Finally Free

Azad Singh perched on a treetop listened intently to the politician’s tirade
The leader was promising that all problems of the farmers he would ameliorate
Azad wished to believe that all these well-meaning promises would materialize
But for the past five years in his village no development had crystallized
They still lived in darkness, sweated in the fields night and day
To reach the fields was an agony as there was nothing in the name of way
The politician visited the village only before election time
For which patchy roads were built in record time
But as soon the villagers cast their votes
The local politician rushed to the Parliament to raise the nation’s hope
But to his own constituency problems he didn’t provide any antidote
For the past five years Azad had slogged and slogged
Due to the arduous toil in the fields his whole body every night throbbed
He still couldn’t feed the stomach of his joint family of twelve members
Hunger, rain, pain, broken roofs, lack of water had become their regular oppressors
Tomorrow Azad’s elder daughter would be married to a pot-bellied wealthy money-lender
This was the result of Azad’s failing to repay the money that the lender  had tendered
Azad thought and thought so that he could somehow save his daughter from this plight
But after sleepless nights no rescue came to his sight
Perched on the treetop today he had hoped his local leader would grant some money
To all the farmers whose crop had been recently destroyed by sudden rain and winds gusty
The leader kept on talking about the steps he had taken to ensure his constituency’s growth
But Azad couldn’t comprehend that why these fictitious steps could not resolve his woes
The oppressive heat, sweat and the humming voice of the leader was lulling him to sleep
To escape from falling he tied his cotton towel to a branch steep
For hours he listened, but at last his empty stomach of five days put him to sleep
In his dreams Azad dreamt of sumptuous feasts for his family, a pucca house
A handsome groom for his daughter with all his woes vanishing into thin clouds
Azad dreamt of sleeping peacefully after many years
His fields were brimming with ripe yield and his family was finally in cheer
Lost in this perfect vision Azad’s body swayed forward
The towel tied to the branch his breathing swiftly haltered
He couldn’t shout for help, his eyes dilated
Slowly his lifeless body slumped forward from the branch
The crowd looked at this spectacle, a life that was now dormant
Someone climbed the tree and brought the body down
Soon tongues wagged debating whether this was suicide or an accident
This news of a death however could not put in the leader’s heart a dent
He still went on discussing future prospects of the constituency
He couldn’t let go of his rally because of a man who had died inconspicuously
The crowd felt sorry till the leader’s cronies whisked the body away
They again concentrated on the leader’s speech that was underway
The crowd knew they would be rewarded for their presence in the rally monetarily
So they did not let their heart’s sway to Azad’s plight even momentarily
Azad’s corpse finally reached his ramshackle home
His family out rightly his suicide condoned
The only person who shed pure tears for the hapless dead man
Was his daughter who believed Azad had sacrificed his life
As he couldn’t unwillingly her marriage to that lender authorize
She was relieved that her father true to his name at last was free from his life traumatized.