By Diksha Sharma:
Gadding about the house in dad’s enormous shoes, the two plush ponytails shadowing every tiny step dutifully, with nothing much to occupy our pea sized brains much, all we’d think about then, was how to feign a stomach ache when mom forced a glassful of ugly venomous milk in our tiny little hands. Playing doctor-doctor or kitchen set or teacher-teacher would make the day whisk away playfully in microseconds. Mom’s hug and dad’s patting our back to sleep was all that mattered.
The world and its unreasonable people held no significance. Career and future were alien words unheard of. We lived in oblivion of pain and heartbreaks. The little girls that we used to be were all about innocence, squeaky giggles and tears; mischief, amusement and silly fears. We loved dressing up in mom’s saris and trying on all of her makeup secretly. It looked far more tempting than the Johnson and Johnson products we were showered in. Papa’s tummy used to be the best pillow, oops, bed! We loved throwing tantrums and making those tweety faces in order to have our way. Never did we fail back then. We loved being the centre of attraction. It’s almost same now, only, reasons have changed. Make-up for the male attention, dresses to please their eyes!
Few years down the line comes the time when you start losing the girly silliness and embrace womanly mannerisms and charms. No one is ever born a woman, you gradually become one, and that caterpillar to butterfly transformation is both unmistakably beautiful as well as excruciating. All of a sudden the world you took for granted as your own now demands you to find your feet in it. You are burdened with responsibilities of career and family. Your occasional childlike pleas find little place in one’s heart when earlier they could move mountains! When weddings earlier meant providing a wider horizon for your hide and seek games, now they meant trouble. You had to be perfect in all aspects to get married to that right guy.
But then, there you are, a woman, a phenomenal woman, who could take the whole world if she wanted to. You are the one in the family who’s constantly giving, and never asking for anyone to reciprocate. You are like a mother to your father, giving him his medicines on time, scolding him for one drink too much; like a friend to your mother, who can confide in you without any second thoughts. You are the pillar of strength to your husband, promising to be there for him in all shades of life. You are the alma mater your children can’t imagine their life without.
It’s all in the sun of your smile, the sparkling in your eyes, the swing of your waist, the grace of your walk, the elegance of your dressing. You feel proud to be a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother! You are strong, bold and unabashed. There’s a mystery about you no one can even begin to solve. There’s a charm about you people only dream of acquiring. You are this untamed little birdie everyone wants to have.
There’s a fire blazing in you, which makes you feel you can make the difference. There’s a hop in your step saying you’ll win. Relishing are your dreams, still floating on lids, relishing is the naughty wink you pass on to make someone’s day, relishing is your aura as you enter a room with that brilliant smile flashed on, driving all negativity to zero point. You’re a beacon of love, your presence embraced and extolled unanimously.
You love your life, you love what womanhood has given you, you enjoy every aspect of your life, but, with time, you start losing the identity you once held as a little girl. You start living your life for others, when once it was on your terms and conditions. No matter how old you grow, a part of that little girl always resides in you, wanting to be pampered and loved unconditionally, irrevocably.
You can’t give up on that little, stubborn girl in you so easily, can you? 😉