Burden of abuse of tiny shoulders

India is celebrating her 63rd year as a republic. The expectedly beautiful parade unfolding in Rajghat has many of us gawking with awe at the amazing displays from states ranging across the perimeters of the country. Delhi became a fortress for the first few hours from dawn to ensure that this spectacular display of culture and heritage proceeded with no hurdles. The tricolor is seen fluttering with pride high atop the usual and mundane sight of sky scrapers. Republic day truly is a photographer’s delight!

          But then the day is also an occasion for reflect and reason about the various things happening in the country. When I switched on the television this morning, the first piece of news that greeted me was this “INDIA- REPUBLIC OF THE HUNGRY” with several clippings of malnourished children flashing by. And then came the usual talks of politics, politicians, corruption so on and so forth.  Disturbing as it was, I just pushed aside these disconcerting scenes and went about getting ready for a day out. After an amazing day out, I came back only to find more grave news. “Delhi: 2-yr old bashed battles for life at AIIMS”. 

       

Now this was quite a shocker and not the usual kind of spiced up crap that one could well live without knowing. The very highly spoken of fortress of Delhi stood shell shocked at the appalling condition of this little baby, Falak. She was brought by a teenage girl, Mahi Gupta (around 15 years of age) who also claims to be the baby’s mother. The baby was brought to AIIMS in an unconscious state. The little one, in her life span of 2 years so far has suffered more than one can imagine. The baby has bilateral fractures in both arms, a smashed skull, cheeks that have been branded with marks made with hot iron and human bite marks all over her body. The doctors say that few parts of her flesh were even bitten off. They even suspect sexual abuse which can be ascertained by a gynae only after she has recovered.  If this wasn’t enough, the child has suffered two cardiac arrests. She is on ventilator support. 

 

  

 Falak is now literally battling for life in AIIMS in the neurosurgery ICU. Mahi, the girl who brought her to the renowned hospital on 18th of January claims that the baby fell of the bed hence the injuries. Obviously the lines of evidence on the baby’s form go completely against this rather vague statement. The child has suffered intense brain damage and keeps slipping in and out of consciousness. Her chances of survival are 50-50 and even if she survives she will have to face severe neurological problems. As for her SO CALLED PARENTS, let’s not even go there. For a person who loves babies, this is something that ignites the flame of anger to the max level. Parents, it seems! What sort of parents are they? Irrespective of the shame of teenage pregnancy, one can’t just pummel babies. The poor little things wouldn’t have opened their eyes completely to the world, by then horrendous disgraces to the institution called parenting begin scripting the end of their chapters.

How nice it is to be with children, the purest form of innocence, to see their tiny little fingers thrust out to grasp in every aspect of the world around them, to see their beautiful forms running around the place or making the weirdest yet most beautiful sounds on earth! These angels, these bundles of joy are such delights to see and even more pleasurable to hold in one arms. Such innocent lives with their pure smile, expressive eyes, non-hideous behaviour and sweet little actions are what make us understand and appreciate the creation of new life by nature. It’s just sad when you come across instances where those little fingers are stained with blood, where their eyes are so bruised that they can hardly open their lids, where their innocence and purity makes them vulnerable to abuse in a way that shuts them up forever!  Its heart breaking to see pictures of children, especially babies lying on hospital beds with million tubes and wires and hospital equipment hanging around them, when they actually can be at home in the comfort of their mothers’ bodies surrounded by dolls and all the love and affection in the world. Seeing their lives scarred like this is gut- wrenching for even the most patthar dil insaan on the planet! What’s more is that these toddlers are hardly capable of expressing pain in any other way than screams and tears and they more often than not end up being silent sufferers of whatever torture is meted out to them. It’s just sad that these children are being shut out from life even before they open its doors fully. Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an impression said Dr.Haim Ginnot. But judging the way Falak is doing, one wonders if Falak will survive to even think about that statement in her scenario.

Dear Reader,

I am not writing this blog with a view to spoil anyone’s day with such grave news or put anyone off or for the sake of it. This blog post is my tribute to all those Falaks out there who suffer in silence, my tribute to all those children whose sufferance is unimaginable but still continue pushing through the traumatic wired fences of abuse. This post is also a strong word of condemning to all those heartless pieces of stone who can actually do such things to the most chaste forms of man. This post is also my prayer for Falak and all those babies who have just had the misfortune to be born in the wrong place! 

 

Beginning and Evolution- From the First Look to the last

At the starting line of life

She was nothing but a small cell

No troubles and no strife

Inside her cocoon, she lived well…

Day by day, a little more she grew

Eager to see the world as time quickly flew.

Fervent to know what wonders the world held

The little excited one wanted no more, to be shelled.

Finally, after a long wait came the big day,

When she got to feel, upon her tiny self, the sun’s first ray.

Her ecstasy and curiosity knew no bounds

How happy she felt to be able to feel, she could not expound.

Soon she phased to a woman, from the tiny toddler she was

Along the way, she learnt to respect herself and mend her little flaws

From being the dependent quadruped, she learnt to stand on her own two feet

Every predicament, all those challenges, with guts she did beat.

There were many times when she felt out and down

Times when even that put on smile couldn’t conceal that frown

Time when she wanted to give up and scream aloud

Times when she wanted to break free and stand out in the crowd.

Little by little, she overcame every failure and tear

Of failure or rejection, she had no more, any fear

Every time she fell, she was quick to rise

Following her heart she went about ignoring all the free advice!

A beautiful mother she soon became  

Troubles didn’t end though and she was still subjected to shame

Despite all the thorns in the path she didn’t quit

With resilience, in her heart, hope’s lamp she lit.

The child grew and soon left his mother’s side

She was left alone again, no one to live for, no one to guide

She waited for her lungs to empty out, her breath to halt

She yearned to go back to the dust she came from, to be covered in mud and salt.

 

Soon she died and left behind of herself not a trace

Society spoke of her for a while as a big disgrace

In realizing a truth, though, they didn’t quite delay

That she had lived her life well, caring a damn for others,

                                                         Living it her own way

Book Review 1: Indulekha - O Chandumenon

(Written in 2010)

In the pressure and mounting tension of my first semester examinations of standard 10, everything other than my lessons seemed to be my focus. As my social studies neared, me pacing up and down through every room of my house, trying to remember the most trivial details in the book was a common sight indeed! Social studies is my favorite subject, but the kind of torture history was meting on me made me despise the subject. As this saga of reading and cursing continued, one little detail in the book caught my attention- the mention of a novel- Indulekha written by mallu author Chandumenon. It was a nice feeling to see a malayali author getting a good 1.5 sides to himself in a standard 10 history textbook. (Call it mallu sympathy or whatever). Thanks to the exams, my admiration had to stop there. After the exams, when I was scanning my aunt’s book shelf for a good book to read, my eyes caught sight of a beautiful malayali girl and the words ‘Indulekha’ written above her. That’s when I sat down to read this book.

“Aristocratic, accomplished, educated in English and incomparably beautiful, Indulekha loves her cousin Madhavan who returns her devotion and holds revolutionary views. She fights a composed and witty battle to fob off the lecherous and elderly Surinambuthiripad who seeks a sambandam with her. When Indulekha uses the first person singular as she rejects his advances, her action reverberates across Nair society” This is what the back of the book read. A look at this and one could definitely conclude that Indulekha was quite a bold book which dealt about avant-garde ideas and one that was quite interestingly woman-centric.

Indulekha which dealt with several topics- the idea of a sambandam, society’s view of Nair women, the prevailing social order, the varying approaches to English education and a subtle love story woven within all this, made this book a very interesting read. The charming, well educated and amazingly good looking Madhavan captures every female reader’s heart. His bold outlook, frank and ambitious nature is truly venerable. Indulekha, portrayed as a beauty with a whole lot of brains, makes a perfect companion for Madhavan. Chandumenon needs to be commended for the way he has described her beauty. It sort of brings the character alive in flesh and blood right before your eyes.  The book brings out several things other than the love story of the protagonists. The way of life, the customs and thoughts prevalent are all sewn into this story with a certain simplicity and elegance. Considering that it was written in the late 18^th century, the book is well ahead of its time in terms of the thoughts that form the foundation of this novel. The follies of Suri Nambuthiripad and his portrayal as a very ignorant and foolish man though of noble blood, makes the reader immediately turn a blind eye on him. However not all is dismal in the Nambuthiri camp. The witty and clever Cheruserinambuthiripad, impresses with his sarcasm and sense of humour and also empathy and is quite a likeable character. Indulekha, a silent sufferer, Madhavan, a hopeless love sick romantic pining without his lady love bring in the emotional factor of romance into the story. The amazingly flowing way in which the book has been written makes us travel along with the characters across various hurdles in their lives. The story just comes alive before us, and I won't be surprised if you too, like me, find yourself immersed in the story.

Practices of polyandry, expecting women to comply with the needs of men are all topics that are quite extensively dealt with through this novel. Chandumenon, a Nair, penned this novel down at a time when tensions were rising between the Nair Community and that of the Nambuthiripads regarding rules of marriage and stature.  The educated Nairs were slowly carving their own niche in society, rejecting the old and dying norms put forth by the Nambuthiripads. Indulekha depicts Keralan society with great élan. The book is sure to be of use to enthusiasts of history, sociological studies and literature. Its simplicity and bold baseline, and a very sweet and touching love story is perhaps what makes this book the only novel to have been reprinted nearly every year for over a century.