THE STORY BEHIND THE COLOURS OF INDIA

In the heart of Sheroes Café, where five women have transformed their pain into power under the watchful eye of the Taj Mahal. As survivors of acid violence, their story is one of unbreakable human spirit and fierce sisterhood. They carry the scars with dignity. Acid meant to disfigure and destroy instead became the forge of their rebirth. In this sanctuary, Neetu and her mother Geetu cook and stir coffee with steady hands; Rupa stitches dreams into dresses; Ritu counts hope in every coin; and Dolly tends to the library with care.

Here, where history of the ages runs through the veins of hot marble, the five women welcome kind souls from all over the world. They tell their stories to those who seek them. This idea was inspired by a beauty salon in Pakistan also run by acid attack survivors, where acceptance and solidarity first sparked the vision for Sheroes Café.

The attackers tried to steal their faces; society tried to seal their fates. With the loss of beauty, survivors are stripped of the dowry which might be offered in arranged marriage; without society’s ideal of beauty, they are thought of as “damaged goods.” Instead of suffering in isolation, they came together to forge their New Wings — such is the power of inner beauty.

“You burnt my face but not my will to live. You can’t throw acid on that.” — Dolly

In my painting, I drew inspiration from the patterns of the Taj Mahal and the skeletal geometry of Indian embroidery, letting ochre, indigo, and vermilion carry these women skyward in the colours of India. Each brushstroke is a vow: true beauty is skin-deep, where nothing can touch it.

Listen closely: their laughter rings through the café’s open doors. Their courage whispers to us all — that even after unspeakable cruelty, we can learn to fly.