by B. R. GOWANI
Aradhana Samdariya died two days after she underwent a 68-day fast PHOTO/International Business Times
Zaheerabad lawmaker BB Patil seen posing with the Jain teen PHOTO/NDTV
on idiocy: no single community can lay absolute claim
all religio/ethnic groups burn in some ignorant flame
it is indeed common, victims are people simple
whether they be uncovered or covered in wimple
Jainism devoured one of its followers, a teenager
Aradhana, just thirteen years old, not yet a major
she was on a record breaking tapas i.e. penance spree
to warn her it could cause death, there was no banshee
she went on an upavasa: fast that lasted 68 days
visiting politicians and others showered her praise
these loonies did not address fragility of her life
but that’s expected in a land where religious zealotry is rife
Aradhana’s jeweler father had suffered huge business losses
a Jain priest‘s idea for his recovery was to put her on a cross
Aradhana’s intestines and kidneys suffered great harm
her emaciated face and body were robbed of all charm
her 68 day fast was celebrated with great fanfare
not knowing that Aradhana had not many days to share
she went into coma due to dehydration and cardiac arrest
religious zeal forced her to leave untimely, her earthly nest
St Francis school student, Aradhana was in grade eighth
her aunts, a pediatrician and a doctor, exhibited the lethal faith
nobody tried to stop her from racing the path to death
and at the tender age, she became a victim of religious meth
lives continue to be wasted, tears shed, discussions held
but the mentality does not change nor is ignorance quelled
passing of laws prohibiting such cruelties are sorely needed
to get India out of this tragic fanatical swamp long seeded
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com