Muliebrity

The poem Muliebrity by Indian poetess Sujata Bhatt describes the speaker's admiration towards a girl in her homeland, India, whose job is to gather cow dung along the main road. The poet expresses her admiration towards the girl as well as all those features of her country through imagery. Among the smells, sights and sounds of India, the girl shines and smiles because she is proud of herself. I just thought this poem was a nice way of showing how hard life in India is, especially for women. After living here for a year, I have been able to see all those things Sujata Bhatt describes in her poem, and I feel the same admiration towards all Indian women. Enjoy!

Muliebrity

Sujata Bhatt

I have thought so much about the girl

who gathered cow-dung in a wide, round basket

along the main road passing by our house

and the Radhavallabh temple in Maninagar.

I have thought so much about the way she                                             5

moved her hands and her waist

and the smell of cow-dung and road-dust and wet canna lilies,

the smell of monkey breath and freshly washed clothes

and the dust from crows’ wings which smells different –

and again the smell of cow-dung as the girl scoops                             10

it up, all these smells surrounding me separately

and simultaneously – I have thought so much

but have been unwilling to use her for a metaphor,

for a nice image – but most of all unwilling

to forget her or to explain to anyone the greatness                                15

and the power glistening through her cheekbones

each time she found a particularly promising

mound of dung –

Sources:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080518/jk4.jpg

http://jocelyn53.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/cow-dung-cc-elishams-200.jpg?w=200&h=132

http://194.3.120.243/english/study/IGCSE/Literature/Poetry/Songs%20of%20Ourselves/muliebrity.htm