Starting A New Business? 7 Key Points To Keep In Mind.
Evocative poetry in the second person, penning the picture of a single mother making a living as a sex worker, a woman just trying to live her life.
You stand in front of the mirror, The pressure cooker hisses Today you boiled rice and potatoes with some ghee. Guddu loves ghee. He sleeps on the bed, His thumb between his milk teeth Two of those broken. You want to kiss his lips. Those feel like sunshine and bird feathers, And everything that is pure. Instead, you look at the mirror, You sigh. You put on a bindi And the sindoor on the parting between your hair. The sindoor has been there since Guddu was born. Long, long after Guddu’s father was gone.
And yet, this imaginary husband Makes you feel safer than he ever could. You put on the lipstick. Bright pink. Lakmé. The man last night had gifted. He works as a salesman in a cosmetics shop. Some of them gave gifts, Some left scars. You dab some powder on your face, More over the dark circles around your eyes, The pressure cooker whistles again You run and turn off the stove.
The pale blue synthetic sari hangs loosely over your frame, You pull down the petticoat and the blouse some more. Cleavage and naval are important for business. You gulp down an aspirin with a glass of water, You darken your eyes some more with kajal. It is 8 p.m. You tiptoe outside And latch your room. You call out to auntie to keep an eye on Guddu. Business as usual begins.
Published here earlier.
Image source: pixabay
Kasturi’s debut novel, forthcoming in early 2021, had won the novel pitch competition by Half Baked Beans Publishers. She won the Runner Up Position in the Orange Flower Awards 2021 for Short Fiction. Her read more...
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Most of my women clients are caregivers—as mothers, wives and daughters. And so, they tend to feel guilty about their ambitions. Belief in themselves is hard to come by.
* All names mentioned in the article have been changed to respect client confidentiality.
“I don’t want to take a pay cut and accept the offer, but everyone around me is advising me to take up what comes my way,” Tanya* told me over the phone while I was returning home from the New Delhi World Book Fair. “Should I take it up?” She summed up her dilemma and paused.
I have been coaching Tanya for the past three months. She wants to change her industry, and we have been working together on a career transition roadmap.
Asking women of the office to welcome guests with bouquets at business and social events is blatant tokenism and sexism at the same time!
Asking women to welcome guests with bouquets at business and social events is blatant tokenism and sexism at the same time!
Why is the task of handing over bouquets to dignitaries at social and business events primarily a feminine task?
This question nags me endlessly. I cringe at the sight of women waiting in a loosely formed queue at the steps leading up to the stage at these events.
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