talking of freedom

freedom to different people means different things

various memories it evokes, myriad thoughts it brings

to different minds in different places

brought up differently, who see different faces

of this world we live in: this strange world

n to match it, we have freedom, a strange word

that conjures up images, some meaningful, some absurd

i read about it in the history book

of independence and the khadi look

of battles fought n revolts n bravery

freedom, I read, is the opposite of slavery

and freedom is to wear my hair long

freedom is that lata mangeshkar song

a pierced navel or an eyebrow

another hour playin in the snow

freedom is a solemn pledge

a subject of my choice when i go to college

freedom is a swim in the open ocean

more dessert, an extra portion

or maybe freedom’s just a notion

for the high n mighty

like an unlimited shopping spree

freedom of opinions, ideas big n small

to set up my own bhelpuri stall

wherever i want to, without havin to pay

a bribe to the policeman to let me stay

freedom is a divorce from my wife

freedom to paint for the rest of my life

without having to bother about the next meal

free to not have an opinion, not feel

free of the tyranny of society

of diktats n morals and propriety

a midnight stroll under the street lamps 

no more censors, stifling clamps

no thieves, no thugs, no goons sizing me up

no one to tell me how to hold my cup

the freedom to have legally grown

to owning a rickshaw-stand, with rickshaws of my own

just like the one that for five years i’ve drawn

for someone else. free to not lie

free to kill myself, to die

some may have a more holistic view

freedom of choice and generating revenue

of action, speech, and of the thoughts

for everyone, the haves and the have-nots

to be able to wear my turban, and beard unshorn

and the traditional dress my forefathers had worn

or to cut my hair, that my grandmom holds so dear

to live without the constant fear

of being killed for who you are

a job to earn a living, freedom from war

to do away with stereotypical classification

biases, castes n classes n their various ramifications

freedom to live with integrity

freedom to die with dignity

not get beaten by my drunk husband

for my research, a decent fund

without looking for conservation implications

not havin to explain to my relations

why I’m still single, livin alone

free, for my sins, to atone

to overcome this inbuilt, overpowering, bowing deference

get rid of this stammer that makes me sound dense

freedom is a question of my sexual preference

to enter the temple just like anyone else

to walk on the pavement without holding out my elbows

not bother about male company wherever one goes

in public, to hold my date’s hand

to move freely in my own land

or in the land of my forefathers n ancestors

n not get stoned by angry protesters

freedom to dress up the way i want

n not live with your jibes n brutal taunts

freedom from thoughts of all that’s gone

freedom from the righteous anger of the morons

freedom is the space - my space, legit

where I can be poor n possessionless, n laugh about it.

(from a notebook from sometime back; retouched)