Hi, hope everyone is doing great in their own shelled cocoons.
As I sit to pen down a few thoughts of mine there’s a cold feeling running down my fingers looking at everyone’s perceptive of daily societal, cultural, and religious thoughts, too seriously and to an extent.
Still a few grey areas are untouched and needs to be addressed, I will just take you into the daily life of still existing hard to believe truths which were being visualized as social norms.
Crimson crescendo: Shadows of Tradition,
My friend Raji was from a rural background and just stepped into our town to join the convent.
She was an emerging student but suddenly she doesn’t turn up to school. Obviously! when your friend is absent for a day or two, you’re okay with it, long absence drives one crazy.
I just went to her house to know if she wasn’t feeling well, but the story turns upside down. Being in a small town, the shadows of tradition cast their influence on Raji’s journey.
She was 14 years old and got menstruated, it was her first period, and she wasn’t allowed into her own house, nor she can sleep with her siblings for a while, she wasn’t allowed into their kitchen as they had a traditional belief of this state of being menstruated is completely impure. Raji loved accompanying her grandma to the temple but even that was prohibited during those seven days.
Her grandma told Raji, she was lucky as in those olden days they would marry the girl child after she gets her first cycle of periods[menses].
My friend was so bugged up and thought of gardening at home, but she wasn’t allowed to touch the plants as well.
The Canvas of Emotions:
Now Raji unaware and completely being in a state of confusion, just follows as she has been told, to bathe early in the mornings, eat in a separate plate and glass as she is committed a sin. Being a child, she is totally into a clatoroustrophic state. So, she turns her love of art as a form of emotional expression, while few say she is all grown up now while few advise her to be careful as she is a budding young woman now, juggling between the own family members and the visitors daily, who shower her with healthy goodies to eat and a lot of free advice. Raji is in a pool of unanswered questions.
The whispers of Change:
First period is the most common term in a girl’s life when she attends puberty but is looked upon as a subject of taboo, most of my friends thought it to be a disease in 90’s, while tried to question out to the elders, we have been shut in the name of mannerism. No doubts, hormones play a role in our periods but the way our society plays and deals with this has been insane. Since its a taboo, we are lacking the basic knowledge and awareness in educating this subject. Encountering a group of like – minded friends we strive through the stifling norms. Where buying a napkin also isn’t normalized yet.
Embracing the Symphony of Womanhood:
We need a touch of emotional resonance in perspective of experiencing the subtle shift. All we need is a powerful breakthrough of societal expectations as a leading message. We embrace individuality and recognizing the beauty in the emotional landscape of menstruation.
‘Crescendo Crimson’ is not just a thought about periods ,it’s a celebration of resilience ,self-discovery and the un -yielding spirit of human experience.