Stay at home mother criticised for writing poem on COVID deaths in India

51-year-old Parul Khakhar is a stay-at-home mother in Gujarat‘s Ahmedabad. A poet by hobby, Parul has carved out a niche for herself in the local literary scene. Having written folk songs and ghazals in her language, she says that she is “homemaker first, poet second.”

When India was witnessing a deadly second COVID-19 wave, Parul came across news clippings, reporting dead people overflowing in the Ganges and the banks overcrowded with burning pyres. It was at that moment, she decided to pen her thoughts.

According to a BCC report, Parul posted a 14-line dirge called ‘Shabvahini Ganga’ on her Facebook page. She has around 15,000 followers.

“The city burns as he fiddles. Come out and shout and say it loud/The naked King is lame
and weak,” Parul wrote.

According to a BBC report, the poem was supposedly directed at the Indian government for its inaction towards the second COVID wave that witnessed many deaths.

Soon her poem was criticised widely and she was trolled on social media platforms.

There were others who supported her. Salil Tripathi, a New York-based writer said: “The poem
is like an ironic satire. She does not name Mr. Modi, but her anguish and anger
are palpable.”

As per the report, Parul published another poem. One of the lines read: “The pain will get unbearable, but you shall not speak/Even if your heart screams, you shall not speak.”

Talking about the latest poem, Tripathi said that Parul is now critical of her critics and is wary of her those who cheer her on.

This is not the first time that local Gujarati writers and poets have appeared to criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his handling of the pandemic.