Written piece
A mother walking towards the ocean
Moksha Kochar
India
About this piece
The submission is a poetry, talking about a single moms journey towards life. It explore numerous issues such as Dowry, Domestic Violence, Identity crisis, gender discrimination, social stigma. Alongside how she tries to survive through her faith and mythological stories.
The rain shudders to touch me,
Because I'm with my mother.
We walk towards a dubious path-
broken,
twisted,
cracked.
My mom stitches all pits in the way,
like Savitri who outsmarts all those who try to lead her astray.
But it isn’t just hurdles or blocks,
Or time that turns away
Due to broken clocks.
It isn’t just will or strength,
It's the society that denotes your value by measuring your length.
It isn't a question of your faith,
In a world where they exile you for believing in Rama.
It's a battle to determine whether you truly believe in your dharma.
Unlike Sita,
You won't have a home,
And when they question you on, over your take on Gita?
You will need to hush.
If you don’t want to keep walking in Vanwas
And become the talk for a shameful blush.
For home is a disguised Class.
And you are a woman,
Hiding is the only way you can keep touching the grass.
How many more masks,
Till you end up dancing for delayed tasks.
While walking she tries to pick herself a flower,
But it is marked by pain due to its thorn.
Perhaps she should’ve accepted the mark and moved on,
A knight with flaming eyes comes her way,
Bows down gently,
And presents her with a blooming white lily,
She had no idea lilies are a symbol of death.
She swayed towards the innocent and sweet scent.
Which orchestrated as a calling to reside in his tent.
She decorates the abode,
Believing this is the destination of the broken road.
The lilies glow like gentle dew during the dawn bestowed.
Unbeknownst to her,
Scents erode,
And tents corrode.
It ignited from, the flask she cooks with;
Cause the fire decoded the myth.
The truth is that she is a maid married to a master,
He burned all she cooked,
He lit all she looked upon.
The blaze never went off,
For she couldn’t bring dowry to minimize the disaster.
The calamity went on,
Next was the way she dresses up,
For her body was claimed by him.
He is entitled to dictate what she does,
For she is his property.
Then it was “because she said a word”,
For her mouth was only made to please him,
And then for “trying to run away”
Cause she was his bird, locked in his cage
The tent favoured neither,
It erupted and exploded,
For the rain touches, what tries to run away!
And now both the delinquents were separated for God’s play.
Alas! She was once again on the road.
But now she closed her ears to avoid hearing any odes.
Her symphony had diminished
And the roses tarnished.
The road now was tougher than before,
For now, she had to carry more load.
All alone. feeding different mouths,
Alone, protecting their souls.
For now, she was a mom.
A mom- carrying on all alone.
People tried to prevent her to from continuing “the walk”
For she is Kunti,
Without a husband or father.
For good girls from good families shouldn’t talk.
However, she has the audacity to speak for herself.
The nerve to keep walking alone.
How abhorrent for a woman in that situation!
Men hoped that she would break her bones.
Unfortunately, their wishes won’t come true,
For she can dismantle the most horrendous Minotaur
For her strength is what Athena wore.
Because she kept walking,
People wouldn't stop talking!
They said that,
A Woman like her,
Can only raise failed children.
They said single moms are bad mothers,
But Kunti raised Pandavas,
Who defeated an entire army by virtue!
Alcmene raised Hercules,
A man who conquered the underworld; with every monster under his subdue.
They question her morality, and her values because she is alone,
Meanwhile they would’ve praised a man because he could be alone.
This isn't a story about hatred towards men,
For men can be like Odysseus or Hercules, like Rama or Arjun;
But it's a story about double standards and discrimination.
It's a story about a soul’s struggle to reach his destination.
It's a story about roads that betray you, destroy you, and lead you astray.
It's a story where a mere betrayal shouldn't lead you to stray.
It's where you win and lose,
But you keep going on.
For the road will guide you,
When you figure out what you're walking towards.
Kunti’s life wasn't easy; neither were the lives of Sita or Rama.
They were rejected,
They faced defeat,
They struggled to live,
And so, she will too!
Cause the path has a Duryodhana
That tried to disrobe Draupadi,
But there's no Krishna as saviour.
So, she will have to save herself and fight him.
The path also has Ravan
That tries to abduct Sita,
There’s no Hanuman to find her whereabouts,
Or Rama to fight for her.
At times she might be like Yayati,
Wanting to walk away due to the continuous pain and absurdity.
Why continue,
When not moving on is easy.
But she remembers Krishna’s stories,
How Prahlad emerged from the fire,
And defeated Hiranyakashipu along with all his evil thoughts and desires!
How the Mahabharata ends with Kauravas’ death!
And Ramayana with that of Ravans!
The time might twist and turn,
But the clock's hands always move towards justice.
You can lose all,
End up on the streets,
Alone, or not,
Hungry,
Broken,
Defeated,
But
The streets will soon turn into the ocean.
Because this cycle keeps going on,
You may have survived Dwapar with the name of Krishna
But how will your daughter survive Kaliyuga?
Where the world continues to dive away from Krishna.
The cycle continues to worsen.
You believed you won by fighting a few battles,
But the real fight is the cycle!
You thought you broke free,
Because you believed in Dharma.
But what’s dharma in a world built on karma?
What’s the use of good in hell?
What’s the use of milk in a well?
You keep on believing Krishna will guide you to the answers,
You ask for his mercy,
For his support and love,
For divine blessings.
But he remains silent.
Krishna did all he could,
He gave you hands,
To make a boat,
To survive this world,
But you keep crying, complaining and condescending;
About your pain and the bad world
The world’s bad because you have evil within
For such evil whether big or small is wrong
You can’t ask Satan to act like God!
But you can forgive him for not being like God.
You can try to avoid evil for you know it’s of- no good
You can build your boat and keep sailing,
For the purpose isn’t overcoming the waves,
Or sailing just to reach some destination.
The purpose is to make a boat from your hands
That doesn’t thrive on sensual procrastination.
References
Mahabharata
Bhagavad Gita
Ramayana
Devi Bhagavata Purana
Vishnu Purana
Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam)
Manusmriti
The Odyssey
The Iliad
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
Metamorphoses
Theogony