The quest of freedom
Of a child from her womb,
Marks the yearning for self-determination –
Self-respect and identity.
But reckoned by cries,
As the maiden proclamation of her being,
Being powered by life – a life wearing the garb of freedom,
Achieves to be free,
Free from the qualms of freedom.
The moments of her signature breaths,
Awaken the power to sustain the freedom along
Nurturing the sense of egotism and fulfilment,
With the construction of the native knowledge of care and affection,
As its qualifications.
The refurbished facade of freedom by periodic celebrations
Sentinels the little nascent life
From the darkness of a thousand Suns,
From the fear of the hard-won freedom,
Through a web of institutions with
Little mettle left in them.
The offcuts of fear then grow
In forms like pride and pleasure,
Bypassing the larger humanity.
And girdle the life in its onward journey to consciousness.
But faze her to rise beyond the mechanics of day and night,
Not just as a solitary and budding child,
But as the essence of humanity
Shrinking into parochialism,
Subsuming the existence of the petite soul,
Her brawls and goings.
Making her antecedents bereft of rightfulness,
Yet valuing her role as a trailer
In the great saga of celebration of freedom.
G. Javaid Rasool lives in a small town near Lucknow. Most part of his life has wasted doing almost nothing, except earning livelihood from documentation and writing works with organisations like UNICEF, Care India, DFID, Aga Khan Foundation etc. His writings have been published in Social Scientist, Link, Times of India and Jansatta.
Featured image: Reuters