I would wave it before her
The jewellery ad
On the magazine page
The model decked
Neck to navel in gold
I would ask her excitedly,
"Would you give me,
This much gold
For my marriage?"
It was like a skit we played
So often
It had become
A ritual
Amma would nod
A no
Then I would hold
My palm to my stomach
"This much?"
"No" again
I would then raise
My palm a bit higher
"This much?"
She would nod again
A nay
On my palm would go
From stomach
To chest
To neck
Each time
She would answer
"No"
Finally I would ask
"Would you give me
One necklace
Amma?"
She would nod
A yes this time
And we would all
Burst out laughing
-
Chandni Girija
April 18, 2021
Note: Usually a poem should stand alone. However, I would like to add an appendix to this one. The recent ad by Bhima Gold. In the poem, it could have been any jeweller's ad. However, it has been titled 'Bhima Gold' in honour of the watershed moment they have created in mainstream ad world - showing a family helping a trans-woman accept and blossom into her identity. There are some questions embedded within and around this poem and this ad. Why still dowry? Why do girlhood dreams have gold? And why can't a trans-woman have the same conventional dreams privileged to cis-women? Let us keep thinking, and answer them gradually, together. Right now though, the Bhima golden moment ought to be cheered.
Day 18 of 30 | 30 Poems in 30 Days | National Poetry Writing Month #napowrimo
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