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From the day a girl is born, she has several impositions put on her- right from how she talks to whom she talks to. Isn't it time we taught our girls to rebel?
From the day a girl is born, she has several impositions put on her- right from how she talks to whom she talks to. Isn’t it time we taught our girls to rebel?
From the moment I opened my eyes,
I felt a noose tied around my neck.
I couldn’t laugh aloud, play till dark or go far away,
And I didn’t understand why in the heck.
I was told to obey the rules.
They said they are for your protection.
And those who stray are mere fools
So, listen to me little girl,
Obey the rules like mute mules.
I was told my body is not mine,
It was meant to protected and preserved
For the one I’ll call my forever thine
I believed everything I was told.
They were right I thought, so better not be bold.
So, I obeyed everyone, even the strangers.
And look at me now, lying charred
While my body is being searched for by the rangers.
I wish..
I wish I was told I was equal to boys
And it was okay to rebel, just like the boys.
I wish I was told to not obey the elders
Especially whose hands wrongly lingers.
I wish I was told there was no knight in armour
Only heinous beasts disguised behind nasty ardor.
till the moment I closed it
This world bogged me down
with what I never owed it.
But I demand you do better
for I have left a sister behind
And she deserves what for me you couldn’t secure
A future with safety, promise and a clear sky azure.
A version of this poem was earlier published here
Picture credits: Pexels
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
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Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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