Naari-Magazine aug edition

FEATURE
Lionesses of
Indian
Independence
The price of our independence
cannot be accounted for,
Masses stood up, with and without arms,
thunderous their roar.
Must tell their stories to those who
we pass on our torch,
Their blood fell to pacify our land
that wild fires did scorch.
Blood seeped too from the drapes our
lionesses wore,
They led; challenged; fought; and fell
with grace galore.
Refused to sit back and watch
through the curtain!
The stories of these women of valor
are sure to hearten.
Rani Velu Nachchiyar, princess of Ramnad,
Sivagangai’s queen,
Master in martial arts, war weapons, archery,
language, best ever seen!
They murdered her spouse;
she escaped with her daughter.
Vanquished the British in 1780,
and ruled for a decade after.
Bhima Bai Holkar, daughter of
Yashwant Rao, Maharaja of Indore,
Defeated Colonel Malcolm in 1817,
at Mahidpur war.
Led a brigade of 2,500 cavalry,
hands full of sword and lance,
In guerilla warfare against her,
no man ever stood a chance.
Kittur Chennamma, the famous
Rani of Kittur in Karnatak,
Marshaled an armed force in 1824,
defying the doctrine of lapse.
Defeated in the third war, died imprisoned;
would be worse
To be bowing to British in a palace
than in a battlefield to collapse.
8 | NAARI - THE WOMAN