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Humor / Satire
The Hari Putar Dialogues � 26
by
Rajesh Talwar
(The
Tribune, Oct 6: Jammu. (PTI) A woman today chopped off the ear of her
husband after a family feud. The incident occurred in the outskirts of
Jammu city, police sources said. They said Mohinder Singh and Jasvinder
Kaur clashed over some family matters and in a fit of rage the woman
took out a dagger and chopped off the ear of her husband. Neighbors
after hearing cries rushed injured Singh to Government Medical College
(GMC) hospital, they said adding that a case has been registered against
the woman who fled the scene.)
Putar::
According to a report in the Tribune today a woman today chopped off the
ear of her husband after a family feud.
Hari: That�s an unusual report. It�s normally the husbands who are
reported in the news for having assaulted their wives.
Putar:: That�s true. I guess the times are changing. Now woman are not
willing to take things lying down any more.
Hari: On the other hand such violence cannot be justified.
Putar:: Perhaps there was grave and sudden provocation by the husband.
Hari: Whatever the husband might have said, nothing justifies a violent
act of this nature, by the wife or by the husband.
Putar:: Under criminal law judges are more lenient if they are convinced
that a person acted suddenly under strong provocation. The law is
harsher in the case of violent crimes that have been committed in a
premeditated manner.
Hari: That may be true. However she did not react completely without
premeditation. She targeted his ear, so she had sense enough not to aim
the dagger at a more vital spot. Would not that involve some element of
premeditation?
Putar:: Maybe the ear was chopped off by mistake.
Hari: But having chopped off his ear, she did not immediately repent and
think of taking him to hospital.
Putar:: Perhaps she did, but the husband was in a rage and having
chopped off his ear she may have feared for her own safety.
Hari: It is understandable if the husband was in a rage. Also, he was in
great pain. It was his screams that brought the neighbors to his house,
and it was they who took him to the government hospital.
Putar:: That is true. It�s odd though how the ear is a special target
for both love and hate.
Hari: What do you mean?
Putar:: There is a story about the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh. He
was once with a woman who said she loved his ears and wanted to have
them, and so he took out a knife and cut off an ear. The woman ran away
screaming.
Hari: Creative geniuses are sometimes a bit crazy, I guess.
Putar:: Although some historians say that he did not cut off his entire
ear but only a part of his ear lobe.
Hari: That�s bad enough.
Putar:: Well, this is a lesson for husbands not to fight with their
wives in the vicinity of the kitchen.
Hari: In this case though the report quotes her as having used a dagger.
Putar:: She may have used her husband�s ceremonial dagger, or even his
kirpan. But for other wives, it is the kitchen knives that they will
think of. Do you think that she will be arrested?
Hari: That will probably happen, Putar:
Putar:: What is the husband decides to forgive her?
Hari: I think that if it�s a case of simple hurt, like a slap or a
simple hit, the victim can forgive the person who inflicted the hurt,
but in the case of grievous hurt, it will be a police case even if the
husband does not want to press charges. She knows she may be arrested
and that�s why she�s run away.
Putar:: This would certainly fall within the category of grievous hurt.
Hari: And it is an assault for which she should certainly receive a
sentence in jail, as the judge thinks appropriate.
Putar:: I don�t disagree with you, but I have a question, Papaji.
Hari: Bol, Putar?
Putar:: I don�t think this was a consciously premeditated act, but I
accept that there may have been some premeditation at a subconscious
level.
Hari: I�m not sure that I understand you, Putar:
Putar:: Instead of chopping of an ear, if she just wanted to punish him,
the wife could have chopped off one of his fingers.
Hari: How would that have been any different?
Putar:: It would possibly have been less painful and also less harmful
in the long run.
Hari: That is true, Putar:
Putar:: But it was his ears that really angered her � and so she wanted
to punish them.
Hari: Why is that?
Putar:: They were having an argument remember, and she was angry with
her husband because he was not listening to what she was saying.
HARI; And so?
Putar:: And so she said to herself, well if you�re not going to listen
to me, of what use are your stupid ears? Let me chop off your ear to
teach you a lesson to hear what I�m saying the next time.
Hari: But if she chops off his ears how will he listen to her?
Putar:: She chopped off only one as a warning for him to remember to use
the other ear to listen with the next time they had an argument.
Hari: A fine warning indeed! This is not really a laughing matter.
Putar:: I agree, Papaji. What I�m saying is that she wasn�t
thinking rationally in that state of anger, and these may have been her
crazed, subconscious thoughts. Do you think that�s possible?
Hari: I don�t know, Putar:
October 12, 2008
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