SUPREME TRAGEDY

SUPREME TRAGEDY
Two cases are worth recording.
One is in Palakad district of Kerala State. Three teenage girls studying in school were missing. They are very good at studies and the parents reported the matter to the Police. The latter did not act in time. A week later their bodies were found in a railway track. One was not clinically dead and the Doctors are trying to revive her.
The Police Inspector has confessed that timely action could have saved them. Investigations have revealed that they were in Bangalore. Some foul play is suspected.
The second case is even more shocking . This happened in Delhi. The girl was being followed by two miscreants . It was reported to the Police , way back in 2013. Now , they have killed her by stabbing in broad daylight . There are thirty five injuries in her body.
In Delhi , the Police functions under the Lt. Governor. The AAP Chief Minister has demonstrated in front of the Governor’s Office.
When will the Law and Order be improved in India?

STORY-COMPANION

COMPANION

While I was going to attend a marriage, a very amiable gentleman came close to me . “Who are you? What do you want? “ I asked irritably. He was tall and has a likeable face with curly hair . But a lady cannot be comfortable, if followed by a man.

He replied:”I am a wanderer. I thought I may get food in the feast, if I pretend to be your companion. I have no invitation.”

I could not help laughing , but did not want to offend him. In a marriage party, anyone can come and eat. Is it necessary to have a friend?

“You must be having some job, a family in the town or some background. Tell me , I may be able to help.?”

“I worked in the army for some months; but was disqualified after Police verification. They found some leaflets circulated by my Communist friends. Actually I have no connection with Naxalites. At home I have my parents and a sister, studying in the college. I belong to Wynad.”

I felt sorry for him. The marriage was to take place later in the night and we sat at the same table and began enjoying snacks and sweets. My companion (Sunil) ate voraciously . Poor guy might not have taken food in the day. The microphone blared songs for some time and then it was announced:”If anybody can sing , he or she is welcome?”

Immediately Sunil went up and began singing a beautiful Hindi song of some fifty years old. Pin drop silence prevailed and there were cries:”More and more” After half an hour , when he stopped, there was thunderous applause.”Who are you?”, the man at the microphone asked.

I stood up and cried :”He is my friend, Sunil by name.” The bride had come by my side, by this time and she asked me:”You never told me about this wonderful chap?” I explained the circumstances . When Sunil came, the bride shook hands with him. I felt proud .

We three talked for some time. Then her father also came. All guests crowded round the new hero. After the wedding I invited him to my house. Father had come by his car and we all went home. I showed him the guest room and wished him good night. “You must be very tired . At what time do you have bed tea?”

“As early as the maid can prepare it.” “I will make the tea or coffe?”

Tea at five in the morning and then I go for a walk.”

His stay continued. Father contacted some film guys and soon his recordings began. He got more offers.

Our happy days came to an end when the Police located their Naxal prey.

As I had his home address, I went to his home. I told them of our efforts to get his release. Unfortunately, Some Naxal activity was reported in Wynad. Still his sister and myself went to Wynad and contacted Police station. They confirmed his presence but refused permission to meet him. They were sympathetic as Sunil’s song CDs were very popular . Many pictures were released . Everywhere it ran ‘house full’

Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in all districts.”Rajan case must not be repeated “ the crowd demanded. Matter was raised in the assembly. But nothing came out. As the arrest was under the National Security Act, the culprit cannot be released, until his innocence is proved.

I missed my monthly period. I did not panic, because I had decided that I will not marry any other man. I told Sunil’s sister the good news . As I knew that my father will not allow marriage with a Terrorist, I went to the US to my close friend’s house and remained there till delivery. It was a cute girl ,resembling its father. I felt I am the happiest woman in the world. I used to contact his family and gave them the good news. After some time , I returned to India and gave the child to its grandmother. I stayed in my house, as if nothing had happened.

The fight for Sunil’s release continued . As a special case, the court gave him parole to work for the film industry. After his release, we registered our marriage.

SHORT STORY-PREGNANT AT THIRTEEN a href=’http://www.blogsurfer.us/

A namboodiri family engaged a young namboodiri to teach girls of thirteen and ten, as they were not supposed to go to school, where they will have to sit among pupils of other castes.. After classes, the elder sister and teacher used to “play” and the younger one kept guard to alert them, if some one comes. In the dusk no one will come as the women folk will be busy praying. The result soon came out; she became pregnant.
The tutor too was only eighteen years and was unprepared to face the consequences. So they ran away.
The girl’s necklace brought some money, with which they managed to go to reach Kasargod. There a substitute poojary was needed. So the boy started earning. They stayed as husband and wife as child marriages were normal in those days.
*********
I was attending a conference of Environmental Scientists at Cuttack. Young students were also invited to attend the proceedings and also to present their papers. Among them, one boy named Aswin impressed me by his academic qualifications and meticulously studied paper about tortoises. He was tall for his years and had bright, searching eyes and high forehead. He was not fluent in English and so I enquired: what is your mother tongue?
When he said Malayalam, I became more interested.. But he had no information about his home or village.
After the conference, I accompanied him to his house, near the temple. His mother attracted me by her face- the same eyes and forehead as his son’s!
Involuntarily, I placed my hand on her shoulder and said: congratulations. Your boy has been selected for research!
She sat down, caught my feet and started crying. I felt embarrassed. I too sat down on the floor and wiped her tears.
I said: today is an occasion to celebrate. Aswin is an intellectual giant, though still a boy. I will see that he succeeds. Sister, give me rice and sambar. I want to eat to my capacity!
Then she smiled. I sent Aswin to bring sweets, giving him five hundred rupee note.
In his absence, his mother became talkative.
What is your name?
Sankaran.
What caste are you?
Warriar, we live near the Mahadevamangalam temple on the bank of the river Bharathapuzha. At the mention of the temple, she beamed and became warm. She was about to touch me, but hesitated. So I held her hand and pressed it. I asked: do you know the place?
She avoided an answer. I continued:
My parents are in Delhi. I am their only son, unmarried and thirty years old. How old are you?
Next month I will be thirty two.
So you are my oppol (elder sister.)
You didn’t tell me your name.
Sushma
When I am in Delhi, do come there.
She used to write to me. Though her writing lacked order and sophistication, I loved to read it.On the occasion of Rakhi, I sent her the traditional bracelet, indicating my determination to protect her, and, costly gifts.
The next winter, Sushma and her son came to Delhi and stayed as my guests. Aswin was in JNU. Sushma’s husband could not get leave as he was a poojari, and so, it was a Susma and myself who toured Agra and Jaipur. I found her company entertaining and satisfactory.
The next time I went to my home in Keralam, my grandmother insisted that I marry.. She even earmarked a girl as my wife and introduced her to me. She was quite handsome, though short, and was educated. Somehow, I did not like the idea. Grandma was unhappy.
I was returning home. I hailed an autorickshaw and when it stopped, a lady requested for sharing it.. She was dark, with lively eyes and I enquired where she was going. She too was going to Mahadevamangalam temple.
I hazarded a guess: are you a teacher?
Yes.
Name?
Veena.
Do you know Sankaran warriar?
I have seen him as a child.. Now I hear he is a big scientist.
Am I big?
She watched me closely and laughed. You are that Sankaran who used to play with us? A dirty brat with running nose and scabbies? Oh! My. God! How you have changed. Why this big moustache? I don’t like it.
By this time we had reached the temple. It was about to be closed. We had to go down a flight of steps to reach the river. I held her hand lest she may slip and fall. I sat on the steps, while she was taking bath.
The crescent moon could faintly be seen over the vast expanse of fields, beyond the river.
I said: there is no water in the river.
She: some experiments were made to “conserve water” and this is the result. I have to lie down to take bath.
I: hurry up; it is getting dark.
By the time we came up, the temple was about to be closed. I didn’t go in. She finished and came out.
We climbed a rock, overlooking the river and sat there side by side. May I touch you?
She laughed: you men are like that. Can’t you wait till we marry?
So is it settled about our marriage?
You like to fiddle with my body and leave me?
Sorry madam; I just wanted to hold you in my arm.
She cuddled close to me and I tightly held her. She then described all that I mentioned in the beginning about Sushma’s elopement. (As I was with my parents in Delhi, I never heard about it ). I cried out in ecstasy: I am her best friend and mentioned all that happened at Cuttack.
We then went to her house to inform the good news.. The old parents could not believe it.
They asked: why did she not write to us?
She never talked about you. Even when she knew who I am, she did not divulge any details about herself.
Veena suggested that she may be afraid of the parents’ anger.
I went away, promising to meet the teacher at the school.
At 4 PM, when the school closes, I was there with a dozen saris. We spent the evening in the municipal park. She was moody and won’t say what is wrong.
I asked her whether she is having a lover.
Then only she smiled. She shook her head in the negative.
I left her at her hostel.
Next day I had to go to Madras for some urgent work. In the night, I wrote a long letter to her, with plenty of hot kisses. The reply, when it came, was the shortest love letter ever written!
“Dear Sankaretta,
I cannot live without you.
Your loving
Veena”
In the meanwhile, Sushma and her husband came to see her parents. I am told that they were persuaded by all, to arrange my marriage with Veena.
But my grandma refused. She won’t hear abut it. So I returned to Delhi, very much disappointed.
Things were moving fast
The old poojary of Shiva temple at Mahadevamangalam wanted to retire. He was not getting a reliever. Sushma’s husband was willing to do that job, so that she could look after her parents..
I returned to Keralam and the new atmosphere was very exciting. Veena ran to my place whenever she could. Grandma became very friendly with her. She had given me sexual freedom and I used it to maximum advantage, as grandma was resting in her room, most of the time.
My parents came home and clinched the issue by extracting grandma’s consent for our marriage…

TOUCH ME NOT

That shy plant, which is aptly called “touch me not” is not alone, in protesting against our advances.

We all like to touch and fondle things we like. Pets are meant only to serve our emotional need for caressing. Some parents take it for granted that children like it. Indeed some may like it, but not all.

It is best if we leave all plants and trees alone.

Leaves and flowers are very dear to them. They are their organs. Of course, we have to live and we need food. But why turn and twist the branches of trees not of any use to us, like the touch me not?

Laksharchana is fashionable these days. People go on collecting tulsi leaves and several types of flowers for this purpose alone.

Do Gods like it?

TRIBAL GIRLS USED AS GUINEA PIGS IN EXPERIMENTS ON CANCER

Tribal girls, aged 10 to 14, were given vaccines to prevent cervical cancer, in the Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh.

The experiments were done by a Non-government Organisation, with the knowledge of Indian Council for Medical Research.

Great care was taken to select the poorest people, ignorant and illiterate, away from media publicity. Such activity will invite immediate attention of the media, in Keralam.

The parents of Sarita, a 13 year old who died, are weeping and spending their days in sorrow.

All this I learned from an article by K.R.Mallika, published in Mathrubhhumi Daily, dated 24-5-10.

My comments:

1) Recently, when they wanted to try a new method of transplanting the pancreas in youngsters, suffering from type 1 diabetes, volunteers were invited to try it. This is the normal practice. Were the tribal girls’ parents told of the serious consequences of the medicine?

2) It is much more easy to conduct the experiment in the metropolitan cities, on voluntary basis.

Why was a remote locality in Andhra Pradesh chosen?

Is it because it is easy to enlist the people because of their ignorance and poverty?

3) Were any monetary attractions given?

4) It has been reported that inmates of jails were used as guinea pigs by Nazis for doing such “research”. Are we worse than Nazis or is it because tribal girls are not considered as human beings?

5) I have already expressed my misgivings about the activities of NGOs. They are using our money, without government audit.

6) Will women all over the world take up this matter with the Government Of India?

EVERY ONE HATES LOVERS IN INDIA

It may be just envy. If a young boy and girl go together to see a film or just walk along the road, people will start a gossip or even harass them in different ways.

If they belong to different religions, the whole thing will become a communal issue. If one of them is of low caste, the upper caste will wreak vengeance.

Even when there is no objection of any sort, the boy’s parents will object, because the boy could have brought good dowry. An IPS boy may fetch upwards of twenty lack rupees! The money he can collect as bribe during his entire service, may be millions of rupees.

Assume that there is no objection of any sort. The horoscope may not tally.

R.K.Narayan, the famous writer and brother of R.K.Lakshman, the cartoonist, married the girl he loved, overruling objections of the astrologer, but became a widower in a short time.

Recently, Aishwarya and Abhishek, both famous film stars, married and conducted special rituals to remove ill effects of horoscope.

As women are denied the freedom to love, they love Shrikrishna who is an embodiment of love.

This is Incredible India.

LIVE IN

The Supreme Court has ruled that live in is legal. I am a strong advocate of live in, as it leaves both partners free from legal ties which can become highly cumbersome. Once married, it is impossible to separate under Indian Laws.

In the “Open Page”, in The Hindu, I read apprehensions express about the fate of children born during live in. I have seen the sufferings of children of duly wedded couple, who hate the parents. It is an agony which is avoided in live in mode.

The unity between man and woman should be voluntary and not enforced by law. Those who live together, under pressure from relatives or due to other reasons, are like lodgers. They may not like to talk even.

I hail the decision of the Supreme Court !

A HUSBAND IS A PITIABLE CREATURE

Many men are afraid of marriage. As Bernard Shaw said, if you marry, you will repent immediately.

But they will not allow you to enjoy your freedom indefinitely. Mother needs an assistant when she gets old. A number of fathers will try to get you entangled for their daughters. In India, an unmarried girl is a curse on her parents. If nothing else, your friends come forward to help you. I think such things are unknown in the West.

Once married, there is no going back. You are tied for seven lives, one after another.

Every day you have to bring vegetables, milk and such things in addition to taking her for shopping, cinema and visiting friends. As soon as you come back from your work place, tired and angry, on account of the bickerings and fights with your colleagues and the irrational Boss, she will be waiting, fully dressed, to go out. Not her fault, as she is kept inside the house, bored to death. Well get fresh, change your dress and go out.

When children are born, at least two, there is no end to your worries. Worries are multiplied, with the children fighting each other, then school, tuition, home work and all that.

Wife falling ill, in-laws coming and all sorts of complications.

If she is beautiful (who will marry an ugly girl?), you are suspicious of that idle fellow, who is always so sweet and glib tongued.

And, when you want to do it, she is not in the mood.

Before you realised it, your daughter has grown too big. Now it is your turn, to hunt for a husband for her.

W-I-F-E means, Worry Invited For Ever !.

UNIVERSAL EDUCATION, THE WAY TO ACHIEVE IT

Even in the cities, the slum dwellers are too poor to send their children to school. In rural Rajasthan, girls are not sent to school, even when the parents can afford it. In the forests, the tribals do not even know the value of learning.

The challenge is too big. Governments are simply inept in dealing with the problems. What is the way out?

I suggest voluntary efforts by retired teachers and other employees. India has a very big force of pensioners who must come forward to undertake this noblest of all duties: to impart knowledge, not only to children, but also to all those who seek it.

The methods must be simple and practicable. Instead of the children coming to school, the teachers must go to the streets and villages. Timings must be fixed in consultation with the people concerned. Evenings may suit many. Lunch break may be preferred by others.

A slate and pencil, text books specially designed, with large letters and illustrative cartoons (not caricature) may be preferred.

The aim should be to make them able to read their mother tongue and do simple arithmetical operations like addition and subtraction. Writing and multiplication can wait till they grasp the essentials and acquire some skill and develop interests.

Basics of geography and science may be reserved for later years.

There should not be any syllabus. The teachers should decide, how and when, to do it.

Money should not be wasted. Food must be given, simple things which the women can make then and there.

Ingenuity should be the catch word.

TRUE FRIENDSHIP IS A BLESSING

In the capitalist system, true frienship is a casualty.

One reason is taht people have to move, necessarily in search of better prospects. Neighbours do not know each other.

In the good old feudal system, all things are settled in advance. You know your future. Just follow the trade of your father. The only change is for girls when they get married. This is done early and you can develop new friends in the husband’s house.

Friendship is free and undemanding. There are no inhibitions; you can talk about even your secrets which you dare not speak out to your spouse or even parents.

If you can develop friendship with your spouse, it is something blissful.

Proper understanding and sympathy are the corner stones of true friendship. As Mark Twane said, if you do a good thing all will support you; he who supports you, even when you are wrong, is a true friend.