Water, slick like oil,
Glistens like molten gold.
Snaking into cracks, crevasses,
Creeping into the stoic earth.
She trills along moss-kissed stones
Flounders into a bay,
And untroubled by sludgy sands of the delta,
To her sister, Earth, she says –
You may be solid and I may be slow,
But behold! I’m just as mighty as you.
I’ve carved out of your jagged bones,
Continents, mountains, valleys and more.
And you may feed those with mouths to feed,
But I’m the one who quenches their thirsts.
And you may be the one with the seed
But I’m the one that sprouts it to feed the millions.
And when you rage and hiss
Under the glare of our celestial father
in the heavens afar,
I’m the one that rains on you
Giving succour to the parched.
But when your creatures threaten
To skew the balance of life,
I’m the one that froths over them
In thunderous tides to hold them in line.
Then tell me why should you alone
Be ‘Mother’ Earth named?
And the earth, who thus far,
Had silently listened, spake
Through the tremors of a gentle quake –
Water dearest, I alone do not birth life.
You, faithful one,
Like our sister Air,
Must by my side abide.
While you quench thirst, aye, I quench hunger,
And faithful Air gives life to a bag of bones.
When you surge through knoll and hill
Our children call you their abode.
They breathe our sister through gills I gave them,
Air nourishes from within your own womb.
And when they meet their fated ends,
They crumble into my arms.
Just as the moon shines not without the sun,
And light would not exist without the dark,
Why when our tasks are alike,
Must we be made apart?
Air, Water, Earth
We’re all forms of The One,
The One who bids us nourish life,
Together till time is done.
Copyright © 2018 Pradita Kapahi
Image: Pradita Kapahi
#poetry #poem#instapoetry #newpostalert
This is the first time I've read Dutta-Asane's work and I wasn't disappointed.
.
.
Cast Out and Other Stories is all about being on the fringe. The stories revolve around people who live on the fringes of the society or experiences of common folk that make them the odd one out.
.
.
This anthology is a collection of sixteen stories, each engineered around a contemporary social issue.
Dark, contemplative and moody, these stories put you in a deep, introspective trance because they often discuss character flaws and social inequities that we’re all aware of but shrug away because we can’t do anything about them, or won’t. Through her stories, these deep-seated insecurities about our behavioural issues and social mores become monsters scarier than any conventional supernatural beings.
Strengths -
powerful themes based on social and behavioural issues. She also uses characters that are flawed yet common among us to make the story relatable.
Weaknesses -
Language is too polished for a regular, light reader. Not meant for people seeking a quick or easy read.
Verdict - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for stories that are lessons in empathy. Her stories aren’t just about the characters but about the source of those characters – society, nations within nations, class, language, gender, colour, rural-urban divide, forcing you to rethink your preconceived notions about social constructs, which is a grave and difficult task and Dutta-Asane proves adept at handling such emotionally charged issues..
.
.
.
For the whole, detailed review, please head to the blog. Link in bio.
.
.
.
.
#bookreview
#reviewsbypraditakapahi #indianbookreviewer #sucharitaduttaasane #castoutandotherstories #flashfiction #fictionreview
