Today is the death anniversary of Khudiram Bose ------- this is a dedication to Khudiram Bose, written by my son, Uday Vikram. He’s a student of grade 10, and a passionate admirer of the philosophy espoused by revolutionary freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh and Khudiram Bose.
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude
Lively as they say he was
A sharp and hungry mind
Troubled with the thought he was
Of enslavement of our kind
Orphaned at the age of six
But Bose had no regrets
The mother whose love he so relished
Was clearly under threat
Vande Matram, he screamed
A young boy of fifteen
Vande Matram, he screamed
Calling out to a nation asleep
A call that shook the tyrants
A millions laathis fell
But it took a lot more than violence
To have her sons quelled
Vande Matram in the town
The streets it did fill
Young boys scuffled around
Distributing hand bills
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude
In Medinipur, 103 years ago
Assembled a crowd of youths
Cast they maddened looks around
But the air was free of hoots
No hues, no shouts
The morning lay in peace
But in came, to drive them out,
Goons of the police
Blood stained the court of guns
Merciless, the laathis came
But up stepped a loyal son
Sushil Kumar was his name
He snatched the weapon from the brute
A boy not older than me
The coward trembled in his boots
While the crowd cheered in glee
He beat the scoundrel black and blue
Before his screams were heard
But our young hero was captured too
And produced before Kingsford
With each stroke of the whip he yelped
But not for help or for himself
Vande Matram, he cried
After each blow was dealt
And to everyone who shed a tear of pride
The fire so fierce had not yet died
For now each drop of teenage blood
Was building up a freedom flood
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude
Kingsford feared his death was near
To Muzaffarpur he fled
But to the sons the aim was clear
Sushil must be avenged
Summer’s April 1908
The Jugantar leaders met
Chose they Bose and his mate
To reap the creeper’s death
Prafulla Chaki was chosen too
To repay our beloved mother
Whom they both were loyal to
And thus set out the brothers
The bombs and guns coincidental
To free the mother they both strove
Where only the eyes and heart proved essential
To find the path they roved
Bihar, the home of countless legends
Had given birth to yet another one
With teeming talks of Marx and Lenin
But his mind was ruled by none
Ninth grade, when he first rose
To the service of his mother
And then the anger just explodes
And conquers like no other
A sense of wrong and right
Was all that was required
To bring them all to fight
And leave generations inspired
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude
The duo reached the town
With no shoes on their feet
After days of following Kingsford around
They planned an ambush on the street
Around 8.30 as planned,
The judge’s carriage was spotted
They bombed it and ran
They thought they had got it
But Alas! What a disaster!
The carriage contained not the judge
But the wife of a barrister
Who with her daughter was struck
They both ran in different directions
25 miles of running
Before Bose stopped at Veni Station
A sight quite stunning
Clothes unkempt, bare mud -caked feet
And at once police became suspicious
Grabbed him from behind, the cheats
But not against his wishes
Grinned he mysteriously
As the traitors bashed him around
The pistols flew out of his pocket
And Vande Matram out of his mouth
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude
Meanwhile, Chaki received some help
A civil servant with regrets
Felt it his duty to treat him well
Gave him shelter, did his best
Mokamghat station
Chaki was discovered
And with no hesitation
He uttered a salute to the mother
And shot himself dead
The English stood in consternation
But they did cut off his head
And sent it home for confirmation
A pity he died among knaves
A great warrior and son
But if we can produce someone even half as brave
The battle is already won
Bose appeared before court
Death was to be his fate
And on the train of martyrdom he climbed aboard
11th August 1908
He smiled as they marched him to his death
What a grievous loss!
But while lived he fought with every breath
And so should you with yours
Have you heard of Khudiram Bose?
He sure has heard of you
Gave up his life with no remorse
To end your servitude.
© Uday Vikram Singh, 2010
