Our Stories, Incredible Women and Other Poems

By Sonia Goswami

The author, Sonia Goswami, is a postgraduate in English as well as Business Administration. She has worked as an Assistant Professor with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, for almost seven years. This is her first book though her research papers have been published in various national and international journals. While writing, the author uses all her ‘reading, memories, direct experiences and acquired information from other women’. In this book, she raises issues of gender, class, religion, politics and environment. She has creatively visualised and illustrated her poems with her drawings. She is also a foreign language trainer and teaches French and German la

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
• Release date: Oct 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890087638

Book preview

Acknowledgements

I’m thankful to Krishna

for blessing me with a life on Indian land

for blessing me with a Hindu way of living

for blessing me with the most loving parents

for blessing me with two caring brothers

for blessing me with a healthy body and mind

for blessing me with the opportunity to gain knowledge

for blessing me with a wonderful husband

for blessing me with two amazing kids

for blessing me with a roof over my head

for blessing me with a bed to sleep peacefully

for blessing me with the clothes to cover my body

and for blessing me with the food on my plate.

-to Krishna

I’m thankful to my nation

I’m proud to be an Indian.

I’m thankful to my country’s farmers

they feed the world

I’m thankful to my country’s doctors and nurses

they heal the world.

I’m thankful to my country’s engineers

they set the world on pace

I’m thankful to my country’s scientists

they explore the space.

I’m thankful to my country’s soldiers

they save the world

I’m thankful to my country’s writers

they wave the world.

I’m thankful to belong to the land of

Rama and Krishna

Buddha and Mahavira

Ramayana and Mahabharata

Vedas and Bhagavad Gita.

I’m thankful to Indian mothers

because the sacrifices they make

for their children are unmatchable

mothers like

maa Parvati, maa Sita

maa Devaki and Yashoda

struggled a lot for the sake of their children

my mother did it too for me

and how can we forget queen Lakshmibai

who fought such a tough battle for her child

and for the liberty of her land too.

I’m thankful to our visionary leaders

their pledge to unite the world

the efforts of Modiji’s are recent

but ever since the boundaries

between the lands got thinner

our leaders have been trying to

bridge the gaps between nations.

I’m thankful for

Mahatma’s satyagraha

and Nehru’s non-alignment

I’m thankful for

Bhagat Singh’s sacrifice for our nation

and Azad’s love for our land

I’m thankful for

Patel’s nation unification strategies

and Ambedkar’s constitutional framing abilities

I’m thankful for

Bose’s fearlessness

and Indira’s fierceness

and I’m thankful for

Shastri’s simplicity

and Modi’s audacity.

I’m also thankful to countless unsung heroes

who gave their heart and soul to our soil

who poured their blood to make

our nation free from foreign clutches

it’s because of their sacrifices

that today I’m living as a free citizen

in a secular nation state

relishing my fundamental rights

along with the right to vote

and making my own choices.

The freedom we Indians are enjoying today

was earned by those unsung heroes

the edifice of liberty we are standing upon

has been built upon their skeletons.

I’m thankful to be an Indian

I’ve high hopes in my nation

I’m thankful to Himalayas

I’m thankful to Hinduism

I’m thankful to my mother tongue, Hindi

and I’m thankful to my motherland, Hindustan.

-to my motherland Hindustan (India)

Thank you, O father! thank you! thank you!

from the bottom of my heart I say I love you.

Thank you for making me walk

holding my fingers tightly

thank you for teaching me talk

when I stammered slightly.

Papa! I remember us eating food

from the same plate every night

food tasted so good while sharing with you

those were my golden days, full of light.

I remember your bed-time stories

game of Ludo we played together

the long winter nights felt so cosy

when I slept in warmth of your feather.

Papa! why have I grown up?

why can’t I always stay in your farms?

why can’t we share food anymore?

why can’t I cuddle you to sleep in your arms?

The unconditional love you’ve showered on me

is difficult to be expressed in words

a small tear in my eyes made you cry

without you this world would’ve been absurd.

Papa! thank you for being by my side

when the entire world turned against me

thank you for being a pillar of support

your words kept encouraging me.

My father, you are the reason for my laughter

in every birth, I want to be only your daughter

thank you for everything, O father! thank you!

I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!

-to my father

Although no words are enough

to express gratitude towards you

but let me make a small attempt

from my side, dear maa.

Thank you maa, for bringing me

into this beautiful and amazing world

thank you maa, for giving me warmth

of your body in nights awfully cold.

Maa, I could understand your struggle