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Delhi dreams.

Dec 14, 2013

Her father's dream was for her to get an education,
he sold his land in Ballia to pay her fees.  

Her dream was to secure her family's financial future,
she worked hard and became a physiotherapist.  

Fate had other plans. Wrong time, at the wrong place.

As the city slept on a cold December night,
she was being tortured, humiliated and violated.  

They could injure and scar her body,  
but not her hopes and dreams.  

Fiercely she  fought her battle,
"Mother, I want to live", said she.  

Unbearable pain, she endured,
Unwavering strength, she showed.  

Eventually, she bowed down to destiny,
13 days later, she left for her eternal abode.  

A dream of a young girl aborted, quite painfully.
A dream of a father snatched away from him, so quickly.  

Protests, vigils and candles, alighted the country.  
Rage, disbelief and shock, soon turned to grief, tears and sorrow.  

As dreams turned into a nightmare, A nation awakened, though late.      

This is written in memory of the Delhi brave heart who was brutually gang raped on December 16, 2012. She succumbed to the injuries and left for her eternal abode on December 29, 2012. It was an incident that shook the nation and protesters lined the streets in every nook and corner of the country. According to statistics,  every 20 minutes, a woman is abused in India. After the incident, awareness has increased and crimes are being reported and registered daily, yet we have a mammoth task left to do.  

I and my sister studied in Bangalore and Trivandrum while our parents and extended family were in another country. We have taken early morning flights, long train rides and night bus journeys alone. To think, things could have gone wrong is a scary thought. Now, if my younger cousin sister wants to come back to India for her graduate studies, my family might think about it twice !

I hope and pray for a safe and secure India.

(I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words 8th – 14th December 2013. This is the seventh and final post in the 7 day series. I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the festival)        

13 comments:

  1. Privy Trifles said...:

    Touching :')

    It gave me goosebumps. I spent sleepless nights last year as all this happened and till date I cannot travel in a bus without a moment thinking about her.

  1. Anonymous said...:

    Well written!!!

  1. Pratikshya said...:

    it is a horror and a shame... your post is a nice tribute..

  1. Bhagyashee said...:

    Poignant!! I have travelled and lived alone as well but today I advice all my friends not to leave their daughters alone. Sometimes security is more important/

  1. Richa Singh said...:

    Sad... and it has now come at the right time. A whole year has passed to that sad night...

    Richa

  1. @Me - I know, it affected me too, last year.

    @chaipakoragupshup -Thank you :)

    @Pratikshya - Thank you for stopping by.

  1. @Bhagyashee - I too am quite careful (and tensed) when I have to travel alone these days. Some times, I feel I had more guts when I was 18!!

    @Richa - Can't believe it- a year went by !
    Thanks for reading through.

  1. payal agarwal said...:

    well written tribute with apt title.

  1. Thank you very much, Payal :)

  1. Anonymous said...:

    It still send shivers down my spine and it's commendable on your part to pay tribute to Nirbhaya, her aspirations, dreams, sacrifice of parents. I feel that the Nirbhaya flame should keep burning in our hearts and pave the way for change. We owe it to the Delhi brave heart.

  1. Suzy said...:

    That was such a horrific incident and so sad. A young life cut short like that. Touching tribute to Nirbhaya. Very well written.
    Thank you for visiting all my posts

  1. NatsBK said...:

    You have put in words your feelings very nicely. It has been a year now and throughout the year similar incidents were reported across the country..but sadly no immediate justice is seen.

  1. Mysoul said...:

    Thank you for this tribute. It is sad, scary and a shameful, yet I am glad that we are waking up, as horrible as the event is, kind of situation that we are going through in our Country. Well written.