The Kumaris in Nepal are revered as they believe that the goddess Taleju resides in the little girl that is picked. A girl from the Shakya family (Buddhist), who fulfills 32 feature requirements, is picked to be a Kumari and resides in the Kumari palace at Durbar Square. However the girl falls into a pitiful state when, after she gets her menstruations, she is removed from the palace and another Kumari is picked. During her stay in the palace, she is not educated or trained in any art; also people believe that any man who marries an ex-Kumari will die an early death. Resultantly, most of the girls end up begging by temples or are forced into prostitution.
She gazed down at the eyes peering towards her
Hopes weighed her down, desires of granting wishes;
Her eyes momentarily glanced up towards the heavens,
Taking in the colours before being pulled into the dark.
Her fragile feet were numbed to any feeling.
She longed to sprint across freshly watered grass.
She missed the smell of her sister’s used clothes,
Not days, not months; for years the castigation was to last.
The sense of yearning, too, slowly left her alone;
A life that she knew nothing of, couldn’t call out anymore.
Though the innocence in her was kept alive by the palace,
She had to leave; this young woman was no longer a girl.
She wasn’t royal anymore, or a goddess;
She was just a woman with her eyes to the ground.
She violently fluttered along with life,
Like a tender feather abruptly released in the storm.
Photo courtesy - Sean D'mello
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