It was again that evening! The tension was palpable on her face. Wiping off the sweat from her forehead, Shubhi was again ready to do that final select-
Yellow Sari or Red Suit?
Kajal or Eyeliner?
“Shubhi, I had told you not to go out under the sun at least for few days. You do not listen to me. Nowadays, girls do not listen to their parents.”
While Shubhi kept staring at her yellow sari and the red suit absentmindedly, her mother continued ranting.
“You have grown two shades darker. Your eyebrows are also not trimmed. Shubhi, you do not take care of yourself.”
And then her eyes fell on the rack. There stood, nonchalantly, thick with grime, “Employee of the Year Award, Achiever Award, Star Performer Award…”
She felt a sense of elation for her daughter! Shubhi was an achiever, and her mother was proud of her achievements! Dusting away the dirt, she, silently, wiped off her tears.
Last 5 years were tiring, emotionally and physically. One after the other, Shubhi had faced innumerable rejections by the boys’ family. Initially, she felt devastated including her mother, who once upon a time, was high on her daughter’s qualities but later, it felt, nothing, at least to Subhi, if not to her mother. Just a part of the daily routine, where she had to get dressed in a bright dress, apply mattifying primer and foundation to subdue the dark skin tone and wear a fake smile and keep her head hung low! This was the “Submissive Card” her mother had asked her to play in front of the boy, with the bleak faith, if that could work least.
And then she came back to senses and kept the accolades back on the rack. They looked clean and one of them read in bold “Shubhi, The Star of the Year”.
She started again.
“Now, please choose a bright colour dress and do the make-up. Look presentable and smile coyly. And, for god’s sake, do not wear the White colour dress for that makes you look paler and darker.”
There and then Subhi had made the choice!
Keeping away the Yellow Sari and the Red Suit in the cupboard, she picked up her favourite white colour dress for now she was not worried about her dark skin tone.
Dressed in the white suit, her face gleamed with confidence!
Awesome Read