The Delicacy of a Rose

By Praneet Rana

Roses go through a lot of pain and heartbreak in order to blossom. 'The Delicacy Of A Rose'
includes hers, theirs and my own personal experiences which in the hopes of our dreams,
allows others to grow. Experiences include living in a conservative society, being diagnosed
with a medical condition, getting chased by the demons of the past, dealing with anxiety and
depression, overcoming poisonous thorns, dreaming about a fairytale life, and blossoming into a
rose who has let go of the extra petals.
"These pages of magic include some topics we are not allowed to ever touch. They tell me to
hold my lips together by attaching a lock... I'm sorry, these lips cannot be locked forever."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Feb 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543496192

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by Praneet Rana.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2020903088

ISBN:                Hardcover              978-1-5434-9621-5

                          Softcover                978-1-5434-9620-8

                          eBook                     978-1-5434-9619-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 02/25/2020

Xlibris

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There was a time where they said kuddiyan (girls) mean nothing

and today, the kuddiyan (girls) are blossoming.

Sharing mine, her, and their experiences with you.

They said so many things to me, some tried to bring

me down, society tried bringing them down, and they

just made it so hard for all of us to live peacefully.

But us kuddiyan (girls) are still blooming.

Now I’m finally ready to share with you

what a kuddi (girl) goes through.

This is so close to my heart.

My stories, her stories, and their stories are

all written through my eyes,

and are now in your hands…

Our stories are delicate, please handle with care.

I just want you to know, I’m excited to share with lots of love:

The Delicacy of a Rose

From: Me to You

CONTENTS

Talking About Feminism in Desi Culture

Talking to Them on Behalf of You

We All Make Mistakes

Discovering PCOS at the Age of 17

The Dark Place No One Understood

Men Tried to Bring Me Down

Dreaming Since I Was a Little Girl

This Delicate Rose Has Truly Blossomed

The Delicacy of a Rose

To Those Who Mean a Lot to Me

Before I begin, I want to say, Punjab is a beautiful place.

The culture is breathtaking.

There’s so much to the culture that I love.

Bhangra and Giddha are our folk dances, that we cannot live without.

Tikiyan, gol gappe, and kulfi, the street foods from India we cherish

even from across the world.

I miss the galliyan of my pind (the streets of my village).

I miss jumping from one kothi (house) to another.

I miss my Punjab…

I embrace my culture, and I embrace my Punjab.

I really do.

However, there are some things a kuddi (girl) goes through.

It’s not the culture’s fault. It’s the fault of our society.

It’s the people of my culture who are trying to control me.

They are the ones who need to change their mindsets.

What’s coming your way may be painful to read, but it’s the cold hard

truth that we all tend to ignore.

This isn’t written to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

It’s written with love, not disrespect.

So, please, look at all of this from a millennial kuddi’s (girl’s) point of

view.

TALKING ABOUT

FEMINISM IN DESI

CULTURE

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Colourful yet So Black and White

Desi Culture –

A culture that is vibrant, energetic, and colourful.

Behind the colourful aspects of the culture, there are black and white

minds.

Black and white minds who only see what they have been taught.

Black and white minds meaning, they see no colour for anyone.

I have to have long hair, if it’s short, my Gurus (spiritual teacher)

won’t accept me.

My clothes have to cover me fully, as this society will only then think

I’m not asking for something.

What even is a tattoo? I forgot my hands and my arms

are only meant for mehndi (henna).

Facial hair and body stretch marks shouldn’t be on me,

people won’t see me as ‘pretty’.

My degree and job only matter if I can get a rishta (proposal)

in the future within seconds.

Boyfriends, love, crushes, sex;

none of it exists as it’s ill cultured to think about whom I want to be

with.

He has tattoos.

He has a significant other,

He doesn’t follow any rules.

He isn’t restricted from anything.

‘He’s a munda (boy).’

I forgot he’s important because he’s the only one

that can take your family name forward.

Sorry I forgot the importance of something

that you’ve been telling me since I was young.

And yes, this is the ‘black and white’

thinking of the twenty-first century.

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Someone asked me once,

‘Do you believe in your Rabb (god)?’

I didn’t have an answer back then.

And now