Speaking out about periods

Actor Tisca Chopra's book What's Up With Me? is a conversation starter between parents and tweens on puberty and periods

“Why should periods be gross to talk about?” asks Tisca Chopra, mom to eight-year-old Tara. Her parents, says Tisca, never volunteered information and she picked up different versions of pubertal truths from cousins and friends. But with Tara,Tisca has chosen to be open because she realises growing up is a rollercoaster ride. “My husband and I do not hesitate to call the body parts by their biological names during conversations at home,” she says. “A breast is breast and a vagina is a vagina, why should basic physiology and biology be such a taboo to discuss?” It was the actor-film director-author's childhood friend Vidhi Bhargava who planted the seed in her to write on body changes so that young girls know what's coming their way. The lockdown gave Tisca time to research and pen a guide that gives practical suggestions to cope with physical and emotional upheavals during hormonal changes at puberty. “It is also about inclusivity,” she says. “Boys and girls should be scientifically taught to understand their bodies and also each other’s,” she says, taking time off for the interview while on a shoot in Jaipur for a web series. Tisca began writing a letter to her daughter about the biological events she would inevitably face, but the more she spoke with Tara and her friends, she felt the need to address several basic questions in detail in a language easy to comprehend.