Another girl child, fate same : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Another girl child, fate same

As I woke up from soothing sleep, I found myself wrapped in a velvety piece of cloth. Having opened my eyes, I did not see that multicoloured ceiling. Instead, it was some azure vast space with foamy shapes of white hues. The place was new and scary.

Another girl child, fate same


Raj Kumari

As I woke up from soothing sleep, I found myself wrapped in a velvety piece of cloth. Having opened my eyes, I did not see that multicoloured ceiling. Instead, it was some azure vast space with foamy shapes of white hues. The place was new and scary. I was observing some changes in my bed also. The bed seemed to have shrunk in size. Much to my confusion, it would intermittently have some swinging motions with the blow of cold winds. Though I was muffled up in cloth, my legs were shivering with cold. While playing in the new bed, I had pulled my legs out. Seeing that familiar face not around me, I got more terrified. Before this that woman never left me alone. Every time I would cling to her bosom. The warmth of her lap, the comfort was missing. 

Some strange noises had begun to pierce my ears. Unlike the melodious lullaby of that woman, these noises were a source of much discomfort. As I turned my side, my fear mounted. Those decorated walls had also disappeared. The next few moments, I kept tossing in that box-like bed. By now my stomach had begun to rumble. Pangs of hunger made me cry. I desperately twisted my whole being and rotated my eyes in search of the woman who would feed me. She was nowhere in sight. I began to scream. With increasing appetite, my body became numb and sweaty. The occasional blow of wind gave a slight push to my bed. The noise of the moving machines got lost in my shrieks. Soon another hunger pang brought me back to the present moment. My screams had got loud enough to draw the attention of some passersby. Strange faces thronged me with strange gazes. They were talking something.  Among the many faces, I desperately searched for the face that would lie by my side, bathe me with warm water, sing me to restful sleep and hug me a thousand times a day. But in that swelling crowd, she was missing. When I could no more bear my hunger, a woman started rocking my bed with a string tied to it. Strange! My bed was rocking! 

A new passerby would join every now and then. But the face I knew was only in my imagination now. Finding me convulsing, someone fetched water. Another woman lifted me up from the bed and took me in her arms. She moistened my lips with some water. Momentarily, I felt some respite, but it was not the warmth I was accustomed to. 

In the meanwhile, four men arrived in a big white machine, they had a woman with them, too, but not the one I was looking for. The passersby handed me over to a woman. One of them made a phone call to someone: ‘Sir, aaj koi fir ek ladki ko jhulay mein chhor gaya hai’(Someone has again abandoned a female infant in our cradle). 

Confused and tired, I fell asleep.

Top News

High alert across Uttar Pradesh after gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's death

High alert across Uttar Pradesh after gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's death

Umar Ansari alleged that his father was subjected to slow po...

Mukhtar Ansari was subjected to slow poisoning in jail: Son

Mukhtar Ansari was subjected to slow poisoning in jail: Son

Ansari's post-mortem to be conducted in UP by panel of five ...

PM Modi in conversation with Bill Gates, says India has democratised technology, aims to end digital divide

PM Modi, in conversation with Bill Gates, says India has democratised technology, aims to end digital divide

Says tech can play big role in agriculture, education, healt...

10 killed as SUV falls into gorge in J-K’s Ramban

10 people killed after SUV falls into gorge in J-K’s Ramban

The vehicle, a Tavera, was on its way from Srinagar to Jammu


Cities

View All