Radjani, 8 years old

Little Rajani, born into the untouchable caste in India, grows up with a painful awareness of her place in society. At dawn, she leaves her modest home to head out to the bustling streets of her city, a basket of fresh flowers balanced on her head. Her delicate hands must endure the averted gazes of some and the insults of those who despise her caste. Every flower she sells earns her a few coins, which are essential for helping her family.

Yet Rajani dreams of something else: she dreams of going to school, holding a pencil, and learning to read and write. She imagines books filled with magical words that would open doors to an unknown world for her. Schools are often closed to children of her caste, and even if they weren’t, her parents can’t afford the tuition or do without her help. Her fate is already sealed: like her mother and her grandmother before her, she is doomed to work from a very young age and to marry too early to a man she did not choose.

Rajani’s days are marked by the heat of the sun, the sound of car horns, and the weight of her responsibilities. Sometimes she watches, from a distance, as children walk past the school, their uniforms clean and their books tucked under their arms. She wonders what she might have become if she’d had the chance to step into that classroom. But reality is unforgiving: she must continue to sell her flowers, to hope in secret, and to bear the burden of her caste with resignation, all while holding onto the hope for a better future deep in her heart.