In Jaihoon’s poetic slam of State-sponsored brutalities, Gandhari, the Vedic & virtuous queen of Meerut, decries the UP orphans’ sufferings.
Gandhari once again
Blindfolded her glance
Unable to bear the plight
Of the Meerut Orphans
One hundred sons had she
To bloody wars lost
Since then had she became
Every orphan’s host
She shrieked for the orphans
of Gulzar Road
Their father, a laborer,
was now dead
Thugs of the Vengeful Tyrant
Saw him a prey
The boys still wait his return
From work to play
She consoled the to-be-wed Saina
Of the Shukkur Nagar
Her father, dead now, Unable to fulfil
Her marital prayer
The ‘Peacekeepers’ had
Unleashed their carnage
Showing no mercy nor justice
To the young nor aged
She recalled her own agony
When Imrana wept
‘My orphaned babies have none
to call their dad’,
Said the pregnant mother in tears–
As she await the next orphan to be born
With Dhritarashtra she shared
The tale of Aleem
The baker who struggled
To see his kids smile
Bullets of hate
Pierced his chest
Batons of prejudice
Struck his corpse
Peace: an unwanted corpse in Meerut
Justice: molested at broad daylight
Gandhari, the queen
Of virtue and the Pativratha
Cried foul at the guards
of the Fake-Devout:
“Justice is the slogan
Of Bharat and Ram
Compassion is the soul
of this kingdom
Saint-robed tyrants
Will burn in hell
Forever shall they
In my curse dwell
My soul is with those killed
In haste, unjust
My prayer is with those
Who the victims assist.
In Kanpur and Rampur,
Let there be no fear
In Lucknow and Sambal,
Let peace prevail”
Published Dec 27 2019. Edit 2024
NOTES
Gandhari: The mother of 100 martyr sons and the queen of the Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapur, a city in the Meerut district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Mahabharata and Bhagwatgita, the revered Hindu texts, describe Meerut as the capital of Kuru Kingdom. She is also considered as an archetype of virtue and moral strength.
Blindfolded: During her wedding, she had blindfolded herself in loyalty and solidarity with her bling husband.
This poem is based on the eye-witness testimonial of CK Subair, leading Kerala-based social activist and politician, who shared his personal account with the Poet after meeting with the survivors of the carnage in Meerut.
Media has carefully documented the excesses of Police force including destruction of properties and vehicles, assault on men and women and looting of cash and jewellery.
