Rita’s poem shakes us from the complacency and the taken for granted attitude. Here’s the sensibility of a compassionate social activist, in verse, as a special feature, in Different Truths.

Cotton candy clouds, beats of dhak, smell of shiuli
announce Her presence, a chimera of happiness floats
like gossamer over an illuminated city, masking
dark crevasses crawling with poverty, misogyny, hatred.

Magnificent marquees decked in neon brilliance
are packed like sardine cans at 2 am, thin lines
between carnival and worship smudged like kohl
in the eyes of young ladies on their first nocturnal trip.

Four days of festivities are stretched every year, unhappy
mortals desperately trying to grab onto happy moments
that will vanish with Her departure, a desperate clamour
to satiate the senses before monotony reclaims the earth.

Every year we give birth to our Mother, knowing fully well
she will soon drown to mortal death –
undeterred, we celebrate her time among us and get ready
to wait again for her resurrection, our annual nirvana.

Photos from the Internet

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Rita Bhattacharjee

Rita Bhattacharjee is a communications consultant with extensive experience in managing corporate and internal communications for companies across diverse industries, including non-profit organizations. She is the co-founder of Mission Arogya and Arogya HomeCare and has recently relocated from the US to India to channel her skills towards social entrepreneurship to increase awareness and reduce disparity in public health. She also writes poetry, some of which have been published in reputed international journals.

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