The bindi* the nose ring, the pallu**
Defines her identity
Or the strings of covered women
Bound through eternity

Walking through centuries
With a male for a crutch
A father, a husband or a son
Or any related by birth

Where the cloth on her head
Is a sign she needs to wear
To constantly remind herself
That she is inferior

Where she has to walk
A few paces behind
Where her screams are stifled
By the cover which binds

Where her agonies lie hidden
In miles of drapes
Along with her ambition
And all she craves

Representing the female form
Often a symbol of worship
While in day–to–day life
Frequently torn to bits

An unequal game
Right from the start
Where one half is deprived
From playing their part

An unequal ledger, where
Women appear as debit
And men with only half the load
Often claim all the credit

**Pallu – the end of a saree / scarf, which Indian women use to cover their head

*Bindi – the red dot, Indian women often wear on their forehead

Subir Chakraborty / 4th Sept 2018