"Shyamal..." screamed the voice of his supervisor. Shyamal who was squatting on a flat stone, cussed, bit his beedi and spat. "Coming!" he shouted back as he leaned his lithe athletic body forward and stood up with a brisk move. Throwing the rest of his beedi down, he rubbed and buried it into the ground with his foot and walked towards the building site where he worked. As he approached the huge building, he squinted upwards. It was a hot Delhi day and the sun was beating down on the entire city mercilessly. As he walked, his supervisor signalled impatiently to him to come quicker. Shyamal glared at the rotund, short fellow with his yellow plastic cap and jogged reluctantly forward. Holding his elbow, the supervisor led him to a corner and stared at him. "Kya?", asked Shyamal irritatedly. "I'm sorry Shyamal, but we are going to have to let you go" came the words, hurriedly, sheepishly. Shyamal stared back, not grasping what his supervisor had just said. He stuttered, "But.. but.. I wasn't loitering around again... that was my lunch break! I was smoking my beedi during my lunch break. What are you saying?". "Shyamal, it's not your fault. They are stopping construction here and diverting a smaller number of people into another site in Gurgaon. It's not just you... We are letting 50 others go. Here's the money for all the work that you have done this month. I ask you to leave right now." said his supervisor holding a thin empty-looking envelope. Shyamal snatched the envelope, looked inside and raised his fist to punch the supervisor as he suddenly realized what had happened. As if on cue, two security guards caught him - one grasped his wrist and the other his shoulders, overpowered him, dragged him out screaming and threw him out of the building into the hot afternoon.
"Perfect, just perfect... it had to happen. It's all because of her!" thought Shyamal angrily as he briskly walked out of the construction site towards the bunch of temporary huts that swam into view in the dusty horizon. On reaching the settlement, he jogged towards his own hut and pushed open the black door. The door creaked open and he stormed inside. As his eyes adjusted to the dim, cool darkness inside, he saw her looking intently at him from the other end of the room. She immediately smiled as she always did and her eyes crinkled when she saw him looking back at her. Shyamal lunged across the room, reached the cot and hit her across the face. Her eyes teared up as she looked back at him. She never cried loudly and this irritated him more and he hit her again. The wound on her cheek from yesterday's beatings opened up and a fresh drop of blood streamed down her cheek and diluted with her teardrops.
"Do you know what happened today?", he screamed. "I lost my job. Again. Yes, the fourth one in five months... and it's all because of you!" She continued sobbing softly as she rubbed the wound on her cheek with her dusty palm. "Since you came into my life, you have brought only bad luck. First I lost my father and then these land sharks came and took away my own land for my father's loans. Everyone nagged me to go to the city and find a job and I came, dragging you along. I should have realized back then that you would bring me nothing but more misery. I came here and see what happened? I lost job after job, thanks to you. I've had enough! Enough!" he screamed as he walked back across the room, struck a matchstick, lit a flame in the chulha and placed an iron rod in it. He then lit a beedi and walked towards her and she lay on the cot cowering. He dragged her down and threw her on the floor. She screamed loudly at the impact and tried to sit up again. He pounced on her and thrashed her with all his fury. Taking the lit beedi, he lifted her thin shirt and burned it into the skin on her back as she screeched. As her wailing got louder, he continued burning the beedi into different points in her back, a manic glint in his eye, as he created a pattern that meshed with last week's dulled beedi marks. Her sobbing grew softer and stopped as she fainted from the pain. Irritated, Shyamal lifted himself up and picked up the hot iron rod from the chulha and placed it on her back. She jolted back to consciousness and screamed. He threw the rod aside and hit her over and over again as she cried. He then picked her up and threw her against the wall. She fell on the floor, shuddered and went still. He stared and realized that life had left her. Regret quickly crossed his mind as he realized what he had done and his expression softened. Shyamal then walked across the room and gently picked her up, placed her on the cot and walked towards the door. As he opened the door, he turned and looked back for a moment at the now lifeless body of his ten month old daughter, sighed and walked out.
Note: This piece is written as a tribute to Baby Falak and the scores of other children who were tortured, battered, wounded and beaten to death by their own kith and kin. Baby Falak died on March 15th last year at a Delhi hospital after suffering unimaginable torture. Her story led to national and international outrage over the horrific treatment of baby girls in our country and brought hope that something would be done about it. Today, less than a year after Baby Falak's death, she's almost forgotten and that faint hope of a better tomorrow for other babies is dead. In the last year, Baby Falak was followed by Baby Afreen, Baby Ahuti Joshi, Baby Shireen, Baby Tanaaz and tens of other innocent, helpless infants who were murdered by those who bore or sired them. They are not with us today and are not going to be the wonderful, strong women that they would have grown up to be. However, this Women's day, let us all resolve to punish the miscreants and murderers and to put an end to this. And let us all spare a thought for those innocent little children and hope that they have departed to a better world.
"Perfect, just perfect... it had to happen. It's all because of her!" thought Shyamal angrily as he briskly walked out of the construction site towards the bunch of temporary huts that swam into view in the dusty horizon. On reaching the settlement, he jogged towards his own hut and pushed open the black door. The door creaked open and he stormed inside. As his eyes adjusted to the dim, cool darkness inside, he saw her looking intently at him from the other end of the room. She immediately smiled as she always did and her eyes crinkled when she saw him looking back at her. Shyamal lunged across the room, reached the cot and hit her across the face. Her eyes teared up as she looked back at him. She never cried loudly and this irritated him more and he hit her again. The wound on her cheek from yesterday's beatings opened up and a fresh drop of blood streamed down her cheek and diluted with her teardrops.
"Do you know what happened today?", he screamed. "I lost my job. Again. Yes, the fourth one in five months... and it's all because of you!" She continued sobbing softly as she rubbed the wound on her cheek with her dusty palm. "Since you came into my life, you have brought only bad luck. First I lost my father and then these land sharks came and took away my own land for my father's loans. Everyone nagged me to go to the city and find a job and I came, dragging you along. I should have realized back then that you would bring me nothing but more misery. I came here and see what happened? I lost job after job, thanks to you. I've had enough! Enough!" he screamed as he walked back across the room, struck a matchstick, lit a flame in the chulha and placed an iron rod in it. He then lit a beedi and walked towards her and she lay on the cot cowering. He dragged her down and threw her on the floor. She screamed loudly at the impact and tried to sit up again. He pounced on her and thrashed her with all his fury. Taking the lit beedi, he lifted her thin shirt and burned it into the skin on her back as she screeched. As her wailing got louder, he continued burning the beedi into different points in her back, a manic glint in his eye, as he created a pattern that meshed with last week's dulled beedi marks. Her sobbing grew softer and stopped as she fainted from the pain. Irritated, Shyamal lifted himself up and picked up the hot iron rod from the chulha and placed it on her back. She jolted back to consciousness and screamed. He threw the rod aside and hit her over and over again as she cried. He then picked her up and threw her against the wall. She fell on the floor, shuddered and went still. He stared and realized that life had left her. Regret quickly crossed his mind as he realized what he had done and his expression softened. Shyamal then walked across the room and gently picked her up, placed her on the cot and walked towards the door. As he opened the door, he turned and looked back for a moment at the now lifeless body of his ten month old daughter, sighed and walked out.
Note: This piece is written as a tribute to Baby Falak and the scores of other children who were tortured, battered, wounded and beaten to death by their own kith and kin. Baby Falak died on March 15th last year at a Delhi hospital after suffering unimaginable torture. Her story led to national and international outrage over the horrific treatment of baby girls in our country and brought hope that something would be done about it. Today, less than a year after Baby Falak's death, she's almost forgotten and that faint hope of a better tomorrow for other babies is dead. In the last year, Baby Falak was followed by Baby Afreen, Baby Ahuti Joshi, Baby Shireen, Baby Tanaaz and tens of other innocent, helpless infants who were murdered by those who bore or sired them. They are not with us today and are not going to be the wonderful, strong women that they would have grown up to be. However, this Women's day, let us all resolve to punish the miscreants and murderers and to put an end to this. And let us all spare a thought for those innocent little children and hope that they have departed to a better world.
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