The Golden Girl and the Sacred Root

Priya sat alone on her grandmother's veranda in Kerala, watching the monsoon clouds gather. At seven years old, she felt different from the other village children with her unusual golden hair—a gift from her European father who had left years ago.

"Why am I so different, Amma?" she whispered to her mother, tears mixing with the warm rain.

Her mother, Lakshmi, knelt beside her daughter and gently touched the golden strands. "Come, little one. Let me show you something."

In the kitchen, Lakshmi pulled fresh turmeric roots from a clay pot. "See this?" She held up the knobby, earth-covered root. "It looks ordinary, doesn't it?"

Priya nodded, watching as her mother's knife revealed the brilliant orange-gold flesh inside.

"For four thousand years, our ancestors called turmeric 'the golden goddess,'" Lakshmi said, grating the root into warm coconut milk. "This humble root has traveled the world, healing bodies and spirits, bringing warmth to cold places and strength to weary souls."

She stirred in honey and cardamom, creating a golden elixir that matched Priya's hair perfectly.

"But Amma, it started here?"

"Yes, beta. Right here in our soil. And like turmeric, sometimes the most powerful gifts are the ones that look different." Lakshmi handed her daughter the warm cup. "Your golden hair is like this sacred root—rare, beautiful, and meant to bring light to the world."

As Priya sipped the golden milk, she felt warmth spread through her chest. "The same color," she whispered, touching her hair.

"The very same. You carry the gold of our ancestors and the strength of this ancient land. Different isn't wrong, beta—it's magical."

The next morning, Priya ran to the spice garden, her golden hair catching sunlight like the turmeric flowers swaying in the breeze. She was no longer the different girl—she was the golden girl, rooted in tradition yet destined to shine wherever life would take her.

Just as turmeric carries its golden healing power across cultures and continents, we each carry unique gifts that can illuminate and heal our world. Sometimes what makes us different is exactly what makes us extraordinary.

Photography by: Sanju Pandita with Unsplash