Sarita Ben wondered in complete discomfort as she looked at a young beautiful girl dressed in a pathani suit and a vest of black colour. She was wearing a weird hat to cover her head and was completely messy with flat nails and hair grown over her hands and forehead and lips and moreover she was not wearing any bressier, she could clearly see the "swagat Baniyan" written under her cotton kurta.
Sarita Ben told her, “the society in which we live in, needs us women to look and behave in a certain manner, I don’t know from where you are coming to this city, but if you are a woman and stay like this, the city will not help you in any way”.
Sarita Ben shouts loudly, “Autooooooooo….” And a Rikhsaw Walla comes charging right in as if he was waiting for his turn to pick up the girls. She then orders the Auto walla in a gujrati tone, ‘Chalo…Shanti niketan bal ghar’.
Gulab’s ordeal had begun right from the moments she steps into the Bal Ghar, it should actually be named as Chudail Ghar. Poor Gulab was stuck in the crowd of mean bitches that she never dreamt that she could face in her life. She was being questioned on her sexuality, some even tried to molest her by asking her to remove her clothes and prove that she was a girl and not a gay or something like that.
Their faces revolved around her eyes at night, she was shy and in fact scared to leave her room, she merely had dinner and rushed back to her room. She was the back bencher in the classroom because even the teacher used to question her. Once when she introduced her name, the English Teacher, Miss Phoolwarna Kaur told her, “Your name is a bi sexual name, Gulab, who are you”, making it even easier for the students to take it from there and throw some more cheap jokes around. She was in shock, as for her a woman was like Sarita Ben, who was mature and beautiful and helful in nature.
Or the other woman she knew before meeting Sarita Ben was Sridevi. Probably because all the men in her village were smitten by Sri. For Gulab, Sridevi eptomises a woman, who is beautiful, sings and dances, fights bad men and helps poor people. But in this hostel, she could not find even one woman who was close to Sridevi.
It was getting too much for the poor girl to handle all this; she decided to go to Sarita Ben for help. She knocked at the staff quarters where Sarita lived. “Who’s there, please come in.”
Gulab entered the room with light steps, slightly uncomfortable and wondering where to begin. “So, you want to go to the beauty parlour with me?” Gulab was surprised with this question being thrown at her right at the beginning. “Hmmmm…I was thinking that”.
“I knew it, that you would need this, well you have come to the right place, I have my own beauty parlour in this quarter where all the girls from the hostel come for their beauty chores.”
“When can we start?” asked a very excited Gulab with a never before zing in her voice. “We can start very soon after you decide your package.”
“Package? What package”, does beauty come in a package?
Sarita Ben smiled and replied with a hand on Gulab’s Shoulder, “yes, my dear, it’s a package, see what you want from this list”.
Sarita Ben showed her a list of beauty packages:
1. Facial, Waxing, Eyebrows – 2000/
2. Waxing, pedicure, manicure – 1000/
3. Bleach, haircut, hair style – 3500/
4. Face Mask, Acrylic nails, Body Massage - 1500/
Poor Gulab was taken a back after reading these prices. She politely refused Sarita Ben, and went back strolling with the list to her room. She kept on thinking throughout the night; she was imagining herself with all the beauty packages applied to her. The cost of this makeover was too much for her as she felt that she needed everything.
Next morning, she was sitting right in the corner of the window with a newspaper in her hand and a cup of tea in the other. She noticed an advertisement for a beauty assistant and most importantly it read “People without any experience can also apply here”. She thought that it could be a very good way of learning the beauty tricks and also earn some money to get her makeover done.
Sarita Ben told her, “the society in which we live in, needs us women to look and behave in a certain manner, I don’t know from where you are coming to this city, but if you are a woman and stay like this, the city will not help you in any way”.
Sarita Ben shouts loudly, “Autooooooooo….” And a Rikhsaw Walla comes charging right in as if he was waiting for his turn to pick up the girls. She then orders the Auto walla in a gujrati tone, ‘Chalo…Shanti niketan bal ghar’.
Gulab’s ordeal had begun right from the moments she steps into the Bal Ghar, it should actually be named as Chudail Ghar. Poor Gulab was stuck in the crowd of mean bitches that she never dreamt that she could face in her life. She was being questioned on her sexuality, some even tried to molest her by asking her to remove her clothes and prove that she was a girl and not a gay or something like that.
Their faces revolved around her eyes at night, she was shy and in fact scared to leave her room, she merely had dinner and rushed back to her room. She was the back bencher in the classroom because even the teacher used to question her. Once when she introduced her name, the English Teacher, Miss Phoolwarna Kaur told her, “Your name is a bi sexual name, Gulab, who are you”, making it even easier for the students to take it from there and throw some more cheap jokes around. She was in shock, as for her a woman was like Sarita Ben, who was mature and beautiful and helful in nature.
Or the other woman she knew before meeting Sarita Ben was Sridevi. Probably because all the men in her village were smitten by Sri. For Gulab, Sridevi eptomises a woman, who is beautiful, sings and dances, fights bad men and helps poor people. But in this hostel, she could not find even one woman who was close to Sridevi.
It was getting too much for the poor girl to handle all this; she decided to go to Sarita Ben for help. She knocked at the staff quarters where Sarita lived. “Who’s there, please come in.”
Gulab entered the room with light steps, slightly uncomfortable and wondering where to begin. “So, you want to go to the beauty parlour with me?” Gulab was surprised with this question being thrown at her right at the beginning. “Hmmmm…I was thinking that”.
“I knew it, that you would need this, well you have come to the right place, I have my own beauty parlour in this quarter where all the girls from the hostel come for their beauty chores.”
“When can we start?” asked a very excited Gulab with a never before zing in her voice. “We can start very soon after you decide your package.”
“Package? What package”, does beauty come in a package?
Sarita Ben smiled and replied with a hand on Gulab’s Shoulder, “yes, my dear, it’s a package, see what you want from this list”.
Sarita Ben showed her a list of beauty packages:
1. Facial, Waxing, Eyebrows – 2000/
2. Waxing, pedicure, manicure – 1000/
3. Bleach, haircut, hair style – 3500/
4. Face Mask, Acrylic nails, Body Massage - 1500/
Poor Gulab was taken a back after reading these prices. She politely refused Sarita Ben, and went back strolling with the list to her room. She kept on thinking throughout the night; she was imagining herself with all the beauty packages applied to her. The cost of this makeover was too much for her as she felt that she needed everything.
Next morning, she was sitting right in the corner of the window with a newspaper in her hand and a cup of tea in the other. She noticed an advertisement for a beauty assistant and most importantly it read “People without any experience can also apply here”. She thought that it could be a very good way of learning the beauty tricks and also earn some money to get her makeover done.
1 comment:
where's the rest of the story? or does it end here?
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