Facing the World

Chapter 1

I live in a small village town that is dominated by farmers. It's a very beautiful traditional Indian village called Daryapur. Even though people describe Daryapuras a small village that is in the middle of nowhere, I find it quite big. It consists of two long rows of shops that is located in the middle of the village and a small fruit and vegetable market behind it. There's also a square garden under a big mango tree, where all the village elders once a week get together for short meetings. To get to the metropolitan city of Amravati, It takes about an hour by car. It's very remote and therefore we aren't much exposed to the modern lifestyle.

All the households here have more than 4 members living under one roof.Mostly the house is owned by an elderly member, who would have about 3 children, who also have their own children all living together.It's traditional for families to live together in India as it show show disciplined and cultured they are. The elders of my family are my father's parents, my grandmother also known as Dahdi Ji and my grandfather, whom people call Dahda Ji. Both my grandparents were from Bathinda, Punjab but relocated when Dahda Ji acquired his farming land. I have heard stories that their fathers were good friends back in the day when they were fighting against the British and therefore promised that their relationship should be more than just friends, thus they were arranged married at a young age. Dahda Ji and Dahdi had three children, two boys and a girl. My dad's the oldest, followed by Disha's dad and my lovely aunty, Roop. Aunty Roop after marriage moved to live in Mumbai with her family. I have an older brother, Veer, who just recently got married to my friend from school, Manju. Together there are 10 of us living under the Dhillo Mansion.

I really love my family, but when it comes to tradition I never am the ideal daughter. Time has changed but Dahda Ji's values haven't.Everyone is scared of Dahda Ji. My house is like the courts, when matters can't be handled by Dahdi , it is taken to Dahda Ji. That's when one could really pee their pants and still won't cry about it.Being traditional isn't that bad as it teaches us a lot about our history and culture but being controlled by others is not a good feeling. I don't think parents, especially the mums in the city would treat their daughters like maids, they wouldn't be watching their every move. The women in my house make us suffer through labor work every single day. Waking up after 8am in the morning is a straightaway complaint to Dahdi . I remember once I stayed up all night preparing for exams and needed sleep the next day. Disha wasn't home,so I had no one around to warn me that Dahdi had entered my room. She took a long wood crafted stick and slapped it on my palms three times. I still have the scares but they aren't as red as how it was after I was left alone in my room crying for what I had done.

My mum always says, a lady who doesn't know how to cook will suffer to find a good husband and therefore me, Disha, and Manju have the duty of helping mum and Pau ji (Disha's mother) with the cooking three times a day. Disha and I are the most happiest when it's school days,because we miss out on cooking lunch. But holidays are a horror.However, surprisingly enough Manju finds all this very interesting.My mum and Pau Ji are always to wear their sarees and us girls have to wear kameez. Dahda Ji had never allowed us to wear dresses or pants around and outside the house.

Even the boys in the house come with responsibilities. Firstly when Veer turned 16, he had promised our parents and the elders that he would always look out for his sisters and keep them away from danger. Well you might think that's not that bad, it's only being sweet. Well it's packed with bitterness! Protecting and keeping us away from danger is just another way of saying 'make sure your sister is never to talk to a guy or been seen with a guy'. Veer used to always spy on us, making sure that in school we never to even look at a guy. One glaze and next thing you know Dahdi Ji smacks you with her wooden stick.

Apart from all these 'laws', I still enjoy spending time with my family.With Manju coming into the house it's even more fun. Every Friday nights and on the weekends, we would gather at the Terrence and play cards or gossip about our far away relatives or sometimes watch Bollywood movies. The movies are where I gain my knowledge on the outside world. I really love the idea of living a free life, doing whatever you want and enjoying every minute of it. I have my own dreams and ambitions and to help with my future plans, I always came up with rebellious ideas which went against my traditions.

I love school and learning about new things, But it's been about four months since I have touched a single book, not even the daily newspaper. Mum always yells "High school is finished, now what's the point of studying further, you will soon be married like Manju".She always tells me that gaining education for girls is just a myth,they will never achieve anything, it'd be a waste of my life trying to get a degree because at the end of the day I'll be married and sent off to a new family where they might not like it if I had a job.There was also another problem which Dadhi always said, where girls who are too educated are a shame to the family as no boy would want to marry someone whose more educated than him.

See how bad life is for village Indian girls? Well I am about to change all this. take a step forward and evolve. I'll change the way these people think. The traditional lifestyle has too many laws that traps us in a circle, which never moves forward. I'll make my own future and not be just handed to a man whom I don't even know.