So, what's common between poet-saint Kabir and Swiss feminists? The analogy is quite mind-boggling, considering the nature and scope of the work and era of the two personalities.

The idea struck while travelling to Lucknow in the Shatabdi Express, arguably the best Indian rail can offer. I saw a news item about a referendum over banning minarets in mosques across Switzerland, as they were deemed a symbol of male oppression. Whoa. Bra-burning feminists can go great lengths in digging out explanations for their theories. Did anyone from the ilk try to understand the architectural significance of a minaret in a mosque?

Enter Kabir, the great mystic and poet who pioneered the Bhakti movement. I heard a Kabir couplet from my Hindi teacher in class four. Though I could not recall it verbatim, it went something like this: Masjid bheetar mullah pukaaray, kya sahib teraa bahiraa hai? chinti ke pag nevar baaje, so bhi sahib suntaa hai. (Why does the cleric call loud from the mosque? Is your God deaf? His omnipotent ears can even hear the steps of an ant).