the cycle of time

many were oppressed in the country

where the holy Ganges flow :
rushi Shambuk was slain by the king,
abodes of Allah and Ishwar were demolished,

Sita was put on fire, 

Shoorparnakha was be-nosed 

Shyam thought:

let me run away to the desolate banks of the swallowed Saraswati

and immerse in the studies till i turn into Valmiki's anthill !

with bamboo-bin and broom in her hands,

mother took him to their donkey- seated deity Shitalama.

‘blessedbe my son, what do you want?
shall i give you trishool diksha( trident-degree) 
or talwar-diksha ( sword -degree) ? '

'no, mother goddess', said mother,

'give him instead kalam-diksha( pen diploma) ,

he will help himself and others too. '

Shyam learned ABCD of his dialect

under the umbrella-dome

of kshatriyani sati Roopkunvar's tomb,

playfully dragging like toy-cart

the dead dog or cat at times,

enjoying the cocktail supper of leftovers mother begged.

small Shyam passes through the Rajmarg

with mother carrying on her head the nightsoil basket

and the Jodhpur king's entourage Gajrajsinh take it as omen

‘mother, why all spit on us, howl at us here and there?’

‘keep mum, my son, we are untouchable Bhangis, that is why’  

Shyam, lost in thought, asked himself in anger:

' shall i take kirpan-diksha (dagger diploma) or kalam-diksha ?'

and the student Shyam wrote a petition on his brethren's behalf :

1. every Valmiki sweeper will be given

one Anna per day per person and two fresh rotis

2. no unpaid forced labour for any work

other than sweeping and scavenging, extra wages to be given

3. no night-soil on head a wheel-cart must be given to carry the excreta

but Lord Manu's statue

planted in the precincts of the Rajasthan high court,

was chuckling at the Ambedkar law 

and scoffing at the blind-folded goddess of justice.

but unlike Ekalavya,

Shyam aimed only at Dronacharya's head,

and a scholar extra ordinary, became a don with doctorate .

and came 29 February, 1996
the most auspicious day in the life of all untouchable Valmikis !

Shyam remembered the day
when black Olympian Jesse Owens wore 4 glittering gold medals 

and crestfallen Hitler ran away, with his tail between his legs

with droppings of crows and kites,

the Manu statue was looking downcast :

a Valmiki had become Vice-Chancellor

and the Jodhpur king was waiting with the garland at his fort palace.

one Chamar girl has become Chief Minister of an Indian state,

one dalit diplomat is President of whole of Bharatdesh,
once called Aryavart !

the time has taken full circle. 

( poem inspired by a real life story of Prof Shyamlal )