Thanks To You, Never Do I Give Up

I hope you are not getting heartily bored, but this will be yet another poem dedicated to the amazing Dr. Meena Kandasamy – author, poet, translator, academic, intersectional feminist and anti-caste activist extraordinaire! Here is the content:

Thanks to you, never do I give up

And for you, will I forever clap

Because you are the candle

Which never stops burning

Even when the Fat Lady starts singing

Never, do you stop believing

Whether it be in yourself

Or even Rahul Gandhi, for that matter

All the evils in this country, may you shatter!!

Thanks to you, never do I give up

Never do you accept anything that comes cheap

A woman of supreme honour, you are

In you, am I yet to see even a hint of fear

As you go about your activism

Impresses me greatly, does your feminism

Rooted in intersectionality, as it is

Not to mention, you are such a prolific poetess

As well as a novelist par excellence

Weaving a complex web of stories

Which smash all the all too familiar stereotypes

And most importantly, make the reader sit up and take notice

As you crush myth after myth

Kindling a fire in me that I never knew had existed before

And urging me to never stop fighting

Until and unless, the ugly and hideous monster called “caste”

Is reduced to absolutely nothing!!

Thanks to you, never do I give up

And always, do I go deep

Whether it be work or personal stuff

You have made me tough

Hence, are you one of my role models

The very thought of you makes me smile

Even when I am at my nadir

So, may the Almighty bless you forever

With anything and everything you desire!!

Jai Bhim!! Vaazgha Periyar!!