Dr Samhita Barooah
From Kangla to Khuga…
From Loktak to Lamka…
From Moirang to Jiribam.
Essence of bonhomie lost
Enmity emerges.
Decade old wounds…
Revisited every soul
Wondering about the scars..
On both women and God.
On the memories of children
On the ashes of homes
On the messages of people.
On the protesting streets
On the drooping old eyes
On the fatherly shoulders.
Women's movement got divided
Between ethnicities, religion and culture.
Between Articles 371 and 1325
Between the homes and the streets
Between the children and the men
Between war and peace…
Between modesty and atrocities
Between confinement and confrontation.
Between blockades and bondages
Between caring and challenging.
Manipur went berserk…
Making humanity hide behind huddles
Making history through miseries
Molding hatred within humans
Blending defense and offense.
Managing uploads and downloads
Beyond the suspended world wide web.
Many lives were held hostage.
Many migrated beyond the borders.
Many fled for life and a few took the reins.
Hills were angry
Valley was angry too.
Its the rivers that shed bloody tears.
The trees hold up the skeletons
Coffins and pyres both merged with the soil.
Hopes and dreams crushed to death.
Jobs and businesses went to flames..
Confinement, confrontation, contradictions.
Rescue, relief and rearmament are all around.
Appeals to restore peace kept resonating from the nation, media, leaders and policy analysts.
But only to be out to deaf ears.
Everyday the demands are divided
Everyday the demands are changing
Everyday the divisions are deepening.
Oh Manipur please heal fast…