(A poem from Sudirsukta by Vishnu Wagh. Translated by me with help from Preeti Nangal)
Doctor,
It’s been four months now…
Oh that’s a good news!
God has blessed you
You are pregnant and
You shall be a mother soon
But doctor
We don’t even have a house
The world is your abode
Claim any corner
Bear the pain
Lighten your womb
And let the funis be buried there
Don’t worry keep calm
You shall be a mother soon
Both of us are unemployed
We do menial jobs
He labors in farms
While I do the dishes
Earth pierces our stomachs when we sleep
Pray tell us how would we raise a kid?
You fulfilled your desires
And had your share of fun
Why are you worried now
About feeding your son?
Hunger shall be satiated
One way or the other
Son will grow up
And look after the mother
Doctor, with rising inflation
It is expensive to even survive
Agreed that death is cheaper
But has the world come to an end?
Your significance in this world
Lady you do not understand
I do not understand you, doctor
Let me explain
The nation needs workers
To do its labor
To operate the machines
We need daily wagers
And nation needs voices
To sing its praise
God gave you a belly
To satisfy the nation’s hunger
He blessed women with motherhood
So you may produce well in number
Your womb is but a factory
That’ll breed workers for nation
Bear this burden and stay mute
For you are going to be a mother soon
Doctor
To bear this life even
Is impossible now
Where living itself is undesired
How do I borrow the strength to bear the child?
Why do you lose hope?
Darwin said that a man survives
despite adversities
You must concede
For the mother earth is calling you
You give birth to a child
To sons that shall shoulder the earth
Live happily ever after
Keep breeding future workers
The nation will get its workers
Our machines shall run
Our fields will blossom
While your body will be satisfied too
Go lady….
Let your first motherhood
Be happy and prosperous
Let the nation progress
And may you be a mother
Over and over again!
