Floods wash away widow’s dream to marry off her daughter too

Kanwaljit Kaur, a widow and mother of three, has been spending sleepless nights for the past month — staring blankly at what once was her only source of livelihood: A one-acre field, now submerged and ruined.

As the floodwaters recede at Baupur village in Kapurthala, these leave behind more than just broken homes, waterlogged fields, shattered hopes and unanswered prayers.

Kanwaljit had been quietly preparing for her daughter’s wedding, scheduled for January, to a man from a village in Tarn Taran. But the floods washed away not only her crops, but her dreams as well.

Her voice breaks as she speaks:

“Hun mainu kuch nai milna. How will I marry off my daughter when I have no money in hand?”

(“Now I will get nothing. How will I marry off my daughter when I have no money in hand?”)

After the untimely death of her husband, Hardyal Singh, in 2022 due to multiple health complications, Kanwaljit was left struggling. Their four acres of land were completely destroyed during 2023 floods. With the help of good samaritans, she was able to restore just two acres.

However, she had no choice but to lease out one of the two acres.

The income from the field was barely enough to support her family — an 18-year-old daughter and two younger children, both aged 12 — whom she has been raising single-handedly.

“Acre toh paise aa jaande te chaah paani pila lendi ladke vaaleya nu changi tarike naal. Par hun oh nahi hona,” she says, wiping her tears.

(“Had the crops come through, I could have served the groom’s family with dignity. But now, that won’t happen.”)

She confesses that she hasn’t bought a single item for her daughter’s wedding yet.

“I am feeling very low,” she says, her voice barely a whisper.

In her desperate efforts to save her husband’s life, she had taken several loans — clinging to the hope that things would eventually turn around. The land was her only hope.

Her story is just one among several in Baupur, where families are clinging to what little they have left — if anything at all. For Kanwaljit, it’s not just about land or money; it’s about a mother’s longing to see her daughter begin a new life with dignity.