I saw that <br />Old man <br />Offering <br />Prayers <br />To the <br />Mother <br />Goddess <br />Amidst <br />The chanting <br />Of the mantras <br />The observance <br />Of the religious <br />Rites, rituals… <br />And fragrance <br />Of the incense, <br />Not forgetting <br />Lighting of the <br />Holy fire. <br /> <br />In between <br />The yajna <br />Whenever <br />He got those <br />Little breaks, <br />When the purohit <br />Found himself <br />Busy with all and <br />Sundry… <br />The old man <br />Never missed <br />A chance to berate <br />His wife, before <br />The audience, <br />Pulling her on <br />Every little <br />Thing she might <br />Have done a-miss <br />While arranging for <br />The Puja. <br /> <br />He had forgotten <br />She was as old <br />As he seemed to be, <br />She was frail and feeble, <br />Her body ridden with <br />Arthritis. <br /> <br />He remembered <br />He was the <br />Man of the <br />House and so <br />Had every right <br />To pick on his wife, <br />Whose eyes brimmed <br />With tears, being sneered <br />By him before the <br />Onlookers. <br /> <br />Yet, as every <br />Subservient <br />Wife does, <br />She kept quiet. <br />Her silent tears <br />Didn't move <br />The old man. <br /> <br />He continued <br />Worshipping <br />The mother goddess <br />Unperturbed by his <br />Wife's state of <br />Unfolding misery. <br /> <br />I kept wondering <br />If the goddess <br />Would accept the <br />Prayers of this <br />Ardent devotee <br />Who's trying <br />So many ways <br />To appease her <br />From day long <br />Fasts to endless <br />Sacrifices of <br />Money, time <br />And animals… <br />All for this <br />Stone idol of a <br />Deity. <br /> <br />Yet, this devout <br />Hindu doesn't <br />Respect the <br />Living and <br />Breathing… <br />Grihalakshmi <br />Of his home and <br />Hearth. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />(Theme: Hypocrisy)<br /><br />Aparna Chatterjee<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/worship-23/
