The story of Labbho Daei Part 2
New arrivals
Labho Daei soon gave birth to her first son. She was so happy to see that the son had taken his colour from her and her husband and not from other ancestors in the family. The boy had the colour of sweet wheat and was named ‘Hans’ meaning a swan. After spending 40 days in a a drak room with the new born (on order of Maa waadi and as was the custom in those days), she was allowed to come in the open sun. Jijo Bai, the mid wife who had come to deliver the baby revisited her after 40 days. Jijjo Bai had come this time with her old mother, who picked up little Hans and said to Labho, “Do you know Labho, I have delivered your husband with my hands, as I have others in you family and now my daughter Jijjo will be delivering your children. There is a strong bond between our families. Although, I am a Muslim and you are a ‘Phawrah’, I have delivered all of them and feel the same affinity towards them as I feel towards my own children.”.
Maa Waadi came out and greeted Jijjo and her mother with great respect, the respect that is given to a memebr of the family and not to a lower status worker. She asked Nayyala to get Rupees 51 from inside and gave the money to Jijjo’s mother. Labho was surprised that there was no fuss at all on this financial transaction. She had seen that no financial transcation had ever completed in Pasrur without the two sides haggling over it, without the receiving party calling upon the generosity of the Choudhry’s and without the Choudhry’s lementing that they are giving to much away. Jijjo’s mother accepted the money and not once did she argu about it being too little and niether Maa Waadi said she had given too much. Labho realized that Jijjo Bai was special and had to be dealt with far more respect and gratitude than is due to any other common worker. Maa Waadi then asked Naayyala to get one bag of rice and one bag of wheat and arrange for it to be transported to Jijjo Bai’s house. Maa Waadi could not help talk about her generosity and told Jijjo that I hope, every time you deliver a baby from Labho, you produce sons like you do for my other daughter-in-law, wife of Kishan Chand.
To be continued ……..