His Shadow?

Today, 2nd October, 2019, we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji. But we often forget one very important person. I would like to dedicate this day and this poem to her:

His white dhoti shines,

His serene eyes talk.

Is he a vision or is he true?

I see him cleaning his spectacles,

And caressing his charkha.

Gandhi is just a name,

He is a symbol,

A symbol of hope,

Of peace,

Of truth.

But who is she?

That pillar of support merely?

Her white saree,

Her strong demeanour,

Her fierce eyes,

All talk to me.

The woman who walked with him,

Who knew all his flaws,

His known,

His hidden,

His soul,

His heart

Evaporates.

Forms his shadow.

She chose so.

She was his strength,

But above all,

She was her strength.

She was his support,

But we all forget,

The support she gave herself.

She doesn’t hide behind him,

She is him.

And she chose so.

She chose to be empowered.

And self-enlightened.