Tokri : Hindi Poem by Shakuntala Sharma English version by Rajni chhabra

 BASKET

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An innocent girl

I am doll of my grandmother

My grandmother is the best in whole universe

Around broad hem of her saree

I often noticed 

A basket

Grandmother would place it up

Cleaning, wiping and placing it up

 On a loft

Empty 

Observed it every morning and evening

I grew up a bit

On a fateful day

Grandmother handed over that basket

To my mother

And my mother

Watched it with a longing

Always putting something in it

Toys...handcrafted by her

Recipes... prepared by her

Garland of beads of wisdom

And plenty of narratives of experience

Whatever she learnt, filled the basket with it

Neither let it remain empty

Nor did she use it

While departing from threshold of father

And moving to threshold of husband

My mother handed over the basket to me

I fetched with me the basket of grandmother

Filled that basket

But did not place on loft like my mother

''I''

I utilized countless bounties

In the basket enriched with

Narratives of experience

Enchanting art

I kept on adding to it

My life was full of bounties

Being a diligent  lady

I distributed the contents of basket

Among needy people

Kept on distributing 

And distributing

Caravan moved on

And kept moving

This basket of three generations

Got emptied 

And filled again

Got emptied 

And refilled

It imposed a question on me

I pondered

Why did grandmother keep it empty?

She possessed everything

Mother filled it and handed over to me

Why she did not avail anything out of it?

In response to this question

I explained to my daughter today

It was in slumber since long

But has awaked today

This is the secret of this basket!