No Man's Land

Ardra Manasi

     

                                                                                                                                                                      

Like a vulture, you feed on the carcass of my thoughts

You mercilessly butchered my past

You skilfully scrutinised the 'wrongs' of today

You forcefully gave me in betrothal to the enterprising lad-'tomorrow'

Time, thou art a great reformer

I am lost in this 'no man's land'

A 'disputed territory'?

A desert where mirages appear and disappear

I dream of that distant mountain of fireflies

The deep melancholy of the rustic woods

The veneer of mist and the song of the 'river god'

But wait!!!

Isn't that the heart wrenching wail of the tribal chief?

"They take our daughters and our lands

We are in this no man's land."

Ardra Manasi is in her final year MA, Development studies. This versatile lady is a fabulous dancer and a brilliant poet with a few publications already to her credit. Her views on feminism are quite thought-provoking.