Gloria Steinem, arguably the most glamorous and recognisable face of global feminism, evidently continues to wow audiences across the world. As she rose to speak at the first public engagement of her recent visit to India, the large, diverse and expectant audience in Bangalore burst into cheers and applause of the kind generally reserved for movie stars and pop musicians.

She certainly looked the part, even at 72: a tall, slim, beautiful blonde in characteristic black pants and top dramatically set off with a broad silver belt and silver bracelets down the length of her left forearm. What she had to say was, of course, quintessential Steinem, beginning with her opening apology for not having managed yet to get rid of George W. Bush.

In a wide-ranging talk covering a vast canvas, she described the media as "the current campfire," pointing out that until recently most women and certain groups of men were relegated to the task of keeping the fire going while being barred from telling their stories around it. Thanks to women and supportive men in the media, she said, the circle of those who speak at the campfire has slowly been enlarged. Invoking the 95 per cent of human history predating the mere 5000 plus years of patriarchy, she conjured up a vision of the world where "everyone sat around the fire and everyone was heard and everyone's voices were valued for their usefulness to the entire community, not just the group into which they were born".

She went on to describe patriarchy, political forms of religion and nationalism as experiments that had failed, proposing that the Bangalore-held event be declared "the first meeting of the post-patriarchal, post-monotheistic, post-nationalistic age!" The enthusiastic claps and laughter that punctuated the speech - which was serious, provocative and humorous at the same time - clearly demonstrated that Steinemspeak went down well with the unusually mixed audience, ranging from social activists and students to members of the city's literati, glitterati and even chatterati.

It is easy to see why Gloria Steinem is often referred to as one of America's most eloquent, influential and revered speakers and why a recent profile asserted that her presence at any event practically guarantees its success. But there is more to this path-breaking journalist, best-selling author and tireless advocate of women's rights than her obvious superstar qualities. In fact, what sets her apart is the lightness with which she wears the mantle of international celebrityhood.