You are not a princess, my girl!

Dear Piya,

You are not a princess, my girl.

And may you never be.

Because history has defined every princess,

Waiting for her long-awaited prince-charming,

To come rescue her out of misery,

As a damsel in distress!

So here is another such tale,

From your mother’s goodnight diary, 

A tale of a little girl, born in a land far away,

Who was neither a princess nor a fairy.

What her mother saw in her was a life to adore.

But for everyone else, her complexion became the talk of the town.

Ignoring the fire in her eyes & the sparkle in her giggles,

They judgementally decided to name her ‘Brown’.

She grew up to be a marvellous wonder!

She grew up zesty & strong.

She sought knowledge in everything -

To all of the nature’s magnificence did she belong.

Oh, how high-praised was this girl

In all of the tales told & re-told,

As a brave, talented, adventurous kid,

Who, once grown up, was asked to stop being bold!

One day a kid, next day a woman,
Brown grew out of childhood, faster than her brother did.
All of the toys & all of her preferred joys,
Were not subject to discrimination between a daughter & a son.

She was told “God knows when, but one day, 

Your knight-in-shining-armour will come,

And that is when your journey will begin;

That is where your life will start from”.

"What is this I am living now, then?"

Asked an innocent, little Brown,

"Who will marry this arrogant girl?"

Worried everyone with a frown.

A naive Brown, grew up to believe,

That her life was yet to find meaning.

Little did she know that her dream-guy could easily be a Mumma’s boy

Asking her focus instead on cooking & cleaning!

Not to forget, there was a probable chance

That an entire village would turn up to see Brown,

Just to judge her left, right & centre -

Check if she’s worth wearing their family’s royal gown.

Thankfully, here is where she stepped her foot down.

"I am not yours to gauge, neither are you mine to serve.

If this is what a knight will cost,

Then, dear Lord, he doesn’t a me deserve!"

That’s the day she was set free, dear girl.

That’s the day life started for Brown -

A girl who was neither a princess nor a fairy;

A girl who wore her heart on the sleeve, instead of a head-crown.

She lived & loved as was meant to be:
Not in a sad state of yearning for life,
But in a merry state of celebrating ever day,
As there is much to one's identity than just being someone's wife.

There is knowledge to seek and there are experiences to gain.
There is joy to be discovered, as well as hurt & pain.
There are places to visit and peaks to achieve,
And then there are truths to discover & myths to disbelieve.

I wish you all these in life, my girl.
And then if & ever you do seek the company of not a knight, 
But a partner-in-crime or a friend for life,
May they see all the hues of your beauty & your might.

So don’t you be sad for even once my child,
For remember that there too is a Brown in thee.
Your life as well happiness start with you, darling,
As you are not a princess, and may you never be.

Love,

Maa