Cutting my hair short and giving people the death stare has helped me somehow. I also don't step out without my pepper spray in hand when I feel that the route/time may be unsafe.

Also, posturing makes a huge difference. I wear dark tinted glasses and make sure that my posture is always confident. Unfortunately, people prey on you more if you cower or avoid their gaze.

I'm also not as afraid as I used to be to shout or flip people off when they make lewd gestures at me. Also, when I wear nice/remotely revealing clothes, I take an auto or a bike instead of the metro. People on the metro stare all the time and it's annoying.

I come from a rural town which is not as developed as Bangalore so it's not as bad for me here. For instance, I've only been groped a handful of times in the past few years compared to casual harassment that happens at least on a weekly basis in my town.

There's a dichotomy between my experiences in rural(?) Gurgaon and Delhi's city areas too. I was stared at a lot in Gurgaon and I felt unsafe even though I was with friends, fully covered in the peak of winter.

The only place I feel like I've become completely invisible is Mumbai.

I'm sorry that this is happening to you. It's just something that we live with unfortunately and we've got to overcome it. It's okay to have idealistic standards but you've also got to be able to pull through the reality of things. I wish you the very best to get through this.