Why do people ask me not to behave like a child anymore, when most of the things which I did in my childhood are still my favorite...when the smell of Maggie still melts in my mouth...when the thought of drinking plain white milk still makes me nauseating...when going to school/work is still an excitement for me...when dark clouds and drops of rain still drench my heart with rejuvenation and instill a new hope for tomorrow...when eating gajar-ka-halwa still seems nothing short of a punishment to me...when I still fight with my little brother but stand by him when someone else rebukes him....when sitting on the swings in parks still exhilarates my mind and makes me feel as though air is whispering freedom in my ear… when serials like I Dream of Jeanie and Small Wonder still make me glued to my television screen…when the festival of Holi still abodes in my heart and pumps up excitement in my mind with its vibrancy of colours, good food and dash of mischief all around…
So what if now my bag is filled with Lakme, Revlon and Maybelline instead of Camel, Natraj and Crayons...so what if now I enjoy reading Cosmopolitan, Filmfare and India Today instead of Champak, Nancy drew and Famous five series...so what if now I love my stilettos, boots and pencil heels instead of ked, strappy flat sandals and shoes with light and music...so what if now my shoulder hangs designer, fashionable and branded bags instead of backpacks and cross shoulder school bags....so what if my favorite possessions in my room are my laptop, cell phone and CD collections instead of Barbie dolls and kitchen sets...so what if the glass filled with milk and bournvita has got replaced with shots of tequila and lime in my hand….so what if my skirts have become shorter and hair has grown longer…so what if now I have to blend the roles of a wife and a daughter-in-law with those of a daughter, sister, friend and a professional… so what if my hands now hold a pen to create and narrate storylines instead of scribbling answers in examinations…
I am still the same girl who loved holding hands of her mom and dad and chatter with them non-stop…I am still the same girl who loved listening to stories before falling asleep….I am still the same girl who devoured salty and spicy food much more than sweets and sugary items….I am still the same girl who enjoyed quarreling with her siblings…I am still the same girl who loved wearing her sister’s clothes and perfumes and lecturing her little brother...I am still the same girl whose face would lit up with the thought of spending hours together in her big backyard garden to pluck vegetables and flowers for her mom…I am still the same girl for whom the joy of eating bhindi, baigan and capsicum is more agreeable than sinking her teeth in chicken, mutton and fish cuisines… I am still the same girl who gazed endlessly at the twinkling stars in the sky figuring out constellations and wondering if she would ever go beyond Orion, Great Bear and Scorpio….I am still the same girl who had dreams in her eyes and who thought that someday she would make a difference in this world with her ideas!
