M.S Gopal aka Slogan Murugan, posted this gutwrenching capture, at the Korigad Fort , near Pune/Lonavla , on his post here.
Life to day, is worse, for cows, bulls, homeless, and women. All subject to thoughtless rules, chauvinistic power-drunk attitudes, one-eye-on-elections platitudes, land grabs, and subject to a political mess.
From a time when cows were an integral part of a farmer's life, when they fed off the nearby environ greens (when not ploughing/being milked), to be able to come home at dusk in the "godhuli" dust, today, they need to wander further and further for food (like the rural women go further and further for drinking water), thanks to agriculture losing out to the concrete lobby. From being treated carefully and respectfully , utilitywise, even post a natural death, by folks who specialised in the non-capital intensive technologies, they now face arbitrary politically motivated laws and rules, and mind numbing slaughter situations, brought on by folks who count everything in terms of money.
(photo by Slogan Murugan aka M S Gopal)
at a life
in a homestead cowshed,
milked,
and enjoying the greens
in the fields,
once the few days of ploughing were done;
Preening and making eyes
at the harvest time,
the frisky little ones,
fussed over
as they gambolled around.
Looking into worlds beyond
was about
being useful
even in death,
treated in respect,
expertly
by trained hands
in traditional technology...
Today,
green of the grass
has given way
to
other paper greens,
as avaricious powerlords
pour concrete
down the
farmers' throat.
Some,
Cheek by jowl
with other seniors,
stunned breathless in a truck,
accelerating
to the abattoir
And some,
ending life alone,
on a greenless hill,
no food, no work,
no NREGA*** for cows,
from a party,
that once had them
as their election symbol*****,
and has now
switched instead
to a Hand,
most often found
jingling
in someone's loaded pocket.
Figures.
*** NREGA : National Rural Employment Guarantee Act .
***** (I have seen old elections using this symbol) Original INC (Inidan National Congress) which was founded by AO Hume and Annie Besant. This party under the leadership of MK Gandhi won freedom for India (from colonial suppression). This party DIED in 1969 when Mrs. Indira Gandhi split the party and created the Congress-I - virtually every freedom fighter went to Congress-O (which is also dead). The election commission of India froze the cow and calf symbol after this breakup engineered by Mrs. Indra Gandhi.
