Over the years, tears haven’t stopped but I learned to build a life around the avalanches of tragedy. I had never known a life without him.

In the early nineties, when my mother was a part of my father's large joint family, young women aspired to become either tailors, nurses, typists or teachers. That was what the men of the family approved of.

It is essential to put out our stories where women are not pitted against each other; instead, they hold each other up and celebrate each other. Here is mine.

In the 80’s, people didn’t understand boundaries so well, and a friend or family member or even a neighbour would turn around and ask you, "Don’t you miss having a brother or sister?"

This was a trigger enough for granny to start her journey towards literacy but she wanted to do it secretly, not sure what the reason was.