Saturday, January 26, 2019

Yellow - Lalrinkima "Seiji" Ralte

It is illogical to think
that any one who doesn’t like you,
Likes everyone who doesn’t like you.

A land belongs to its people,
& people like us —
who are alienated, segregated
and isolated in these hinterlands.
From a great civilization
whose fame expands
far beyond boundaries
and eons of history where
the greatest achievements
of mankind have been
witnessed then and now.

We are its illegitimate brother,
bonded by the imperialist white.
And a conflate
of brown & yellow can never
become something nice.
Though we too,
chant ‘Jai Hind’, our voices
fade in the midst of
disdain and discrimination
since we are the
shallow yellow fellows
who are not more
mammals than a cow.

But we too
sing ‘Vande Mataram’
& pledge our allegiance
to the Tiranga,
Even when we are asked
to pay extra rupees
to enter the Taj.
Because we are
the yellow pad that lets
the magnificent lotus
float on water.



Lalrinkima "Seiji" Ralte is currently working as Guest Faculty in the Dept. of Economics at Mizoram University. He enjoys writing in both English and Mizo, and his take here on the 70th anniversary of India's Republic Day from the marginalised Mizo point of view is particularly interesting.


No comments:

Post a Comment