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Woman on the Road to Lhasa
Deepa Agarwal
About Deepa Agarwal
About the Poet
With over forty books in English and Hindi to her credit, Deepa Agarwal writes mainly for children. She has written novels, short stories, textbooks and biographies for children. She has won many awards for her writing.
About the Poem
This poem talks about the fact that societal pressures to look beautiful make life miserable for women, create competition amongst them and do not allow them the freedom to be their natural selves. The ‘Woman on the Road to Lhasa’ is relieved when she can cast off the mask and act naturally. The difficult journey to Lhasa is a metaphor for a woman’s life, restricted and made painful by the demands of a patriarchal society. Through this poem, the poet illustrates how all over the world women are put to great discomfort because of the pressure to look good.
Beneath the mask
my face melts
like a jaggery cake in the sun
Mercifully,
I can see
even
as l preserve the pink of my skin.
But what's the use?
my sisters remain strangers
behind yak skin cheeks
that cannot exchange smiles
to lighten
the tyranny
of the road to Lhasa. All
blinding earth and searing sky
bleached bone and rubble
hung over a chafing saddle
feeding fleas.
Only
when night's black tent
enfolds the enemy, sun
can I breathe, Let
chilly air soothe broiling skin
laughter flow free
as I shed the mask.
Hard it is for a woman
far from home. And
endless the road to Lhasa
beneath a mask.
Available Answers
- 1.
Why has the lady covered her face with the mask?
- 2.
How does she feel behind the mask?
- 3.
When can the mask be taken off? What do the women feel then?
- 4.
Explain the following with reference to the context.
- My sisters remain strangers behind yak skin cheeks that cannot exchange smiles
- ........ Let chilly air soothe broiling skin laughter flow free as I shed the mask.
- 5.
Hard it is for a woman far from home. Do you agree? Why do you think the road trip to Lhasa is difficult for the womenfolk?
- 6.
Fill in the blanks with correct words from the box.
Chafing Broiling searing soothing smiling - The children were playing in the _______ sun.
- The _______ saddle has injured the donkey.
- Pour cold water to soothe the ________ skin.
- The _________ wind calmed the senses.
- After the results were announced, there were many _______ faces.
1 more answer(s) available.