The Girl They Mocked: A Story of Strength and Survival
She was the girl everyone laughed at—the one who couldn’t drape a saree, the one who didn’t know how to contour her cheekbones or perfect a smoky eye. The whispers and smirks followed her wherever she went. “What kind of woman doesn’t know these basic things?” they’d ask, as if her worth could be measured by her ability to wear six yards of fabric or blend colors on her face. But no one saw the life she lived behind closed doors. She grew up in a home where survival took precedence over tradition. Her mother was mentally ill, trapped in a world of her own battles, unable to teach her the things other girls learned so naturally. There was no one to guide her through the rituals of womanhood. She didn’t have the luxury of trying on sarees in front of a mirror or experimenting with her mother’s makeup. Her hands, instead, were busy wiping tears, cooking meals, and holding her fractured world together. As she grew older, the weight of others' expectations...