I reached out to some of my friends to ask for a woman's perspective of adolescence.

A universal theme is body image issues. Things are bad enough with all the feminine body changes ("hair everywhere"). But to deal with people telling you that you don't look pretty enough, sexy enough. And very often these are the closest people in your life. Indian parents have a long, long way to go.

I introspected and realised that I'm guilty of not watching my tongue near teenage girls. To call a twelve year old girl मोटी or भुक्कड़ when she is tucking in her favourite dish is commonplace. But the damage it does could be permanent.

Apart from body shaming, there is other kinds of damage that women my age have suffered at the hands of their parents. Many have got relief through therapy. The desire to "control" girls and the female form is just so overwhelming, I suppose.

And not to be forgotten, the lifelong roller coaster of hormonal changes begins at this age. Yeah, I would need a vacation every month just to deal with periods. I can't imagine having to deal with body image issues, parents, peers and लोग क्या कहेंगे on top of all that. Phew.

I suppose the overarching theme in all this is - if you can't say something nice to a kid, then just keep your stupid trap shut.