The cost of being a free bird!

And the child was born! A girl.

Attempts were made to keep her in the well that was considered to be the "ideal" place to raise an "ideal" Indian woman/daughter.
The well! It was a deep, dark well where right from a tender age, she was subjected to various degrees and types of gender discrimination; where the guardians of culture made every effort to program her mind and make her believe that "silent suffering is a matter of pride" and that being a women, it is her duty to protect the honour of her people even at the cost of her own honour and chastity! She was programmed to have no self-esteem, to believe that existence of men is a favors on her and that she is unwanted and worthless.
Worst of all, the "well" forced her to be a witness of horrific crimes of violence and abuse in her formative years and then, the guardians expected her to silently accept it all as an integral part of her future; because apparently, that is what that makes a good women!

Many young girls in that "well" gave in. Some agreed to suffer silently, but without having any conviction in what they were being made to believe. And then, there was she, the difficult one. The rebel!

The one who knew that she deserved much better a life. She had realized the fact that the purpose of her life is much more deeper and meaningful than "silently suffering" for the sake of "hollow honour."

The rebel chooses to not let her life be a victim of fate and chances. She decided that when all were trying to pull her deeper and deeper in that "well", she has to make efforts to move up. But the climbing up wasn't easy. Each time she made efforts to liberate herself, all the hands in the "well" ensure that they unite to pull her down. Yet with her determination and inner strength, she somehow managed to rise above the level of the guardians there. But people were still making attempts to pull her down by firmly holding her legs, so that she doesn't leave the "well" in order to "fly"!

Because flying was meant only for men.

Years of social battle had left her with little strength remaining yet she had somehow reached the brink of the "well" with the guardians still holding some part of her, with the hope that they'll be able to pull her back. All that she now needed was a "little" external pull from the outside of the well. Just a "slight, little pull."

The "well" was not located in isolation. It was placed well in the center of the society. Millions of people walk past it daily and hardly any of them was unaware of the plight of women in that "well". Many even saw this young lady struggling at the brink of the "well" to break free from it, but no one bothered to help, because many of them were themselves convicted that it was the right place for women. Some did pity her, but lacked the courage to express their opinions and rescue her.

And then, one fine day, there came her knight in the shining armor. He was above this societal circus. He saw from distance this beautiful lady struggling at the brink of the "well", not to do any harm, but just to live her life, in her way, on her own terms.

Admired by her courage, inspired by her determination and mesmerized by the beauty of her soul, which was reflected in her picture perfect outer appearance as a woman, he came close to the well and offered her the much needed "slight little pull."

Just as he started pulling her, he could see her beyond the picture perfect outer appearance. He could see the real her. The real her; which was beautiful but had shades of brown and marks in red. Astonished, he left her hand. He wasn't expecting this from someone who looked so beautiful from a distance.

The shades of brown, that he considered dirt, were symbolic of her intense struggle and courage to come out of the circus of mentally sick people who promoted chaining a woman, in the name of culture.

The red marks were the scars of all the bruises inflicted upon her, over the years, in the form of physical, mental, emotional and at times even sexual abuse. That too from a very tender age, just for being a girl. The scars were symbolic of her battle with several years of insult, abuse and belittling. They deserved to heal.

But instead of helping her heal those scars and bringing her out of that darkness, he left her side at the first sight of her struggle. All she could do was just keep looking at him going, leaving her body mind and soul hurt and bruised, even more than before.

Fear, irritation, restlessness, pain, anger, anguish, self-pity, frustration etc are just some of the feelings that engulfed her. She went through a miserable phase of complete numbness and stagnancy. A loss in the ability to trust people. In some moments, she even contemplated giving in to the societal norms. But that wasn't her nature.

After a phase of complete stagnancy and deep darkness, light emerged in her soul. She mustered all her remaining inner strength and courage and decided to move. Even if it meant, moving just a millimeter, she just had to move and she had to keep moving, no matter how little. And finally, with determination, she once again started to try.....to try to move, in order to finally "break-free". Something, she knows she will do.

Because she deserves it.