I remember watching
your life's story
with my mother
on our small portable black and white Keltron TV
She made me watch
She said, you will learn something, son
Watch carefully
She was learning too, with me
I loved watching things together
with her
on that small TV that was probably all my Dad could afford back then
in that small house
in that small room
So Ambedkar sat
in the back of the classroom
and the displeased teacher
threw his cane at him
as to beat him directly with it
would mean
when he went home in the evening
he would have to take a bath
before entering his house
as touching Ambedkar
a small boy (who had dared to come to school to learn
instead of wanting to remain what his religion had said he should be
wanting to get out of the trap others had laid for him)
would make the big teacher unclean
And the small boy?
He grew up to be Dr. Ambedkar
whose birthday it is today
left Hinduism
which made perfect sense to me
refused to cut off his thumb and give it to that teacher
unlike Ekalavya
and so took the next step
A small step for him
A giant one for mankind
As significant as
Armstrong's on to the moon
against caste
against religious or any other kind of discrimination
against superiority complexes
Jai Ambedkar!
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