The most painful realization for me was not that these societal norms existed, but that our love, in its most crucial moments, bowed to them.

Thanks to Bollywood, I was obsessed with the romance portrayed in movies. I thought our story would be one helluva ‘hit’ romantic saga.

She shivered at those words. "It should not take ME the death of my husband, or any other family member, to love myself," she thought.

I was adamant and hell-bent to do something on my own, something of my choice. which I had dreamed of for a long. Dreams don't have an expiry date!

She didn't have to feel guilty about her feelings of defeat and lack of motivation. There was help available. She only had to seek it out.