Imagine, you being locked up inside a dark room, which has a 1×1 window, the only source of light. Sounds like a prisoner's story, right? But, no. This is not a prisoner's story. This story is of a girl who, had to leave here education because of a biological change that every girl go through, and is still considered a taboo, kept writing poems as her only way of venting out. Imagine, your mum tricking you to get married at the age of 13. No, you can't Imagine, right? But this is what happens in every other city, in every other. Village and every other second. We live in metropolitan cities so we don't think of the world outside our circle. This not only happens in villages but also in slums situated in a metropolitan city.
Rajati a.k.a Rokkaiah a.k.a Salma, was locked up inside a dark room at the age of thirteen because she had hit her puberty. She had to leave her education and cut herself out from the outside world. She had to follow the village's norms. Girls in her village would get married once they hit their puberty. Rajat, was an exception. She kept her family at bay for 6 years but her mother tricked her, claiming false heartattack to get married at the age of 22 to an elderly Malik with whom her marriage was fixed when she was 11 yeras old.
When Rajati was locked up inside the room, she would sit near the window and look outside for hours. Her thirst to educate herself made her the poet/writer she is today. She dint lose hopes through she had left school. She would try everything and use anything to read about and from.
When Rajati got married Rokkaiah was born, and she started writing under a pen name Salma. She was under a constant fear. Malik would threaten her for writing. She still managed to write. She would hide her pen inside a box of Sanitary napkins. Malika had burnt her book twice. (If I were there I would have lost hopes and stopped writing.)
Leaving her school, getting married at the age of 22 to man with whom her marriage was fixed at the age of 11, reading from the scrapped papers, confessing the problems she faced as a woman in this society through her poetry, writing in the toilet, sneaking out her book and giving it to her mum to publish it, being awarded for her poetry for number of times and having a documentary made on her story, Salma has come a long way.
Rajati a.k.a Rokkaiah a.k.a Salma is a living example of what courage is.
