Mother Lost

At 15, I sat for my 10th exams
And I filled out the forms
CANDIDATE’S NAME
FATHER’S NAME
I did not give it a second thought
After all it was an established norm

At 20, I decided to apply for a domicile certificate
And I read through the document
CANDIDATE’S NAME
FATHER’S NAME
GRANDFATHER’S NAME
Something out of place struck me
But I decided to conform and not lament

At 25, I decided to apply for a government job
And I carefully filled the application
CANDIDATE’S NAME
FATHER’S NAME
I had accepted it as the way of life
There was no point in aggression

At 30 I had a five years old son
And time to fill in the details for admission
CANDIDATE’S NAME
FATHER’S NAME
This time I stopped
The pen hovering over the second question

This I know was only the beginning
And to it I saw no end
He would go on to fill his father’s name
The mother, he would conviniently forget

And then a sudden guilt crept in
And I flipped through the old files
Desperate to find her name
And that is when I realised
My mother had got lost and I was
the only one to blame