NAMITA RANI PANDA

NAMITA RANI PANDA

Ahalya is a character from the Hindu Mythology The Ramayana. Created by Brahma as the most beautiful lady she was married to much older Gautama Maharshi. She was seduced by Indra, the God of Gods and was cursed by Gautam for her infidelity. She was cursed to become a stone and was liberated from her curse by Lord Ram when he brushed his foot on the stone.

AHALYA THE WINNER

Is being beautiful my sin?

Is being tricked and seduced my fault?

Cursed I am for no fault of mine!

Mercilessly reduced to a lifeless stone!

And years after years

while waiting for redemption

every loving words of yours

kept ringing in my ears.

You used to say

taking my hand in yours,

"I love you the most.

I love to lose my way

in your beautiful heart

inhaling its sweet scent.

You are unique, believe me

there is something in you.

Falsely I never praise you.

You are a burning beauty

like a star at night."

And delightedly I delved deeper

into your ocean of love.

But at an instant they turned into a curse,

and you being a pious ascetic

showered your fiery temper.

Lying as a lifeless stone

I searched every nook and corner

like a musk deer

but like a thirsty traveller in the desert

found nothing but mirage.

Is there anything in me?

Just flattery and hypocrisy.

I laughed at my own self.

So gullible I was!

A victim of one's trickery

and cheated and cursed by my loved one

to a life of untold misery.

Once the archetype of chastity

reduced to a worthless stone for infidelity!

The long tormenting confinement

made me bolder and stronger.

Physical beauty I crave no longer.

Though a piece of stone I was,

I had a heart full of hope

love, life and regret.

Undauntedly I bore your curse.

But you stone hearted Gautama!

You lost my heart for ever.

You lost the battle you had won.

Didn't you lose your love?

Didn't you lose your life?

You live the rest of your life

with a lifeless stone heart.

A living dead you are!

So, I the Ahalya announce today

" I am the winner

and you the Gautama,

the greatest loser for ever! "

*(c)Namita Rani Panda

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Amba is the eldest daughter of the king of Kashi, who considers the Kuru prince Bhishma responsible for her misfortune as he abducted her and her sisters from the assemblage of suitors to take revenge on her father and to win the princesses for his step-brother Vichitravirya. Her sole goal in life becomes Bhishma’s destruction, to fulfill which she is reborn as Shikandi (the son of Drupada and the brother of Draupadi).

PROMULGATION

Today I Amba

Promulgate before you all

to declare a war !

Beware of my clarion call !

Like a phoenix

I went on killing myself

with out satisfaction

in any incarnation.

I choose my final incarnation

not as a Shikhandi

but Amba again

to avenge all those men

who hide their hypocrisy

under the mask of nobility

who with an enticing serpentine smile

pretend to love

and push into the life of dungeon,

to the pretentious good doers

and benevolent beasts of prey

who kill their preys

piece by piece, bit by bit

with love and care!

I still bear in my heart

the arrows of sorrow,

betrayal and humiliation ,

the daggers of dishonour and depression.

One by one I'll pull them out

and with full force aim at you.

You Debabrata! The pious!

What a devoted son you are!

Took the oath of lifelong celibacy!

For the sake of your father

you vowed never to claim the throne.

What a great sacrifice!

What a great patriot you are!

For the honor of your kingdom

you punished a helpless father

by abducting his virgin daughters

from the assemblage of suitors!

You are surely a noble man.

You turned in no second

songs of mirth to mournful moans.

You shattered my dream

into bits of glasses

that could never be mended again.

What a fair judgment!

You merciful! You failed

to delve deep into my heart.

The cause of my untold misery,

you refused to accept me

in the plea of your terrible oath.

Now be ready to face my wrath.

I'm here, the invincible fighter!

Not a mere chariot.

Do you think I'm contented with your

mere suffering for just a few days

sleeping on the bed of arrows?

Since then till now for years

I have been living with arrows and daggers.

And you coward Salwa!

You loved but you broke away.

You promised but you failed.

Shame on you!

You failed to give protection

to your love from Bhisma's abduction.

For your own defeat you left me

to lead a life of humiliation !

The wound you inflicted

is deeper than others

as you were my loving lover.

How dared you turn me down?

I ,Amba reject you now.

Remember!

If I can be your loving life,

I can also be your dreadful death.

You, great teacher fighter Parshuram!

You advised me to seek Bhisma's protection !

You left my side due to Gods' persuasion.

Had I been your daughter?

Would you have given the same offer?

I despise you holy man.

What a teacher you are !

What you preach and teach

to your actions that doesn't match.

So I warn you of my wrath.

And you my loving brave suitors!

Pity on you!

How chicken hearted you all are !

You stepped back all

for the fear of one fighter!

You all became mute spectators

of our exploitation

without any opposition.

Beware of my indignation!

Now I'm Amba,

reborn with an indomitable spirit

and Himalayan will

to wipe out all the social evils.

Beware!

Those who think women as toys for enjoyment and exploitation,

a means of only bearing and rearing offspring,

those who force women to the pitiful life of

prostitution, humiliation, oppression,

aggression, discrimination, degradation,

those who are engaged in eve-teasing, bride burning,

female fortitude and wife-battering,

those who deprive women from education and nutrition

and life of liberty, life of dignity.

BEWARE!

I am Amba, the invincible here

to give you a befitting blow!

*(c)Namita Rani Panda

I’M A RISING SUN

I’m the architect of my own future,

Let me paint my sky with golden colour.

Let me wipe out the gray shades

And fill my canvas with hues of happiness.

Neither I’m afraid of the struggle and strife,

Nor will I be deterred by turbulent waves

Rather I’ll convert them into colours of my pellet

to paint with my brush of will a picture so  perfect.

Now the  golden waves are my dreams unending

that will fill my life with  joys sublimating.

All will  look  at them with gaping lips

I’ll be a source of warmth, love and peace.

I’ll be everyone’s of joy and pride

I’ll break every record with undaunted stride

I’ll prove that I’m a rising sun

Though a girl I’m inferior to none.

*(c)

NAMITA RANI PANDA

Mrs NAMITA RANI PANDA was born on 10th Jannuary 1965 in Sambalpur district of Odisha, India. Having lost her mother in the tender age of six  she became a silent and keen observer of her surroundings. Being the lone parent her father brought up all his daughters with the liberties of  sons to enable them to face the challenges of life boldly. But that intensified in her heart the pangs she has been facing as a female in the male dominated society. In every piece of her writing one can feel the cry for leading a life of liberty and dignity. The other themes of her interest are love and life and  social issues . Now she works as a Post Graduate Teacher in English in Navodaya Vidyalaya, Khordha, Odisha, under the Ministry of HRD, Deptt. of School Education and Literacy, Govt. of India , New Delhi. She has been in this teaching profession since 1988.Her educational qualification is M.Phil(English} M.Ed. Though her Mothe Tongue is Odia she is proficient in Hindi and English. Apart from poetry she keeps interest in story writing and painting. Her poems are published in various international journals and anthologies.