The Other Tradition

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SivaRamanathan
Posts: 1168
Joined: 14 May 2011, 20:30

The Other Tradition

#1 Post by SivaRamanathan » 08 Oct 2013, 21:15

1
The Gods sit as in concert, waiting
for our dusk chants as the evening
gathers momentum lamps are lit
at five places. Married girls take
their own lamp to the one sleeping room
awaiting their husband who
live in their wife’s house, who
remember to visit their parents only on
feast days.

2
The overweight slightly
indulgent mother-in law,
has the grace to blush at her in- law son’s
adult jokes. She also has to keep an eye
on her unmarried girls
sometimes even on herself.
In this land of the Matriarch
customs have somersaulted.


3
the women had an upper hand
and though he is her husband
had to sit in waiting outside the roof house
if she was entertaining. Of course
by the palm leaf umbrella
and the wooden slippers he knew who was
in his bed. Here all the immovable property
was hers and her brothers were sent
to their wife’s house with just a pittance.


4
Dad used to admire the surety with which
the woman would shop for the family, pay
the bill and hand over the parcel for her husband
to carry.

User avatar
Billy
Posts: 1384
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 10:56

Re: The Other Tradition

#2 Post by Billy » 29 Oct 2013, 21:16

I like the narrative very much and the humor of the last stanza and throughout, the mother-in-law having to watch herself. There are some grammatical problems with the first stanza:

The Gods sit as in concert, waiting
for our dusk chants as the evening
gathers momentum lamps are lit
at five places. Married girls take
their own lamps to the one sleeping room
awaiting their husbands who
live in their wive’s houses, who
remember to visit their parents only on
feast days.

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