Alta - A Red Dye

Little feet!
 Bright and Red

of my little one on her bed,

one above other, one straight, another bend,
on a festive day

hugging a pillow,
slept like an angel.

Hurrying feet!
smeared in red & decorated with silver,

roaming around, here and there,

cham! cham! cham! cham!

were the music in her steps.

little sweet, little bitter!!!

thus was that day, my naughty little sister.

Beautiful feet!
fully covered,

of my beloved!!

even it was red with the dye,

how stunning she looked in that Saari,

though she was busy in her cooking,

she knew, to her I was staring.

 Holy feet!
were also red,

when I touched to get blessed,

Her blessings, was thus

Like water to the thirst,

of my mother to his son.

Most fascinating fact about Odiya tradition is that, an odiya woman decorates her feet with a red dye on  every festive occasion of the year. This poem describes one such festive day.