The Flipside of Diwali

Allahabad: People light candles during track pujan at a stadium on the occasion of Dhanteras Festival Celebration in Allahabad on Friday. PTI Photo 

When the earth is clad in stars
And the universe seems illuminated
When our lit up faces of joy
shoo away the dark of Kartik
in a nook of every niche
cries a Sita

When we celebrate our hero Ram,
Appraise his victory over some demons
When we look at one side of the coin,
and forget the trials she faced
Whether in history or present,
sighs a Sita.

When we give in before patriarchy,
and unsee the just and right.
When we repel the yin of nature,
and let her suffer however
in her mind or somatically,
dies a Sita.

Nidhi Saxena


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