“She must be somewhere here”, Pranav thought.

“I need to find her. I need to see her for one last time before she goes back to Mumbai. “

Today is the day when the love of Pranav’s life is going back to Mumbai after her semesters break is over. And she isn’t coming back for another 6 months.

“Priya, where are you?” he called her.

“I am standing right here Pranav. Why don’t you come? I want to see you. Please come na.”

Pranav wondered in irritated amazement and thought where the hell she is. He has visited the Delhi Railway station quite often and he could not understand why he is not able to see her even when the station is at its quietest possible.

(It is 4 A.M in the morning and Pranav, after travelling the length and breadth of the platform a record 4 times in 4 minutes, seemed to lose his cool when the phone rang)

“Where are you Pranav? Tell me if you do not want to meet me? I will not say anything and just go.”

In the span of this conversation, Pranav recalled the hard ordeal he had to go through to come visit her at the station. He had to make a pillow arrangement on his bed so that he seemed asleep to his mother who was sleeping right next to him. Also, he had to push his scooter a fair distance to make sure that nobody came to know that he is gone at 3:50 in the morning. Also, he drove at almost 100 km/hr to reach the station just in time.

He wanted to tell all of this to Priya, but he managed to say something totally different.

“Baby, of course I want to meet you. I am sorry. Now, please tell me exactly where you are? And on which platform?”

“I am standing right at the footsteps of the bridge that separates the 2 platforms. How many times do I need to tell you the same thing? I think you are not even on the station and you do not want to meet me either.”

(There is a very interesting fact about love. It has no place for reasoning. When you are in love, you cannot apply logic to most of the things. And when you are in a situation when you just have 5 minutes before a final goodbye, logic is hard to come.)

The situation was going out of control. Pranav was standing right at the footsteps of the bridge where Priya was supposed to be present too.

“I am standing right where you told me you are but I can’t see you. I have been running on the platform for the last 5 minutes and I see no sign of you. “

“Pranav, please go back. I think we are not destined to meet for one last time.”

In the course of this conversation, Pranav suddenly found himself moving upwards on the stairs and in no time he was at the top of the bridge from where he could see the whole station.

“I see you Pranav.” Priya shouted.

Suddenly her voice seemed new and fresh. All of a sudden she seemed alive.

“I told you that I am right at the footsteps. Why don’t you listen to me? Now come down from the stairs please. “

Now, Pranav started to come down from the stairs, as told, but still there was no sign of her. He was getting impatient.

“I still can’t find you”, he said.

“Come back to the bridge again.” she said.

“Ok.”

“I can see you again.”

Suddenly something dawned on Pranav. He realized that he might be searching on the wrong platform. So, he went down on other side of the bridge.

(You see, they both were at the footsteps of the bridge but on different platforms. Pranav was searching on Platform 1 while Priya was at Platform 2)

“There she is”, Pranav smiled.

“If you would have told me that you are at Platform 2, things would have been easier Priya.”

“You never asked me Pranav.”

Pranav knew that he had asked her. But he knew that doesn’t matter now. What matters is right in front of his eyes. They both could see each other now. But, Priya was not alone. Her parents, other girls who were going with her, and the parents of those girls were also present there.

Pranav was hiding behind the tree on the station and he was looking at her continuously. Priya wanted to, but she couldn’t.  He was acting as if he was talking on the phone just to be safe. His phone rang.

“I love you.” she said in a voice that could melt ice even in a snow storm.

“Wow. How do you look so beautiful even at this time?”

“I said I love you Pranav.”

“I love you too babe.”

(The train is approaching to the station. It is coming closer and closer. The engine is making huge amount of noise. But, the connection between two hearts is making its own sound. A sound that is unheard but is always in the air)

“I need to go”

“I know.”

Pranav could see her board the train. After adjusting herself in the cabin with other girls, she came out for a final goodbye. She was standing on the door with other girls. He could see her eyes filled with water.

There was a complete chaos on the station, but there was complete silence in the eyes of both of them. They just looked at each other and understood everything. They were now one in their own world.

(The train finally started to drift away. The moment had come)

Pranav could not see her now but he knew he had found something today. And he couldn’t wait any longer to call and tell her.

“You looked different today.” he said.

“What?”

“You looked like my wife today.”

Woman, a term used to coin a female human, definitely does not mean “woo-man”. She is a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife, a friend and more importantly, she is human. In today’s world though, she’s Nirbhaya too.
Whatever you give a woman, she is going to multiply it. If you give her a sperm, she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will give you a home.If you give her your respect, she will give you her life. If you give her liberty, she will give you her love but if you give her any wrong, she will give you a whole lot of smashing.

The journey of being a woman in INDIA-

She is born. She is happy. But, her family wanted a son. She didn’t know it now, for she is just a child. She craves for her father’s lap, but silently acknowledges when her father’s lap is occupied by her own little brother, for she is told that she is a good sister. Now, she goes to school, but not the same as her brothers’, for she is told that it involves a lot of money and she is a good daughter. Now, she is a little grown up, but is told not to wear a skirt, for she is told that she is a good girl. She is stared shamelessly by an unknown, but she is told to remain silent, for she is a timid character. Now, she enters her womanhood, and is told to leave her home and get married to someone she don’t really know. She is now a wife, and no longer a daughter, for she is told that it is her destiny. She now feels a kick in her womb, and her whole world changes. She is now a mother. She spent her whole life feeding her children her own meal, but at the winter of her life, she has her eyes stuck on the door of the hospital waiting for that last meal from them. A meal that can let her eyes shut down. But that meal never came.Facing all this, there she is, strong and shining like a diamond!

Woman- An eternal smile.

 Having to occupy so many roles throughout her endearing journey, she never complains and she never lets her smile fade away. Not only does she smiles throughout, she endures, and smiles. A world without her smile is like a body with no heart. That is the beauty of being her. Knowing the reality of the world in which she lives in, still managing that smile is a brave thing to do. It is a thing only some could do and it is definitely a thing no man can do.

Women- Strength Personified.

When we see a woman, we generally picture her crying over small issues say, for example, watching  an emotional movie. But, the very fact of her crying does not make her timid. In fact, it makes her even stronger due to the fact that she does not pretend to be someone she is not. Not everyone can do that.
She might be enduring the pain this world is giving her, but when she decides to raise her voice, the whole world listens She is a single mother, and a proud one too. She is a little overweight but she is always inspirational.

In the end, little things like her grace, care, temper, compassion, and even unpredictible emotions at time, all
of it makes her more beautiful. And, to be the one to bring a new life into this world, makes her beauty unparalleled.

Nobody should try to limit the things a woman could or should do. What we need today is not giving woman a special status, but giving her the liberty to explore those limitations. That’s all she needs.
So, in the starting the, question was, “What is the beauty of being a woman?”. In the end, it should rather be, “Is there any beauty without a woman?”

Written by-Naman Bansal.