DENIAL

 

DENIAL

 

Fascinating entertainment exists,

Ceremonies ancient is a tradition,

Generations, forefather pilgrimage,

Having a dip in rivers felt sacred,

Offers drops of water, hands lifted,

Cupped in palms in front of the sun,

Waist deep river water, pray heaven,

Where ever spirits stay satiate thirst,

Offered cooked rice on river sand,

Trust morsels of food meet hunger,

Lived through times and auspicious,

Immersion of ashes in river water,

Consider pious mind for salvation,

Life never will take rebirth in peace,

A permanent place to be in heaven,

Post-cremation rights sons obeyed,

Completed the duty for the late father,

Brothers accompany for rituals,

The eldest son's right is accomplished,

Immersion of father's piece of bone,

Complete with chanting and praying,

Cooked rice, offered on leaves,

Bathed on the holy river, returned,

Missing the sisters denied,

Once married, adopt an in-law family,

Not authorized to ignite the pyre,

Rights son performs for the parent,

The daughter is denied to perform,

Participates as invitee custom,

The denial is the root flourished,

Family treats for an inheritance,

Parent's assets shared by sons,

Early childhood brother sister,

Play together, fail to imagine a wall,

Grow children, a mother prays,

Entire attention son hijacks,

Prayer, fasting, holy fire ceremony,

Completed desperately inspiringly,

For long life, a good family, children,

Parents dream of  grandchildren,

Son's education cost is noticeable,

A girl child growing grows concerned,

Nothing for education career status,

A family gets alarmed daughter bright,

Highly educated, job remunerative,

Established independent helps home,

Happy parents outward, worried,

Marriage is the factor that churns the heart,

Fails to get an established family,

Marriage gifts daydream for a parent,

Love marriage by daughter is tainted,

Society ostracizes the family outcast,

No difficulty for inter-caste marriage,

If a son is getting married, parents allow,

Relation grudgingly keeps silent attend,

A daughter as if a burden from birth,

Parents seek early marriage bargains,

Gifts during marriage continue after,

Relaxed family daughters are married,

Mother's heart gets lighter, speaks less,

Fact or fiction denial rock etched,

Bride-burning tortures hunted past,

Dowry the curse of Hindu society,

How many young women suffered,

Parents beg for mercy, save a daughter,

Evil practices are crime, prejudices exist,

A daughter becomes a daughter-in-law

A daughter, why leads a life of denial?

The denial, educated life feels ashamed.

 

@ Bijayananda Mishra