An Antediluvian Ritual.....? Poem by DEEPAK KUMAR PATTANAYAK

An Antediluvian Ritual.....?

Rating: 5.0

An Antediluvian Ritual…..?
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Today I am saddened with a curious pain
Not of the flesh and not of the brain
But of the heart broken at the hideous ritual
That had taken place in the holy of holies
That no fewer than hundred corpses of women and children
Were seen floating on the surface of the Ganga basin
The sight was horrifying, shocking and chilling
And it's hard not to wonder why such things are happening
Is human body nothing more than this fleshy, bony thing?
That we just awaken to each morning
Or is it just a skinbag of water
And carbon, calcium and other materials worth of ten dollar
Or is it God's wonderful creation
Utterly marvelous, living assemblage of exquisite systems of organ
Whose simultaneous and smooth functioning is a miracle
Or we may call it a temple
As biologists, chemists and physicists put it
We are a play of light
More akin to dreamlike no-things
Than 'solid somethings'
Then why into the river such bodies were dumped
When cremation or burial could have been done by praxis civilized
Is it deeprooted prejudice against unmarried women and children?
Or superstition and ignorance, reminiscent of pre-Renaissance India then
The two nooses are still tying the neck of civilization in 2015AD
That we hypocrites pretend to be polished and civilised
It's no less criminal than female infanticide of the 19th century
And foeticide of India contemporary
More painful it is in the aftermath of disgrace
When so called priests call them 'holy river burials'
It's more than obvious that
Every socio-religious certitude is flouted on the dictates of priests
Disposal of bodies can't be a matter of subjective preference
As for every religion, funeral rituals are sanctioned by the scriptures
It's more distressing than polluting
The river Ganga, the holy of holies and entrancing

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rajesh Thankappan 24 January 2015

These things of activities besides being an utter disgrace to he dead and the departed is also traumatic to the viewer and it also pollutes the environment...10

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Valsa George 22 January 2015

What all ridiculous rituals are still prevalent in our land.... A civilized society should be ashamed of them. We dishonor the human body when we allow it to bloat and rot in water, also pollute the waters of a river believed to be sacred and cause horror and shock to the onlookers! You have expressed your shock and indignation in powerful diction! A great write and a well deserved 10

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