You and I

by Kunhunni master
translated.by Vinodkumar Edachery

Not while walking round the temple
Or while bathing at that river ghat
Or on the way to college with friends
I saw you first.

Not by asking  name, book or flower
Or whispering honeyed words
Begging to have love for me
I came close to you first.

Not while struggling to get into the bus      
Or while hurrying to get to the mess
Or while in dream alone with you
I touched you first

I saw you, got close to you
And touched you, sweet heart
While reading sleepless overnight
Atom theory for yearly exam.

THOUGHTFUL

by Vinodkumar Edachery

Roaming idly
As sacrificial horses
That forgot their aim
Evil forces
In the world of Dhyana
Elixir to travellers

Spiritual thoughts that unfold
The mystery of  God
Erecting walls in human hearts
Terror moves

Thoughts of liberation
That presented fetters
To despots
Uprooting empires
With arms and ammunition
Of revolution

Thoughts of separation---
Love-sighs
Of the beloved.

LEOPARD

by Vinodkumar Edachery

With blazing eyes
And cruel teeth
Before me, a leopard.
Oh! Thank God
He doesn’t look at me
All his glare is turned
To  my soiled body
My crucified form.

MOBILE PHONE

by Vinodkumar Edachery

With beaming pride
And unconcealed joy
Placed in the hands of my daughter
A high-tech mobile phone
With ultra- modern
Camera facilities

The comforts
I never knew
In my childhood
My daughter should enjoy
Was my only thought.

Traps flew to her
Like honeyed  words.
Soon Wail came running
Cutting off all services
To burst into tears
At the end of a rope.

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.

REVELATION

by Vinodkumar Edachery

A wolf approached sheep

With sharp claws

And fierce teeth

To scare them

To tear them apart

To relish at the sight

Of their scary flight

But the sheep were defiant

There was no trace of fear

In their eyes

Soon he was surrounded

On all sides

startled at the onslaught

He realized,to his horror

He had lost his terror.

From then on

He walks

Clad in sheep skin.

TERROR STRIKES

by Vinodkumar Edachery

Narrow- mindedness
Revels in cruelty
Terror’s offspring
Chop the palm of dissent
Re-enacting the barbarity
Of the Middle Ages
Checking all progress
And freedom of thought
Not the followers of God
But, of Devil
Eight of them surround
A helpless deer
Tear the limbs apart
Like the feathers of a bird
Relishing wolfish cruelty
Celebrating savagery
Bathing in human blood
Wisdom never dawns on them
They need a world so ugly
Like their terror outfit
Instilling communal venom
Teaching irrational things
Their flocks, a retarded lot
They label everything heretic
As moral police sometimes feign
Attack women in public places
Mislead  folks and distort facts
Many a Malala suffer from this
Thus the great Indian Taliban is sprouting up
They strive to create a Terror Republic
Swear to rewrite secular history
With a lot of flamboyance
Freedom Parades are going on
Want to weaken Muslim League
That leads the youth in peaceful ways
Never cultivate tolerance
To them, faith is the world
Like the frogs in the well
They pounce upon,and demolish
Age old statues
Smash TV sets and computers
Like Don Quixote reborn
They are scared of
Broad daylight
Pretend they can safeguard faith
Unleashing reign of terror
But actually cowards
Who fled for life
Many a time
Leaving the community
In the lurch

Let us shed the dry crust of religion
Outdated laws and customs
And let the good values reign
It is wise to know
That rashness is a folly
Prudence, not a bad thing
Stirring up communal passion-
A wicked thing, most primitive.

Not Just A Name

by Vinodkumar Edachery

Onchiyam-

It is not just a name

A passion, a synonym for resistance

Against oppression

It seethes once again

With utter rage

Shouting fiery slogans-

Always proud of its brave sons

You, the last of martyrs

True inheritor of the spirit

No lesser than an idol

Posed a menace to the corrupt

Never compromised with principles

Sacrificed all  prospects for the ideal

Throughout your life

They followed you like cowards

Under cover of darkness

To inflict 51 gashes on the face

In a calculated move

Giving no chance even to scream

Oh! Brave Martyr

They really feared you

Your idealism, steadfastness

Integrity, compassion, commitment

And the indomitable will

You inspired the crowd with frenzy

You were riding a bike, they, an Innova

That shows the difference, true

You wanted them to correct their ways

To stick to the ideals

Like true Marxists

For you felt they had gone too far

From its fundamental tenets

But it was hard for them-

A going back to fundamentals.

So they took the easiest way

They decided to eliminate you

With brutal barbarity

You were hacked to death

There were 51 stabs on your lovely face.

You were not ready to relent a bit

They too….

You will not deviate from tenets

They, from rashness

You could attract the crowd from their fold

Like a magnet

Mingled with laymen like old comrades

Came to their help in all their needs

No matter whether wedding, feast or funeral

Shared their joys and their woes

Like one of them, you were a brother to them all

They began to lose parliament seats

The party had to bow its head

All arrogance gone

You reminded what they had forgotten

A going back was hard for them

So there was no other way

They did just what they could.

You couldn’t forgive their deviation

They couldn’t forgive your fervour

Your death created a furore

You grew in stature, bigger than ever

Ready to devour them all

It exposed the wicked, the selfish

The vested interests

The betrayal with a wedding letter

How your name turned a hymn of hope for all

Deemed more dangerous than the bourgoise

The common enemy of all Communists-

Racked none their brains to analyse

They tried  hard to deceive the cops

And blindfold the eyes of Truth

With all wiles, like the sticker ‘Masha Allah’

To  shade it all a communal hue

Maligning air with blatant lies

Sieging courts for trying convicts

Blocking normal life with hartals

Snubbing  martyrs as renegades-

Sheer gimmicks to calm the sheepish ranks

How vile it’s all, what a shame!

That you were called a renegade, how perverse!

Fie upon them! They are incorrigible.

They unleashed terror to destroy you

Disfigured your face with 51 stabs

Which really disfigured their own faces

True, it is they who really lost their face.

I always wondered at your power

Listened to the speeches in amazement

Anxious to see how you challenge a Titan

A David against Goliath

You started soon the mending work

When they derailed from the tenets

Still you could do more than Hercules did

Who had really inspired you

But who can trust they will mend their ways

As Hercules did?

No, they can not.

You said to them, ‘this is not the way’

Certainly, you had the right

You were in their fold from your teens

You were well-versed in Marxism

Instructed the rank and file about true path

They cut you into pieces in your 51^st year

When you turned a rebel

You were the true son of Onchiyam

So you could not compromise like others

They were aware of your prowess

Feared the welcome you enjoyed

They in jeopardy found their ways

When you formed a new outfit

And people flocked round the pen

Seeking shelter under the roof

And saw a saviour in your words

Then they came to win you over

With a lot of allurements

But you stood adamant

Refused to make adjustments

To you, ideals were more important

Than anything else.

That night I couldn’t sleep

For several nights sleep didn’t come to stay

The evil had the victory-heart throbbed

It is as if they plucked the Sun from the day

Moon from the night

You knew the murderers were after you

Still you took no caution

They came in a group with weapons

You travelled alone, armless

Riding a bike, that made things easy for them

The whole state was terrified

Everyone deplored the act in severe terms

The mighty tree was felled

But your death was not in vain

It exposed the real culprits

Brought their ugly faces to light

The fire it instilled in raging hearts

It will take time to extinguish

You became a martyr

Like a true comrade of Onchiyam

The land of martyrs

For denouncing corruption in strong words

You lashed at the vices

From toe to crown

They tried to make you look like them

A ploy that didn’t work, like Masha Allah

They didn’t think that you are invincible

That you had no death-your ideals

That you had a charmed life

Like Caesar you proved stronger in death

You are not just a name

A symbol, a stone, a stubbornness.