Siddi's Legacy: A Mother's Voice

Hirabai Ibrahim Lobi, the remarkable Siddi social worker from Gujarat who was honored with the Padma Shri in 2023 for her tireless efforts in uplifting the Siddi tribal community, especially women and children.

I am the Earth-Born, deep and true,

No foreign shore, but from this soil I grew.

Though oceans weren't crossed, their rhythm I hold,

In hands that have stories, brave and old.

I am the kin of Siddi's heart,

A drum of dark continenent Africa, set gently apart,

Yet beating in tune with Hind's embrace,

A melody found in this sacred space.

My children, I've come, my voice reborn,

To weave my tales with colors of the morn.

My face is dark – not night's heavy shroud,

But dawn's transformation, bursting proud.

I toiled the fields, in wild woods I've been,

Plowed the earth, sowed dreams unforeseen.

No common bond, no caste to declare,

Yet within my spirit, a dignity rare.

I am the nameless, though my tongue may fade,

My dance remembers the heritage I've made.

My lineage obscured, yet I recall,

My roots may fray, but my spirit stands tall.

Here now I see, my children bright,

Reclaiming the past, bringing truth to light.

You are the one, singing of pepper vine,

And forest songs, with a spirit divine.

You are the one, on fields of play,

India's proud face, come what may.

We remember the chains, the neglect, the pain,

Guest status and hunger, falling like rain.

But we rose above, defying the night,

Like banners unfurled, Siddi's daughters take flight.

My children, your path may be paved with stone,

But my prayer's rhythm, on your lips be sown.

I lost all there was, my spirit laid bare,

But you must achieve a completeness beyond compare.

Our faces are dark, a canvas profound,

Yet our dreams are light, where new futures are found.

Slowly, from shadows, to history we rise,

Our stories now sung by our own proud cries.

I am the Earth-Born, strong and free,

Mother of the Siddis, for all to see.

Roots in the earth, wings in the sky's vast blue,

To my children I whisper:

Stand tall, ascend, become life, brand new.

For you are I – that dark, unbreakable might.