SOUMYA

by Vinodkumar Edachery

The train was moving slowly
When stealthily did he enter the coach
The one-armed beggar psychopath
The brute-like criminal Govindachami
How he trampled on her innocence
Strangled all her cherished dreams
On the way back home in lady’s coach
Of Kochi-Shornur passenger train
Where she was a regular commuter
After the day’s work in a private mall
What a pitiful tale it is!
She was coming back home from place of work
Somewhat distant from her native place
Years ago since her father left
So poor and needy was her home
Wants clinged to her so desperate
Like new-born infants for mother’s milk
The only bread- winner of a humble home
Prop and support to a fragile roof
Lately, a man had proposed to her
Who  was coming home to see her soon
She was weaving good many dreams
The one-armed beggar was seeking alms
In the empty lady’s coach where Soumya was
At the extreme end of the passenger train
Wickedness his real motive
First he tried to rob her things
Then to molest her as no one near
Helpless as a lamb she was
Cried out for help, but no one came
Some heard her cries, but in a hurry  they seemed
To get back home, can’t stop the train
How tedious it is to pull the chain
And stop the train or alert the guard
And delay the journey, is it not?
Like a wolf in disguise did he snarl
When she resisted the rape attempt
He banged her head against the wall
Then pushed her off the train, jumped out he too
With great dexterity along with her
Unconscious, as she fell near the track
Stood he like a raven by the dying deer
Adroit in crimes of all sort
He could easily overpower  and stop her resistance
With a stone he smashed her head
And brutally raped the hapless prey
What a gruesome crime did he commit!
Some in coaches noticed this
But didn’t venture out to see what happens
Still they  told the Station Master about this
When the train reached the station next
They found her half-dead near the track
And saved what is left in her
For five long days she fought for life
In ICU, then succumbed to death
With grievance none, she flew to heaven
In the fine garb of a holy dove
Let her soul rest in peace
Let the butcher be brought to noose
He was just a one-armed beggar
Till then in public view
The habitual criminal,  Govindachami
Had been in jail some eight times
A real threat to women, with underworld links
A prominent criminal lawyer to defend his case
Landed from Bombay to the dismay of all
They say a hunter Govindachami
Is lurking unawares in every male
When they get a chance, no doubt
Pounce upon the helpless eve
But it is a sin to slap them all
Though some wicked rapists may be found
Much anger and anguish
Din and clamour
State-wide protests over this
What a pity is the mother’s plight!
After her father abandoned them
It was she who brought her up
Without letting her feel his loss
How much she has suffered for it
How much grief-stricken she is now.
All their hopes rested on her
Throughout their life, the victims suffer
As haunting nightmares, taunts that sting
Loss of face in media trials
They suffer the trauma till their death
But no such travail the hunters face
Who go scotfree in such crimes
Rape has become a game for them
And easily get away with the crime
There is need of stringent laws
Fast-track courts and speedy trials
To stop this violence against maids
Who  survive female infanticide
To fall a victim to lustful beasts
Where women can travel without fear
Even at midnight,  there is heaven
So Sage Vyasa tells the new-crowned king
In the great epic ‘Mahabharata’
That a state is judged an ideal one
When it is such a heaven for dames.