Adivasi, the Natives
Natives, Adivasi, however we identify them,
They were there before we came, and took over their land from them,
We used them, displaced them, put a dagger of pain in their hearts,
They only shed tear of grief, which were not even allowed to come out of their heart.
The aboriginal people from ancient jungle,
They danced in peacock feathers decorated attire,
They played flute and played drums on beat,
Men and women performed circle wave dances on the beat.
The nearby hills, they worshipped, made an ascent,
Taught the virtues of difficulties in life’s ascent,
The hill’s highest peaks, like ambitions in life, were over which only an eagle can fly,
Were dwarfed by the airplanes which now can fly.
They work as day labor, bare feet in scorching summer heat,
In the land rich with abundant minerals of all sort,
The putush flower and mango blossoms were abundant in past,
Now noise of cars, population have overtaken the beauty of past.
Now they have their own state, freedom for all, Adivasis and outsiders,
They still long for their beloved land, snatched and built to house others,
They got measly compensation, no one to shed a tear of grief,
A dagger of pain, a tear of grief.
Adivasi – the original people
Copyright ©
Jay Narain
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