Where The Mind Is Full of Fear, Head Is Bowed, a Lie Is Truth
by Rafiq Kathwari
Dapaan,
Rama saw Sita bathing nude
in Sitaharan, a spring near
the Line of Control in Kashmir.
It was lust at first sight.
Dapaan,
the demon king Ravana abducted Sita
to Sri Lanka to avenge a previous wrong.
Rama flew in anger south in his glitzy
winged chariot Made in Prehistoric India,
using indigenous materials.
Dapaan,
Hanuman, son of Vayu, God of the wind,
steered the chariot. Clouds cloaked it
to foil discovery by enemy radar.
Rama shot a divine arrow piercing Ravana
in the heart and killed him.
Dapaan,
Rama flew Sita back to Sitaharan where they lived
happily, until India partitioned herself on this day
75 years ago: first as Tragedy. Now, as Mythology.
***
Dapaan, a Kashmiri folkloric term, means “They Say.”