Our Mindset Episode 16
The corn was sold. After that, for two days, Mami didn’t come to the fields. The entire fallow land was being plowed. Only Mangu came morning and evening to collect milk. I thought maybe she wasn’t coming because there was no work left.
On the third day, Mami arrived in her son-in-law’s four-wheeler. With her, she brought two goats, a puppy, two hens, some eggs, and a small coop for the hens to nest. She had even chosen hens that would start laying eggs immediately.
In just five minutes, the yard was packed. The goats were bleating in their new surroundings, the hens were clucking in confusion, and the puppy was barking at everyone. What was happening? I never imagined Mami would take things this seriously. My mind went numb. What kind of woman was she? She had clearly decided not to let me live in peace. If I managed to settle here, I wouldn’t leave—so she left for her daughter’s place for two days, gathered everything, and came back with a plan.
She told me, “You bring fodder from our field for your goat, don’t you? Then make sure to share it with my two goats as well. And when you give your goat water, place the same bucket in front of my goats too.”
She explained everything so well. I was amazed at her way of thinking—she wouldn’t let me get anything for free. Every single thing had to have a price.
She stayed until evening. She made me set up the hen’s nesting area myself. My husband milked the buffalo. Mami filled the kettle and poured the leftover milk into the puppy’s bowl. It was a good breed, and as soon as it arrived, it took over the house. Where we once placed a cot to sit on the porch, she tied the puppy to one of its legs. She even gave it a name—Bobby.
That day, Mami gave me the biggest shock of my life. I remembered what my brother-in-law used to say: “An uncle is ours, but an aunt is never ours.”
Even after our wedding, my husband would frequently visit his uncle’s home and stay for four or five days. Whenever he returned, my brother-in-law would scold him.
“Why do you keep going there? It was fine when Uncle was alive.” He would always warn him, “Remember, an uncle is ours, but an aunt is never ours.”
That day, I finally understood what he meant. From then on, Mami didn’t even give me enough milk for a cup of tea. She would pour all the leftover milk into the dog’s bowl. Yet, she still expected me to make tea twice a day. She’d say, “Make black tea; it’s better for your health.”
Back home, I imagined my grandmother staring at a full pot of milk, while here, in just two days, milk had become scarce. Mami justified it by saying, “The house has tiled flooring, so there’s no hassle of sweeping. But outside, the dog will make a mess, and inside, the goats have to stay because of the wolves.”
That’s why the goats had to be kept indoors. Meanwhile, I had only just started considering getting some hens, and before I could act, Mami had already brought hers.
What kind of fate was this? It felt like we had come here just to manage Mami’s household instead of building our own. How was I supposed to survive? The thought left me disheartened.
The worst part was that my children’s milk had been taken away. I used to give Praveen a small cup of milk every morning and evening. What was the point of staying here? We worked for seventy rupees a day, yet we had nothing of our own. That night, I couldn’t sleep, lost in thought.