Friday, August 25, 2017

Aparna Sanyal writes



UNREQUITED 



The absence of love

Can hurt as much as hate

The gods of uncaring

Have pitchforks sharper 

Than any devil mischief bent 

Even a flower would wilt

Were the rays of the sun

To pass by unheeding

Enough mornings

Then how can a mere mortal

Survive 

The non-onslaught that comes

Of disinterest?

Withering seems natural

To any landscape

That lies fallow of

Your touch 

 
Famine and Empire -- Gobardhan Ash

2 comments:

  1. A cyclone depleted Bengal's cash crop in 1942. The following year the British government diverted 60% of what was left to the military, leading to widespread starvation. During the course of a year, an estimated 3-4 million Bengalis died of starvation. According to Madhusree Mukherjee, “Parents dumped their starving children into rivers and wells. Many took their lives by throwing themselves in front of trains. Starving people begged for the starchy water in which rice had been boiled. Children ate leaves and vines, yam stems and grass. People were too weak even to cremate their loved ones.”

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much, Mr. Vorhees!

    ReplyDelete

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