Custom Search

Masked Identity

by Gayathri Devi Dutt
(Bengaluru, India)

MY Identity is hyjacked by those
Militant men of the family
Oh! I was not carried in a Palanquin
Blindfolded and Protected

I travelled and travelled

Several days and nights covering long distances
By bullock cart,bus,train and plane
To reach the abode of militants
And gain a suffix to my name!

While I travelled I read those milestones
And all the signboards
Did you know that I am a literate?
One of the 44% of my kind in the state
My literacy determines the GDI of my state

But I know not where I can book
My return journey tickets?
I am told the roads are blocked,
Flights are cancelled, there is no way
Of getting back,"ay this is one way"

A brick laid on another creates a structure
Of specific design
Minute after minute leads to an hour
And dilutes the meaning of infinity!
I had been to a school you see
So I am knowledgeable
And I understand wordly matters

The mobile phone helps you
To keep in touch with the world, wherever you may be
The satellite can carry pictures across the world
However you may look
But what I know not is
Can there be movement when I am immobile?
Can anyone see my picture though I am masked?

My schooling substance tells me
The world is round
My children's books confirm this notion
The proof in support of this claim is
In a voyage, one reaches the same point one started at
Then, can I go back to the point
Where I started my voyage?

Oh! Not my dear, your journey
Was not a voyage of a geographer?

You do not work for monetary gains
Yours is an altruistic bondage
Not a feudalistic one
So how can you buy those tickets?
For the journey you aspire?
No one can offer tickets pending payment
For you are masked?

Oh! Hijacked hostess! Can you sight
The helicopter that can fly you back?