Bruised, but not Broken (poems)
-Challapalli Swarooparani
25. Corn Picker
I only know how to lose
But never to gain again
My womanhood an affliction.
I gather troubles at every step
As each heaves himself up
To his palanquin
By stepping over my head.
I am Soopanakha
Who ensured Rama stayed monogamous
The queen Prameela
Who made Arjuna stand a conqueror.
Jhalkari Bai
Who made Jhansi Laxmi
An invincible warrior, yet did not find
Even a shy mention
In the list of patriots.
I am Nangeli
Who sliced away her breasts
For a piece of cloth
Refusing to pay the tax
On her blooming bosom.
I rode the road
And turned into a pool of blood.
Though I nursed the Lord’s child
At my breast
I could never become a ‘mother’
To the little fellow.
I am the gifted servant maid
That followed my lady
From her mother’s place to husband’s
An object, an instrument.
I am the picker of
Fallen ears of corn
Who never ever reaped the harvest
Though labouring hard since
The planting of the seed.
I am an untouchable among women
A woman among untouchables
Whatever the place or time
I know how to loose, not claim!
(Telugu: “Parigapilla”, translated by N.R.Tapaswi and published on Face Book Timeline of the author.)
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(To be continued-)
Challapalli Swaroopa Rani hails from a village, Pyaparru, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. She is one of the five daughters of Mariyamma and Mantraiah. Went to Govt school in her place, completed her college at Guntur, the District head quarters. Then shifted to Hyderabad Central University and involved in student politics as a founder member of Ambedkar Student’s Association. She had her master’s in History & Archaeology, M.Phil in Medieval History and Ph. D in Regional Studies. Swaroopa has obtained Gold Medal in her Masters Examinations. She has got her first recruitment as Asst. Professor in History at Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Srisailam and got selected as Associate Professor in Buddhist Studies in Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur. She lives in Vijayawada. Presently she is a Professor of Buddhist Studies and Director, Center for Women’s Studies in the same University. She is specialized in studies on Buddhism, Caste, Religion, Gender, Tribal Studies, People’s Culture and Literature.