Renuka Kangal: Non-traditional Hindu woman who loves Hinduism

Renuka Kangal comes from a traditional Hindu family but she is anything but a conventional Hindu woman.

“I love Hinduism. I love the openness and freedom it gives. The way it allows you to accept the body as a temporary and fleeting thing and focuses on the higher soul. How it focuses on the energy and how it can change and the different forms in which energy can manifest. But I am not religious. I am not a traditional Hindu woman.”

The public relations officer of the Hindu Women’s Organisation (HWO) told WMN she is more of a philosophical person who is more interested in reading, learning and searching for knowledge and truth than in the dogmas of religion and tradition. “I have a great level of respect for tradition and culture. Whether I myself do those things is an entirely different matter. I like to consider myself very open-minded and atypical when it comes to perspectives on certain things. I believe in the live and let live concept,” something for which she has often found herself in trouble at home in the village of Esmeralda in Cunupia.

“I’m from a very large, traditional Hindu family. An extended family where everyone weighs in on everything. Which is good sometimes,” she chuckled, “because it creates a different environment for fostering a whole different set of values. It takes away that level of ego and selfishness. When I was growing up I was very much misunderstood because of my deviation from the status quo. I got more than a few weird looks and comments for it.” She said even now as an adult some of the things for which she stands up are often frowned upon.

“Recently I was talking with some of my co-workers about the LGBT community and my support for the rights of its members, something with which some people in my circle will disagree. But I believe right are rights and segregation and marginalisation have no place in the world today.”

When it comes to the role of a Hindu woman in society Kangal sees no distinction between that and the role of a Hindu man. She said Hinduism portrays women as always providing the driving force and over time this has been misconstrued that women should take on the supporting role. “There is a lot of power associated with women. Realising and accepting it has always been a struggle within society, because it has been met with resistance by our male counterparts. I think now there is more enlightenment leading to a different regard and treatment of the role of women in society today, breaking many of the traditional schools of thought.”

At 33, Kangal has already accomplished quite a bit in life. The project manager has Master’s degrees in Sustainable Energy Management and International Relations and has just started a third in Economics. But she sees her work with the HWO as just as important as any academic qualifications. “The HWO is a small group. We balance the roles and responsibilities based on needs. We all remain committed to causes and the upliftment in society. Once something needs to be done we shoulder the responsibility.

“I started working with the organisation when I was very young, maybe 16 or 17. I had taken part in an essay-writing competition and met one of the members of the HWO and she invited me to become a member. The organisation did a lot more outreach activities back then. More community work. I started off teaching Math and English to children who could not afford to pay for it. I also helped with other activities and chaired many of the events. This naturally progressed into me being the PRO.”

She said the HWO is preparing to launch a new initiative in schools called The What’s Next Programme, a much-needed series of workshops that focus on many different social issues affecting students. “One of the topics is stress and anger management. The workshops basically invite the different participants to meet with different problems and challenges faced by young people.”

Kangal said because of various social problems, TT has been experiencing an increasing level of violence in the society and it bothers her to the core. “My role model has always been Mahatma Ghandi, who has always espoused Satyagraha, at the core of which is Ahimsa, non-violence in thought word and deed. It’s not just about doing but synchronising every part of you for more peaceful behaviour, which are the building blocks of a peaceful society. If everyone is able to gain that society will transform itself. But the infractions on a day to day basis, basic rules are being broken, the building blocks of society are being eroded. Everyone tends to find a way to justify what they do, even if it is wrong. We rationalise until the lines become blurred.”

But she has not given up hope on TT and its people. Out of the recent flooding tragedies she has seen people, Hindus and non-Hindus, tap into a source of goodness to help their fellowmen. “I was so impressed with the responses to the flood victims, it gave me a real sense of hope for our country. Some people’s lifetime was washed away in the matter of a few hours and so many people gave what little they had to those in need. Divali is about light and it is about taking that light and extending it to others. By the flood response we tapped into it. We just need to keep on doing what we are doing and keep spreading that light and love and TT will be okay. Small actions lead to big changes.”