My mother would string some loose jasmine flowers everyday and put them on - until my father passed away. I knew she had healed, however, when I found jasmine flowers with her again.

The author lost a beloved husband in her early 30s, needing to be strong, she sometimes wears a mask, giving in to her grief when music moves her.

Widows have long been discriminated against. After being deprived of social and economic standing, inheritance laws for widows have aimed to set things right, through economic emancipation.

And then she heard her aunt talking about her to her mother, "But didi, you should have told her. Pink is not her colour. It doesn't look good on her."

Furthermore, if they sighted her, they might blame her for any calamity that would befall them during the entire day as the mere sighting of a widow was considered inauspicious.