The Girl who Broke the Glass Ceiling

And the winner of this year’s “Rap-Battle”, the biggest rap competition in India is “Megha Pandey!!”.

Megha got up from her seat in the auditorium, which was echoing with sounds of claps and people shouting her name.

She walked to the stage with blurry eyes, as the tears of happiness fell from her eyes. She pinched herself to see if she was dreaming, as she held the winning trophy in her hands.

‘Would you like to say something?’, the host asked her.

She nodded and walked to the podium.

Today, I am going to tell you a story about a small-town girl. She was born in a family where girls weren’t supposed to have careers.

Imagine the family’s shock when she said she wanted to become a “Rapper”. They didn’t even know what it was. And even when they knew they mocked her about it, her friends laughed at her for dreaming the impossible.

She had three enemies since that day:

‘Fear’ of never succeeding in fulfilling her dreams, how could she when no-one believed her?

‘Societal Prejudice’ which said girls belong in the kitchen and can’t have dreams especially as impossible as hers.

‘Stereotypes’ that said, girls and rapping? No way, learn classical music or kathak, which suits girls better. Girls are supposed to be soft, not singing at loud beats in a rap.

But the girl was stubborn, she had decided to break the glass ceiling she was trapped in, and conquer her enemies by hard work, grit, and determination.

Today, that girl is standing before you holding the trophy.

I want to say to all the girls out there with dreams and desires, listen to your heart and don’t let anything stop you. YOU will succeed.

(As the auditorium once again thundered with claps and cheers for her, Megha walked out head held high with a heart full of joy, because this was just the beginning of her beautiful future and a life full of dreams.)

This post is written for #BlogALeague with Ruchi, Dipika, Charu and Preetjyot