Colours

The colours I liked, and the shades I loved,

They were never pink, red or blush but black, blue and cyan.

As a kid, when I used to paint the rainbows,

In my thoughts, I would slide down those colourful bridges to some other world.

But the world, I forgot I used to live in, had colours and shades to differentiate; not amalgamate.

The rainbows were reinvented and became the voice of a gender unknown.

It had lived long enough in the shade of shame to be itself, in the world which blindly had known.

Let me walk you through the story of these hues,

They have laughed less and hated more and have gotten beaten in black and blues.

First, the red… auspicious and love are the strongest of its suites until it promises the roses to the bride but failed to mention the thorns, she would walk on…

for sometimes dowry, and other times, respect but never for her self-respect, it would bloom.    

She is made to sit on the pyre of her dreams, her hopes, her ambitions and her opinions to be the sacred 'Sati'.

Her red lipstick is too bold for her persona which is considered inviting,

And the same red's monthly visit is too unholy for the holy shrines.

The irony of the red does not end just there…

You will find it painted in the signs of danger, with a skull so white as if the death itself would have come clad in peace in the life so chaotic which forgets to silent in the times of need… or comes in silence of its own death.

You will also find some red in the streets these days…

In the burnt houses which took them lifetimes to build,

In the looted dreams, which promised to give wings to their progenies,

In the youth which thinks of red as "Inqlaab!" and in the power-hungry people who turn the rivers blood red.

I got to know the real world's colour palette, is just too perplexed.

The warm colours are not really warm, and the cool is not that cool!

As if the gender was not sexist enough, they divided the colours as well!

Smart move or audacious, I am not sure, but are you?

The soft-soothing colours were feminine which is considered "weak" just so you know,

And the bold colours were masculine, "too strong" of illustration, as dull patriarchy, not soothing but strong enough to stand the screams of its "second-class citizen" in the bedroom with slaps, and marks of its belts.

They know how to be deaf to the rues and woes of other than themselves.

The next is the grey, I thought was a shade just confused yet perfect in its own.

But it revealed a unique relation to me.

The world and grey had a lot in common,

Both are neither completely white nor completely black but have found harmony in the middle of it.

But the grey in the characters of the human is just shady.

As I said, it appears neither white nor as black, but the moral compass shifts with the time you never see!

Another honourable mention should be of not one but the two:

One has the tales of courage and strength and the other dressed up in all chivalry and faith.

But exactly this last "F" word in the last sentence lacked itself in people which redefined them as religion.

One opted a warm colour yet has no warmth in the hearts anymore and the other opted cool colour but forgot the calm in it.

No one seemed to be interested in the books wrapped in saffron and green, the teachings could interest nobody no more, but you will find them in their respective homes, wrapped up, read countlessly yet understood nothing.

To have the other's respect, they found a new way!

To see if you "fit in", you have to prove your heart; else…

The words would get shoved down the throat to show superiority and if that's not enough, the souls are burnt alive with the flames of hate reaching skies and so will be the screams but again no one to hear them?

Or is there anyone?

Anyone who could re-establish this colour coding, rearranging this palette, which does not know how to get along with the other colours.

It has forgotten the importance of mixing different colours in the race of the colour of the races.

Is there anyone who can tell them, it is necessary to know the right colour will not be the one you are holding in your hand; it's your favourite, might not be mine!

And it is okay.

You can like your colour and let me be happy with mine.