Friday, December 21, 2007

The Painted Veil

In our part of the world marriage is considered 'the only' solution to your otherwise problematic existence. May be new problems make them forget the old ones. AND match making is one of the favorite hobbies of people here. A rich and well-settled (preferably abroad) husband…. also educated – depending upon their definition of 'an educated person'…. is considered an 'ideal' one. It doesn't matter whether our mr. perfect is a person of intellect or carries a soul inside….. yeah, after meeting so many conscienceless people I have come to believe that body and soul can exist without each other.

He might be 'an ideal husband' for a girl whose thoughts begin with patiala shalwar (with very short shirt) and end at the stories published in local women digests – whose life revolves around latest romantic Indian flicks and saas bahu soaps.
But for a girl who thinks there is more to life than eating out and getting dressed all the time, who believes that relationships are not all about getting physical… one who professes platonic love…. a woman who can think for herself and who can speak her mind ….. for such a woman life is not easy.

Live but don't let live…. that's the motto of people here!

Here goes our stuff:

Lying next to him
yet a world apart
with dreams all broken
that's how she had to start

carrying her battered self
carefully stepping on broken dreams
holding on to her crumbling hopes
drowning within her salty screams

he couldn't see thru her
the fate has its own strange ways
she kept bleeding inside
and it went on for days and days

she – his pretty little angel
who he possessed her fully and whole
he had her in his arms
but he never had her soul

enclosed in a coffin
and as the death-bells chime
she bid herself good bye
and felt alive for the first time!


6 comments:

gypsy said...

Simply Fab...

I won't say that this is the tale in each house, but yeah, for a few the poem speaks all what they go thru....

somehow, orthodoxy hasn't left us...

WritingsForLife said...

awesome words. Very true!

xunz said...

@ d sinner: thanks. i don't know about india but situation here is like that... my six colleagues are going thru such pbs... it makes me think its so hard to be a woman here to pursue ur dreams.

@ raaji: thanks, girl.

AG said...

hey
the poetry fits in perfectly
awsome post
i guess every gal in today's India faces this dilema.
i hope one is consious n aware b4 settling down than regrettin it later.
cheers

Anupama said...

How true! Our societies are yet to come to terms with the fact that even women can be independent and make a life out for themselves. A woman's life is considered incomplete until she is married...she may be the most successful professional around...but the moment someone hears she is not married, they feel sorry for her...it is so disgusting. And then, finding a match from among the lot of egoistic males around (how-can-my-wife-earn-more-than-me types) is a Herculean task. Ultimately, the woman ends up compromising her ideals, sacrificing her desires to become a slave to a lesser human being. I hope the situation changes soon and more women get the better lives they rightly deserve.

xunz said...

aditi: thanks honey :)

anup: i wish the same, the sooner the better