Question

You need no book, Rasha Sundari
no paper or pen either
you have the black, smudgy kitchen wall
for your magical scribbles
lines, ellipses, curves​

Answer 1

Answer:

The poem, ‘Don’t Wash’ is written by Lakshmi Kannan to honour and pay tribute to Rasha Sundari Debi’s extraordinary spirit and grit: a woman who even risked her reputation in her determination not to take anything lying down. Rasha Sundari lived in a society where educated women were considered a bad omen.‘Don’t Wash’ helps us appreciate the intelligence, determination and daring with which Rasha Sundari embraced what was socially unacceptable and even sinful, to ful_l her dreams and live life on her own terms. Kannan uses the image of wash as the poem’s central metaphor. ‘Wash’ symbolises customs which are considered sacred and are not to be questioned. Water has an important signi_cance in Hinduism where washing the place of worship, altar and statues of gods and goddesses is an integral part of religious ceremonies. In itself, water cleans _lth. However, in the

poem the poet persuades Rasha Sundari Debi to leave the walls of her kitchen unwashed so that whatever she may have scribbled on the wall remains intact and unerased. The sooty writing on the walls underlines Rasha Sundari’s hopes and becomes a marker of her identity. Not washing the walls is like saying that you should not change yourself because society

expects you to be different: your uniqueness should not be washed because it is what will make the world a better place where everyone – man or woman – will have a fair chance to realise their worth. The kitchen walls in Rasha Sundari’s house, blackened with charcoal soot look dirty and the kitchen appears messy. But the poet insists that the walls are not to be

washed as the akshara is written on them. If you think about it a little more, you’ll realise that the written word (akshara)is considered sacred in Hinduism. The poem argues that the akshara continues to remain sacred and is not de_led just because it is written by a woman.

Explanation: