Gulzar’s Poem On India’s Migrant Crisis Is A Heart-Breaking Capture Of Their Broken Spirit

Very few people have been gifted with the extraordinary power of understanding someone’s pain, emotions, fears, hopes, and disappointment and are able to shape them into beautiful words.

That’s a reason why many could relate to Gulzar’s poems and songs so much. His powerful words reach directly to our hearts and make us feel the emotions that left us teary-eyed.

His latest poem is a hauntingly beautiful summation of the pain and disappointment that thousands of migrants are undergoing with the country under lockdown.

While many of us are locked into our homes, there are lakhs of poverty-stricken migrant workers, who have no choice but to walk hundreds of miles on foot. Because for them the city was never home but merely a means of survival. A place that was brutally taken away due to the pandemic-induced-lockdown.

Making a heart-touching point about how the cities can only feed migrant workers’ bellies and not their hearts, Gulzar poem touched the hearts of many.

https://www.facebook.com/gulzaronline/videos/632498600671884/

Also Read: Divya Dutta’s Poem “Jab Sab Theek Hoga Na” Will Kick Your Sadness And Bring Hope & Smile To Your Face

Many people applauded his heart-touching poem and shared their love-filled comments:

Also Read: 9 Heartwarming Gulzar Quotes To Heal Your Heart & Soul

Here’s the full poem lyrics:

Mahamaari lagi thi,
Gharon ko bhag liye the,
Sabhi majdoor, karigar

Machinein band hone lag gai thi sheher ki saari,
Unhi se haath paaon chalete rahte the,
Machinein band hone lag gai thi sheher ki saari,
Unhi se haath paaon chalete rahte the,

Varna zindagi toh Gaon mein he bo ke aye the,
Voh ek acre aur do acre zameen ya panch acre,
Katai aur buayi sab wahin toh thi,
Jawari, dhaan, makki, bajre sab

Voh batware chachere aur mamere bhayion se,
Fasaad nale par, parnalo pe jhagde,
Lathayt apne, kabhi unke,

Voh nani, dadi aur dadu ke mukdmein ,
Sagayi, shadiyan, khaliyan
Sukha, baad, har baar aasman barse na barse,

Marenge toh vahi ja kar,
jahan par zindagi hai,
Yahan toh jism la kar plug lagaaye the,
Nikale plug sabhi ne,
Chalo ab ghar chalein, aur chal diye sab
Marenge toh vahi ja kar,
jahan par zindgi hai,
Mahamaari lagi thi,
Gharon ko bhag liye the,
Sabhi majdoor, karigar

Thanks, Gulzarji for putting migrants’ unimaginable struggles and broken spirit into such powerful words.