Embarking on a journey halfway across the globe
for the love of a grandson,
Carrying with you
a wisdom of maternal strength,
from the time when dowries and domestic work
was your ticket to life
but your love for something deeper
had sprouted a Samaj of sisters
who toiled in the streets
without the basic amenities of sanitation,
with what felt to them as they walked in the gulleys
clad in soiled colors of saris
barefoot and unknown
a life of a will suppressed,
that you led them to unlock
through the marches of sisters
along Boring Road
who wore the branded scars of their husbands
the female voices of Mahila Samaj
collectively echoed from the streets of Bihar
and when you were behind bars
for a worldwide mission
a Pachamba House tradition had begun
As I saw you unlock your suitcase of compassion in our home,
a collection of pink and cream colored saris and madhubala prints unraveled
as soothing herbal tea leaves, kajal containers, and dangly earrings sparkled,
inside there,
you carried within,
the key to empower your homeland sisters
in this land,
to sing.
-July 8, 2007
in honor of Urmila Prasad-My Grandma who was the President of Mahila Samaj a women's rights group based in Bihar which fought for the socio-political and economic liberation of women.
