Surjit’s poetry is the power with which she wage a war against the system

ATAMJIT: 

Shikast rang (tint of frustration) is a book of poetry written by Surjit who lives in California. I can’t help being personal in her case, because she was my student in rural college of district Jalandhar more than three decades ago. I lost her track immediately after she left college; But still have a clear imprint on my mind, of a short, lively, intelligent and ever smiling girl.

She was full of life that everybody looked at her as victory personified. Then why she has to paint the hues of defeat in her poetry; Frustration that may not be personal and be at level of the category that she belongs to the woman? Why she has to say that there was a light in entire city, but the door she knocked at had only burnt out lamp? Unfortunately for me, the teacher, she extremely sure of quantum of her pain that can even affect the object such as ocean:

The walking sea has stopped

It must have read my writings.

In fact Surjit is trying to raise a question, so many women done in past, that the society can not do justice with the existential concerns of women, in a available set of social structure. How can we reply to such questions that she is posing with lot of strength?

I am in search of my home

Let any philosophy

Any scripture explain to me

To which home i belong.

Mother’s womb?

Father’s house?

Lover’s heart?

In-laws’ residence?

Or the funeral place?

As a working woman she has another question for us that we hesitate to confront:

When i come back

All corners of my home

Call me for job.

My household, office, Children and their father

Everywhere I am required

Everybody needs me.

But how should I define

my needs ???