Sketchstory No. 8 - 'Aparajita' by Sulekha Rawat

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Unblinking and unafraid, she stands, her smiling facade hiding a plethora of emotions and thoughts as usual. She touches her face and encounters the bandages covering most of her face. The aberrations and cuts aren’t a novelty, the lack of them is.


Her parents named her Aparajita. She lives up to her name and fights fearlessly for the weak and defenceless. She is the voice of the voiceless. A true warrior.


Pappu, the neighbourhood goon, had been at the receiving end of her wrath today. She had chanced upon him beating a couple of stray puppies with a thin, long stick. Her guttural shout had disconcerted him for a second as she rushed up to him to snatch the stick and rain a few choice blows on his back. His flailing arms had scratched her face and neck.


After handing over a subdued Pappu to the cops and the puppies to the animal shelter, Aparajita headed home to yet another lecture from her exasperated but secretly proud parents. Hadn’t they brought her up to be fearless and compassionate? Why name her Aparajita, the unconquerable?



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