SUMMARY-THE EPILEPTIC

This poem presents a scene where a lady gets the fits of epilepsy when she goes out with her children and her husband.

People come around there with their suggestions. They fan her. Some people utter unwarranted and reckless comments that would embarrass her. She is lying there in the streets. Her husband put a gag between her teeth.

Meanwhile the traffic came to a halt. People did whatever they can do to her body so that she can regain her senses. On the other hand she was deprived of her privacy. It was embarrassing for the family to witness all this and stay helpless.

Her head jerked from side to side. Water bubbled out as froth from her lips.

Doctors in the hospital said it was psychomotor epilepsy. They prescribed some tablets. Suddenly she regained consciousness as her husband was shaking her.

The poet says that she is raped by the public gaze. The way she was treated by the public is akin to raping her. Because her modesty or privacy have been invaded by the people.

It is a scene which occurs in our day to day life. One can witness this kind of scenes in any city in India. The poet converts this day to day happening into a poem with a sense of keen observation.