-Prasiddhi Luitel (BoSS I yr) 2021
The feminism’s trench coat clad, contemporary Lilavati
Unbound by astrology, horoscopes, and Janmakundali
Now has other concerns, phenomena that dictate her fate
Like the historical oppression of women, misogyny, and the patriarchy
Our Lilavati still heeds to her father Bhaskaracharya’s teachings
But astronomical mathematics no longer tickle her intellectual fancies
For to change the status quo, she has to learn the system’s intricacies
And so she is often seen with copies of Zizek, Foucault, and Nietzsche
Whom she considers her Bhaskaracharya; her primary source of knowledge
In her possibly remarkable journey of unlearning, relearning, and finally, praxis
“Girl education” means something different to her now
Because institutionalizing them is not at all what it’s about
It’s about creating awareness, empowerment, learning and so much more
And realizing that in the end, it’s themselves, whom it’s ultimately for
It’s about unlearning the negativities embedded in your psyche
By the media, by the society, by your very own family
The gaslighting, the putting on a façade, the internalized misogyny
It is so much more than just sending girls to school
And ever so bigger than making them claim their psychosocial tools
The original Lilavati’s father was a great mathematician
Who provided her with guidance and gave her the right education
He tried to make her immortal and wrote a book dedicated to her
In such a society, at such a time, where he was at risk of being shunned
While Lilavati’s present-day counterpart gets an emotionally distant technician
Albeit, getting an education based on gender was not such a battle at present
Raised with a twisted conservative mindset, she had to reset
And even though the present-day Lilavati has her fair share of scars
She wholly stays away from oppression Olympics and Twitter civil wars
Instead, she spends her time with the likes of Baudrillard, Deleuze, and Guattari
Reading theories and wondering how she can turn them into realities
Wondering how she can make the world a better place for us to live in
How she can do something meaningful and significant for humanity
And after all, what else could be a better education than this?
