Not Just A Name

by Vinodkumar Edachery

Onchiyam-

It is not just a name

A passion, a synonym for resistance

Against oppression

It seethes once again

With utter rage

Shouting fiery slogans-

Always proud of its brave sons

You, the last of martyrs

True inheritor of the spirit

No lesser than an idol

Posed a menace to the corrupt

Never compromised with principles

Sacrificed all  prospects for the ideal

Throughout your life

They followed you like cowards

Under cover of darkness

To inflict 51 gashes on the face

In a calculated move

Giving no chance even to scream

Oh! Brave Martyr

They really feared you

Your idealism, steadfastness

Integrity, compassion, commitment

And the indomitable will

You inspired the crowd with frenzy

You were riding a bike, they, an Innova

That shows the difference, true

You wanted them to correct their ways

To stick to the ideals

Like true Marxists

For you felt they had gone too far

From its fundamental tenets

But it was hard for them-

A going back to fundamentals.

So they took the easiest way

They decided to eliminate you

With brutal barbarity

You were hacked to death

There were 51 stabs on your lovely face.

You were not ready to relent a bit

They too….

You will not deviate from tenets

They, from rashness

You could attract the crowd from their fold

Like a magnet

Mingled with laymen like old comrades

Came to their help in all their needs

No matter whether wedding, feast or funeral

Shared their joys and their woes

Like one of them, you were a brother to them all

They began to lose parliament seats

The party had to bow its head

All arrogance gone

You reminded what they had forgotten

A going back was hard for them

So there was no other way

They did just what they could.

You couldn’t forgive their deviation

They couldn’t forgive your fervour

Your death created a furore

You grew in stature, bigger than ever

Ready to devour them all

It exposed the wicked, the selfish

The vested interests

The betrayal with a wedding letter

How your name turned a hymn of hope for all

Deemed more dangerous than the bourgoise

The common enemy of all Communists-

Racked none their brains to analyse

They tried  hard to deceive the cops

And blindfold the eyes of Truth

With all wiles, like the sticker ‘Masha Allah’

To  shade it all a communal hue

Maligning air with blatant lies

Sieging courts for trying convicts

Blocking normal life with hartals

Snubbing  martyrs as renegades-

Sheer gimmicks to calm the sheepish ranks

How vile it’s all, what a shame!

That you were called a renegade, how perverse!

Fie upon them! They are incorrigible.

They unleashed terror to destroy you

Disfigured your face with 51 stabs

Which really disfigured their own faces

True, it is they who really lost their face.

I always wondered at your power

Listened to the speeches in amazement

Anxious to see how you challenge a Titan

A David against Goliath

You started soon the mending work

When they derailed from the tenets

Still you could do more than Hercules did

Who had really inspired you

But who can trust they will mend their ways

As Hercules did?

No, they can not.

You said to them, ‘this is not the way’

Certainly, you had the right

You were in their fold from your teens

You were well-versed in Marxism

Instructed the rank and file about true path

They cut you into pieces in your 51st year

When you turned a rebel

You were the true son of Onchiyam

So you could not compromise like others

They were aware of your prowess

Feared the welcome you enjoyed

They in jeopardy found their ways

When you formed a new outfit

And people flocked round the pen

Seeking shelter under the roof

And saw a saviour in your words

Then they came to win you over

With a lot of allurements

But you stood adamant

Refused to make adjustments

To you, ideals were more important

Than anything else.

That night I couldn’t sleep

For several nights sleep didn’t come to stay

The evil had the victory-heart throbbed

It is as if they plucked the Sun from the day

Moon from the night

You knew the murderers were after you

Still you took no caution

They came in a group with weapons

You travelled alone, armless

Riding a bike, that made things easy for them

The whole state was terrified

Everyone deplored the act in severe terms

The mighty tree was felled

But your death was not in vain

It exposed the real culprits

Brought their ugly faces to light

The fire it instilled in raging hearts

It will take time to extinguish

You became a martyr

Like a true comrade of Onchiyam

The land of martyrs

For denouncing corruption in strong words

You lashed at the vices

From toe to crown

They tried to make you look like them

A ploy that didn’t work, like Masha Allah

They didn’t think that you are invincible

That you had no death-your ideals

That you had a charmed life

Like Caesar you proved stronger in death

You are not just a name

A symbol, a stone, a stubbornness.