The Sighs!

By Deepthy Krishna D

Sigh was he

Was she too the same?

Moments

Lit up with casual

Caste jokes

Encircling the dining table

All left was the sigh!

Between the boredom

Loop of parking lot premises

Of family gatherings

Rituals and marriage proposals

What she offered was a sigh!

He too followed the same!

The whispers of long

Held silence choked

Heads of ancestors

Kept brimming the soul..

Yet they were hapless

Offering the same sighs!

The grim face

Of Periyar raised an eyebrow

"Beside those sighs

Where lies the freedom

When you are being

Tied with soft tangents

Of no escape..

Restricting your pace

Like a panopticon

Yet pruning you

From head to toe

What if your happiness

Becomes an interest

For your obedience..??"

He scoffed at their sighs!

Guru with the complacent smile

Pitied the sighs,

Glancing at Sahodaran nearby!

Beyond the corridors

Of that ancient building

One stupa remained

The Smiling Buddha

In solemn silence!!

Periyar, Guru, Sahodaran Ayyapan- South Indian Renaissance leaders

By Deepthy Krishna D