Asked a son of his mother,
“Should my wife have a boy or a girl?”
Said the mother,
A boy,
Oh, he will bring you abundant joy,
If you guide him straight and right,
He will fly in the sky of life like a kite,
Love, respect and value his mother, wife and daughter, and prove to be a gentleman so rare in sight!
If it will be a girl,
The beauty of happiness in your life she will unfurl,
If you mould her well and lead her on the right path, she will shine in her journey of life,
And irrespective of hardship or strife,
She will shape even more beautiful lives as a mother, daughter and wife.”
The son was convinced and told his mother,
Be it a boy or a girl,
Both would be to me as precious as pearl,
I will nurture and nourish them, so that they will sparkle like a gem,
And on society’s brow, be a diadem!
It is said, “A woman can make a house or break a house, if she wishes.” I would like to modify this statement to be as follows, “A woman can change her mindset, and influence many other lives linked with her own, thus bring about at least a little change in society, if she wishes. Maybe not in all circumstances, but at least to some extent, women are also active agents in the creation of inequality against women.
In an article in ‘The Times of India,’ Psychotherapist Susan Darker-Smith said that she found many female abuse victims identified with characters in famous children’s literature and claimed the stories provide ‘templates’ of dominated women. Her statement perfectly puts forth what I would like to say, “Look at the story of Rapunzel who waits to grow her hair for a prince to climb up. Why doesn’t she just knock the door down?” Why did she have to wait for years to grow her ‘mane’, just so that a prince could come to her rescue……..when the easiest and most sensible thing to do would have been to climb down the stairs?!! Duh!!
Hence, I believe that if women put the first step forward they will get rid of the ill treatment meted out to them and they will see that they do receive help from ‘many quarters’.
- Pallavi Uday Arur
pallavi.arur@gmail.com
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13 comments:
Great thought! Seems the new generation woman has finally arrived! Hope this article reaches out to all the gen next women to bring about a paradigm shift in society. A truly enriching article. Way to go Arur!
pretty cool poem.....especially since the poet just sat and wrote it...i think thats tough....the good qualities of both boys and girls as children have been brought out...i liked this statement the best..."Be it a boy or a girl,
Both would be to me as precious as pearl,".....and the example of Rapunzel is funny...:)....
*i'm not worthy* *i'm not worthy*
absolute masterpiece.
What a fresh approach to poetry! You've got a unique style.
This was the 6th poem that I read in this issue; and I found all of them different than each other in every sense.
Mihir would surely be happy with you.
It has a very 'driven' quality to it. Probably didactic but definitely, enriching.A relevant argument on Rapunzel.
On a different note, why do we have so many code name comments?(the critic, critic 007) No that I mind but just curious :)
Hi Pallavi,
Your second creation was in a very different vein from the first one (for the Mumbaiyya poem)... This one brings forth a very different perspective... I liked the narrative of a simple conversation between a boy and his mother as a starting point and the beautiful way you conjure it to bring out the true meaning that you wish to convey... adding to the poetic lilt some facts and then the very unusual Rapunzel twist makes for a fun reading with a strong voice...
same here,janvi!! wish these code name personalities would reveal who they are! would like to know!
didactic??!!!!:(
i tried very hard not to make it that!! thats why the use of 'I' to make it an opinion and not an instruction!!
any suggestions on how i could make it sound less didactic?? please help!!
thanks folks for all the encouragement!!
simply wrote to get across a thought i wanted to share with all of you.nice to know that i was able to express it and get through to you.
hey Pallavi, its the subject that is didactic (i.e.women's liberation) but I like it all th same. Your spirit makes it much more than that. The reason why i said, its definitely enriching. Sorry I should have made myself clearer.
i liked the poem very creative
Thought-provoking!
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