A Life Story
I started thinking—should I wait another hour, then go get water from there? When would I cook? And when would I get to eat? I was hungry. When there’s nothing in my stomach, I get irritable. I get angry.One man stopped his vehicle and said, “Brother, your kids are out on the road shouting.”Hearing that, … Read more
In the morning, I didn’t even know that the electricity schedule had changed. The water we had filled the previous day ran out by the time it was time for morning tea. There was no water left for cooking or drinking. When I asked my husband, he said, “Yesterday, the power was only available until … Read more
I came home from the fields crying. The kids were playing on the porch. Seeing them, I wiped away my tears.My true weakness is my two children. I love them deeply. All of my husband’s mistakes, injustices, cruelty, the pain I endured — I bore it all only for the sake of my children.And my … Read more
What is the worst thing for any woman? When a stranger insults her in front of her husband, among four others, and the husband just stands silently watching. For that woman, having a husband is of no use at all. I used to call him Mangu Bhaiya. Since he was my husband’s brother-in-law, he was … Read more
He went to the field after giving sour water to the buffalo. Anger and thoughts filled my mind. My heart was upset. So what if we were hired labor? They too needed people, right? The sugarcane fields had patches drying up due to lack of water. The pomegranate orchard remained as it was without any … Read more
Aunt took the tea and left for the fields. “Put sour water in the buffalo’s trough and come back quickly; by the time the women arrive, a good amount of maize should be harvested.” As soon as she left, I asked my husband, “So now will you call him the owner?” He replied, “Since we … Read more
Actually, there is a way to speak respectfully and politely to the children of one’s sister-in-law, whether nephew or niece. Even now, I address the children of my own sisters, cousins, and sister-in-laws as “aaho jao” (a respectful way of saying ‘come here’). But of course, I don’t nag them. Even their aunt (mami) spoke … Read more
After surveying the entire area, the three of them returned by afternoon. The eight-acre land was not all in one place. There was sugarcane in front of the house, a pomegranate orchard half a kilometer away, and a well near the river about one kilometer from there, with a small patch of land as well. … Read more
After a little while, his aunt and sister-in-law came with a buffalo. There was a cattle shed behind the house. They tied the buffalo there, and the aunt said, “Brother, this is good! Let’s see if the buffalo recognizes you while being milked.” The buffalo was old and elderly. It had been there since my … Read more
We ate the food we had brought with us and slept outside on the veranda. In the morning, that elderly woman came to wake us up, carrying a pot in her hand. She asked me, “Do you have any flour for flatbread (bhakri)?” Half-asleep, I said “Yes” and sat up in bed. She was staring … Read more