It's a Girl's World- Part 5

I was happy for that punishment. I sat all day long trying to see sense into such traditions. Either they were born in a different generation or time travelled, but I was sure they don't belong here.

There were many more traditions which were apparently followed by people. Whenever I found time, I would sit with my mother or grandfather and listen to all the tales they had from their time.

My grandfather was loitering around the house one day as my grandmother was no longer there to keep him busy, and he stumbled upon an old photograph of my mother's. He came to me and gave it to me to feed my brain. I was having a hard time with so many questions in my head and no broadband to answer them. I wonder how people got their answers before internet was invented. Anyways my grandpa gave me the pic and asked me to identify it. It was a small girls pic probably 2 yrs old and I noticed a strange thing about it. The kid in the pic had a cross over her tummy. An engraved cross. It suddenly struck me and I ran into the kitchen and pulled aside the Saree from over my mother's tummy and there it was. A cross on her tummy.

I asked her about it and she told me very normally that she was a premature child and people were worried if she would survive or not. So they took a hot red iron rod directly from the flames and put it over her tummy as a sacrifice to the gods for the infant who in their minds had sinned and so deserved the punishment. Luckily for my mom she survived and so the people who did this certified my mom to have forgone her sins.

So this was another great tradition followed by us.

I thanked god that I wasn't prematurely born. If not I would have to live with an ugly permanent tattoo on my belly. Poor mom.

So, these were few of the so called traditions and customs followed by the so called heads of the community and no one had the guts or right to question it.

But me being the evil black sheep of not only our family but even our community, i would never stop questioning those beliefs and every time strengthening their hatred towards me.

My sister went on becoming the sweetheart of the family while I became the unavoidable stress and agony. 

                                                     To be Continued....