Women Empowerment

When Seema heard for the first time that her only child planned on becoming a chef and start a home kitchen, there was a thorn in her throat. She had grander career plans and her husband, the only earner in the family, was saving money for the best colleges.

“Ma, you will see I will make your recipes famous. What you couldn’t do, I will do for us. You will be the face of my venture ma. Aren’t you excited?”

Seema was always concerned with the time Soumya spent in the kitchen rather than playing outside. As a child birthday gifts and Christmas requests were always centered around cooking – a play kitchen set one year, a pan the next, pasta maker another time. Kaustav never had a problem indulging their only child.

“Ma, what are you thinking about?”

“No, nothing. You just completed your board exams. Why don’t you go and play with your friends?”

“Nah, I know what their plans are. Plus I plan to binge watch MasterChef Australia today. I’ll just change and come back.”

A light hug and a forced smile later, Seema broke down. This is not what she planned for her child. She agreed to home science as an optional subject, not for it to become a primary one!

There were obvious questions in her mind. “How will she find a match for Soumya?” “So much of education just to cook in a kitchen?” “Income?” “What will people say?” Deep in thoughts, Seema didn’t even realize when she dozed off.

A familiar sound of the MasterChef Australia theme song woke her up from her light slumber. She noticed the time and realized she had to get started with dinner. Kaustav will be back home anytime.

In the kitchen, she noticed Soumya had already prepped a few ingredients.

“I am making dinner tonight ma. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Why are you so hooked on cooking?”

“It’s my passion ma. I have seen you cook up so many amazing dishes every day all my life. You have inspired me.”

“Don’t you see your father work hard and earn a living for us slogging every day? Doesn’t that inspire you to work hard and live the good life you are living? Cooking is for maids and housewives. It’s not a career!”

Seema had broken her silence. After months of fear of this happening, now that it’s inevitable, it had broken a piece of a mother’s soul.

Soumya was staring blankly at her. Silence. The doorbell broke the tension in the room. It was Kaustav.

He could feel the tension in the room.

“What did I miss? It looks like I walked right in the middle of a storm!”

“Nothing baba. Ma is worried I am ruining my life wanting to run a home kitchen.”

“Oh. That again. Seema, we have spoken about this.”

“Yes we have. But did I agree that I am okay with our only son tossing around vegetables as a career? You have ruined him with choices. Giving him all the girly toys all his life! When kids were playing with trains he was making round rotis. When everyone was choosing between physics and chemistry, he was reading home science books! Is this why we gave him education!?”

“Calm down Seema.”

“Don’t ask me to calm down Kaustav. I can see the future. No girl will marry him. He will not earn anything and will completely ruin his life. A man is supposed to run his family, not follow a passion that takes him away from his responsibilities.”

“It’s 2021 Seema. What are you even talking about? And why are we even worried about Soumya’s marriage now? He just gave his board exams!”

“Even if we don’t talk about it now, it’s a reality. How will he run his family?”

“Seema, after all the women’s day encouragements, is this what it comes down to? That a man needs to run the family and the woman needs to run a kitchen? Give our boy a chance to make a choice without the burden of responsibility. If a woman chooses to be a housewife, it a choice, here Soumya is starting a business venture. And you never know. He might marry someone who earns more than him and supports him!”

“That’s not how society works Kaustav and you know that.”

“If you supported me when I needed you the most and didn’t quit your job, I would have been able to build my art company Seema and you know that. Just because you are sensitive about it, we don’t talk about it. My boy will follow his passion – not society’s template.”

In the background, Soumya noted down recipes from the MasterChef finale as Andy Allen, an electrician, is declared the winner for the fourth season.

Men, may you never be burdened with so much responsibility that you have to quash your dreams. We got you! Go live your lives. To every empowering woman, Happy Women’s Day!

15 paws to a whistle

It was 15 paws long. He knew it by heart. If he went around the tree, it was about half the length and somehow he got stuck once in a while. The cozy comfort of home was a mouldy damp old pillow in a rotten doghouse. A dirty plastic container gathered rain water. Food was tough to come by.

Far away, he kept her in sight, she lay down after smelling her week old faeces. It was her meal for the day. His nose longed to touch hers. Last time they were together, was over 3 years ago when they were brought here, to their forever home.

Lily and Hugo... No one called them anymore. They could hear their family go about their daily lives, but no one even cared to look their side. They had no idea what went wrong and why after one playful night they were brought to this corner of the garden and chained.

First few nights were difficult. They tried to reach out, break free, but it choked them. But there was food and cuddles every day. Mom made sure they had food, water, and shelter. But it started getting less frequent.

Their weak bodies couldn't keep trying to escape. They accepted 15 paws and the comfort of being able to see each other every day. Constant barks changed to whimpers and now to silence. It's as if they weren't there.

One sudden day after a night of heavy rain Hugo and Lily heard a happy sound, first time in years -- a long whistle, as if trying to call them. 15 paws. They didn't try to reach it. The sound kept getting louder, now with footsteps. It was the happiest sound they ever heard!

Lily lifted her head to see a man approach Hugo. There was food, fresh water, and head pats! Was it a dream? But the man soon took Hugo away and Lily was alone. After making one last attempt to free herself, she watched in horror as the man put Hugo in a car and close the door. Barks of panic didn't help... Hugo was gone.

After a few minutes the man came back - that whistle! If I follow him, I will be with Hugo again she thought. She didn't resist him taking her off the chain and putting a ribbon on her. She obliged being walked to the car. Hugo!

Lily and Hugo's noses met. Their weak tails expressed as much joy as possible from finally actually being together. They didn't care where they were going - they were together!

Now the whistle calls them every day to lots of love and food more than 15 paws away. This is their new home where they are finally free and happy.

মশাময়

গা করে চটচট
মশা মরে পটপট
উফঃ কি গরম
ঘুমে হই লটপট

ফ্যান চলে বনবন
কান করে টনটন
এত মশা কিকরে
করে খালি পনপন

ঘুম আসে ঘুম যায়ে
পায়ে খালি কামড়ায়
ওরে ঋজু ব্যাট কই
বার করে মার পায়ে

আলো জেলে ফোনেতে
খুঁজি মশা কোনেতে
কালো কাঠে লুকিয়ে
বেজায় রাগ মনেতে

ব্যাট আছে, কয়েল আছে
আছে নানা গুড-নাইট
জানালা বন্ধ করে
রোজ রাতে হয় ফাইট

রাত হলে মনে হয়
মশা মেরে হল জয়
মাঝরাতে উঠে দেখি
ঘর সেই মশাময়

Let Me In

If there is a world beyond mine

And it's across the rainbow bridge

Let me in.

Where bellies are full

Wounds are healed

Where the poisoned can breathe free

And the limps can run wild

Let me in.

And no one else

It will be your world

I will walk by your paws

Smile with your wags

When the time comes for my soul

Let me in.

Without the burden of rebirth

An end to all disease

Hunger

Pain

Hate

Let me in.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

The alarm went off at its scheduled time. Getting the blanket off, Ron suddenly feels lighter. From the mirror across the room, a familiar face stares back, but it isn't his own. It’s his wife’s. The reflection moves in sync with his own movements. “Wake up, Ron. Wake up now!” Ron slaps his face. His hands feel softer, his skin smoother. Blue nail paint smeared across his long nails – a shade he bought Rashmi for their anniversary.

Confusion quickly changes to panic when he notices himself sleeping on the bed in his favorite smiley-emoticon boxers he bought from Myntra. He reaches out to touch the face that was his till last night. The man shifts around and hugs a bolster to moan back to sleep – the bolster his wife can’t sleep without!

Ron and Rashmi have been trying for a baby for years. After three failed IVF attempts and lakhs out of the bank, Rashmi decided to respond to an ad in the local newspaper, which promised “a solution to every problem.” Written in fine print below the promise were a list of specialities. “Child” topped the list.

The couple decided to get themselves an appointment. Ron followed Rashmi when she moved a greasy floral printed curtain to step into a shady room. The walls, barely holding together, were covered with photographs of smiling babies, rich men, and happy couples—most downloaded from the Internet. On one corner of the room was a red Nilkamal table covered with a plastic cover. Across the table was a man looking intently from on top his glasses. The stench of paan-masala filled the room when he spoke.

“Want baby?” he asked. Ron immediately felt Rashmi completely in awe of the man. “Yes baba…sir…doctor,” she mumbled in reponse.

“Understand. Sit.”

The couple made themselves comfortable in two plastic chairs opposite the man. The flooring felt sticky.

“Man drink this,” the man instructed, handing over a little capsule with green liquid in it.

“Woman drink this,” he added handing over a similar capsule with grey liquid.

“Then try for baby. Guarantee result. If not happen, call number. Full refund,” he said signalling for the couple to leave.

Outside the chamber sat a young frail boy collecting money. While Ron took out two notes for a thousand each, he couldn’t help but notice a woman, a little far off, being blocked out of view by a few people. With the crowd around, he could hear a few disjointed words, “I… not… her… side-effect… him.” Not paying too much attention, the couple grabbed a burger on the way and drove back home.

It suddenly all makes sense now. Panicked, Ron opens his laptop and goes on the Internet to find out about similar experiences. A familiar face stares back at him in the search results. It’s the man from the room. Under his picture was the news headline: “Man Wanted for Witchcraft: Identity Altering Drug Doing the Rounds.”

Bounce

Bounce… bounce… bounce…

A grey ball kept hitting the floor while David spoke on the phone.

On the other side of the room large beady eyes followed the ball in rapt attention. Though the heart imagined the rubber push up his itchy canines, the heavy lunch made it a remote possibility for his paws to move a single inch. The coziness of the pillows next to the warmth of Sarah’s thighs was too much to give up for a ball.

But he still wanted it. The white fluffy tail kept giving a weak wag as if in sync with the bounce of the grey ball. Sarah noticed and called out to David to pass her the ball. But David was too engrossed in the conversation to pay attention.

That’s the last of the cozy home he remembered.

In his dreams, the ball still bounces, the sound of his leash being pulled out still gets him excited in his sleep. Sometimes, he tries to navigate through the cold hard floor of his enclosure to cuddle up to Sarah’s warm thighs, never to reach it. The care-takers at the shelter still find it amusing that he sleeps in one spot and wakes at another often wagging crazily in his sleep.

Customary wags and weak licks keep Holden alive. His near-blind eyes and weak legs still look for his familiar footing at home. He never knew when the cozy comfort of David’s car changed to the hard flooring of this place he now spends his days. The ball, the leash, the food bowls never changed, but the people around did. Five years ago.

He wished he walked up to David that day and begged for him to throw the ball or licked Sarah to express how much he loved them. He wishes he never found the car seat too comfortable for sleep. Or the food too bland for his liking. He wishes he never pooped on the grass or peed on the pole. Something must have ticked them off.

He knows he isn’t alone. Sickly eyes, once beady like his, search for home all around him. Waiting for their Davids and Sarahs. The new members bring back the pain of his first realization. The howling, the moaning, the constant whining reminds him of his first day in the shelter.

Sometimes, he hears balls bouncing off the hard floor. But these days, his paws are too weak to move a single inch and eyes too weak to follow it.

Kidnap!

A half-eaten pink candy floss in one hand and a prized pink balloon on the other. She had her instructions clear in her head.

“Don’t go where I can’t see you.”

“Behave.”

“Don’t draw too much attention.”

Chanting each in her head repetitively, she head to her favorite spot, the carousel. She had to get up on the black horse for the ride. Her eyes were glued to the woman in blue, head full of golden curls, clutching on to her little baby boy as she stepped into the seating carriage in the carousel.

The boy, hardly half a year old, looked at her and grinned. He was pointed at the balloon. She handed it over and patted the boy on the head. The mother smiled back. The ride was about to start and Sheena quickly grabbed onto the black horse making herself comfortable. The candy floss smeared on the face of the horse a bit, but no harm done.

Through the 3 minutes ride, Sheena felt like a princess riding through the lush green countryside. She liked to imagine that everyone around her were her to beckon, her army. She was a princess after all. The candy stick was her weapon of choice. A heavy sword that could cut through anything. She was riding to war.

As the carousel slowed down, Sheena looked around, panicked, and started weeping. Lightly at first, but as the realization grew strong, her wails found a loud voice. She was in terrible trouble. The lady in blue came over, got her off the horse, and kindly asked her, “What seems to be the trouble young lady?”

Still weeping, broken words escaped her pink lips, “I can’t find my mother. She was right here.” The lady started looking. With a fair enough description from Sheena, the carousel caretaker called the administration office. Announcements were made, but Sheena’s mom wasn’t to be found anywhere. “May be she was kidnapped?” Sheena voiced her concern aloud.

“We’ll find her sweetheart. In the meantime, come home with us. Have a warm meal. We’ll head to the police station in the morning.” Sheena agreed.

Sheena and the lady left for the police station in the morning, as promised. Even before getting into the car, Sheena quickly ran across to the park and hugged a woman in red, crying hysterically. “You came for me, mom. I thought I would die. She drugged my candy floss, and even told the guards at the amusement park that I was lost! She tied me to a tree mom.”

Even before she could realize what was happening, Linda had handcuffs on her wrists. Her golden curls being pushed into a cop car. Sheena and her mom thanked the cops teary eyed. No one was listening to Linda’s side of the story.

As the cop car drove off, Sheena handed the key to her mom. “You did good Sheena. Let’s go get your baby brother. He will be your responsibility now. Train him well.”