The reference is the now extinct ‘Sati’ system, where a widow was burned on the funeral pyre along with her dead husband. The dead women were glorified and had temples built as their memorials.
the bell that chimes
echoes my screams
from the funeral pyre
where I was burnt alive
inheritance issues
a single woman’s threatening beauty
overpowered the hunger
of living a full life
enshrining helplessness
blocks development
and stunts minds
for centuries to come
the bell that chimes
echoes my screams
to live again
bury regressive mindsets
Reena Saxena 
What a powerful poem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Anurag!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nise
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLike
Touching poem! Still can’t believe people practiced such a frightful ritual in our country
LikeLiked by 1 person
Padmavat has raked up the whole issue all over again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Terrifying!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes.
LikeLike
Thanks for the reblog!
LikeLike
Thankfully not a common practice anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes. But the temples are still there, and attract worshippers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sati was, to Western eyes, a dreaful practice, though I know that to many it was seen as a sacred duty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a dreadful practice for all liberal thinkers – Western or anywhere else.
LikeLike
But there must have been a time when it was seen otherwise… though not, perhaps, by the women who passed through the flames.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s right.
LikeLiked by 1 person