The festival of colour aerates

 

The festival of colour aerates

I wear my attire, original, personal

air the melody , small bells tinkle

music reverberates

flow of my village stream, melody of cuckoo unite

scars of colour in body parts

a new sensation, thousand hearts wave

Life greets

A niche to a perfect living.

Marriage, a social sanction,

heart sanctions the handsome

fairy queen meets the prince

vacant space fulfils, I get lunatic

surrender the heart and soul

fidelity under scanner, I get a punitive action

children too abandon, I regret

he makes me the part of life.

Other woman to his woman, the tag removed

for me a respite, the reliving

the life smiles

learn a new art of living.

His inner space divulges

I qualified his pretest

he studied the art of market

fairy queen can fetch more

lured to join the trade banned

earn and entertain

I get mad, the world came crashing down.

I cannot love twice

Loved too true to keep him

cannot barter the heart for cash and coin

unwanted, thrown at platform

he tied knot further

lost the battle with feet in two boats

a street beggar

sky the roof, earth the bed

moisture and summer new body apparel

the life laughs

The charity home picks, feeds my empty stomach

body paralyses, eyes are open

reflect the love, eternal and divine

cannot tinkle the bell, wave the heart

the wound sore

the scar of the colour spreads body part

love dominates contempt

he rules on my heart still

People know disappearing

I cannot die twice

can go out with death undisclosed

experiencing the life

smiling, laughing and greeting

(This is the story of Ms. Madhu, who is sixty years of age.  She is what is known as an “Other Backward Caste” (OBC) of the Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh.  Currently she is a resident at the Missionaries of Charity, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.  She was deserted by her husband and later on by another lover.  After that, she resorted to staying in a railway station where she was picked by Missionaries of Charity.  She has an adult son and daughter.) [Author’s note]
(Basanta kumar kar is Operations Director of Care India. He has written almost sixty poems that meditate upon the real-life voices and stories of extremely disadvantaged women residing in various  Indian states as  Rajasthan, Delhi, Orissa, Chhatisgarh, UP and Jharkhand. The above poem appears under his unpublished title, The Unfold Pinnacle, a collection of poems that closely engage with the stories of women who suffer from poverty, extreme nutritional insecurity, HIV risk, the dangers of sex work, and social abandonment.) [Editor’s note]

2 thoughts on “The festival of colour aerates”

  1. The poems of Basanta, tells the long story in short with all the poetic emotions, essentials for the development professionals to get connected to the issues and challenges.

    There are many such cases of deprivation of women in society, which law can not address. The Development Thinkers and Policy makers , need to address the problem, through through a more holistic approach .
    May , this poem, make the desired impact on the readers and policy makers , thinkers to do, what is needed.
    All the best to Basant.

  2. Excellent poetic expressions mingled with nature to depict the suffering of women.Keep it up Basant Babu.Bidyut Mohanty

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