☛ Creative Flight is going to celebrate Indian Literature in its first special issue (January, 2025), vol. 6, no. 1. The last date of article submission is 31/12/2024.

VIKAS THE BUTCHER - K V Dominic (India)



VIKAS THE BUTCHER

-         K V Dominic (India)

Vikas is a slaughterer living with his family in a village in Haryana State, India. He kills goats and sells meat to maintain his family. In front of his house is the shop where he sells meat. It is a hereditary profession done by his father and grandfather. Vikas has his wife Pooja and two daughters Priya and Ritu studying in 10th and 8th standards in a government school not far away from their house.

 Vikas’ parents taught him till 10th class and wanted to save their son from their family profession and get an employment in some government offices or private factories. But since unemployment is a major concern in the country Vikas was compelled to follow his father’s footprint to sustain his family. His father died of heart failure when Vikas was only 20. Thus the responsibility of looking after his mother and two younger sisters fell on his shoulder. Vikas is now 45 and he married Priya when he was only 29. He somehow managed to make sufficient money from the slaughter business and married off his sisters. His mother is living with him.

Since there aren’t any slaughter shops in the village Vikas could make a large income from the business. He has a good bank balance which he reserves for the higher education of his daughters and their marriages. To be honest, Vikas doesn’t like his profession. In fact he is not a hard hearted man to see a goat’s throat cut and bleeds. The killing process is done by his assistants and he will hide himself in the shop when the butcher process takes place in the shed attached to it. He will even shut his ears to avoid the death cry of the goats. He could never eat the meat of goats that were killed in his shop. He is a vegetarian and so are his family members. The bleats of the goats agonised his family members a lot. One evening when the family members sat for their supper there was a discussion regarding this:

Pooja: “Dear hubby, why don’t you stop this horrible job? We have sufficient money in the bank to meet our daily expenses. Moreover, if you can’t sit idle you can work in our agricultural land behind our house.  That way we can earn some income. We can save the money given to the farm labourers.”

Priya: “Yes dad, it bleeds my heart when I hear the death cry of the goats. Moreover, some of my classmates annoy me calling me butcher’s daughter. Other students’ fathers do honourable jobs and they are happy. Kindly stop this atrocious business, dear dad.”

Ritu: “I too am laughed at by some classmates calling me butcher’s daughter. I feel like crying when I hear the bleats of the goats. We shall stop this abominable butcher, dear dad.”

Mother: “Dear son, there is sense in what they say. This butcher job is never a pleasant work. Out of necessity only our family had to continue this despicable job. Now that we have other source to live, we shall stop it and redeem respect to our family.”

Vikas: “I can understand your feelings. I shall think of stopping this profession by next year. As you know, though odious, this job gives us good income every day. For the marriage our daughters we need to save large amount. They are to be sent to rich families where they will be no deficiencies of anything. Kindly bear till the end of this year. You need to tolerate only six more months.” All were happy hearing the decision of Vikas. 

The next day when a large buck was going to be killed, it somehow saved its life from the knife and dashed to the road in front of the shop. Vikas and the assistants ran after it. Suddenly a truck passed though the road and hit Vikas who fell unconscious with head bleeding. The goat had already crossed the road and ran away. The truck stopped immediately and the driver and the assistants took Vikas to the government hospital in the town. Vikas was admitted to the ICU. Under the check-up and scanning it was found that there was not any damage to the brain except a deep wound on the right side of the head. Vikas’ consciousness was regained after an hour. Meanwhile his wife and children came in a taxi car to the hospital bursting out in tears. The doctor told them that the injury was a minor one and there was nothing to be worried of. Vikas had to stay in the hospital for two days.

Vikas couldn’t sleep well in the nights. He was haunted by terrible nightmares. The goats he had butchered swarmed around him bleating loudly. It seemed to him that they were all cursing him telling that this accident was a punishment for killing them mercilessly. Many a times he cried aloud in the sleep and the nurse who attended him asked what had happened. He said that it was a bad dream. The nurse asked him to pray to God to grant him good sleep.

Vikas was discharged from the hospital on the third day. He was found very sullen and dispirited. Though the injury part of the head was bandaged he had no pain of it. His mother, wife and children tried to make him happy.

Mother: “Dear Vikas, we have to thank God for saving your life. Are you worried about the goat lost?”

Vikas: “No, mama. I am not at all worried about the goat that was lost. Rather I am relieved now that it had not been killed by the truck.”

Pooja: “Then why are you so moody and sad?”

Vikas: “I have lost all peace of mind. I am not able to sleep at all. When sleep descends on me, those goats I had butchered appear to me in nightmare and start cursing me. Startling, I get up with shrieks. I have decided to do some penance for my crimes against those animals. Kindly allow me to give up this butcher business and serve free as an assistant in a gaushala (cow shelter) in the neighbouring village. If the management permits I will serve the cows there during the day time and return in the evening to spend with you in the night. I want to do this service for minimum two years and I believe that this service will wash away the sins I have committed.

Priya: “Excellent decision dear dad! The Buddha teaches us that living animals could be our relatives, mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, children, friends in our past rebirths. Thus torturing, killing, eating animals is like doing that to our own family and kith and kin. Dad, you have done a lot of crimes by killing innocent goats and you have to repent and do penance for it, or you won’t get salvation as the Buddha says.”

 Pooja: “There is much sense in what Priya says. I too think that all other beings on earth have equal right to live here as humans and we have no right to kill them unless they are threats to our existence. As your conscience requests, kindly serve in the gaushala, dear hus. Fortunately we have sufficient money in the bank to meet our daily expenses. Kindly stop the butcher job for ever. Give some money to your assistants. Let them find some job and live.”

Mother: “I give you full consent, dear son. Go and serve the poor creatures and thus save your soul from damnation.”

Vikas: “I am very happy now. I had the apprehension that you all would object to my decision. Tomorrow itself I will visit the gaushala and seek permission to serve them.”

Accordingly Vikas visited the gaushala the next day. It is about ten kilometers from his house. The manager of the cow shelter was excited to hear about the decision of Vikas to do voluntary service to their shelter. Thus Vikas started his service there on that day itself. He could sleep well in his house with sweet dreams.     

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