BEDTIME STORIES

At the time Cicadas and Bats,
Visited our tamarind tree,
You taught me of rhythm in word.
You gifted me with musical lore.
We held hands,
Walking through forests and crossing silver rivulets.
We were welcomed into,
Golden palaces with lonely nightingales.
We flew into kingdoms with buried treasure,
And hid away from evil djinns.

We sailed across continents in a slave ship,
Fearing for Kunta Kinte.
The white man who sneered and whipped, knew I hated him.
I held on to you with fright, at the sight of bloody wounds.
Kunta you said was a strong boy.
And I love him to this day.
He stands out with pride amongst all else,
In my bamboo book -shelf.

We joined Kannagi on her enraged journey.
Her eyes bloodshot, her hair untied.
We watched in silence as,
She flung her anklet filled with glistening rubies.
To her curse, Madurai burnt.
The wrath of a woman you said.
Kannagi is an idol no more; her justice was not for herself.
I have turned feminist.

Together we opened a parcel sealed in red wax,
Out came Lenin the Bolshevik.
You taught me fairy tale sounding words-
Czar, Czarina, Rasputin, Revolution….
We walked past red flags and snow covered roofs.
Che and Fidel dropped by, I said hello and hugged them.
Vodka and Chekov are revered.
I paint my name red.

My Father ….
The bedtime tales you told and retold.
The dreams you wove.
The many tunnels of fantasy
You walked with me,
Never leading,
Always. Always. Amused at my awe.

15, May, 2009

*Kunta Kinte a character from Roots by- Alex Haley. It is from Kunta that Haley traces his genealogy. Roots is a novel based loosely on Haley’s family's history, starting with the story of Kunta Kinte, kidnapped in Gambia in 1767 to be sold as a slave.

*Kannagi a woman of legendary beauty from Silapathikaram the Tamizh Epic written by IIango Adigal in the 1st century. Kannagi or Kannaki Amman is eulogized as the epitome of chastity and is still worshipped as its goddess. She is praised for her extreme devotion to her husband in spite of his adulterous behaviour.