O world,
Come and see us.
We-who are part placenta,
Part unformed legs and arms,
We- who were once hearts
Beating with our mothers’ blood.
Today-
We speak from a newspaper cutting,
From deep down the well,
Where the patriarchs threw us-
Snapping the bond between our mothers and us.
Women-our mothers
Women-the nurses murdering us
Women-the doctors supervising the murders.
Look at these men,
These Grown up men.
They still want to be secure before they reach us
-the dead daughters.
Look at the ropes tied around their waists
Like umbilical cords,
Who thought of our security?
Trembling will be the hands that take our bodies
Part by part
From out of the well.
Trembled must have hands
That threw us into this well-
To die an alone, unthinking, unfeeling death in the dark.
Who will hold a candle to us-
On this rakhri ????
XXXXXXXXXXX
The doctors or the so-called doctors responsible for this gory happening should be given an exemplary punishment, no less than death-death by hanging-if possible hanging in public.
Yesterday 16 lakh boys looked for solace in the rakhris tied on their wrists by their cousins or other relatives because they do not have any sisters of their own. My daughter’s class has only 19 girls in the total strength of 55. (she is 8 and a half). And I remember, girls used to far outnumber the boys when we were in school-in the 80’s. What an advanced environment we are going to give our children !!
I am reminded of an old song with rather crude words (surely not cruder than the treatment meted out to these unborn daughters)-
Naaley mundey ranna bhaaldey,
Naaley kudian jamman toh dardey.
(Boys want wives; but they are afraid to father girls)
Why don’t we understand that an imbalance created in the male female ratio today will lead to social and marital anarchy tomorrow? Let nature prevail! Let her not be interrupted.
Listen to those cries from the well, please !!
14 comments:
It is sad. I still remember three sisters in Chandigarh hanged themsleves in 1988 when their baby brother was born. They felt inferior because their parents gave so much importance to the newly born male child. The termination of female foetus in Punjab goes back to 1980s when a Guru Nanak Dev University trained biologist Dr Surinder Pal Singh Virk opened a sex determination hospital in Jullunder. Dr Virk's practice is still flourshing and he advertises amongst NRIs who want a male child desprately. Only people with sick mind will encouage to abort any unborn child. I have two sisters of my own. All my aunts and uncles have atleast one daughter. My grandmother used to say.."Oh Naar Sulakhani, jis pehli jayee Lakshmi" ( Woman who gives birth to a daughter first is great. Shoud be respected.)All of us should condemn it and the parties responsible should not go unpunished. Raj Hundal, Calgary CANADA
We live in such a shocking world that at times even the most shocking news fail to stir us the way it should. A canopy of callous complacency keeps the senses numb till such evocative pictures are drawn in words by a poet to bring home the truth. I do not know if harsh punishment to the quacks should be the only remedy. A deep introspection in the society itself is the right answer. These acts do not spring out of nothing, it is a result of a gory kind of evolution of social systems and values. The economy is flourishing but the feudal system is still discriminatory against the girl-child; history shows us that the patriarchal society never approved of the development of women, be it in the field of education or economic freedom. So we cannot look at the incidence in isolation but should take a holistic view of the happenings in the locality - its customs, society, reform movements, and so on. I condemn in so many words this ghastly act while appreciating the most effective contribution Manpreet made thru her meaningful words.
Oh God ! Save the unborn daughters, otherwise U will have to come urself to punish these killers. Kanun dian Akhan te PATTI hai. oh vekh nahi sakda.
Pata nahi kine khuh bane hoe ne kabran dhian dian.
People like fauji must be punished. along with her helper, who cried over less payment. But she did not cried while finishing her own self. She was a heartless creature.
Manpreet ur Poem is appreciable. God bless ur Pen with more power.Keep it up.
It is sad and shameful at the same time to know what is happening around us.Guru Nanak Dev ji said,"So kyun manda akhiye, jis jammey rajaan.."Women are worshipped and revered in every form in India, particularly in Hinduism..female Goddesses symbolize courage and strength in the form of "Shakti", "Durga"...besides this modern indian woman is stepping ahead of the advance world..who can forget Indira Gandhi, the very first woman Prime Minister of India, Sushmita Sen,Miss Universe and Aishwarya Rai,Miss World..who has given India a unique recognition in the world.But all these developments can not hide one bitter fact India is facing i.e the rapid reduction of female population which is due to the crave for a male child..and this is done by none other than a female itself sometimes as a doctor who does the abortion of female foetus, nurse who helps in this act or a mother who gets the abortion done sometimes thinking of her respect in the inlaws family and sometimes with her own wish,i don't understand the woman who herself is a female, how she can let another female die in front of her eyes and most of the times inside her womb...and the question that arises here is if everybody wants to have boys only...who is going to marry them????and how we are going to keep the balance of the society???Manpreet what you have depicted in the blog is really shocking but i appreciate that you have brought this matter into light because all of us read the news and forget with time but these kind of meaningful efforts are for sure going to make a difference...keep it up!!! GD..Canada.
I always believed in your creative thinking and these pieces of writings speak of that belief of mine. Though the content was very heavy on head, yet I found it very interesting & creative. Bole to- it has to be good since it has come from Manpreet
(Naresh Nagpal)
Very touching and intense..
wow, you've summed it up so nicely ... boys want brides but they don't want to father girls ... you should've shown me this earlier. I am linking this to Unchaahi too!!!
As Sukhjit said:
You are a great inspiration. Your written word awakens the human soul. If men and women are not touched by your pen, then I don't know what can change them!
I'm numb...
Seriously, don't know what to say...the post got my hairs standing on end.
Phatichar - I would prefer to call you Sri. About this post, as you say, Truth is stranger than fiction.
Roop-Its sad it is happening in our Punjab.
~nm-...and strangely true.
NareshSir-Heavy on the head but it is the burden that we must carry.
Sukh-Well, I dont think I am doing enough. There is more to action than blogging about it.
GD-It is a world full of paradoxes.
Anon3-If law had enough teeth, such wells from middle ages would have long vanished.
Anon2-We look at these things and take them as news and forget them. We are indeed callous.
RajBhaaji-we need more women having your Grandma's thought and insight.
Oh. My. God.
read you and cried with whoever read this post...
This was so moving -
We in pakistani Punjab share the same curse though technological advancement has thankfully prevented many deaths of girls not born.
thanks for touching so many hearts and articulating all that I wanted to say...
only wish the echo of your words would carry on forever and reach those heartless people.
A recent study said Haryana too has gone the Punjab way, female ratio is getting skewed badly. we are progressing they say. I wonder.
Majaz-God is whom man has forgotten in this entire sordid story.
Oreen-I wish more hearts cried.
Raza-Thanks. But I m sure you can still say it in better words.
Pinku-The saddest thing is that not only Haryana, and the entire North India, even South India is going the same downhill trend.
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