Wear Your Scars with Pride
“She only thought about how her dreams were strangled, how they suppressed her voice. Maybe her skin wasn’t as thick as everyone once thought, after being rubbed raw by her life. And they took everything at face value.”
~Roobal Gupta
21-year-old engineering student and a published author, Roobal Gupta talks about the scars a woman wears with a feeling of disgrace. Discussions over sexual violence that we do not get over and are we even putting any efforts to show "Our Power?" As a girl, she says, "What a fallacy it is that putting pressure on her would do anything but help her grow, rise."
"Engineering and writing may not sound like a good combination but trust me it is," she says. "Top 100 Debut Indian Authors 2018-19 Awardee" published her first debut novel "Autumn, the mosaic of all" in December 2018. She dedicates this book to all the girls who have stood firm, despite all the hurdles they have faced, never letting the world bring them down. In this article she talks about her new book, her views on sexual violence and the discovery of self-love.
1. If you have to describe your story in one word, what would it be?
"Reborn." We're beyond flawed and yet we are supposed to look only straight ahead, aren't we? Then why just can't we cut the ties with our deepest feelings and look towards our most memorable memories? It is not only you who've made numerous mistakes. Everyone does, and there is no shame in realizing them, knowing what you know now and doing things differently. When something irritates you, give a reminder to yourself that you're not made to fit into a shallow box built by someone else. You need to find the "Real You" hidden beneath your external features.
2. This is your first book. How did you get the idea of writing this book?
When we look into our society, “Rape” is just considered as a ubiquitous word. You can hear people talking over it and debating over- “How a woman is supposed to behave or dress up every time.” Do you even understand the pain and struggles a woman has to go through? My dear people, we’re living in the 21st century where equality holds good on each one of us. Teach your kids to respect one and all. Through the story of my book, I’ve tried my best to showcase the depth of depression and a feeling of guilt a woman holds and later, how her companions help her to overcome her fears and support her to take a flight of confidence towards her passion. How beautifully she acknowledges her flaws and faults and revamps herself.
3. Did you come across specific challenges while writing this book?
(laughing) Well, that’s a loaded question. A lot. Being a pro-level extrovert, it was a tedious job for me to write about the protagonist as an introvert. When you talk about the persona, you have to feel one like them. You have to indulge yourself in the same situation and think like them. Then only you can pen down a beautiful fiction. But somehow, it was gracefully done.
4. What inspires you to write?
Sometimes, you realize life is too beautiful. And at times, you consider it as a waste of time, helping yourself to reflect your emotions when you could be enjoying what it has to offer. There are so many beautiful thoughts swirling in your mind, but you always capture the ones who ask you to look down at yourself. I feel like penning down such ideas to make yourself worth it. Maybe the magic happens when we stop chasing the lights on the train tracks and get off the path entirely.
5. Describe your slay.
I take “No pain, no gain” as a reminder to myself. I slay by not only staring at the way things are. I try to grab every little opportunity life gives me. I believe in being the calm in the storm and not the storm itself. Life is unpredictable, so I need to laugh. Life is hard, so I need to be soft. Life is beautiful, so I need to learn where to look.