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.

The day after the public event in Bangalore, which was part of the 5th Annual Meeting of the Network of Women in Media, India, she quietly arrived at the modest venue of the meeting to attend a session where poor rural women from Andhra Pradesh were to talk about their experiences with community media (radio, video and print). Not only was she genuinely interested in their work but she apparently did not feel right about delivering a keynote address without participating in the rest of the meeting to the extent possible and, especially, without listening to other participants. She sat through the session taking notes, asking questions and examining examples of grassroots women's media work - just like any other delegate - and emerged obviously excited about what she had learnt.

This was reminiscent of her conduct during a meeting of women journalists from several countries convened by Equality Now in London in January 2005. She and her friend and colleague Jane Fonda were clearly the most well-known names at the event but Steinem, especially, appeared truly oblivious to her star status. What is more, both of them stayed through the day-long meeting, not just saying their piece at the appointed time (or later) and leaving almost immediately afterwards, as is the wont of many so-called celebrities back home in India. They listened to everyone else and actively participated in the discussions as equals.

Almost three decades earlier, in 1976, when Steinem was a high profile, pioneering editor at the innovative Ms. magazine, helping to set new benchmarks for women's magazines worldwide, she was equally accessible. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of magazine production she found the time and had the patience to discuss the idea behind the publication with an insignificant student working on a paper for a college course (me).

Perhaps the least discussed of Steinem's many virtues is her 'niceness.' She playfully refers to it as a genuine problem that she needs to work on. "Younger women see me on TV and they say 'Gloria, why do you smile and laugh so much? Those are serious things you are talking about.' And they're right." According to her, her biggest regret in life is that she has not been angrier and ruder! But that is probably what accounts for her continuing popular appeal and her obvious ability to reach out and touch a wide range of people, including young women.