7/31/2019 Shrestha or Eunuchs

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Shrestha or Eunuchs

He never made the headlinesI am not too sure if you would have heard of him at all

He was never blogged or talked of

There are no viral videos of his actWhy does he then, come to me like a flash back?

Let me tell you a small storyThat never became a legend

Two years backAn ill-fated train on its way up East

Maurya express was its nameHad 40 bandits in the garb of passengers

Halted forcibly in the middle of nowhere

Along the forests of DooarsAnd the bandits took the reins

Looting and maraudingHapless passengers

Shaken and robbed of precious belongingsBrandishing swords and guns

They plundered at willThe entire train for hours

In a nookSat Bishnu Shrestha

Now if you must knowBishnu or Vishnu is the God who preservesAnd Shrestha means superior

Now he was a quiet kind of GodActually retired from the Army

A Gurkha who missed his promotionAnd was on his last journey homeHe had done his share of bravery

So when they accosted himHe meekly surrendered his meager belongings

Without twitching a browA wallet and wristwatch was all he had

The story turns here, folksThe bandits high on lootTurned to a teenaged girl

Who sat opposite the retired God

It gave them a kickTo rape her at will

In front of her parentsAnd in public viewDrunk with power

Help, she screamed

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Knowing no one daredBut then the retired God roused

He was a ManInto a new Avatar of Shiva

From nowhere a menacing khukri appearedShrestha was ShresthaHe pounced on the vermin

Slash and slashHead or torso,Armed arms

Whatever came his way

Pulling the girl apart to safetyHe took them on

And they came in hordesWith knives and swords

And blazing guns galore

Shrestha, the retired soldierOne who was overlooked for promotion

For whatever be the reasonHad skills and mettle unmatched

Pulling one as shieldUsing the aisle as vantage

He fought with disadvantage

No other daredTo take on the hordes

But he slashed and slashedTearing them apart

Grievously woundedOne arm slashed

OutnumberedHe outmaneuveredkilling mercilessly

The scum and vermin

Soon the bandicoots realisedThis was Shivas avatar

Unmatched,Finally they had met a Man!

They fled, leaving their deadAnd cut up band of brothersAnd the loot, what a booty

200 cell phones, 40 laptops,Heaps of jewelry, nearly $10,000 in cash

But most precious of allthe modesty of the girl

The wrong loot that spoiled it all

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Shrestha was awarded the Shaurya ChakraThe same conspicuous gallantry award

I got for battling terroristsHe deserved much more and more

His was not just conspicuous

It was simply singular in bravery and self-sacrificeFor a Nobel cause

He never became a legendI doubt you will hear of himNo, he is not newsworthy

Not sellable sleazeThere are no shady arm deals

Or scandals to his nameHe is just a forgotten Hero!

Now, fast forward to presentGuwahati of all the placesWomen in the North East

Walk with heads upAfter all most of the time

They are the breadwinners of the family

And I wont even call her a womanA teenaged girl remains a girl

No matter what she wears or hits on to a pubAnd her group gets into a fracas with another

The eunuchs turn vulturesWhen they spot the girl

A mob 20, 30, 40 , 50Rains down on her

Tearing her clothes,Slapping, kicking, molesting

And the hordes cheer onFlashes and flashes

Cell phones and camerasShoot videos of the macabre act

There is a policeman in the mobA media man too

God Knows who allIt is a free for all

But they are all eunuchsSpineless bastards

Groping and hitting a hapless victim

It happens on the open roadPasserby galore who cheer and letch

Alas, there is no Shrestha

No Bishnu, No Vishnu forget ShivaThere is not a single manAmong them all.

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The videos go viralIt is hot news

It is sleaze and vomitThe responsible become irresponsible

By sharing the girls shame

Publically

She is even named and has a faceWho should be hanged by the balls

For this culpable post sin sin.Alas, they all get away, they always do

The reporter who ordered his camera manTo shoot the video

Says he was helpless and felt he must record the evidenceI would say put one of his own as bait

Will he repeat the orders againNo, such detached conscience

Comes only with others as victims

The hunt for the eunuchsGoes on and on

Some caughtSome will escape

Yet others will simply pass on the blame

Where are our ShresthasWhere are our Visnhus and Shivas

Where are the men among us!

None, sadly none at all!

You would say there is no linkNo connect in the two stories

I would say there is much to link

The rot is deep withinUnless we teach

Unless we celebrateUnless we preachUnless we worshipMen like Shrestha

Make him an exampleTo our youth

Teach him in schoolsWhat it takes to be a man

The rot is deeper than you thinkCant you feel the stink

We need heroesTo worshipTo emulate

To teach our kids

What it takes to be a man

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So the next time around

When eunuchs think of turning vulturesThey know what they are up against

Enough of talks of corruptionAnd sleaze and sins galoreLet us make Gods of such Heroes

So people know what it takesTo be a man.

Is this a poemOr a story

Or two stories rolled in oneI dont care it has been burning me since

And I must share it in the way I can

Shyam

17th July 2012