And she weeps in moonlight..... no more

She turns off the lone bulb in their house and crouches near the wall. Biting her lip in pain, she examines the bruises on her body. They weren't too bad this time, as he hadn't used his usual leather belt. He had walked into the house in an inebriated state and snatched her wages from her hands. She resisted, so got beaten. This has been a daily routine since the day she had married him. The bruises by now had become a part of her body. Still, the smell of her pungent breath and the noice of the curses he hollered made her want to puke on him. But, she always  had controlled this tremendously strong urge, as he had her children and she had nowhere else to go. Everyday at night, she expelled her suffering through hot, fiery tears that came rushing down her cheeks in moonlight; and in the morning,  she smiled, disgusted at the sight of him lighting a lamp in the temple, worshipping the Goddess...

What she doesn't know is that her story is also the story of 27.5 million women in India, that his beating is not to be accepted but protested against,  that domestic violence is a grave crime for which there exists severe punishment and that she can ask for help and can get it, without putting her children's future in danger. It's about time she is knows about this and starts voicing her troubles,  because, in future, she would definitely not want her daughter to weep away her suffering in moonlight...

This poem is for her, to help her not just to shatter the glass ceiling, but also touch the skies beyond...

आंधी में बरसात

है आंधी में बरसात तू

है सपनों में जज़्बात तू 

कोई तुझे न रोक पाए, 

ऐसा खुद को बना तू। 

जग की बेड़ियों को कर दे अब विदा 

तेरी एक दहाड़ से हो जाएँगी वे जुदा। 

मेहनत का हमेशा मिलता है फल

आलोचना से रहित, तू आगे चल।

है आंधी में बरसात तू

है सपनों में जज़्बात तू 

कोई तुझे न रोक पाए, 

ऐसा खुद को बना तू। 

लोग तो बोलेंगे, ऐसा है उनका कर्म 

पर अपनी ज़िद पर तू कभी न ओढ़ना शर्म। 

सपने देखने होते तो सोते रहते, 

पर लक्ष्य होते हैं जो सोने नहीं देते। 

है आंधी में बरसात तू

है सपनों में जज़्बात तू 

कोई तुझे न रोक पाए, 

ऐसा खुद को बना तू। 

ह्रदय को भर दे शक्ति की ज्वाला से 

जो कभी न बुझने पाए, 

जिससे तेरे सामने आते ही 

डर भी डर से कांप जाए।

है आंधी में बरसात तू

है सपनों में जज़्बात तू 

कोई तुझे न रोक पाए, 

ऐसा खुद को बना तू। 

When the whole world is battling against Covid-19, women are fighting their own battle against domestic violence.  Reports of the National Commission of Women(NCW)  state that it has recieved almost 239 complaints of domestic violence in a span of just 25 days. This number is almost the double of the number of complaints recieved by it prior to the lockdown.  The world, at large, has seen an increase in the reported cases of domestic violence by 21% during the period of lockdown. 

So it turns out that home is not a safe place for everyone,  because some have an invisible virus outside their house and a very much visible animal inside it. Don't you think it's equally important to find a vaccine for the latter than just the former?

Thank you for reading this blog and I'm open to your feedback( please mention your name along with your feedback). We'll meet again soon with a next blog.

Bbye 

Until next time.