first time
She ran ahead, jumping and skipping, calling out warning to approaching bicycles and people too. Too young to be manning a herd of angry buffaloes, she took pride in the fact that the job was hers. Everything about her went against it, she was 13, a girl and also of lower caste. She knew all of this and yet she was happy. Her caste did not matter at all; her father was the chief of their village, a proud indomitable man who loved her. Even though she was a girl, she was the most loved in her family. The elders called her a miracle baby, her mother was very close to death when she conceived her. Somehow, by the will of God, not only did she survive the pregnancy, but ever since has not had a single health problem. She was proud that she was so lucky for her mother. The men from town didn’t think so. They came to interview her father but used insulting words like ‘anpadh’ (illiterate); ‘andhvishwasi’ (superstitious). They made claims of telling the world their problems but had made them ...