Authored by BIF Fellow Hamsini Balaji
Oftentimes, we face situations and individuals who challenge the very core of our foundation i.e. beliefs, values and ways of seeing and understanding the world. Growing up when I visited India for vacations, the elders in the family had a saying, “Even if God fulfills your desire, the priest obstructs it” (Originally in Tamil). I never really understood what that entirely meant until I was faced with a challenge that required me to raise my voice, stand my ground and stand up for myself through the challenge in order to accomplish a goal.
During that time, I met Mr. Sanjay Prasun (Pen Name) who is the Human Resources Program Manager at the host organization. I remember from my very first interaction with him, he would always say, “Raise Your Voice.” We developed an amicable friendship and the poem below represents a productive self expression of the complexity of emotions we faced and an expression of our lessons from collaboratively tackling the challenge.
The creative vision behind the poem was to give space for each collaborator’s individuality while bringing cohesiveness in the core message of the poem. The poem has been written in three languages: Hindi, Urdu and English. While I am most comfortable in English, there is power in language and certain emotions can only be captured in a specific language. This poem represents the values of: Community, Collaboration and Interdependence. As collaborators, we hope that this poem inspires change through action as it did in our case.
रूपांतरण : Catalyze Transformation
A Spoke in the system, Unassuming
Quiet and Soft, yet Strong
“Use your voice”
Assertive yet Sensitive
क्यूँकि बोलना भी ज़रूरी है खुद के अस्तित्व के लिए
कि रह गए जो चुप हम किसी के पाश्विकता में
तो यूँ होंगा कि वो और बली होगा और हम
धीमे धीमे शनैः शनैः हो जायेंगे मृत
ज़िंदा रहकर भी सदा के लिए
A Leader – Integrity with the Truth
हर हाल में शब्द क्रांत होगा, बावजूद कि
Fire shall be faced, fear shall be burned
ये भी होगा …
उठेंगी उँगलियाँ तुम्हारे सतीत्व पर, तुम्हारे अस्तित्व पर
Despite that, will you be?
A Leader – Compassion as a Compass
तब जब कि आज़माईश होंगी हर इक अस्मिता
And humanity within shall undeniably be tested
सत्य का पुरोधा तब भी होगा संघर्षशील और प्रखर
Despite that, will you be?
A Leader – Commitment to Transformation Within
करने होंगे चिंतन अंतः चित का, सोचने होंगे उपक्रम क्रांति का
A commitment to Growth, A commitment to Expansion
छोड़ने होंगे कुंठित विचार और ढूँढने होंगे समग्र आचार
Despite that, will you be?
A Leader – Brave Enough to be the First
बावजूद इसके क्या होंगे आप सारथी परिवर्तन के?
A Poem by Hamsini Balaji and Sanjay Prasun
(Pictures used by the author for demonstrative purposes only)