Why is it so that sometimes , even when we are good at the bigger and better things , there are still extremely  trivial things that bring us down and make us think of ourselves in a totally different way , a way which makes us pity ourselves . This is the story of Mughda Bhatia , a strong girl with high ambitions whose own mother ignores all her star achievements and feels sorry for her only because of a “Silly” reason .

She wiped the drop of sweat that was running down her cheek. “Mughda ! Mughda ! Mughda”, she could hear the crowd chant her name. A match point was all that was needed and ace! In the blink of an eye, Mughda delivered such a tremendous serve, that her opponent couldn’t even move her racquet. Mughda Bhatia had yet again won the annual schoolathon trophy for Lillywood High. “I knew my mugu is a winner!”, yelled her father on top of his voice and took her into an embrace , kissing her forehead . However, her mother’s reaction was quite unlike anyone else’s.

At night, her dad had to stay in the hospital till late due to the critical health of a patient which gave a chance to Mughda to talk to her mom about her unresponsive and cold reactions. “Mummy, have I done something wrong? What is keeping you away from loving your only child?”, She asked in a pleading tone. “Mughda, if you want me to be happy then stop playing tennis. You are in 12^th standard, would next year be in college and soon we would have to start looking for a matching suitor for you”, her mom replied. Muhgda worshiped her sport. She knew she could make a fortunate career in tennis.

“But how is playing tennis and marriage related mummy?”, she asked in a bewildered voice.

“Your complexion my girl. All this staying outdoors has taken its toll on you. You have to start staying indoors and work upon getting your glow back. I won’t be able to bear you, facing rejections and people blaming me for not being able to fulfill my responsibility of raising an alluring lady.”, said her mother with distant eyes as if she was looking far ahead from the present.

Mughda was astonished. She couldn’t believe that this was the cause of her mother not taking part in her proud merrymaking. Suddenly all those valuable trophies, medals and straight A’s faded and seemed to have lost their value. Her dad, who had reached home a while back using his spare keys for the fear of waking them up from their pleasant dreams had gathered what they were talking. He sat next to Mughda and started stroking her hair.

“You my child are a beautiful girl. There are all sorts of people on this globe who possess varied heights, castes and colour. Just imagine how laborious it would have been for me to spot my princess had all been identical. I married your mom for the magnificent soul that she owns and not just for the beauty that she holds!”, spoke her father in a soft voice.

Turning to his wife, he held her hand and said, “Worrying about your single child is justified on your part but you are worrying for all the wrong reasons. Marriage is right now a distant event, but when she comes of age, I guarantee you that there will me a lot many men willing to wed a self – independent and a career oriented strong women. You are simply making her conscious for something that isn’t even looked at or bothered about in today’s generation. You should be proud of our daughter for she is building herself when many others her age are out there getting wasted. She uses her skill and not her skin to get on top and achieve things which I never was able to do in my childhood. You are mistaking a piece of perfectly polished gold for shiny glitter because of a physical attribute which isn’t even a flaw.”, explained the open minded husband.

Mughda’s mother had tears in her eyes. She felt guilty. Guilty for netting a butterfly that was yet to unfurl her wings and scatter her aroma.

For we all are distinct in our own aspects. Instead of showing each other down, we as women should support each other and eradicate the feelings of envy. The job of a girl is not to look all Barbie like so that she can find a perfect Ken. But focus on bigger things, things that actually matter.