A nameless, listless farmer Limbaiah, 45, ended his life in Hyderabad yesterday.
He was among hundreds of farmers that committed suicide this year in India. But Limbaiah, like the farmer who killed himself in Delhi during AAP rally, shook the conscience (I doubt, though) of the 400-year-old City. He travelled 170 km from Nizamabad to hang himself in Hyderabad.
Had he committed suicide elsewhere, like many of his peers, the City would not have bothered. Those deaths happening in the backyard hardly touched the City soul.
The City wants everything. The food that the village produced. The milk, handicrafts, water, drivers, maids, vegetables, cotton for its clothes -- a typical urbanite wants everything delivered at his or her nearest shop, at the doorstep. They don't have time to spare a minute about how the gigantic machine called City is chugging along. He never cared for the nuts and bolts that helped the machine to run.
Limbaiah, perhaps, wanted to convey a strong message -- that the village is bleeding to quench the thirst of the City, that their problems are not being heard, that they are broke, that their wards living in inhuman conditions, that the City has become a monster, devouring the life in rural areas. Perhaps, that's why he chose Hyderabad, the Capital of Telangana, as the venue for his last journey.
Like the little Syrian boy, Limbaiah will haunt us for long.
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| A portrait of a farmer by the legendary artist Chittaprasad (from the Net) |
Had he committed suicide elsewhere, like many of his peers, the City would not have bothered. Those deaths happening in the backyard hardly touched the City soul.
The City wants everything. The food that the village produced. The milk, handicrafts, water, drivers, maids, vegetables, cotton for its clothes -- a typical urbanite wants everything delivered at his or her nearest shop, at the doorstep. They don't have time to spare a minute about how the gigantic machine called City is chugging along. He never cared for the nuts and bolts that helped the machine to run.
Limbaiah, perhaps, wanted to convey a strong message -- that the village is bleeding to quench the thirst of the City, that their problems are not being heard, that they are broke, that their wards living in inhuman conditions, that the City has become a monster, devouring the life in rural areas. Perhaps, that's why he chose Hyderabad, the Capital of Telangana, as the venue for his last journey.
Like the little Syrian boy, Limbaiah will haunt us for long.
Nizamabad farmer commits suicide in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sept. 9: A farmer from Nizamabad District allegedly hanged himself to death at Lower Tank Bund in Hyderabad early on Wednesday.
The man, B Limbiah, 47, of Sadasivanagar mandal in Nizamabad District
came to the city three days ago along with his son Shankar. Shankar, is
admitted at a private hospital in Chaderghat as he suffers from some
ailment, the police said.
On Wednesday morning, Limbaiah left the hospital and reached Katta
Maisamma temple in Lower Tank Bund area. “He handed over Rs.10,000 to
the priest and stayed in the vicinity of the temple. Sometime later, the
locals found him hanging to a pole adjacent to an electrical
transformer,” DCP Central Zone, V.B. Kamalasan Reddy said.
The police said that the incident is not a farm related suicide. “We are
trying to ascertain the reasons. Preliminary enquiries revealed that
Limbiah was depressed over his son’s failing health condition,” the
official added.
(The Hindu, Sept 10.9.2015)
(The Hindu, Sept 10.9.2015)
Yes, cities r turning into Monsters.
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