Delhi Girls are Daring!

‘Where do you think you are going wearing those shorts?’ A very familiar question in Delhi households whenever a daughter or any female, for that matter, goes out of the house. It irks me when I have to explain every decision of mine ranging from my dressing sense to the choice of lingerie, to the ‘boys’ I hang out with. And let me be clear, this is not so because I come from a conservative family. Au contraire, my parents are very liberal and allow me all the freedom I need. But these questions still remain. Let me be honest, I don’t believe it’s my parents who are at fault or like questioning me about my every move. It’s the big bad world around me. Since the time I reached 7th standard, things around me changed or maybe I started noticing these changes. The stares that felt as if they are stripping me naked, the ‘unintentional’ touching and groping became evident, and the curfew time started seeming reasonable. One might ask what brings forth this sudden need to vent. Let’s just say it’s been brewing inside for a very long time. It’s been brewing inside since the day I was born!

I am a Delhi girl, a proud one for that. It somehow seems like a reasonable thing to say that I was born with the ‘I –will –kill –you –if-you-think-of-touching-me’ trait, probably every Delhi girl is. And every Delhi girl is a fighter. She doesn’t need her father, brother, boyfriend, or husband to protect her. She is ‘the woman’! A Delhi girl even after facing all the trauma, holds her head up high and faces each day with the quirky and bold attitude that makes her the envy of others. She shops at GUCCI and then the very next day bargains at the Sarojini with the zeal that would put aunties bargaining with the vegetable vendor to shame. She doesn’t let the people or things around her to define her; rather she adds her touch and makes her surroundings her own. She travels in a chauffeur driven BMW, but can elbow and nudge people in the metro as if it’s her birth right, with the same ease. She eats at the most expensive restaurants, but none can try beating her in a Pani Puri competition on the street. She speaks English without a flaw, but annoy her and the Hindi lashing will make you cry. She is classy, beautiful, confident, smart and much more. SHE IS A GIRL! A DELHI GIRL!         —————- About the author: The article has been contributed by our intern,  Neha Sahgal.