Reading 15:-Orphaned by S.L. Bhyrappa- A Review!!

 

A short piece-

एक किसान के दिल के

कोने में छिपी हुई-

एक सुन्दर सा स्वपन हो तुम,

उसके खेत की हरियाली हो तुम,

घर के द्वारे की शोभा हो तुम

हमारे जीवन की खुशहाली हो तुम

गौ- माता हमारी हो तुम |

 

सबेरे पहर तुम्हारे दर्शन -

मन को हर्षित कर जाए ,

होती तुम इतनी भोली और सुन्दर

जब भी पड़ती तुमपर नज़र,

मन तुम्हारी ओर खींचा चला जाए |

 

हम पड़ोसते तुम्हें-

सूखी घास एवं जूठन से-

छोड़ते तुम्हें दर दर भटकने

भोजन की खोज में ,

पर तुम हो सजाती

हमारे हथेली को

अपने पंचगव्य से |

 

ना करती अपने दुखों की शिकायत

ना ढूंढती तुम दूजों की कमी,

उलटा हम इंसानों की पीड़ा-

छलकती है तुम्हारी आँखों से छल-छल ||

 

कैसा खोखला है ये

उपयोगितावादी सिद्धांत ,

तुम्हारे यौवन में ,

पालते तुम्हें -

तुम्हारे दूध , दही , माखन के लिए |

करते इस्तेमाल गोबर का

अपनी झोपड़ी और खाद के लिए ,

खेत में चलवाते हल

अपना पेट पालने के लिए

और तुम्हारे बुढ़ापे में बेच डालते तुम्हें

कसाई के हाथ

तुम्हारी मांस के लिए ||

 

कैसी काली पट्टी बंधी है,

हमारे इन आँखों पर-

जो देख ना पाते

तुम्हारी आँखों में बस रहे

प्रेम के गहरे सागर को,

खुशाली की लहर झूमती है मन में

देख तुम्हारा प्यार अपने बछड़े से

और यही मन हो जाता व्याकुल

जब रांभति है बछड़ा तुमसे बिछड़के

 

हम अंग्रेज और आधुनिक शिक्षा वाले

काश, सिर्फ इतनी सी बात समझ पाते

गऊ, तुम सिर्फ गऊ नहीं, गोमाता हो तुम

तेंतीस करोड़ देवी-देवताओं का घर हो तुम

तुम्हारी सेवा करना , जैसे बांसुरी की धून  में खोना है

तुम्हारी कृपा हो जिस पर

उसे किस बात का जीवन में रोना है

हम सब ही तो है , तुम्हारी संतान

काश, तुम्हें सिर्फ एक उपयोग की वस्तु ना समझकर

करते तुम्हारी दिलों जान से रक्षा

और बनाते तुम्हें अपने सिर का सरताज ||

 

“Orphaned”- I was drawn like a magnet just by the title and the cover page featuring the vulnerability of Mother Cow with her calf. It was a pull like that of a gravitational force, for which I could do nothing but only fall. Fall as in? Fall in love?? Umm…may be, its only in love that we fall for. So, yes, I think so. Because, I have been in relationship with cows since childhood and my connection to them certainly has a cultural & family’s role in it but the personal bond is way deeper and I think, it will always be.

So, the book introduces me to the Kannada song “Govina Haadu” ; a song based on the story of cow named Punyakoti who by virtue of truth wins over the tiger who has hunted her for his hungry stomach.

This is the story of Gowda and his ancestors’ devotion to cows. A story narrating that protecting cows even at the cost of one’s life is one’s highest dharma. It captures all the beautiful moments that one can feel within by being in and around cows. The mother cow licking the neck of her calf, their cuddling, baby calf resting & hiding by her mother, her mooing & anxiety when they get parted from each other- like everything comes together as beads in a string. They have a language of their own. A language that needs not be expressed rather only felt in their actions & love and in the way, they melt and forget about the world in the music of flute.

For Gowda, cow is not just a cow meant to serve human utility, it’s a blessing, a blessing to immerse oneself in devotion to Gomaata every moment and take every possible step to protect cows of his village & others, beyond everything.

But then, Elder Kalinga Gowda’s grandson and his modern & scientifically educated could never comprehend anything beyond the economics of cow rearing. Considering cow as a mere object of utility, it was distressing to me when these educated couples ( Hilda & kalinga) decided to separate calves from their mother’s teat before milking the cows.

Oh! Putting the rubber tube and completely suck out all the milk- seriously? Their hearts didn’t even melt looking the scream & struggle of the calves and milking the cows without their babies. What kind of science is this?, that separates mother from her child,  what economic driven this society and its people are? Using machines & tubes to suck out milk, even reading it is so painful, I wonder- don’t these modern educated men feel the pain within themselves when machine is sucked to drain out the urine from their own kidneys, how heartless they could be.

Growing cotton & tobacco instead of food crops, destroying land meant for pastures and cattle grazing. Slaughtering calves for cheese.

Some line that struck me-

“In the Elder Gowda’s time, each cow had a real name like Ganga, gowri, Tunga, Bhadra, Sita & Savitri. Each cow was a Goddess on its own. But now in his grandson Kalinga’s barn, each cow had become a mere number- 1,2,3…

And the biggest blow came when Hilda slaughtered a newly mother cow who has given birth to a calf of just 4 months. The calf is now orphaned.

But then, the ill consequences and fate that kalinga and hilda and their babies have to face for their heartless and purely economic- driven actions seem to be a lesson for our modern educated Kalinga.

Well, You make a calf orphan for your utility, life has its own way to tear you down in loneliness and make you orphan.

Orphaned- A must read for all the humanity breathing on this planet!!

Grab your copy here!!

Note- The review is also published in author's goodreads and medium profile.

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Thankyou for reading!!