The Stigma Of The Widowhood Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

When you strip a woman
Of her costumes and cosmetics
And clamp on her widowhood,
She might well turn to be
A mother, sister or daughter.
Doing it on an open yard
As a part of funeral
Is an injury inflicted
On a mother, sister or daughter.
Let her be free to do when
And let it be a private affair
What sanctity has it got
In the changed scenario,
Where widows are getting
Married as freely now?
Must she be bound with thali
And metti by the bridegroom
To be usurped in his death?
The stigma attached
To being a widow be torn.
Be she as free as a man
Before and after her marriage.
It is grace that man grants
Before woman demands.
15.05.2008
[the hindu custome]