Raj to Raji

Raj was a ten year old boy who lived in Mumbai with his parents and his sister Rani. He was a curious and adventurous kid who liked to explore new things and learn about different cultures. He was especially fascinated by the traditional Indian dresses that his mother and sister wore on special occasions, such as sarees, lehengas, salwar kameez and churidars. He wondered how it felt to wear such colorful and intricate outfits that seemed so different from his usual jeans and t-shirts.

One day, when he was alone at home with his mother, he asked her if he could try on some of her clothes. His mother was surprised by his request, but she decided to humor him and see what he was up to. She thought it might be a phase or a game that he would soon get over. She took him to his sister bedroom and opened her wardrobe, where she had a collection of beautiful dresses from various regions of India.

"Which one do you want to try?" she asked him.

Raj looked at the dresses with awe and excitement. He pointed at a red and gold lehenga choli that his sister had worn for Diwali last year.

"That one!" he said.

His mother smiled and took out the dress. She helped him take off his clothes and put on the lehenga skirt that reached his ankles. Then she wrapped the choli blouse around his chest and tied it at the back. She adjusted the dupatta scarf over his shoulders and pinned it in place.

"There you go," she said. "How do you feel?"

Raj looked at himself in the mirror and felt a strange sensation. He felt like he was someone else, someone more feminine and graceful. He liked how the dress hugged his body and made him look slimmer and taller. He liked how the fabric shimmered in the light and made him feel festive.

"I feel good," he said shyly.

His mother chuckled and hugged him.

"You look very pretty," she said.

She decided to go along with his experiment and make it more fun for him.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" she asked.

Raj nodded eagerly.

His mother took out some hair extensions from her drawer and clipped them onto Raj's short hair until it reached his waist. She combed it gently and braided it into one long braid that hung over his shoulder. 

She then took out some jewelry from her box

and adorned Raj with earrings, nose ring, bangles,

payals (anklets), tikka (forehead ornament) 

and bindi (red dot).

She applied some kajal (eyeliner) 

and lipstick on Raj's face 

and smiled at her creation.

"Now you look like a real Indian girl," 

she said proudly.

Raj in his lehanga