Turmeric and Gram Flour

By Sanskriti Arora

Katyayani’s mother held her still by pressing her hand into her daughter’s shoulder,

 her nails dug into her hairy skin,

 Mummy! Can you be gentle? She pleaded. She raised her head and looked straight

 into her mother’s focused eyes

 as she scrubbed her face with turmeric mixed with gram flour and water.

 We need to do this now;

 it is easier to remove baby hair. She spoke matter-of-factly. Her voice was consistent

 and unwavering after hearing her child’s

 consistent screaming and begging. What is so painful about this? She thinks to

 herself. She would have been grateful

if her mother had tried to make her pretty at a young age. She would not be stuck

 here. She rubbed Katyayani’s cheeks

 and the fat moved with her hands, moulding her. Mother worried about that too, but

 she consoled herself by calling it

 “baby fat,” and she had heard from other mothers that baby fat disappears when they

 grow up. Though she was already sixteen

 and her blouse was starting to tighten against her chest. She scrubbed the dried

 flour to naturally wax her daughter’s

 facial hair, just as she was advised by her husband’s great aunt.

 Katyayani’s eyes had started to water

 but her work was not done yet. When her forearm got tired, she

splattered cold water onto her face. Mother used her nails to rub especially hard

 around her side-locks because she has hated

 them since the time her sister-in-law had pointed them out when she had first

 come to meet her newly born niece.

 Bhabhi, hey Bhagwan, she is so hairy! Later, her mother had examined her

Daughter’s small body and realised that

her sister-in-law was right. She had grown and given birth to a hairy girl.

 Now, as she examined her girl’s freshly

 treated and washed face for traces of success, but she could still see the long hairs

 firmly rooted in her face.

By Sanskriti Arora