes. There is a X ray scanner, and your bags are scrutinised by the scanner and if ever there is any doubt by the security your bag is emptied and manually checked. This was the reason why the hotel asked me to leave my bag behind. It took about 7 minutes for my bag to get cleared [My purse is usually airport security ready, so, it was a breeze]. And then we started our tour. From the entrance, where we got to know that there are three gates to the Taj, and while the Westgate is where you get tickets, it is also the mausoleum of Shahjahan's first wife. That the south gate opened into the labour colony, where the labourers that worked on the Taj settled, and that the timings of that gate 8 am to 5 p.m. are maintained as they were in the Mughal Era. And soon we were engulfed in the History of one of the wonders of the world, which took 22 years to get completed. The main structure of the Taj took 17 years, and the whole complex, spread over 60 acres was developed in the other 5 years. The complexity of the design, and the story behind it all is nothing short of stunning. The 150+ feet structure looms over you as you get closer and realise the work that had gone into it at that time and the maintenance that is keeping it as beautiful as they can. The marble is cleaned using multani mitti, and it is a tedious job. There is no electricity on the grounds of Taj on account of the harsh lights spoiling the marble. It is only lit up by the full moon, which I have been told is a sight to behold for the rest of your life. We skipped all the lines thanks to the VIP tickets and also posed in cheesy poses to be clicked by our photographer. We were told that the story about cutting the hands of the labourers was a propaganda by Aurangzeb to discourage his father from building the "Black Taj". One of the biggest architectural marvel in the world, if you look at Taj, you would realise how symmetrically the marbles have been cut, and that there is no discrepancy in any side whatsoever. The Taj looks the same from all the four sides in all respects. The Taj was made in a way to replicate the crown that Mumtaz wore. She was persian, and you can also see some of the carvings that reflect the persian flowers etc. The Yamuna is drying up, and that sort of makes it a bummer, but the beauty of the Taj remains eternal. As the sun was setting we saw the stones in the Taj glittering. Those are the coloured stones in the carvings that the Taj, and it looked brilliant. 

We came out, and bid adieu to our guide, picked up our photo album, and started back. There is a Taj tea stall when you exit from the west gate to go out to catch an auto, and it has quite nice lemon tea! 

We wrapped up our day after buying some petha. And started from Agra at around 6.45. We reached home in Gurgaon by 10.30. Gurgaon is about 1.5 hours from South Delhi, else would have been home by 9. 

It was a day trip, and we lost the time because of the Marathon and all, otherwise we would have done the Red Fort too. But then we needed another excuse to go see the Taj! 

Here are some Tips from us: 

Toll: The toll on the Yamuna Expressway one way is 300 odd rupees, however if you are sure that you are coming back the same way, take a return receipt for the toll. It is cheaper. The same for toll towards Fathepur Sikri. 

Fuel: Ensure that you tank up before you hit the Expressway on your way back. The speed eats the petrol faster, and you don't want to panic mid way in the drive. 

Guides: Even though Indians are not known for hiring that service, we feel that for the Taj, it would be an experience. 

Do not take your bag or any other item except for the money maybe to the Taj. Its a security fortress. 

Also, earlier you go the better it would be. There is no rush. A weekend is a disaster, especially if you do not want buy the VIP ticket. And oh, Friday the Taj is closed. 

Enjoy and do tell us, how it was!

Saturday, February 13, 2016

A lifetime of madness, and another life time yet to come!

It has been a lifetime since we have been together.

I can't put a year on it any more because if life is to be divided in phases, then mine is Before You and With You. I am glad that there is no other phase.

I spent my childhood dreaming about a prince charming and the quintessential white horse, the picket fence and the happily ever after. I got you.
And I got my life back.

Because life is not about a happily ever after, it is about finding your own happiness, in the moments that are a part of your living breathing life. One can imagine/ have imaginary conversations in situations one day dreams about while doing everything, but real life is different from the imaginary conversations and interactions.

I have gone on and on, on this blog about how we met, and even today when people  ask me about our "love story", I laugh, blush and tell them about our online love story. This doesn't happen too much now, but whenever the question is asked it does take me back to all those years that have gone by and the resilience with which we have managed to keep our relationship intact. We have been friends, lovers, haters and now miya and biwi!

Our earliest struggles were just trying to get enough talk time with each other (and thank God, the signal did not suck that bad back then), and now our struggles are trying to find quality time with each other.
We are so stuck in our daily chores and life in general that even though we stay under the same roof, the conversations often don't go beyond the obvious. The whole of the last year was spent hoping to find some time with you.
But then I guess, when you are moving up with life and in your career, you have to make difficult choices.

We were teenage lovers once, we are married adults now, and while the enigma of being lovelorn teenagers always remains with you, the beauty of a long relationship gives you the satisfaction of the way love works rather how you make love work for you. It is the best feeling.

There is a lifetime more of love, struggles, fights and god only knows what, but we have each other, and we have held on, and I am confident that like the years gone by, the years yet come will bring us closer to our own version of a happily ever after!

Happy 11 years, love.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

11 years till we found the Mountains! (Travelogue)


11 years of togetherness out of which 3 we have spent as married couple is good enough time to accept the fact that while we did meet online we connected thanks to a lot of hot messages exchanged in the imaginary environment of the mountains. And it took us 11 years to find the mountains!
(I take the omens thing by Paulo Coelho a little too seriously!)
In any case this is a travelogue about our trip to the queen of the mountains, Mussoorie. The trip was planned thanks to our friends, who got married in Rishikesh and had their reception at the Grooms' village in Tehri, Gharwal ( a remote village 20kms before Chamba). So we decided to extend the trip to the hills!!
And here is 'our' experience along with some tips.

Day 1:

The View from our hotel in Rishikesh
We started for Rishikesh late afternoon from Gurgaon. The thing is that the highway to Rishikesh is via Ghaziabad and Meerut and to cross that stretch takes ages, because NH 24 is a busy busy highway! So it took us about 3 hours to reach the highway that looked like a highway. [Tip: If you have the time, then please start early in the morning. Late night the highway at the border is choked with trucks]. We stopped at Modinagar for the famous shikanjwi and had dinner around 9 ish at a forgettable Dhaba about 80 kms before Rishikesh. We entered Haridwar at around 10.30 and because of the Ardh Kumbh the whole place was lit up like it was Diwali. That was the one treat we got because of the lateness of the hour. We continued towards our destination which was a hotel/ resort by the name of Divine Ganga Cottages. The place is awesome and is located by the Ganges, you wake up some awesome views! BUT DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS TO GET TO THIS PLACE! It is in absolute interiors and the approach road is super scarily narrow. Since it was the dead of the night we did not encounter any traffic or one way restrictions but got into a minor scuffle thanks to Google Maps! We finally checked in around 12:15 am, and the staff was totally awesome about that. We faced absolutely no trouble at all. The bed was comfortable and the room was neat and clean. The bathroom was clean and had the basic utilities.

Day 2:

We woke up to a beautiful and clear morning, crisp sunshine and some chill in the air. The owners (and their family was there!!) and they talked to us and made sure that we were well taken care of. We had breakfast at the resort. Omelettes, puri bhaji, lemon honey tea and black coffee. All of it was delicious and very satisfactory. Especially since we had it on the terrace with a view of absolute bliss. Post breakfast it was time for us to get ready and go. I needed the iron and the wife of the owner was delighted to share hers with me. The check out was super smooth. And then we joined our friends at a banquet hall in Rishikesh for the wedding. ( I would not have otherwise mentioned the wedding but I need to tell you all about a certain incident that took place there!) the bride's shawl got flicked in like 5 mins we turned our heads and the Bride's sister traced the culprits and got the thing returned.
We left around 6.30 p.m. in our car to drive to Tehri Gharwal, our friends village, and boy, was that an experience or what! [Please note that tourist cars and buses are usually not allowed to ply on the roads from Rishikesh towards the hills after sunset]. While most of the stretch was the hill drive with intact roads, the last 2 kms were severely intense wherein the road to the village was mostly a dirt/pebbled/ broken road [true blue safari/off roading experience]. We parked the car, and then were escorted by our friend's family towards the houses/settlements, which was an uphill climb of about half a kilometer [try doing that in heels.. and tell me how it was]. The small compund outside our friend's house was decked up and awaiting the arrival of the newlyweds. Husband and I were also treated like royalty and after an exhausting bout of pooja, and mooh dekhai, we finally got some breather. Husband went off where all the men were drinking and offered them his ice burst ciggrattes which became an instant hit. I was tackling the ladies and trying keep them from asking prying questions to the bride. We had some good village cooked food, served to us with love. We danced till the wee hours of the morning on local gharwali songs and slept in the room along with the bride, and the groom's cousin. The whole village had opened their houses to the guests that had come for the wedding and no one really knew where the other was sleeping!

Day 3:
The Tehri Dam

The view from the village, which was a top a mountain was awesome and we woke up to our hosts wanting to give us bed tea and bed breakfast. Eventually we got ready, saw the couple perform some more poojas [also saw the phenomenon of the God possessing a man and a Goddess possessing a woman] and had puri and chole as brunch and left the village with lots of blessings and driving tips! We left at around 1.30 p.m. drove for about an hour and reached Chamba, where we had lunch at Gautam Residency and started our ride to the Tehri Dam [Highest Dam]. We again followed the Google Maps and reached the side protected by the CISF, and were of course not allowed inside. We stood there admiring the water, the mountains and the beautiful landscape that lay before us. 

The Sunset in the Himalayas


We then turned back, and started heading towards Mussoorie. True to ourselves, we stopped at several places just to admire the view and take some pictures. We saw the most beautiful sunset ever, and also saw the snow covered peaks and the orange sunligt reflecting on them. We entered Mussoorie via the Mall Road and paid Rs. 150 for using the Mall Road as the road to go from one end to the other. The Mussoorie mall road has some serious steep roads and a lot of one ways, so be careful and ask around. After manouvering through the people on the mall road, and getting lost once (yes, Google Maps has a thing!) we reached our resort. We stayed at the "Dancing Leaves Resort", it is the resort by Sterling Holidays and it is located at a secluded spot 3 kms away from the Mall Road. We checked in at about 7.30 p.m. and decided to order in room dining. We ordered the tikka and the grills, and they were quite good. We planned for the next day and had a sound sleep in the soft bed and thick blanket.

Kempty Falls
Day 4:
We woke up really early, and were greeted with the view of the valley visible from our french window. We had been told about the Spa there, and we booked that for 5 p.m. in the evening. We ordered the breakfast in our room and left around 10.30 a.m. for Kempty Falls. We reached there at about 11.30 ish, and decided to go to the falls. I had visited the falls almost 15-18 years back, and remembered the trek to go down and come up. Luckily though, they had developed a ropeway to the falls, which Rs. 120 per person for a two way ride. We took the ropeway and reached the falls. Earlier what was wild had been tamed, and the place where the water got collected had been reinvented to facilitate shops providing lockers, change of clothes, maggie, eggs, tea and even food. We saw a couple of people jump inside the water and shriek because of the cold temprature, and decided instead to observe their antics over some maggi. We sat there for about 20 mins and then went back up via the ropeway. We then headed for the Yamuna Bridge. We went up close and personal to the river Yamuna, clicked pictures, but were disappointed as there was no place to eat lunch. We were there for another 20 mins and then drove back to Mussoorie. We parked at a designated parking spot outside the mall road and then walked on the mall road. TripAdvisor advised us to have lunch at a Tibetan Restaurant by the name of Kalsang. We ate a lunch of Soup, Thupka and Momos. It was truly awesome!! We were over fed and running out of time, and took a cycle rickshaw till the end of the Mall Road and drove back to our resort for our Spa appointment. We had a great time nourishing our tired bodies, and then had dinner in their Restaurant. The menu is the same, and because it was a very limited menu we ended up having chinese for dinner as well. Grills the night before were much better. We ended our night with a bottle of wine. [The Resort does not have a bar. We carried our bottle].


Day 5:
The Clouds and the Mountains
It was the day to go back home. We woke up to a lot of rain. Nevertheless, we had our breakfast [There was breakfast buffet, and the Puri Bhaji was amazing!] and checked out. The rain was now a drizzle. We left at around 10.30 a.m. and decided to go via the Yamuna Bridge route. It was longer by about 70 kms, but the drive along with the river was a sight to remember. We decended to Vikas Nagar, and the crucial crossing [where we could have either come via Dehradun or Saharanpur], I saw a board of Poanta Sahib [It is a religious spot for the sikhs and I could not resist] which was 15 kms from there, and we ventured from Uttrakhand to Himachal Pradesh! 

Poanta Sahib Gurudwara

After the darshan at Poanta Sahib Gurudwara, and lunch in the city, we took NH 74, and cut down our travel time quite a bit. The roads in Himachal were scenic and straight. And barring a stop at around 7 p.m. we pretty much drove straight home to Gurgaon. We reached at 9.30 p.m. but because we were well rested and did not have a stressful drive home, we were not very tired.




Tips:
- Even though it is not as crowded, but travelling to the mountain in winters has a charm of its own.
- DO NOT follow the Google Maps. Ask around. The directions by the locals is most accurate.
- Food was not a high point in the trip. Unlike in Maharashtra, where there is fish and sea food and preparation styles differs a lot, the North gets limited to the Puris, and the chicken and the chinese.
- Driving in the hills is different than driving in the plains. The time taken is more, so never be in a hurry. Also, drive by keeping to your left.
- Keep water with you all the times, you may feel lack of oxigen causing headaches. Water is a great solution to that.
- If you are travelling in winters keep an umbrella and adequate warm clothes.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

I am addicted to you!

Time goes by, 
in a frenzy of the everyday life, 
there are times when you feel, 
just the need to be.. 
but even in those times, 
I know, that you are by my side. 

Love is neither easy, 
nor is it sane, 
but what is life without, 
some difficulty, madness, 
and all that is there. 

Just another year, 
you will exclaim, 
but when I look back, 
I am left speechless, 
still wondering the same, 
how in the world did we pull this off? 

A different city, a different life, 
still we held on, 
to each other, in a grip, 
like a vice. 

I am addicted to you, 
you are my drug to always, 
make me high, 
to push me to do things greater, 
than what I can't even thing about. 

Yes, you and I fight. 
We push each other out, 
but like the magnets attracted to each other, 
we always come back, 
stronger. harder. 
to fight the odds that we have been fighting, 
for the years that have gone by. 

In the bed, often, I have looked, 
at you, 
sleeping. snoring. just being. 
I have looked and wondered, 
yet again, how did we? 

You my love, is all I have, 
my friend, my foe, my lover, 
my partner in hell and heaven. 
Another year marks our togetherness, 
another year tells reassures us, 
that together it was, 
together it is, 
and together shall be, 
for the years to come. 
forever and always.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Equality in Inheritance

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 ("The Succession Act") is a personal law that was enacted in the year 1956 to consolidate the customs and laws around the succession of the property of a Hindu Family, especially in cases where the eldest family member dies without leaving a will.

The family system in India has primarily been a joint family system wherein all the members of the family usually share the wealth of the family. The  pushtaaini property is known as coparcenary property and the same is minded by the "Karta" of the Hindu Family, better knows as the Patriarchal Head of the family. The entire family unit is like a company where the family members are like the board of directors and the eldest patriarch is the Managing Director. For the uninitiated, the company also has a title and can be registered as a HUF e.g: A ABC HUF (meaning a ABC Hindu Undivided Family). This HUF has its own identity and also has its own PAN Card. It can make investments also. And if any thing goes wrong, or some one needs to be implicated it is the Karta of the HUF. And once the Karta dies, the family has a choice to either continue with the HUF or dissolve the same, after each one of them gets their inheritance rights from this HUF. This inheritance of the coparcenary property is governed by the Hindu Succession Act, wherein it states that unless it has been agreed otherwise between the HUF members, the property will be divided as per the schedule that is in the Succession Act. That schedule is quite complicated and I am absolutely not going to say anything about that here.

In the above background here are some facts.
It was in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, where the rights of the daughter were curtailed, and a daughter would not be considered as a part of the inheritance as per the rules of succession and a married daughter had very little to no right in the coparcenary property. [Trust me this was super complicated, and I made it super easy].

But in the year 2005, this complicated Hindu Succession Act, was uncomplicated and amended to state that the daughters (whether married or not) had an equal right in the coparcenary property of a Hindu Family. Which simply means that if the father dies leaving behind a coparcenary property and he is survived by his widow, one son and one daughter, then each of them will get an equal share in the property. [Please note that here the assumption is that there are no other relatives involved in the same].

This was about the property and the inheritance. However, just by giving the daughter a seat on the board was like having a silent partner, and the patriarchal fabric of the hindu family still existed in the society. There was always a question hanging in the air about the real position of the daughter in her own family.
It is considered that once the daughter has been married she belongs to the other family. One fails to understand why can't the daughters have the privilege of being there for both her families?

Therefore in what can be called as a Landmark Judgment, the Delhi High Court in a matter has finally clarified the Law and has stated that there is no bar on a daughter from being a Karta of the family and if the daughter is eldest in an HUF then she has the right to not only manage the estate of the HUF but also the rituals of the joint family (which means that the daughter has the right to perform all the religious duties that earlier only a son was allowed to do).

This is a superb judgment and a giant leap towards the closing of the gap between the gender inequality.