Monday, April 20, 2015

Weaver of Dreams

I am a stealer of their dreams....
For some vain aesthetic delight
For some petty pleasures
I adorn myself
In silky smoothness
In ignorance of their plight
In blatant oblivion
I deck myself
To look beautiful....
I let those fingers bleed
I know not how I scrape the softness
Off those little fingers....
How can I call myself a mother?
I cry today
Is my motherly affection so cramped
That I see only the children I bore?
What about those innocent lives
That die in the hostile factories?
They had a right to play, to laugh
Just as my children do
That little girl whose hair got tied
In brutal machines of the silk factory
Can I ever know the extent of her agony?
She died
She ought to have lived
To bathe in some sunny pastures...
I did not even know....
But Amma came
She saw it all
She would not let it go on like that
It was inhuman
It was babarous
To let the little ones toil away in darkness...
Amma makes my heart swell with hope
With pride
I cry again
To see how she works
Dauntlessly
Incessantly
They killed her husband
To stop the good work she was doing
She did not stop
She still works
Gives little girls the sanctuary they need
She is the weaver of their dreams
At the periphery of prosperity
In the vicinity of technology
Near Bengaluru
In Magadi
She fights the fight
To free those children
Not three or four
But at least 8000
Or maybe more than that...
The horror of the colossal number
Makes me shiver....
But Amma is not intimidated
She acts
She attacks
And then
She weaves 
Not silk, not yarn...
She weaves some hopes
Some smiles
Some caresses
Some gentle touches
Some warm homes
A true mother
A weaver of their dreams....



Had it not been for Amma, many children would still be working in the silk industries in Magadi.
Image Source - realheroes.com

K S Sarojamma is an icon. She has been working for the cause of child labor in silk industries for the past many years. Despite the fact that her husband was killed, Amma, as she is lovingly called, has not stopped her crusade against the silk mafia. Children have been forced to work in silk industry because of their tiny fingers. These children are usually 6 or 7 years old. Almost all of them are below the age of 14. Words are not enough to describe the extent of work Amma has done for these little children. Magadi is just two hours away from Bengaluru, and has been the hotspot of the injustices meted out on these little lives. 
I salute Amma for her work. I am a mother to just two children. She is the mother to all those she has worked for. Despite her loss, she does not stop. A brave woman, a true human.


I’m voting for K S Sarojamma’s#WillOfSteel and blogging on BlogAdda to help her get felicitated and eventually enabled by JSW.

To read my entry on Kamlesh Zapadiya and Rufus D'Souza, click here


[Do leave a comment to let me share your thoughts on the post.]

[Read an open letter to Bharti Mittal on Net Neutrality here]

6 comments:

  1. A great lady! My salutations too!

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    1. True Indrani.....people like her are such inspirations to all of us.....thanks for stopping by.....

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  2. I also voted for Amma and Kamlesh for i feel Child Labor and Illiteracy are the two most important evils plaguing Indian society.
    Great poem you wrote for Amma.

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    1. Yes Alok.....I read your post....it was very well written.....I voted for your post on Indivine.....Thanks for stopping by....

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  3. Very interesting read! Nice poem! Congrats :)

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  4. congratulations for winning dearie :-)

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