International Women’s Day Special
Shrugging off the withered scales
Of spinsterhood, witchery and widowhood
She embraces each day like refreshing droplets of rain
She sails in her paper boats to realize her dreams.
Subterfuge and her allies fail to unnerve her resolve
As she doggedly multi-tasks, at home and at work.
Through the chronicles of time
Violations to her dignity like
Sati, child marriage and female feticide
Seem like pebbles in her myriad roles-
Of a mother, a daughter, a friend , a wife –
All sources of an infinite fountain of love and compassion.
But when circumstances beckon,
She seamlessly merges into Medusa
To tackle the Hermes of the modern world,
The tree of procreation becomes the stormy Keres.
Tender as the petal and thorny as the cactus
Her spirit buoyant amidst the storms of life
Is the irrepressible, ‘She’.
Medley of Literary Pieces on International Woman’s Day
The Irrepressible ‘ She’ – a poem by Divya Rajgaria
I am no Goddess… – a poem about the everyday diva by Anindita Bose
Where Goddesses Cry – a thought-provoking poem by Rhiti Bose.
Woman – a poem by Daipayan Nair
Wish – a son remembers his mother poem by Amitava Nag
Short Stories
The Separation – a short story by Maya Khandelwal
The Last Night of My Life – a short story by Nikita Goel
Musings
Rise and Shine – a touching mother’s musing about her daughter by Santosh Bakaya
Book Review
Defiant Dreams: Tales of Everyday Divas – A Book Review – by Maya Khandelwal
