Poem of a Poor Daughter

Disclaimer: The below poem is artistic and fictional. Any resemblance to person, group, institute or department is coincidental. 

Her Groan: 

Mitochondrial DNA analysis confirm the fact that Eve had seven daughters. One of them, "Jasmin" as semi fictionalized by Bryan Sykes, conjure up her studying at a government school near foothills of Pahalgam, say our school at Amad. In an annual assessment, she fetched well if not better than "Cain" a sophomore at posh ivy league institute.

No sooner the aggregates were out, the culture of comparison started and society plus system started prowling on the contrast between the two which, ofcourse, did depress her.

She and her pedagogues did all what they could do, so she wondered where the buck actually stopped, whom to blame and actually for what!

All she could do is grasp a pen and jot down her heart onto a paper & she wrote;

Her Entreaty: 

"Do not compare us, dare to compare us fellas,

For I live in a mud house, they in the villas"

"For I carve for a few hours of electricity,

While they, they relish the showers of luxury"

"For baba, my baba goes Pahalgam to earn,

They 'along with the families' go for a sojourn"

"I need free uniforms, do have only few costumes,

They have dozens in the wardrobes of their personal rooms"

"The income of my family is so shabby,

Little less than what 'Cain' spends on his hobby"

"Then came the Covid's, shutdowns and all,

That is when our house finances did fall"

"Baba had no work, he had to look after,

Feed me, my siblings, spend money like water"

"For online classes, school asked for a smart phone,

I insisted to baba, and baba took some loan"

"Ah! now I need free space, internet and zoom,

How could I tell my teacher, we just had one room"

"They,  "fellas in villas", they had the edge,

They had good food, wifi, gadgets and privilege"

"They had tutors, guides, teachers and nurses,

I was in "G" school, for mamma had empty purses"

"One day, I stood up and took it on myself,

In fields, picking apples, walnuts, lending people help"

"My brother too, in despair shut his books,

To find work, wandered with baba in the nooks"

"Exams were announced, the "Cain" went on study leave,

To make our ends meet, we were toiling hard if you believe"

"Do not compare, For in this pyramid of class,

They are on top and we are on grass"

My Addendum:

"You do know her, you call her Jasmin,
The seventh daughter of Eve, face with the sheen"


"But Under the Smile, she hides needs and pain,
Consoled by a myth that worldly possessions give no gain"


"The man who taught her this, fills you with rage,
Wants to arrest likes of her inside the Tagore's golden cage"

"You are privileged for having the chromatid Y,
"Meanwhile the poor jasmine in a golden cage would die"

"You have the agency, why don't you give it a try,
"Teach her to dream big & traverse the blue sky"


"Ahh, That talk of dream! Make no castles on sand,
A Poor caged bird need more than a helping hand"

"Like the Luther, I do have a small dream,
"Every child is unique and may be held supreme"


"But the Moses, that bird' from an AC hall,
Orders them to stay within a certain boundary wall"


"He controls the narrative, he controls the peoples vision,
Thinks restricting women and children is his holy mission"


"One can fight with one, one can fight with two,
But against the societal dogmas, how can a single individual do"


"Lament on the folks that so much hate a girl child,
One said a pen can change world is accused as agent of west the wild"

"One child just posing for a candid photo during quarantine,
God! Heap of abuse and hate she got, Was called obscene"

"They hate when teachers innovate, they hate when kids sing"
"Accuse us that to culture, disrepute we did bring"


"Such culture is nothing but that of envy and hate,
Hmm! Cut it short, let me talk of jasmine my mate"


"Do not compare my jasmine with their Cain,
For it does render my heart with immense pain"


"Remember two schools, two children ain't the same,
With huge equity gap, I wonder is there any fair game"


"Even within the public schools, there is a bias,
Some have surplus facility, elsewhere only chaos"


"Some "Ledom" with tinkering labs, libs, ICT's and what not,
Others "Etats", with adequate men and facilities they got"


"Poor Jasmine, She was trapped in quagmire,
They called them "Asmr" and to study there was nightmare"


"No head, clerk, peon, just a bunch of seven damn teachers,
For God sake how could Jasmine  get competitive features"


"These seven men worked hard night and day,
Although even respect didn't people up there pay"


"They toiled hard to satisfy their conscious soul,
To uplift likes of poor jasmine was their only goal"

"Gosh! Now that i talked about it, let it be freely how,
The teacher is affronted & scorned, it works like that now"


"These times, when teachers' good work is under sabotage,
The nexus of media & those folks work like chameleons camouflage"


"Let me reveal an Incident, don't be shocked,
To show you the way how we are mocked"


"On the Call, they told us to prepare one topic,
For a seminar in town, the theme of which was patriotic"


"We were enthralled, for it we chose Jas,
For all the eloquence and wit, while speaking, she has"


"When she speaks, it is like water in laminar flow,
Like the nightingale's song and puffin's glow"


"We prepared ourselves for two days on trot,
We were worried, as on time we were short"


"I cancelled the classes, i postponed other work,
Thinking of a win, in excitement i went berserk"

"Then came the day, but in morning we got another call,
It bruised my heart, it pushed me to the wall"


"Don't bring the student to that seminar it said,
As some "Ledom" school had agreed to send one instead"


"The winter shall go, with that will end the gloom,
The time will bend and the flowers will bloom"

"Till that time, Let us not compare them,
For in post truth world full of crass,
Some are privileged, Some are on grass"

The Disillusionment:

"Then one day, this illusion did broke,
That we are loved from its every Nook" 

"Last week, a woman showed us our place,
It trembles me when i think of it in solace"


"It shook my resolve, it pained my heart,
I urge to obliterate lifes' this sad part"


"So, it was like the nightmare of sorts,
It took away our sleep, it bled our hearts"


"On an ill fated Autumn afternoon, when the kindergarteners left,
And the news came, which left us utterly bereft"


"A kid on his way to home, clashed with other one,
With no idea of what was coming, for them it was fun'


"One broke the leg of other, other broke formers arm,
They bruised one another, then went to homes for balm"


"One's mother was enraged, she blamed the teachers,
Though we had nothing to do with what was done by those creatures"


"Driven up the wall, She stormed into school campus,
Infuriated & profaned, She created the ruckus"


"Losing the temper, exasperated, she was in  flames,
Called us D***H***s, Sons of B*****s, Mo******rs and names"


"We were dumbstruck, we thought it was just a bad dream,
How could 'they' abuse us, we thought they held us in esteem"


"And how were we to be held responsible for this mess,
The kids had fought only outside the school nonetheless"


"The ordeal did not end there for us that day, 

She did warn us, she would make us heftly Pay"


"Next afternoon, we got a call from a local Cop,
Told us to reach the station along with whole troupe"


"We delayed the matters till the evening,
Thought it ought to be sorted at 'Aukaf' gathering"


"But the Cops were adamant, they wanted us at station,
"For the accusations by women were severe in imagination"


"She wanted us in Jail, she wanted the compensation,
"Playing psychological gamble, she even accused cops of discrimination"


"The accusations were lies, but they were too shocking,
She said the teachers tore her clothes during the hawking"


"Alas! Her Kid too, whom we taught like the Nostradamus,
Said one teacher beat and dragged him across campus"


"We thought we may go to jail, looking at each other with innocence,
We too put forth our narrative of that days belligerence"


"Calling her bluff, somehow the cops catched,
When her awry statements with each other didn't matched"


"Then came the climax, Let's go to the school, said a 'man with a Car',
The party against whom the witnesses bear shall go behind the bar"


"So as the tables turned, she played a new bet,
Said school is all theirs, fake witnesses they will set"


"When the doors were closed, she said she has quit,
Withdrawing back complaint, partially fake it was she did admit"


"All she wanted then was that the school shall pay,
For tests, medicine, new uniform and allow child easy stay"


"Some of the teachers were adamant to file counter case,
For the libel, slander & disrespect, we all had to face"


"But the most senior ones among us knew it very well,
Escalating it further would mean to ring the cats bell"


"A common citizen has nothing to loose, they said,
For a man on duty, his respect, time, energy even the bread"


"Why a teacher who does so much has to go through,
Incivility & sacrilege. Shouldn't that be a taboo"


"When a parent says a teacher is slave of child, has to drink,
Piss of her child, Wash their feet and clean their stink"


"A teacher is a hero for kids, helps them to dream"
Motivates them to excel, engenders the society's cream"


"As the great Ataturk said about the teachers"
Ones who consume themselves to light path of others"


"I don't want to go back there, for it's demons come to haunt,
'Haha, What these people did to you!', they give me this taunt"


"Taught them, bought them gifts, Inspire awards, notes on web & boxes of chocolate,
In turn, What you got was almost getting incarcerate"


"But but, where do the broken hearts usually go,
Back to the places, where they are broken, Do you Know."

                                  

The Crux:

I had scribbled last year 'as well' on how it was not only futile but discourteous as well to Govt school juveniles when their achievements  are juxtaposed with private ones given the huge economic disparity, social inequality and equity bias they face. (Read here)

With the help of this poem, i do reiterate that there are thousands of Jasmines out there who are being compared with Cains. It is indispensable to this society to fathom the fact that the two kids do not sail in same yacht.

Always remember no two children, no two schools, no two parents, not even two Govt schools are equal and should not be collated. 

In the race of life, privilege matters. period.

 ....................