Farewell, Aruna.

I don't exactly remember when I first heard about Aruna Shanbhag. Perhaps, during 1999-2000, when I was in school and a serial titled 'Alpviram' first aired on TV. It was said to be inspired from Aruna's case and I still remember flashes from the serial. Pallavi Joshi's lifeless body with open eyes, lying on a bed in a dim room, with an overhead hanging bulb is still very fresh in my mind. Those were not the internet and google times, hence information was only available through newspapers, books and TV. I clearly remember writing about Aruna in a school essay. My words were sharp and when portions from it were read in front of the school after I won a prize for it, all I felt then was anger and sadness. It was a young age. That's when I became aware about Violence against Women & Rights of Women. My brush with the real world started with Aruna's story. I was too young to understand legal or medical proceedings, but developed a soft corner for a woman who was lying on bed in a vegetative state then for 25 years.

She was mentioned rarely in newspapers. The last time she was discussed widely was for a petition filed for Euthanasia on her behalf by a writer, Pinky Virani. I had read Aruna's story in marathi. And, even while reading, the anger and emotional turmoil felt so big and unrestrained. It  felt like a huge burden in my heart. I did not understand then how her perpetrator got away with a minimum punishment. What was Aruna's story? Nobody knew. She lost her life, her dreams, her loved ones. Women are the ones who always bear the brunt of violence and pay for it with their lives. I only wish nothing like this happens again with any woman ever. Nobody should go through the hell that Aruna had to. She will be remembered like all other women who fell prey to the evil born and nurtured within our society.