A mother's plight...

In the afternoon, I was helping my mom in stacking and piling away the old newspapers to sell them, when I suddenly came across the headlines which ranted about hanging Sanjay Dhananjoy, the prime accused in the Hetal Parekh rape incident. The newspaper also talked about the debate over capital punishment. The talk made me look at the episode from a mother’s point of view.

Here is a mother’s plight:


During the twilight hours,
I sensed the growth of a new soul.
A new soul,
Amidst the nests of my womb.

A new life,
I gave birth to.
Her newness and royalty
Had spurred my maternal desires.

I milked her.
Nourished her, cared for her,
Loved her – for she was mine
She was an off-shoot of my
Very own existing self.

Her enchanting smile
Enthralled the old.
Her gabble and whisperings
Soothed my ears.
Her garrulous talk
Chased away my grieves and agony.
She became the reason for
My existence.
She was my little angel,
My sweet little daughter.

With the flow of the cascades
And passage of time
She ventured into
The drenching woods of adolescence
I saw her giggling
And conspiring
For now I realized,
She no longer was ignorant.
But yet, she carried
The charm of innocence.
Her charm so very mesmerizing
That I forgave her follies.
After all,
She was still my
Little angel.

My little orchard
Seemed to bloom
For the heavens had opened
Their doors, to shower
Joys and happiness.

When god unfolds
His arms to
Embrace, how could the Satan
Just sit and watch!

He entered my
Peaceful paradise.
And uprooted
my world with his malice veiled eyes.
The venomous snake
Sucked my flower’s virginity!
Robbed her from me,
Robbed her companionship from
Her friends!
Robbed her from the face of earth!

The passion for my vengeance
Knew no bounds.
For I let it thrive
To see the
Agonizing and miserable
Death of the snake.

Finally, the day had come,
The sinister was hanged.
I saw his blood drain,
Heard his last gasp,
Sensed the numbness in his body,
For it was not
The law which had punished him.
It was his conscience which
Had stabbed him. And
I saw him,
Nailing down his own ribs,
Drowning in his very own blood.

I heard voices in the night.
The hymns being recited
For my vengeance was completed.
In the middle of the recitals,
I caught a glimpse of
My daughter.
“Glimpse” was what I thought,
But she came towards me,
Knelt beside me,
and said,
“Mother, u have taken your revenge.
But I still wander in the marshy nights watching all different kinds of sin. The mellowness of innocence and virtue have left this soil. The gravel and humus is now a cobweb of misery and sin, ruled by the god –damned Satan. Look mom, yonder there, I still see a little girl being raped. What would you do now? Save the girl or hang the rapist?”

Shilpa.