My dad was posted in a small city when I was born. The nurses in the hospital believed that having a girl was not the best thing in the world. Also, in some confusion, they thought that my mother already had three girls (when it was 3 boys) and I was the fourth one. So, when I was born my mum says that the nurses were hesitant to reveal the gender. Finally, after seeing my mum’s desperation who was cooking all kinds of scenarios in her head at the nurses’ strange secrecy, she was informed with much regret that a girl was born. Mum who was prepared for the worst took a sigh of relief and asked the news to be delivered to the father. My anxious dad was pacing the corridors outside the labour room. All the guesses, symptoms and prophecies before my birth had prepared everyone for a boy but he was still secretly hoping for a baby GIRL.
My dad was overjoyed. The legend goes that he distributed sweets in the whole hospital. My paternal side of the family took the train to see their first niece/granddaughter. And my birth was celebrated by lighting firecrackers. All my childhood this story was casually narrated on every birthday by one uncle or the other. Since my father was never the sort who would display his affection openly, I listened to it with renewed interest every single time as it sounded nothing less than a fairytale. My brother insists that the firecrackers were wasting away in storage and thus used on that day but, obviously, that is not an important enough fact.
The important fact is that this little story made me strong long before there was an opportunity for anyone to label me. I have no idea if my parents or my uncles know how empowering this was for the little girl back then.
It made me fearless, confident and self-reliant for I was taught that I was enough ….
and that I will always be loved even for my ordinariness…
….. today as I celebrate another birthday I just wanted to leave this thought here that a small thing can occupy a very big room in someone’s heart and change the course of their entire life…. 
No comments:
Post a Comment