Priyansha Soni, 36, was preparing to celebrate Chaitra Navratri and worship the goddess Durga. A day before the nine-day celebrations were to begin, she asked her husband, Mukesh Soni, to get the pooja essentials. Flowers, fruits, sweets, lamps, and grains – everything was in place to invite the goddess. However, on March 30, the first day of Navratri, Ms Soni got her periods and couldn’t pray. Women are advised not to pray when menstruating as it is considered impure.
Ms Soni, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, was dejected. She allegedly consumed poison and died by suicide.
“Priyansha waited for Navratri for a year and when it was about time, she could neither fast nor worship the goddess because of periods,” said Mr Soni. “She was stressed about how everything would happen and who would pray. I tried to comfort her and reason with her, explaining that periods are a natural process and monthly occurrence. But she couldn’t accept it. I offered to perform all the rituals on her behalf, but she was sad,” he added.
Soon after Mr Soni left for work, she began to cry, forcing her husband to return home to comfort her. However, after he left for the second time, Ms Soni allegedly consumed poison and was rushed to the hospital.
“She said, ‘I have made a mistake’,” Mr Soni said.
She was then discharged and taken to meet her parents, with the husband hoping a change of place would make her feel better.
She, however, was admitted again after her condition deteriorated.
“At around 2:30 am, she started throwing up and complained of backache, which I thought was because of periods. I took her to the civil hospital. Everything was going fine. The next day, around 1:30 pm, she asked me to eat something. When I said I was not hungry and refused to leave her alone in the hospital, she asked me to get juice for both of us. By the time I returned, she was put on oxygen support and within 15-20 minutes, she died,” said Mr Soni.
She is survived by her husband and two daughters – 3-year-old Janvi and 2-year-old Manvi.
(With inputs from Vinod Gautam)
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