KANYA DAAN*
-
Dipak
Giri (India)
Out of the mental peace
and of marital bliss,
from the bond of father
to the bound of other,
a practice and custom
of an age-old system,
she is destined to bear
with anxiety and fear.
In lieu of liberty,
on post stage puberty,
a hand, away from father,
a hand, near to other,
in the name of wedlock,
a loss of protection,
a custom that blocks,
old tie of relation.
A dogma, old and past,
a dogma, unto the last,
she’s destined to carry
with anguish and worry;
a cultural dogma
unto the last with trauma
she’s destined to obey
under shock and dismay.
Out of worn out custom,
let her live, free from strain;
out of chain of system,
let her live, free from pain;
out of age-old dogma,
let her live, free from strife;
out of vast enigma,
let her feel, zeal in life;
out of object to disown,
let her live on her own.
*A ritual of unfairly giving away daughter from the right of father to the life-time right of the husband at the time of wedding as per Hindu marital code.
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