VIDHARBHA WOES

{This poem is a dedication to the cotton growing farmers of Vidharba, who were inundated by the natures fury that forced them to take loans which in connivance with the droughts further intensified their troubles until they found an arduous way out of this cursed circle of life….}

I did not see the monsoons;
I only saw the drought;
I saw the tree in front;
I found its branches long and twirled;

The cottons on which I cashed all my wealth,
Left me in dire straits gasping for its health;
That sent me in search for those vultures,
Who were willing to lend me for all my overtures;
I found in them the panacea for my misfortunes,
With a hope on the monsoons to deliver me good fortunes;
But as the days and nights came and went,
The debts usurped me leaving no vent;
I knew the rains had cheated me mercilessly;
Letting all the crops die down meticulously;
My hopes were dashed and my longings drained,
As the besotted relation with the vultures strained;
Those who used to come for their votes and funds,
Comforted me by showing the nations sordid trends;
They evinced for me curses on globalization,
But not even the slightest they were bothered of my demarcation;
I stood still as the world revolved around,
As the incessant vultures intensified their hound;

I found the tree in front,
With its branches resembling fingers blunt;
But I saw on it a curled rope,
That only remained my last thread of hope.

Shereen Vijayan Kottikkal