Imprisoned within boundaries
I am Seeta;
Lauded and humiliated
An eternal feminine entity
Passing through ordeals of fire.
My another name is for bearence.
Only for once
I did not want to submit myself
To the ceaseless flow of tradition;
Only for once
Taking my own rights with me
I wanted to stand up.
With heartful of convictions
In my cupped palms
I came out of my boundary.
Pressure of emotions
Suppressed the conformism of tradition;
Ignoring the continuity of Time
I picked up
A pearl out of a small moment’s breast,
Sneering at strict morals
Gave shelter to fine feelings,
That was the only error
The only slip.
Strange!
Suddenly, so far away
At such high speed
Went away all my past;
Just in one moment was cleft
The inseparable tie of family and lineage;
Nobody remained to stand beside.
So unreal!
So ephemeral is this sweet dream -
My heart’s treasure!!
So slack are these earthly ties!!!
My smiles, my tears,
Mistakes,
Deviations,
Feelings -
With these all
He does not accept me;
Yet it is him, for whom
Shabari prepares her offerings -
Half-eaten fruits!
Foe of the Sudra ascetic
Transgressor of war-ethics
Bali’s murderer Rama
He who steals one’s heart,
Yet heartless himself,
As charmingly dark as fresh rain bearing cloud
That Rama -
It was not me for whom
He has invaded Lanka
Just a son of the Aryan society is he
Who uphold the glory of his Raghava lineage.
There can be no love, no forgiveness,
No weakness in his heart
Whose life’s vow is
Performance of his pre-determined duty.
Therefore I am given away to fire
For me there is only the burning pyre
For me there is only
The humiliation of repeated tests;
In the dangerous forests
Full of jaws and nails
There is Exile, waiting eagerly for me.
I am Seeta
A woman burning unintermitted
Like burning chaff -
Familiar throughout the ages.
