Khushi Khater, a 19-YO girl from Kolkata who resides in Bangalore has transformed herself from a bullied teen to an award-winning poet. Her journey of finding her self-confidence is amazing. She has shared it over several platforms as a public speaker overcoming her own fears and helping others at the same time.
Two of her poems, My Parents and Thoughts Of Life, were published in International Poetry Digest New York – March 2018. She is also an official record holder in the India Book Of Records. She has several other accolades such as – India Star Icon Award 2019, Global Young Leader Fellowship, Karmaveer Chakra Award by iCONGO in association with the United Nations, and the Nari Samman Award 2020.
Khushi believes that it was her scars that made her the wonderful girl she is today. In conversation with Life Beyond Numbers, she shared her journey with us.
Hitting the rock bottom
For an entire year starting from the summer of 2014, Khushi was in the worst phase of her life. She lost touch with the entire world. She even failed to wave a mere ‘hi’ and became an introvert, which she had never been.
“Just imagine a classroom full of liveliness, everyone interacting with each other but you sit in one corner of that classroom with nobody to interact with but in your mind, you are imagining a scene where you’re interacting with each other! That’s how life used to be for me a couple of years ago,” said Khushi looking back to her gloomy days.
That was not all. With all the sadness that was inside her, Khushi’s studies were deteriorating. In her 9th grade, she scored as low as 40% and came back home crying. She thought she would be bashed by her parents the way her friends are bashed by their parents when they get bad results, but she wasn’t and rather she was understood by her parents!
“My grade 9 half yearly examination results were out and I scored only 40%. I came crying all the way home and thought that my parents would torture me like those typical ones. Luckily, my parents did not react in that way. Of course, I got a little scolding which I think I deserved. They just explained where did I go wrong, and how should I be studying. They tried to be friends with me and became my best friends then and there,” shared Khushi shedding light on her relationship with her parents.
Though her family supported her, there was no sign of relief from her schoolmates.
“But what was waiting at school was truly demeaning. The very next day when I went school, people told me things like “I’m a failure, I’m good for nothing, they even told that I would never pass out from school…etc”. I became very weak both physically and mentally,” said the troubled child.
Khushi’s dad is a businessman and her mother, a homemaker. They paid a lot of attention to their child and realized her discomfort. Soon, they decided to change her school. But what happened next was unprecedented.
“Though my school was changed, I was so weak that I became an easy target for the bullies. In a particular incident, a group in my school decided to bully me for no reason. I was walking down the stairs towards the bus that day and someone from this gang put their leg in between and I had fallen down very badly. Although I somehow managed to go to the infirmary and get myself bandaged, I was shattered. I went home crying again. When my mom learned about all this, she was enraged and so she complained at the school. Soon after actions were taken against those kids,” the poet shared.
Conquering her fears
That was when Khushi realized how important opening up was. She understood that only she can change her life. With her willpower, the blessed girl started motivating herself and within a month she was performing well. She took part in all the activities in the school and overcame her fear of public speaking. She was even nominated to be the deputy head girl by her well-wishers and teachers.
At the age of 14, she started writing. Khushi enrolled herself in several competitions and ultimately got featured in the International Poetry Digest which later on won her several accolades including Nari Samman.
Now it’s been 2 years since Khushi has passed out of school. She is studying at ISBR College, Bangalore, away from her home in Kolkata. Her journey has taught her so much and she is thankful to so many people and most importantly, her family.
For the ones who are struggling to make a mark, Khushi has a special message.
Such a sparkling personality she is. Way to go, Khushi!