When I recited my second poem at The Y I introduced Akash Parekh and Rishii Chowdhury to the stage. The poem titled "Stripping Dreams, was based on" experiences my siblings and I had of teachers being bullies. When teachers tell you that " you are incapable", " you cannot go to university, " you will never amount to anything" etc etc, what can you expect from children? Quite often these predictions are proved wrong in later years. I got told I would " NEVER set foot in a university". I did not set foot in one university but two and came out with two degrees.
Nowadays political correctness is at another extreme. A few years back there was a kick off, about social services being called because a mother hugged her child for too, long at the school gates.
I channelled my anger at these issues in this poem. While I recited the poem Rishii provided a light beat on Tabla. Akash played an Indian Classical raga ( composition) called Kirwani. This raag is known for its dark haunting, quality, which we thought was very fitting for this piece. It allowed us to capture the emotions of the poem, with music that was prominent,without detracting from the statements I was trying to make. This is how it went:
Stripping dreams
Shaping young
minds,
And future
citizens.
Laying down
roots,
Lessons for
life.
Watched in
adoration,
To aspire to.
The key to
the future,
Hero worship.
To then find out,
They are bigoted.
With preconceived judgements,
Only educated by certificates.( said
in freestyle no beat and very soft sitar strumming)
Corrected by
ridicule,
Making an example.
Just one
derogatory statement,
Sets the
whole tone.
We live in the 21st
century,
That doesn’t matter.
Under a microscope,
Scrutiny for every move.( said in
freestyle no beat light sitar strumming)
Hug a child too much!
You are possessive.
Not enough,
You are neglectful!
A child out
of the ordinary,
Does not fit
the mould.
What a sin!
Daring to be
different.
Ambition
turned to mockery,
Made into
satire.
Crushing a soul,
Burning off a dream.
From a broken
home,
That’s still
a stigma.
Put a hair
out of place,
Let’s call the social!
Abuse of
power,
By the book,
Targeting the
wrong people.
Politically
incorrect, paranoia!
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