Fired

For some
Homecoming is a path paved with lights;
For others,
A suspended sentence, after passing a trial by fire.*


*In Ramayana, there was a huge celebration and Ayodhya was decorated with lights when Rama returned from exile to take his place as the king. Sita, ont he other hand, had to take a fire test after she was rescued from demon king Ravana’s captivity, before she was accepted as the faithful wife and the rightful queen.


First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.

The demons within

Kaikeyi could ask as she had been granted two vouchers to redeem,
Otherwise the palace women had no voice or wish, or so it seemed.

So when Surpanakha spoke boldly and upset the apple cart,
To cover up their nervousness, the men called her a tart.

A woman’s outspoken desires cause consternation,
The flustered listeners resorted to mutilation.

Ravana wasn’t the chestbeater to whine that his venerable nose had been obliterated by his sister’s act,
But the princes proceeded to destroy Surpanakha’s, one with violence, the other being complicit in the pact.

While the justice league smirked and thought that they had served an ace,
Posterity wonders if by cutting off Surpanakha’s nose, they did not spite their own face.

First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.

Writing a wrong

“If my daughter can lift Shiva’s bow,
Her suitor’s threshold can’t be set low.”*

Patriarchy needs male forearms to be more sinewed,
Even if the woman has been with brawn power imbued.

Visibly unflinching, Rama reeled under the expectation’s weight
Before he could be rid of it, Sita would have to have a long, long wait.

The Swayamvara was all wrong, the woman shouldn’t have set the task
To understand this she must follow him into the forest, no questions asked.

Boundaries had to be defined,
Sita needed to be confined.

Crossing the line, for her, was no big matter,
When all it meant was a change of captors.

But it was another occasion for Rama to show her her place,
The god she had pedestalized now pushed her from grace.

Now it would be as it should be, the man would set the test,
Wagging tongues about who wore the pants could be finally put to rest.

To accept or to reject must be his decision,
About the order of things there must be no confusion.

Once the rules were clear, she could sit by his side,
A woman can be the queen, after the king so decides.

The scales had been set right, a jubilation had to follow,
For the photo to be clicked and hung in the temple, Sita must bury her sorrow.

First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.

Euthanasia

Freezing Ahalya’s body into stone
Was an act of pity, not punishment;
It is better to turn stone cold,
Than to feel and not be fulfilled.

First published in Hakara, 15 Jan 2018.