Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
"Between Noor’s thirteenth and fourteenth birthday, you grow up in many ways and outgrow many assumptions you may have nursed about people and their life." Mridula Koshy's Bicycle Dreaming brings you a new world.
“Between Noor’s thirteenth and fourteenth birthday, you grow up in many ways and outgrow many assumptions you may have nursed about people and their life.” Mridula Koshy’s Bicycle Dreaming brings you a new world.
He said the bag wasn’t empty. There were books in the bag they were dragging. Books could survive malba, but not ashes.
Would he sell the books for pulp?
The boy looked up, and even in the waning light, his anger was clear to see.
I can read, he said.
Mridula Koshy makes you sit on a bicycle and pedals away into the life of what we call the underprivileged. As you ride along the stench of the naalas, cans of water being filled up from the community tap, one room shacks with just a curtain hanging to separate the outside world, the images seem familiar. As if you always knew of the existence of this ‘other’ world and it was now simply rising out of the subconscious in front of your eyes. You find yourself on the other side of the high rise from where the ashes that smear the life of Noor and many like her are not visible. From where the voice of the kabadiwala could never reach you and therefore his vanishing away from the streets went unnoticed.
Between Noor’s thirteenth and fourteenth birthday, you grow up in many ways and outgrow many assumptions you may have nursed about people and their life. The best part is Mridula does it without any trace of sympathy or judgment. The road turns, smoothly and gently sans any drama. In the end what remains is a story so relatable that it could rather be a story of you and me, may be in a different setting.
Noor’s clings with fierce loyalty to her father and his profession as kabadiwala. To the extent, she wants to ride her bicycle into the streets calling ‘Kabadi le lo’ and becoming the first kabadiwali. She is okay with mother preparing sooji ka halwa on her birthday inspite of knowing she loves aloo with poori. As long as that keeps her brother and family together, she is happy. When Haseena finds joy in giving up her school to ensure her brother walks to the school, Noor mourns the loss of a dear friend rather see it as a sacrifice. The afternoon sun embalms the tender love growing between Noor and Ajith. Life moves on and so does Noor, without her knowing how much she is changing and how much inside her remains unchanged.
As Noor pedals away towards her dream, she soon finds her green bicycle rampaging into her desire for the togetherness of the family. She questions and wonders about the power of imagination taught to her in school by one of the teachers.
“Could one imagine a green bicycle, one that had never existed, into existence, but then not be able to imagine a family that had once existed back into existence?”
To see Noor ask her mother not to throw away the old green anarkali gifted to her on the thirteenth birthday and at the same time wanting something western for her fourteenth birthday brings you to crossroads of your own life. Where you want to save memories in the trunk but you also want to fly away with your dreams. Without a care in the world. Without the afternoon sun bothering you. Without knowing how to stop. Just going bicycle dreaming.
First published at author’s blog
Manmeet is a writer by passion and a facilitator by choice. She works primarily in the area of life skills, sexuality, and creative writing. She founded Sailing Leaf in January 2016. Today myriad of experiential read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
It is shameful that in today's world too, women are abused and even killed for giving birth to a girl, and the infant's life is also of no value.
Trigger Warning: This deals with domestic violence, suicide, and violence against women, and may be triggering to survivors.
I am so glad that the esteemed courts are now giving the much-required verdicts regarding certain ideologies that were not at all entertained earlier. I mean we all have studied this much biology at our school level and it is our duty (our generation) to educate our elders about it.
Why someone have to lose a life to bring such awareness to the society. Delhi High Court gave this judgement concerning a case that filed by the deceased daughter’s parents against her in-laws. She committed suicide as she was harassed and tortured for dowry and giving birth to two daughters.
Please enter your email address