Thursday, August 1, 2024

ROOPAM CHADHA

 



Be The Light

 

Be the light and hold her hand

When at night she walks home alone

Petrified in this patriarchal land

And feels haunted from the lurking shadows of the unknown

 

Be the light and show him the way When the little boy at the signal sells toys

In the heat and cold through night and day

Do not ignore him, just buy anyway

 

Be the light and hold her hand

When she is abandoned in an old age home

As across the sea her kin has flown

With fading memory and trembling limbs, her hopes lay hanged

 

Be the light and show him the way

When you see him bleeding, the victim of a road rage

Try to save his life and not just walk away

Help to catch the culprit and put him in a cage

 

Be the light and hold his hand

When he’s judged and humiliated for his class and caste

Though he cannot change his birth or his past

But for his rights he is still trying to stand

 

Be the light and show her the way

When she is beaten and abused

Molested, tortured and thrown away

Lift up her spirits and shame the accused

©️Roopam Chadha

 

In Pursuit Of Freedom

 

She is still

in pursuit of freedom

when she will not be

ogled or assaulted or beaten

 

He is still

in pursuit of freedom

when he will not be

judged as black or white or for his religion

 

She is still

in pursuit of freedom

when she will be

loved and worshipped for not only

 nine days in a year, but every day in every household

 

He is still

in pursuit of freedom

when he will be

able to own what he grows

and the land on which he sows

breathes free of bills or laws

 

She is still

in pursuit of freedom

when she will be

allowed to choose what to wear

a saree, skirt,  suit or a hijab

and no one else but only she to care

 

He is still

in pursuit of freedom

when he will be

allowed to speak or write freely and the words

will not bleed him or her or anyone

©️Roopam Chadha

 

Where Are The Smiles?

 

Lies where the freedom we fought for?

Is the flame of hope burning inside us,

Or are we burning ourselves in it?

 

Lies where the quest for peace?

Is it in the prayers

Or the place of worship

has become the battleground of violence?

 

Lies where the pursuit of happiness?

Is it within our souls

Or is it in the cries of wounded souls

Where are the smiles?

 

Lies where the mind without fear?

Is it in the wisdom we attained

Or the temples of knowledge

are spreading terror?

 

Lies where the justice we seek?

Is it in the system

Or the protectors have become

the perpetrators of crime?

 

Lies where the equality we fought for?

Is it still there in preachings of our reformers

Or is it only dying in the books?

Where are the smiles?

 

Lies where the secular India we are proud of?

Is it in the Constitution

Or is it in the barbaric acts

of demons exploiting religion?

 

Lies where the light we seek today?

Do we ignite the candle ourselves

Or are we doomed

Under the blanket of darkness

Where are the smiles?

 ©️Roopam Chadha

 

ROOPAM CHADHA

 

ROOPAM CHADHA: Roopam Chadha is an award-winning bilingual poet. She is a graduate in Economics (hons) from Delhi University. She has authored two books of English poetry. She received an award for her debut anthology ‘And the Canaries Sing On’ from ‘Autism for Help Village Project Trust” (2021). She has also won the best English collection award for her second anthology ‘Blushing Candles’ from The Literary Warrior Group at Sahitya Akademi New Delhi (2023). She lives in New Delhi (India)with her family. Her poems share space in several national and international anthologies. Besides writing she also pursues her passion for painting.

 


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