WELCOME TO NEW DELHI
The swan stuttered and spluttered
Its beak choked on the tarry air
Saraswati was pissed
Hadn't planned for this
Dammit! What's wrong, bird
The air of this city is unbreathable
Delhi is killing me! Take another vehicle
I'm a goddess, be reasonable. Get up and buck up
No can do, Saraswati. Ride something else, buddy
Welcome to New Delhi, where mobility is a privilege
Forget climbing the ladder to success
Here, everything is a horizontal patience test
And, girl, you'll get nowhere
Not even from A to B
Rubbish! screamed our divine new entrant
Determined to gain ground
The rosy white hand reached out
Calling upon the powers that be, she hailed an autorickshaw
Yellow green blobs sped past
Only stopping to hear the name of the desired destination
And deciding that providing services wasn't their calling in life
The passenger's dreams lay crushed
By refusals to follow the rate meter
Never before, thought the goddess of knowledge and music
Have I had to use my lotus-like feet for so long
And on terrain so unorganized, that it must be the work of Shaitan!
There are huge cars on the roads, and smaller ones on the footpath
The people seem to have no problem, though
Only women of this city seem intelligent enough to avoid the outdoors
Oh look, a metro station at last
None of the staring eyes helped in this discovery,
She would be Columbus, if she weren't a Hindu devi
Quick! Ladies' compartment or general?
Whichever is closest in this mass of faceless travelers
Hands seek her, bodies push her forward
There is a spring in her step
Because the only acceptable way is forward and inward
There is no going back now
The laws of bodily autonomy do not apply in the Delhi metro
Even a goddess is just a woman
And the price paid for having a vagina
Is hardly ever compensated for
No point being pro-choice in Delhi, dear
The choice is only between straying fingers
And convincing men to vacate the ladies' seat
Together, Brahma and I create the universe
Over and over again, we create
But don't create a fuss, madam jee
He did nothing, he was just standing
Don't stand up for what you felt
Just get off the train and forget
Automated doors let her through
Metallic gatekeepers of the city's heart of lead
Our heroine has celestial vision
But it is hard to see beyond the escalator's last step
Sweaty men in brown cage the exit-
Auto, madam Maddum, auto
Some point, others slap the seat of their vehicles
You want it, don't you
You need us to get anywhere
Even (and especially) home
Yes, take me away
Wherever, set the price too
Hear, O' woman believed to heal and purify
Stay away from danger
Stay away from deceit
Stay away from despair
Stay away from Delhi
Hurry back, don't, don't stay the night
From a North Indian Woman to a South Indian Goddess
Kannagi,
Do not tear off that breast
Keep it, Kannagi
The city of Madurai will burn anyway
The power of your will
Will be lost in translation
Not across languages
But across genders
We women love with all our might
Sita from the north
Pattini from the south
You love will be misunderstood, Kannagi
Keep that breast, Kannagi
Manu said women must never be left alone
A man must watch over his sister, wife, mother
But Ram left, and so did Kovalan
Kannagi, if they could not even obey patriarchy
They are hardly worthy of feminism
Kannagi, don't tear off your breast
It will escape the minds of all but a few
That your devotion despite all
Was a sign of humanity
Humanity in the face of ruthlessness
Not a sign of defeat
Or feminine helplessness
Or pious chastity
The world does not know forgiveness
The world does not know fortitude
The world does not know a phenomenal woman
Even when she hits them in the face
With a breast
So, Kannagi, keep it, please
He placed all above you
Yet the other woman he left you for
Was nothing to him in the end
Fickle are the ways of men
Who believe in the scriptures
Kannagi, don't go to the town to defend him
The laws are never made for us
We can never win
The rules ask for us to always give
Kannagi, boycott the game
Your act will become yet another ruse for kingship
One king died of shame
After his shortsightedness killed your husband
Another will venerate you
After his farsightedness will kill your story
In the tussle for glory
Breasts are merely a source of nourishment
What are gods but props for kings
And what are kings but props for gods
No one will see you for your strength
You will always just be the loyal wife
Turned into a timeless goddess
Kannagi, don't do it
Women everywhere every year will be told a false tale
And urged to believe
That they cannot be Pattini without Pati
That the breast is useless if it cannot feed children
That the woman is useless without her man
Such a world must indeed be set ablaze
Not at the cost of your pain
Not in the name of our men
Not with the anticipation of divinely status
But with the fire of our resolve
With the flame of our hope
With the light of the brazen new world
With the glow of the breasts that are hers before anybody else's
Kannagi, keep that breast
It is yours.
