Dusk

That stage of life where the losses ahead more numerous, known

No escape routes, just one foot before the other

And on and on we go looking up; face them squarely most days

Yet some days crushed, exhausted I rest for a better fight tomorrow...

___

Reena
8/29/2020

Little Nest

She made a little nest on the wreath on my door
When, how or why this came about I'll never know
Leaving her precious ones in my care

Somehow she knows a mother lives here...

reena / july 27th 2020

metamorphosis

my butterfly's flown
spread her wings and she's gone
no longer daily setting
of my life's routine

bride

she steps across the threshold before her
expectation, life unfolding anew
steps tentative yet carried on wings
a smile tremulous yet bold with ownership

her words soft and expectant of acknowledgment
she sees him watching her awkward hesitation
he holds her hand, steadies her gait
her adorned feet land, flattening the hill of rice

her dreams adorn this courtyard empty
rainbows glow even in dirty puddles
she vows to make this house her home
already she sees where her touch will shine

as she undoes her ornaments, heaviness of silks
finds herself breathless from the newness of it all
tomorrow will be the start of a new life
new words in her vocabulary...husband and wife

it will be a home of love, happiness will reign
he will see my magic touch, how the fates bow to me
so many dreams! she checks herself
please, just this one day, lets herself go

for tomorrow who knows what she'll awake to
she could be his queen, his partner or no one at all
her happiness captive even in ceremonious rebirth
she hasn't forgotten her chains have only changed hands

--reena
completing this poem 8 years later...
nov 13 2011 -- jan 22 2020

youth

how obsessed we are with youth and being young or looking young or staying young. so much energy goes into preserving ourselves in our prime or at least the pretense of it. this is not to say it's wrong. it's just human. get to about my age and you start noticing that Kansas did get left far behind and we are new territory and then there is the fleeting feeling that we are alone in how we arrived and the same applies to our departure. we shall be leaving alone. a lonely thought. and one that has made many of us shrink in fear and perhaps forms the foundation for many a religion, and other forms of solace. it's ok to have a good sigh or even cry for it and better yet a temporary yet futile refusal to co-operate but ultimately all you are left with... is the game at hand.

you going to play or not?

Article 15 - less is more!

Article 15: Less is more.... (SPOILERS AHEAD)

There were a couple of surprising things about Article 15 that I really appreciated. One it showed the main protagonist (Ayan, played by Ayushmann Khurana) as someone who is not necessarily interested in being a hero but is drawn into a fight because of the outrageousness of the criminal injustice he encounters in small town India. If you know Bollywood movies you know that is unusual - typically the protagonist in such a tale is shown giving lectures about how righteous he is from the get go. Tell, don't show -- is the way it goes and the movie is typically unwatchable. Not here.

The second is that the film takes on the subject of caste head on. What a completely stale subject to stake a whole Bollywood production on! And that too with someone like Ayushmann who's been riding a winning streak of hits. Why risk all that? But, for reasons also alluded to in the film, I am glad Anubhav Sinha took this on and made the film. I did not know this going in, but I believe the film is inspired by the 2014 heinous gang rape and murder case in Badaun. If so there is never a mention of it.

Article 15 is a dark and chilling tale of the sub-human treatment of those deemed to be "low caste" in small town or rural India. Not only are they treated worse than animals, they reside at the very bottom of the economic ladder and justice has no meaning in their lives. A simple request for an increase in wages can have dire consequences; two minor girls brutally raped and murdered for just such a request are then left hanging from a tree as a "lesson" to the rest of their tribe. The criminals powerful, upper-caste men expect to go scot free and do. That is until Ayan the police inspector - Anubhav Sinha's hero - shows up. The rest is a tale of justice sought and found.

While the movie is well-played with a satisfying end (who doesn't love a good tale of justice delivered?), it missed being a powerful film that stays with you for days. In your face symbolism such as the playing of "vande mataram..." when Ayan realizes he is in the fight for good was unnecessary and annoying. Secondly, Ayan's journey while set up perfectly never quite raises the stakes sufficiently. He is shown to be an upper class (and upper caste), urban kid who is blind to the reality and rigors of caste. He is not only ignorant of the intricacies of it, he can hardly believe how rampant and deeply entrenched it is in the village he is in charge of. "Wild wild west..." - an allusion that would be lost to practically all of small town India - is how he describes it. This is how most of India lives but this is news to him, as is the case with most of urban India that (needs to) believes that caste is a thing of the past. However what's jarring is how it all ends in a "happy" end with Ayan (the savior!) carrying the missing third girl through the swamps. This scene perhaps scored drama points with the audience but left me asking for more. Perhaps also because in the very next scene Ayan is shown standing in his same jeans that are clean and dry!

A more bitter tale would have made the film more compelling. Such battles are won, if ever, in much more involved fights where the hero rarely emerges unscathed and heroic. But then perhaps it would not have delivered the hit Anubhav Sinha wanted which, is likely necessary to get the word out: Caste is still a thing, you know!

-----
Reena
Aug 13, 2019

getting here

sometimes that oldness comes over me
these trusty bones lay bare the journey
this skin, these eyes, this body my sages
even if this mind with its hubris can't see

it's not that we feel any older
this mind chases on its own dimension
the heart of course marches as it will
the feral creature demands attention

yet this realization that it's different
nothing like i thought i'd feel
nor anything i imagined "they" felt
those who i've viewed from my youth

yet i love the fight that's here
keeping this edifice moving, alive
keeping this curiosity lit
this love for the next corner's surprise

reveling in all i have learned
letting go of the vanities in between
grateful for the demons i slayed
yet humility for those that stayed

a blessing for all that's been mine

carrying more goodbyes than hellos

acceptance for what is long gone,

signs that it's ok. let it go!

reena

july 11, 2019