South Delhi Murder
by Tabish Khair
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Set in an affluent, gated colony of Delhi, this narrative poem explores a brutal crime that goes unnoticed for days and exposes urban loneliness and class prejudice. A neighbour ('she') notices red liquid leaking from under an elderly couple's front door, but for three days casually dismisses it as spilled red ink or nail polish; only when a 'scab of flies' gathers, buzzing loudly, does she call the police. They discover the elderly couple has been brutally murdered, and the officer immediately reveals his class and regional prejudice, asking 'Nepali boy, no? Bihari Chokkra?', automatically blaming poor migrant servants. An inventory shows valuable silver, jewellery and Banarasi saris stolen while a modern laptop was left behind, which the officer mocks as the killer's ignorance. The poem ends with the clinical capture of the killer, a young Bihari migrant boy named Shyam, in his remote village, holding only fifty rupees and a simple sari bought as a gift for his poor mother, exposing the loneliness of the wealthy elderly, the desperation of migrants and the prejudices of urban society.
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Tabish Khair (b. 1966), a Bihar-born poet and novelist, sets this narrative poem in an affluent, gated colony of Delhi. Through a single murder, it exposes urban loneliness, the gulf between rich and poor, and deep-seated class and regional prejudice.
The discovery of the urban crime
The narrator describes how a neighbour ('she') noticed red liquid leaking from under the front door of an elderly couple's flat. For three days she casually dismissed it as spilled red ink or nail polish.
It is only when a 'scab of flies' gathers at the door, buzzing loudly, that she realises something is terribly wrong and calls the police.
Prejudice and the class divide
The police arrive and discover that the elderly couple has been brutally murdered. The officer immediately reveals his class and regional prejudice, asking: 'Nepali boy, no? Bihari Chokkra?', automatically blaming the poor migrant servants.
An inventory of the flat reveals that while valuable silver, jewellery and Banarasi saris were stolen, a modern laptop was left behind. The officer scoffs at this, mocking the killer's ignorance.
The tragic capture of Shyam
The poem ends with the clinical capture of the killer, a young Bihari migrant boy named Shyam, seized by the police in his remote village.
When searched, the police find him holding only fifty rupees and a simple sari he bought as a gift for his poor mother. Khair uses this grim narrative to expose the loneliness of wealthy elderly people in big cities, the desperation of impoverished migrants, and the deep-seated prejudices of modern urban society.