Rajyashri Goody

This poetic contribution to the Seed Stories project was conceived and led by artist and writer Rajyashri Goody under the evocative title “does the inside of a seed taste like this?” — also the name of a delicately designed, limited-edition leaflet published alongside the session. Through a curated selection of poems drawn from Dalit literature, Goody wove together voices that speak to landlessness, caste-based marginalisation, food insecurity, and historical erasure — while also affirming survival, memory, and care. The session explored the seed not just as a metaphor for life and renewal, but as a container of quiet, often unheard, narratives.
Presented in multiple languages and anchored in lived experience, the reading created a space for reflection and deep listening. It resonated with the central concerns of Seed Stories: the politics of land and access, the resilience of ecological and cultural practices, and the invisible labour that nourishes communities.
By placing Dalit literary expression at the heart of the conversation, Goody’s contribution became both an act of bearing witness and a poetic provocation — urging us to ask: Whose hands sow the seeds? Whose histories lie dormant in the soil? And what does it truly mean to taste the inside of a seed?