Chastity Of Child Cage Girls Poem by Umasree Raghunath

In the streets of Mumbai they hide their tears
Chastity caged through unspoken fears
Young hearts that once held dreams so pure
Now trapped in shadows they can't endure
The innocence stolen by cruel hands
As the world around them never understands

They dance to survive in the silence of night
Their childhood lost, hidden from the light
The weight of their bodies, the burden they bear
Yet no one to see, no one to care
They wear smiles as masks to cover the pain
Hoping for a day to break free from the chain

But the world turns its gaze away
As these girls are forgotten, day by day
In the alleys of sorrow, they silently roam
No place for a child, no place to call home
Mary Ellen Mark, captured their plight
Her lens a beacon, exposing the fight
To these girls whose lives were torn apart
Hope gave them a voice, a chance to restart
Though the streets remain silent, the work remains
A reminder of courage amidst their chains

Dedicated to Photo journalist Mary Ellen Mark who captured the lives of Mumbai cage girls in her extensive research work in early 90's. As a child then, I was intrigued by the articles published in Hindu and India Today. If time permits, Google about it and it's a different difficult world that most of us are not even aware.

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