स्त्री की हँसी से ज़्यादा है उसके के आँसुओ का मोल?

इसलिए रुलाया जाता है उसे पाने को मोती ?क्या है यह लोककथा कोई जिसे गढ लेता है मानव मन जब पा नही पाता कोई पार ,'क्यों है ऐसा'

उसकी समझ से परे होता है।और कला के जामे में बह पड़ती है वेदना सवाल खड़े करती हुई !

A tale of two princesses -

Once there was a princess,who wept pearls,

And once there was a princess

who laughed flowers. both died, I heard.

One of weeping

And the other of laughter.

But not because one's eyes went dry

Or the other forgot how to laugh.

One died of suffocation

Entombed in pearls.The other choked

On a surfeit of flowers.

The pearls were sold for a fortune, I heard.

But the wilted flowers brought no gain at all.

Since then,I have heard

A womans tears have become

Far more precious than her laughter!

- Deepa Agarwal

Deepa Agarwal writes consistently good poetry ,which stands against women's marginalisation and articulates with rare artistry the desire ,pain,frustration and indignation of the womenfolk in a patriarchal society with its oppressive values.formerly she was teaching in Delhi University.