The blessings list, the bane list, the wish list... Sheila Kumar rounds up the small things, the big things, all the things that give us glee, give us grief and give us an attack of the wistful sighs! Read on, empathise, identify, feel good!

30 Glee Things Gals Have Going For Them
• Sexy lingerie
• Embroidered ‘joothis’
• Levis 501 jeans
• A white shirt
• The Wonderbra... still a winner
• Femina
• Affordably-elegant 18-carat geegaws
• Mama’s Jamewar shawl
• Scented soaps
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Stevie Nicks, the honey-on-gravel singer of ’80s cult band Fleetwood Mac
• Phoebe from ‘Friends’
• Hair colour without ammonia
• Women’s happy hour
• Girlfriends
• Scented candles
• Soft, flattering lighting
• SEWA’s ‘chikan’ outfits
• Women’s specials, on road and rail
• Quick-fix recipes
• Sparkly nail polish
• A great hairdresser
• STs with wings
• A well-tailored jacket
• The ability to dazzle
• Ritu Kumar
• Anjolie Ela Menon
• Heat-based conditioners for hair
• That classic little black dress
• Great sex

30 Groan Things Gals Could Have Going Against Them
• The tummy pouch that just won’t go away
• Migraines
• Punishing underwear... that pokes, pulls and hurts!
• Bad hair days
• No-maid days
• Yummy but fat-filled foods
• Complicated kitchen gadgets that make us feel like klutzes
• ‘Home science’ courses for women
• Stalkers, oglers, harassers
• Fairness products
• Dowry
• Unplanned pregnancy
• Zits
• A big behind
• An abusive husband
• Advertising stereotypes
• Clothes designed for seven-foot beanpoles
• Impossibly high heels
• The need to pack a single suitcase for a fortnight’s trip
• Gender-based expectations
• Patronising garage mechanics
• Not enough good jobs going round
• Vaginitis
• Women who mock women
• The brouhaha created by fundoos which invariably affect women
• Judges who let off rapists
• The new skirt length — skimming the ankles
• Bad sex
• ‘Chum’-time bloating
• VPL (visible panty lines)... that icky outline showing

30 Things On Every Gal’s Wish List
• A doctor who won’t dismiss our problems as ‘typical women’s pains’
• A hair product that will work instant and lasting magic on our hair, whatever its texture
• Legislation that will genuinely help women lead better lives
• Some way to deliver babies painlessly
• Multiple orgasms. Every time
• Bono (of U2)
• Loveable in-laws
• A day of sharing rather than coping
• That perfect retort to the bitch in the office
• Food that won’t go straight to one’s hips
• Better quality of representation in politics
• To be able to go through one day without the usual quota of sexual harassment — mental and physical
• A family-friendly workplace
• Castration made the official punishment for rapists
• A truly magical stain remover
• A bunch of red roses from an anonymous admirer. For three days running
• A sizzling Cyrano-type love letter running to at least four pages every week for three years
• A few more credit cards — without the bills, ever!
• A room of one’s own... preferably in a house of one’s own
• The freedom to marry/stay single, have children/remain childless
• Energy worth an extra five hours
• To test drive a Lamborghini once, just once
• The ability to seduce with a look
• All the rewards of child-rearing without any of the pains
• A body-skimming silver sequined dress... and the body to go with the dress
• The ability to be firm without coming off sounding aggressive
• The ability to look at one’s nude self in the mirror and actually smile... happily!
• Being able to be financially well off to support women’s causes, to put our money where our hearts are
• The ability to fix it: A fuse, a leaky tap, a punctured tyre, a child’s tears
• A swimsuit that will cover up all ‘those’ parts while still making you look like a water nymph

Enjoy the little joys of being a woman — in a little black dress, with chocolate at hand

What’s Your List?
As a woman, what makes you happy, sad... E-mail us at femina@timesgroup.com with ‘ME-TIME — things we have going for us’ in the subject line