Reflections of AtoZChallenge 2016 : A month of Self-Awakening

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl in a small town with her grandparents, who found great solace in writing. Her writings were her best friends which never let her feel lonely. As she grew up into an Automobile Engineer, her passion to pen down her feelings took a backseat. But her passive heart always yearned for her diaries and eventually in the roller coaster of life, she lost everything but her pen.

To satiate her soul's call and give a profound voice to her heart, she started her blog which depicted true tales, musings and poetic compositions to touch and tinkle her readers' soul and stay in their hearts forever. That little girl was me, my dear friends, and I am talking about this very blog STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART which is truly a piece of my heart. Words really fail me to express what it means to me.It fulfills my wish of a lifetime to remain alive in my readers hearts even after my death. 

This was precisely my endeavor when I  gave birth to this blog, a little less than a couple of years ago and thanks to my generous readers,it got its due love.I won the Woman of the Year Award in 2015 for my Women Rights Oriented Writings, post which I got a lot of endorsements are lost my focus...But there was always a streak of hidden pain in my heart which said I am not doing full justice to the real purpose of my Blog as I often heard from women of different strata requesting me to speak up more against the menaces against woman in our society that has ruined their or a near and dear one's life.

I was holding their request for long within me as I wanted to give them a global platform and what could have been better than to narrate them in the coveted A to Z Challenge,thus,I thoughtfully chose my series as 26 TRUE TALES of Indian Women, their poignant rumblings evoking an ERA OF CHANGE.

If I reflect back today, once I embraced this challenge, it was like self awakening for me as my theme clearly mirrored my innate urge to do something for the betterment of the society, we live in. I am extremely grateful to each and every member of the esteemed A to Z Team for giving me such a grand international platform to be the Face of Change, though in my own small way.

It was a serious theme, very close to my heart too and the biggest challenge was to do justice to the 26 protagonists and to present their delicate sides with utmost sincerity. I also diligently made the true tales alternate between some heart-wrenching and some inspiring ones, to save my readers from monotony.And the response for these thought-provoking stories was humongous.

I must admit this series of 26 real life stories was by far one of my most successful ones.I began to enjoy all the love and adulation by the end of first week. My readership soared, and the number of shares, comments and personal messages were too motivating and pushed me to the edge to keep up my esteemed readers' expectations. This series gave me some lovely friends even outside the blogger fraternity whom I was introduced to when they responded in my inbox about how they related to my posts and they feel they know all of them. With some I am sure the acquaintance has culminated into long lasting friendship already. To put in numbers 11 out of the 26 poignant rumblings that I have published are true tales of my readers they have emailed or inboxed me. 

Having said this , it would not have been possible to pull through the challenge, had it not been the Blogchatter community(lead by a visionary lady Richa) on Twitter which has formed a lovely group for the A To Z Challengers. They truly deserve a huge round of applause to bring together so many diverse bloggers under one umbrella who became each other's motivation and never let the spirit of the challenge go down.In this group I found a lot of buddies and though I can't fit in all their names here,I request them to please accept this as a personal word of gratitude to each one of you for being there always. 

IN this reflection post, I would also like to admit that, although I was always on time for publishing my each post and didn't miss even one, what could have definitely been better were my reading skills. Though I read many national and international blogs every day, commented and shared generously , I could not discipline my approach to revisit the same blog everyday and build on a list of my favorites. Thus sometimes I visited them and vice versa. Well, I promise to fix a solution for this before I take on this challenge next year.  Some blogger buddies I loved to read were Kala, Vishal, Archana, Roshan, Stephen, Chandni, Shalini, Geetika, the two Ramyas, Stephen, Era, Dixita, Mithila,Lata, Karan, Simar,Reema, Richa Jindal and the list is endless and I owe a lot to each one of them for enriching me with their wisdom.

All in all, my first experience of taking A To Z Challenge was extremely gratifying and I feel so overwhelmed to have completed my series of‪ #‎26TrueTales‬ of Indian Women through it.  It has also aided me envision my future endeavors and head firmly to where my heart lies.Bidding you Adieu with the promise to leave no stone unturned to always bring to you candid tales that remain in your heart like a song.

Here are the links to the 26 real stories on Indian Women:

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning

"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits

"J"ustified? You're not a woman if you can't bear a Child...
Touch Me "K"not: Please Let me Marry When I am Ready for it
"L"ost Paradise : The Tale of an Indian Bride
"M"otivation Galore: Widowed at 2 years of age, she gave next 70 years to save little girls from it
"N"o You are not Guilty: An AirHostess Mom's Tryst With Destiny
"O"nly if everyone loved everyone else, this world would be such a beautiful Place
"P"riorities when given as a Reason for Extra Marital Affairs
"Q"uestioning the Conscience of the Male Colleagues of a Pregnant Woman
"R"ole Reversals : Behind every successful woman, their is a man too 😊
"S"alary Saga : What if a Wife Earns more than her Husband
"T"ime Imbroglio: Why does Age Always run out in everything, only for Girls ??
"U"gly Race to give birth to a Male Child
"V"ictory of Adoption Process: Is it genuine or to meet one's vested Interest?
"W"ither away in Despair or Weave a Worthy Life, What's your Choice?
"X"-ray Print of the desires of an Indian Woman: She deserves them
"Y"outh Power: The only way to mitigate Gender Disparity and related Crimes
"Z"eal to turn the tide of time: Nothing could Stop Her😊

"Y"outh Power: The only way to mitigate Gender Disparity and related Crimes

This is my penultimate post buddies of this enriching journey of 26 True Tales of Indian Women from all across India...and after hours and days of assimilation what I gather is if there is something that can uplift the plight of the Indian Women in our stagnating patriarchal society, it is the power of the Youth!!!

It's only we each one of us can bring about the difference, a difference in our thought process and actions which reflect equality and mutual respect...n lead by example can we spread the wave and nurture a healthier society in our children...

Alpana and Akshat, both were blessed with the gifts of jab and were quite famous writers/bloggers in the writing community, when they tripped over each other's writings and they found it quite similar ... The fact that they thought alike and loved to pen their thoughts in the similar fashion brought them close and their friendship soon culminated into love...When the parents met to take the wedding decision ahead and discuss other related matters.. Akshat refused politely but firmly, to accept a single gift in cash or kind...When Alpana's parents insisted that she was their only daughter and that they have amassed loads for her, Akshat said that they may give the same if they thought their daughter is inferior to him and needed to be sent to him with money and gifts...and thus he and his parents accepted the love of his life in a dress she was clad in....Akshat also silenced his parents that they may take gifts if they had no faith in his abilities and really wanted to hurt him!He has dared to be the face of change and the world was sure to follow as his goodness truly was contagious

Alpana's heart swell with pride for her  decision of having chosen the right man, for whom she and he are equal human beings...She felt so blessed every moment of life and basked in respect and confidence on her love

Akshat was truly not only a man of great words but also great deeds...When Alpana was requested bed rest for 9 months due to a complicated pregnancy, he kept her in arms...Right from managing the household cores and instructing the cook , to giving a pep talk to her love before leaving to work , he managed it all and that too without a frown

They were soon blessed with a little Prince Charming who made their world all the more beautiful️ and all thanks to Akshat's care and warmth both mom and baby were absolutely healthy....Alpana could thus resume her career nicely after the maternity break and always made it a point she was complementing Akshat's love and vision and is with him in all his dreams and endeavours 

Their son is nine now and has grown up to be an absolute gem...He assists mom and dad in everything and understands nothing what is called Gender Inequality for he has never seen anything of that sort in his house for so so many years!

I am sure tomorrow he sure will become as great a husband and dad as his father because his dad had yearned hard to lay the foundation right!!He will not be the one who indulge in the crimes against women , rather would be the one who'll stand for her rights nad equality!! More Power to such Young Man as Akshat who are determined to correct the patriarchal course of our society and make it a beautiful and worthy place to live in 

Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some truly inspirational but each giving a genuine lesson...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning

"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits

"J"ustified? You're not a woman if you can't bear a Child...
Touch Me "K"not: Please Let me Marry When I am Ready for it
"L"ost Paradise : The Tale of an Indian Bride
"M"otivation Galore: Widowed at 2 years of age, she gave next 70 years to save little girls from it
"N"o You are not Guilty: An AirHostess Mom's Tryst With Destiny
"O"nly if everyone loved everyone else, this world would be such a beautiful Place
"P"riorities when given as a Reason for Extra Marital Affairs
"Q"uestioning the Conscience of the Male Colleagues of a Pregnant Woman
"R"ole Reversals : Behind every successful woman, their is a man too 😊
"S"alary Saga : What if a Wife Earns more than her Husband
"T"ime Imbroglio: Why does Age Always run out in everything, only for Girls ??
"U"gly Race to give birth to a Male Child
"V"ictory of Adoption Process: Is it genuine or to meet one's vested Interest?
"W"ither away in Despair or Weave a Worthy Life, What's your Choice?
X-ray Print of the desires of an Indian Woman: She deserves them

X-ray Print of the desires of an Indian Woman: She deserves them❤

Image Courtesy

Think for a moment what a girl or a woman desires...Does she desire to simply grow up, marry and have children .. No she desires this because knowingly or unknowingly this is what is force fed in her brains since she is tiny ....she is often told directly or through stories that her Prince Charming will come on a horse and take her along..amidst all this she forgets her freedom to desire....But this is not always the case! There are mothers in our society who contrary to the generic attitude above and thought to do vice versa and be the face of change no matter how hard a fight they have to put up.This is a heartwarming tale of one such mother....

Sunita didi who was my mom's domestic help, had stood firm on the repeated argumentatively strong testimonies of time...She lost her dad to fire at home and her mom had sustained 75% burns when the burden of the household which had 3 other children younger to her, fall on her..All of 11, that was the day she started working...She did every kind of job and was a quick learner... With every passing year her income increased, their life stabilized.

When her brothers started earning she got married and was soon blessed with a son and a daughter...But destiny decided to test her further on..when her daughter was 10 months old, she lost her husband! But no circumstances could break her, giving away her sorrows she once  again became the primary bread earner of her family....and was employed with a security agency..In her free time, she worked in our house and took a few stitching assignment too..

She toiled 22 hours a day but gave best and similar education to her son and daughter...When her friends from the slums, married off their daughters, she empowered her with the power of education and gave her the freedom to follow her dreams and desires of life....Never once she forced her to give up studies or start working to make them financially little better of...Infact, she could clearly see and feel in her heart, the X-Ray print of her extremely brilliant and hardworking daughter's dreams of making big in life, as a tribute to her mom!

Today our heart is filled with immense pride to see Sunita didi 's kids doing so well in life... while her son Prateek has joined Army 6 years back,  you won't believe her daughter Kajal is an IPS officer today! Her hard work,unbiased love for her children, optimism and a clear vision to let her children , especially her daughter, follow their hearts' desires has made her a proud and content mom today...️

With my mom resting in the heavenly abode, Sunita Didi still comes to meet me sometimes as she has been instrumental in rearing me up with my mom and loves me immensely ... Never once she forgets to bring for me the Moong Dal Halwa, made by her Hands, that I love ️...The more I look at her, more my head bows in reverence to her humility and determination  Our nation undoubtedly needs more moms like her!

Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some truly inspirational but each giving a genuine lesson...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning

"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits

"J"ustified? You're not a woman if you can't bear a Child...
Touch Me "K"not: Please Let me Marry When I am Ready for it
"L"ost Paradise : The Tale of an Indian Bride
"M"otivation Galore: Widowed at 2 years of age, she gave next 70 years to save little girls from it
"N"o You are not Guilty: An AirHostess Mom's Tryst With Destiny
"O"nly if everyone loved everyone else, this world would be such a beautiful Place
"P"riorities when given as a Reason for Extra Marital Affairs
"Q"uestioning the Conscience of the Male Colleagues of a Pregnant Woman
"R"ole Reversals : Behind every successful woman, their is a man too 😊
"S"alary Saga : What if a Wife Earns more than her Husband
"T"ime Imbroglio: Why does Age Always run out in everything, only for Girls ??
"U"gly Race to give birth to a Male Child
"V"ictory of Adoption Process: Is it genuine or to meet one's vested Interest?
"W"ither away in Despair or Weave a Worthy Life, What's your Choice??

"L"ost Paradise : The Tale of an Indian Bride

"Shravanti was a chirpy young girl with not very big dreams....She was her parents only princess and was overtly pampered..they got her anything she kept her finger on..Soon her match was fixed to a suitable boy and she was elated to imagine about a life with the Prince Charming of his Dreams.

The wedding was a grand event and she looked like an angel clad in a golden turquoise lehenga...on this day she met her husband for the second day though they have exchanged letters😊...and he has indicated to her how his family is most important to him and he being the eldest had to take care of his four younger siblings and old parents...His love for his family made oodles of love and respect overflow from her heart for him.

Like a perfect daughter-in-law she has taken all the work of the household in her hands from the very next day.. Though she tried very hard as she has never mopped or cooked in her parents house, she could never really satisfy her mom-in-law. Despite of this she always gave her best to please all the members of the family...

All she craved for was a little attention, appreciation and love from her husband who entered their room often past 2 in the night after teaching his siblings and went out at about 6...there was hardly anytime to talk or share...if ever she expressed her desire to go out with him, he would softly mute her by saying that it doesn't look good to go out without taking thx little ones at home.. If ever he agreed, her mil would assign her some impending task!

In a week's time her husband was leaving for Jamshedpur where he worked and she was aghast to know that they have decided that she will not go with him so that she can take care of the family...She was all of 22 and all her dreams, her love, her desires were getting crushed under responsibilities .. She cared about everyone but no one ever thought about her..her dreams had no meaning now... It was a Lost Paradise for the young damsel..

For the next 5 years, her husband used to come every 3-6 months for a few days...She always waited for him, wore her prettiest saree but he somehow could never find time to give her that much needed few moments not deliberately but amidst all his responsibilities probably his wife was his least priority...

Her father-in-law was very sick and bedridden now and so her husband found a job in the city where they lived to take care of him...For the first time Shravanti enjoyed nearness of her husband a bit for months and they were blessed with a twins a boy and a girl..the only good thing probably that ever happened to her!

Otherwise she lead the life of a slave I mean literally,everyone in the family didn't even take a glass of water for themselves and she did it all 24X7 , cooking, washing , cleaning everything for them..despite of all this she could never really satisfy them particularly her mother-in-law who would always keep hurling inhuman comments on her...

It's been 25 years that she has been married but nothing has changed much...I was often agitated at her plight but she calmed me down  saying that she has embraced Perennial Silence so that there is peace and unity in family."

And I am muted too...but is it ok for her to lead such a desire less life with no self esteem and doing what others tell her so that everyone is happy?

Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier 9 True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some truly inspirational but each giving a genuine lesson...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning
"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits

"J"ustified? You're not a woman if you can't bear a Child...
Touch Me "K"not: Please Let me Marry When I am Ready for it

"J"ustified? You're not a woman if you can't bear a Child...

I have this one very close friend I owe my heart to... Her name is Jiya...Single child of her parents , overtly pampered, she wall so full of life...She was also my partner in crime... Together we were like inseparable and could do anything abruptly right from watching late night movie show in pyjamas to gate crashing into a third friend's house past midnight to get notes for the next day exams😊...

Being good in studies we both landed in good jobs and she too got married a couple of years after me...we were in different cities now and somehow I lost touch with her post maternity juggling between work and baby...the last time I had heard from her was when she was promoted and climbing up the professional ladder rather quickly.

It has almost been 5 years from than when I got a FB message from her at 2 am asking for my address and contact number... I normally don't check a ping that late at night but my heart was connected to her...I immediately replied back.

I was flabbergasted to see her the next day...She looked so pale, weak and emaciated...the smile that always lit her face seemed lost forever...she hugged me tight and unendingly tears rolled down her eyes....my heart bled at her pathetic sight and probably those tears of blood came out of my eyes!

And when I could not hold myself anymore I urged her to share what has happened to her... And I was aghast to hear all that she told me...She told me she has been brilliantly doing at work and was going steady with her loving husband when they gave in immense pressure from family and friends to have a baby... What followed were years of unending mental and physical agony to her...She has difficulty in conceiving and everytime she did her womb wasn't strong enough to bear the baby and had miscarriages...while she kept loosing health and mental balance the pressure from inlaws kept mounting on her... Last time she was carrying , they even made her give up her job to take adequate rest but the baby didn't stay.. Her husband whom she has never seen so desperate for a child before, turned a mare spectator to all this....

She told me that while she always wanted to hold her baby, all her emotions are gradually dying a painful death and all she feels is like a reproduction machine who does not even enjoy or reciprocate her husband's love now...she is often reiterated the fact that she is not a woman if she can't bear a child! She was loosing her mental stability in all this so she has ran away from all of them....In an inebriated state, she kept asking me for days, is she not a woman if she is unable to bear a child ???

While her losses were irreparable, I promised to myself to get Back her to life and I did ... The road was indeed tough but not unattainable...but my question is was this behavior to a wonderful girl like her or to any other Jiya, "Justified" ?

Shouldn't having or not having a baby be a couple's decision at the first place ?

What if a couple can't ?

Is that the end of roads for them?

Is it their crime?

Hold on guys, there are so many little ones waiting for you to hold their hand and brighten their and your lives with their sunshine... All you need it a big heart to accept! And yes, relatives and friends can  interfere to the extend we let them to... So don't blame it on them or for that matter on anyone else and be the master of your own fate!

Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier 9 True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some truly inspirational but each giving a genuine lesson...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning

"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits

"I"nspiration Absolute: No Calamity could Humble her Spirits(The Tale of an Earthquake Victim)

It was simply not our day, and probably everything went wrong and we finished our shifting around midnight...extremely tired making our bed was the only thing I managed with one hand while holding on my sleeping little one from the other...until hubby cleared the Packers n Movers Bills...I made my don comfortable in bed and I don't remember when I slept with him too only to be woken up at 6 on the morn by the doorbell.

My legs felt heavy out of tiredness and probably lack of sleep, and it felt like an humungous task to reach the door... As I opened it, there stood a tall, fair , elderly lady...She greeted me gently and told me that this is her house where she has been working for years and now as we have come to live here, we must hire her...she exuded loads of confidence but her way of talking was very sublime...I anyways wanted a house help do I immediately kept Savita Maushi for my housework...

She was so perfect in everything she did... Her energy defied her age and she never said no to me for anything...and once she narrated her story to me, my respect for her multiplied severalfold👌🙏...

Savita has lost her husband and 2 children in the Latur Earthquakes and was stranded with the younger two..she did not even search for their debris of the dead as she has to take care of the ones who are alive...Her parents and inlaws too have perished in the nature's most gruesome onslaught!

She told me she was very young, grief stricken and so filled with remorse that her first thoughts were of suicide...but the moment she saw her 5 month old daughter and 2 year old son's face who had no one but her, she mustered all her courage and came to Pune where her distant maternal cousin lived who gave them shelter for a few days!

She than knew her children were Hungary and that she has to work but she knew nothing other than farming ...she had no understanding of urban households or any links, she could not smoothly land on a job...

So she started doing every work that came her way...stitching clothes, making vada pavs n tea on order, washing and ironing etc...initially she charged very less as she was working from home because her children were very small...moreover, wherever she had gone to work, often men have had a wrong eye on her...

They were extremely poor and at times despair engulfed her but she did not give up...sometimes they didn't even have enough to eat..as people developed trust in her abilities, she got more work and thus she admitted her children to school...with time her confidence grew with leaps  and bounds!

Time flied, she married her daughter who too got 3 cute kids and her son too got a decent job...it was time for her to rest for she has only known to work all her life treacherously when another disaster took a toll on her.. Her daughter lost her husband to brain tumour..she is yet to come on terms with destiny and often sits stoned for hours...she and her kids now live with Savita Maushi !

But all this no more puts her down...she is tormented but she smiles and signs off that her God is testing her spirits to fight the adverse and this time she is all ready to give in her best!

This is the unparalleled power of an Indian Women who was not even given primary education, true Inspiration isn't it... No calamity of disaster can ever humble her unparalleled spirits ❤️

Author's Note: This Post is a part of #AtoZChallenge 2016 under my theme #FaceofChange

You may also like to read the earlier 8 True Tales of Indian Women in this series, some heart wrenching while some inspirational...

"A"trocities in The Disguise of Tradition : The Shut Doors

"B"attered....The Remorse of a Daughter

"C"ircumstances: What made Sona a thief

"D"are to Defy The Destiny

"E"nd of Roads sometimes marks a New Beginning

"F"ailed Marriages: Should they be given a Second Chance?

"G"o Girl Get The Sky

"H"ere and today lay the foundation right: To end rapes perennially