07 May,2023 07:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Rahul da Cunha
Illustration/Uday Mohite
They sit waiting, for a verdict, for justice.
They wait to be heard. It's absurd.
They sit. To make a stand.
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These are champions, Commonwealth winners made out to be sinners.
We've seen their faces, triumphant,as they held their arms aloft, the medals round their necks - their necks now in a noose
The once radiant faces are now sweaty with the strain
These are warriors, fighting for their colleagues. Including a minor
Mattresses soaked. Police provoked,
Manhandling the women
Women who've trained for years, grappled bias, fought for their independence their path to glory myriad back stories
They sit in the cold, they sit in the sun, they sit in the rain.
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They sit waiting, for a verdict, for justice.
They wait to be heard. It's absurd.
They're wrestlers. Our wrestlers
They're stressed, distressed, they need recourse, they need support.
They have guts, given us glory,
They're the nation's pride, and now they sit forlorn in a city square.
As always there's deafening celeb silence⦠can we expect anything more.
They've been wronged
Justice prolonged
Aamir, where are you?
Where's your voice?
You made millions off their story.
The Phogats... gave you their facts
From which you made fiction
You made over 2,000 croreâ¦
On Dangal the story of two daughters and a father
And what are they asking for in return for a tweet⦠some support, a rapport⦠you fed off their lives⦠Dangal emerged
Let's make a sequel to your film Call it Dangal 2
Or Dangal-The Daughters Return.
It's gotta be dark, gotta be daunting, gotta be devoid of dazzle just the harsh realities of being a modern day Indian woman athlete
And the antagonists in this case, a sleazy system and a sleazy chief
An oily âmantri', bejewelled and entitled Covered in gold necklaces, symbolic of the medals he never won.
Allegations of harassment.
He has clout, the lout.
They protest
They strike
They resist
They object
They fight, for their right
They lead a resistance
They sit in the cold, they sit in the sun, they sit in the rain.
They sit waiting, for a verdict, for justice.
They wait to be heard. It's absurd.
They're wrestlers. Our wrestlers
Our daughters.
Beti Bachao
Rahul daCunha is an adman, theatre director/playwright, photographer and traveller. Reach him at rahul.dacunha@mid-day.com
