Mitali Chakravarty
Marginalised? Who said we are marginalised?
We are humans walking side by side.
Women, Men and Children
Dalits, Tribals and the Abused —
Who said we are different?
Who said that Woman is born of Man’s rib?
Who said caste is by God writ?
Who said women cannot enter temples or mosques?
Who said Menstruation and Widowhood are both to be abhorred?
Who made these rules?
Did Durga menstruate? Did Kali?
Did Mary have a husband before she conceived Christ?
Who created religions and rites?
Who made castes and border lines?
Who created these and why?
Radcliffe for Manchester Mills drew a line
that split homes, created the Great Divide
Corpses without heads rolling on trains of death
Burnt, decapitated.
Zombies looking for blood
Zombies rising out of the death of love
Zombies that cannot tolerate
Zombies that hate—
They no longer think
But Kill—
Kill for Cows,
Kill for Country,
Kill for Dowry,
Kill for Concealing Rape,
Kill in the name of Different Gods.
Who made these different Gods?
Who? Who? Who?
Was it me or you?
Marginalised? Who said we are Marginalised?
We are humans walking side by side
singing a song of Love —
Love that will smile our differences aside
Love that will claim we are all the same:
born to live and die
guided by an Unknown Light,
an Energy pulsating through our veins called
Life.
(Mitali Chakravarty’s bylines have appeared in several newspapers in India and abroad. Her poetry has been published online and as part of anthologies. She is also the editor of Borderless Journal.)
