Deepa Agarwal (Towards Visibility)

Deepa Agarwal

FIRST SARIS

Draped in rainbows

my daughter stands

erect, inscrutable

winding adulthood around her

with uncanny poise.

the younger one is an arch of delight

hair rippling

like a rebellious river in spate

 laughing at this disguise

 she segues into the marching minutes. 

the youngest reaches for the universe

secure in this avatar

 confident, that one day’s role play

is a momentous step forward.

I think of myself negotiating 

the drowsy streets of my hometown

in a frou-frou of anticipation

despite impending wardrobe malfunction

trappings of womanhood

will exact their toll.

***

DYSGRAPHIA

Alphabets disperse 

like leaves wrenched from a bough.

Rebellious children embracing chaos,

willfully dismembering meaning.

Unperturbed, mother tree watches, 

 knowing the sap of meaning 

still courses in her veins,

impervious to the tsunami’s onslaught.

***

HEARTBEATS

What dialogue can a fish exchange with a raindrop?

Does its skin register the puckered caress

of water kissing water.

Denizen of liquid spaces,

does it hear the whispered endearment,

as it relentlessly negotiates its element?

Sky is ever bounteous

but does the fish 

 acknowledge raindrops’ silent toil, 

as they replenish its habitat?

but fetus reads mother’s yearning heartbeat,

as it wanders in the nurturing womb.

***

Author, poet and translator, Deepa Agarwal writes for both children and adults and has over 60 books published. A frequent contributor to magazines and journals in India and abroad, she has edited and compiled several anthologies. Her work has been translated into several Indian and foreign languages. Gender equality, social injustice and preservation of the environment are some of the main themes in her writing. Among other awards, she received the N.C.E.R.T. National Award for Children’s Literature for Ashok’s New Friends, her historical fiction Caravan to Tibet was on the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honour List 2008, Journey to the Forbidden City on the Parag Honour List 2020 and shortlisted for the Neev Book Award, Kashmir! Kashmir! on the Parag Honour List 2021 and finalist for Publishing Next Book of the Year Award, poetry collection Forgotten Kaleidoscopes was shortlisted for the PVLF Best Poetry Award. Deepa lives in Delhi, India.

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Setu, September 2023 :: Towards Visibility