The bleeding wouldn't stop
And I went white faced to my mother
I knew I was dying...
This was a retribution for not listening to my mother
I didn't pray every day though my mother had told me
I forgot my Hanuman Chalisa though my mother had told me.
Mom had a worried look on her face,
She tore an old sheet into two and said
Put it in your panties and when it gets soaked
Wash it and put the other one.
And be careful you have become a woman now
Keep away from men
Don't even talk too much to your brother.
I did what she had told me diligently,
Washed the soaked towels with my blood
Dried them, where no one could see them
Recycled them and used them again.
And I was ashamed of being a woman
It's nothing to be proud of I thought,
When I saw the worried look on her face
It is not nice to be a woman.
And when my daughter bled,
I was worried.
But she wasn't
'Mom, Don't Worry
'I will manage.'
She was a swimmer.
She was aware of pills to delay her cycles
She was aware of tampons, which could let her swim
Looking at the worried look on my face she said:
"Mom relax, it's only a menstrual cycle.'
And when I told her you have become a woman
She laughed and said: "Mom ...
Didn't I have to become one day.'
How to explain to her that I am still a worried mom!
