Women : purity of blood and culture

She is worshipped in the form of stone,
but when made of skin and bone,
Only men are entitled to have hormone.

Worshipped as goddess when the sun is high,
but by dusk, she's just prey under the sky.
The very hands that prayed with pride
now crawl where dignity's denied.
when worshiped, she rides tigers
and then men expects them to be the tiger.
she slays demons with a fiery gaze —
but here, she tiptoes at midnight,
afraid of footsteps louder than hers

They told us —
"You are Devi ,So sacred,So pure,So untouchable"
except when they touch.
Too loud, too expressive, too visible — a shame.
Too shy? Too numb? no movements yet blamed.
(kya bhai sensation nahi hai kya?)

We grew up fitting into frames
We were never photo-sized for
'US' meant to carry purity in our veins,
to cleanse the culture, bear the chains.
Fit in the boundaries of expectation to
"maintain purity of blood and culture"
Heh . this isn't a consequence, it's the cause.
why woman fumble and whisper their words
shape and reshape themselves to adjust
yet Why gaalis are all mother-sister wrapped
Why izzat lies in her skin,but never in his sin.

Well , once you're an ideal,
you're no longer allowed to fail
So Don't call me goddess,
if it means I can't cry.
Don't worship my patience,
And ask me to be shy.
Let me be — flawed and loud,
Not your virtue, not your pride,
not a symbol you decide
Im just a person , let me BE.

Padmaja Mazumder