Pratima Apte, INDIA

ADIMAYA

Man's double standards, woman idolised and yet enslaved to do his bidding,

Devi and daasi two sides of the same coin!

It is time for change.

Caesar's wife - why should she be above reproach?

A beautiful woman is not a 'trophy' to fight over!

How many women widowed for that one Helen of Troy?!

This Raavan dahan is only a spectacle!

Enough!

Sita will fight her own battles,

Save her own honour,

Emasculate the dirty minds, then only will man respect her firm 'no'.

These nuts and their nuts,

Sita will ask Mother Earth to bury alive!

Woman the female entity, the Primordial Being, above the Trinity!

Wake up!

Man, her progeny, recognised her unique powers of creation,

Jealous, feeling inadequate,

Systematically poisoned her mind against herself and other womenfolk,

Thoughts of pure and impure, denying her true knowledge,

Has tried to subjugate her in all religions, all societies,

One who bit her own tail, now is slowly awakening to her kundalini powers,

Before long, she will not need man to procreate,

Woman, awaken, respect and exercise your Shakti!

WOMAN’S NEW AVATAR

I am a 21st Century Indian girl,

I walked miles to school,

Praying hard to be unmolested on the way,

Newspaper reporting, brought me cycles and bridges across rivers, only women buses too,

Sharing a computer with my city peers,

IIT Mumbai gave me a free computer!

I resolve to educate my younger siblings,

My farm labourer parents,

Denied their rightful wages,

That anger fuelled my thirst for education,

Today, I as the Collector, ensure transparency in all dealings,

My sisters died due to dowry,

Others disfigured by acid attacks,

As a police officer I am there for them,

I salute one girl - only child families;

For they have realised, girls will not abandon their parents in old-age,

Girls will share equally in property and responsibility.

Shine on, womankind!

Be counted as a human, with her own identity!

Pratima Apte is an English Hons. graduate of Delhi University. Her articles appeared in the Indian Express and Women’s Era magazine about twenty years ago. Now, her poems and fiction have been published in many e-zines and international anthologies.

---

Women, Power & Creativity :: Setu, March 2019