An Unforgettable memory

Today, through my blog, I wish to share an incident with you all which I could never forget. 

It is linked with the deplorable respect given to women. The story is about my friend. When she narrated to me the intricacies of the incident, my heart filled with pain. We used to meet in school every day, mingle around, crack jokes and gossip about every second thing, golden period of our life. But that day, she came with a sad face with tears in her eyes just ready to stream. 

I asked her innumerable times about the problem that troubled her but she didn’t say a word. Her grave expressions were hurting me inside. Finally after a long silence, she burst out. She cried and yelled out for some time and told me a disheartening tale. In her words, I will tell you her story. 

I went to attend a wedding with my family. I had a great time there, watching all the pomp and splendour on display. While returning home, we boarded a local bus. It was late night, around 11:30pm. The local means of transport, Auto rickshaws, run only at their convenience. We didn’t have a personal vehicle. There was no space on the bus to sit so we kept standing. Later on my mother made me sit between two passengers. I sat down between them. My fellow passenger was an aged man who was stinking. He told me that there was no space and told me to sit on his lap. Being a child, I sat on his lap. But that went on to be a horrible experience as that man for the next 15 minutes kept on pressing my legs with his hands. My parents were standing at a distance and could have never thought about such an instance could happen. A man of my father’s age was harassing me. I was a kid then and felt deeply insulted within.

At such a tender age, my friend felt the ill will of a man, his unscrupulous intentions and his bad touch. Think after sinking yourself at the age of 12 years where touch of a man is only fatherly and there’s no such word like ill will1 I wish life was as easier for woman as it is for a man. Women deserve as much respect as anyone else does. 
 
By Aakshi Kalra