Raise 'her' voice

Wondering about when should a girl raise her voice.

When she first got slapped from her father?
When she first got verbally abused by her mother?
When she first got physically violated by a stranger?
When she first got physically violated by a relative?

There are hundreds of incidents of physical, mental, emotional abuse that women face everyday, especially in a patriarchal society like ours in India. These are hundreds that find their way into the documents. But what about the ones we are never told to speak of. For our mothers and fathers (at least of my generation) told to keep the family dignity at the top of our priority pyramid and the self at the bottom.

What about them?

When does the girl speak up about those?

Tell her to speak now, Tell her to speak always, Tell her to speak uninhibitedly.

Tell your mother, Tell your sister, Tell your wife, Tell your friend.. to SPEAK UP.

Instances and incidents leave an indelible mark on our hearts and souls.

Ones which no amount of love and affection from any soul can erase.

For abuse once done to 'me', becomes a part of 'me'.

SPEAK UP, GIRL and LET THEM SPEAK, BOY.

P.S. This note in no way undermines the abuses meted out to the boys and men in society. 

The green grass by the river

There is nothing, yet there is vastness around.

Far and wide you stretch,

Meandering through the rough corners.

Making your own way as you go along,

You change form but you do not cease to exist.

You are a story of strength and valor that no one sees or reads,

There is a calmness in you that brings me alive.

Iridescence is thy other name,
There is music, there are books, there is you and there is life.

I wish each day was here by your side.
I wish I lay there by the river with the mountain behind me each day, every day.