We enjoy highlighting artistic contributions that build upon ancient Indus themes and artifacts, most recently in bring Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem The Unicorn and the Dancing Girl to our audience. This poem is by Sehba Sarwar, an award-winning poet, novelist and activist from Pakistan living in Los Angeles (more below), inspired by the four thousand year old figurine.
you live within us
mohenjodaro’s girl
four inches tall
you tell the truth
of women’s
strength
& resistance
body bare
with attitude
hand on hip
lips curled
one arm
wrapped
in bangles
beads between
breasts
below rises
your lotus
—you don’t
need
to conceal
your core
you stand
forty-five
hundred
years old
they say
you are 15
& call you
the dancing
girl
perhaps
you were
but you could
have fought
kingdoms
& walked
with women
to carve
their paths
to freedom
by the five-armed
river that waters
our land
or perhaps
each day
you danced
for yourself
inside
the mound
or on streets
& sprinkled
joy on those
you touched
today
lodged in delhi
far from your home
by the indus river
you reside
amidst us
through bronze
& wax replicas
—-even with
body parts
erased—-
on college
student
bookshelves
on altars
coffee-tables
& kitchen
windows
across continents
you connect us
inspire us
to rebel
in the rhythm
of our
collective
heartbeat
– Sehba Sarwar
Sehba Sarwar’s work tackles displacement, migration, and women’s issues (website). A second edition of her novel, Black Wings, was published by Veliz Books (2019), while her essays, short stories, and poems have appeared in New York Times, Callaloo, LA Times, Dawn and elsewhere. Born and raised in an activist home in Karachi, Pakistan, Sarwar is the recipient of artist awards through Academy of American Poets, LA’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Mid-America Arts Alliance amidst others. She served as Altadena Co-Poet Laureate (2024-26), and her papers are archived at the University of Houston.
Image: The so-called Dancing Girl from Mohenjo-daro, now at the National Museum of India, Delhi.
Copyright © 2026 by Sehba Sarwar. Published in Harappa.com, 2026. Published by permission of the poet.