Waaris / Heir

A) This is not a song sung in Punjab folklore and my attempt to romanticize it.

B) I have not had any magical blessings whereby I have been selected for Coke Studio . I am not singing or posting a link to Youtube.

C) This is just a truthful story which happens everywhere around us .

I was born . I was born not for love. I was not born for any romantic reason , nor was it an interlude. I was created for just one reason . To be a waaris, a heir to property . India is a strange country, we might have reached the moon and back ,we have developed, manufactured missiles to target every city next door . India , is also one of those few countries which exist -co -exist in these trying inflationary times. We are also a country where wheat grows in surplus but will never be distributed rather we let nature have her way , let the rats have a field day .We also have scams unearthed every second, with a toilet one right now. We have politicians who wear white but have whiter than white reputations.  A crisp white linen kurta  translates into the credibility of the person. But we also are agnation so steeped in tradition , where property requires a heir to carry it on . Also there is a teaser in this , it has to be a male member.

In fact , this archaic law since the times of Manu is carrying on. generations have passed, we have come from Ice age to nano age and are progressing to no age know. 

In fact , it has given rise to a lucrative booming industry where by sex selection makes way for male gender only . Girls are ruthlessly killed just when the screen shows that its not the right sex. The ways to abort are brutal, and if the woman dies in the process, what difference does it make ? She , is replaceable , you see. Our society has in two words ,"lost it .'

Oh! back to me, I'm the narrator . My father was happily married to my bade mummy but due to reasons unknown ( advancement of science not enough in ways of mysterious body ) she never had any children. They were living happily and as is the case in majority of landed landlords , a dispute came up. Everywhere the story is the same; the story of the hinterland of India, Madhya Pradesh Bihar, Haryana , Punjab, Maha rashtra , Uttarakhand,  Rajasthan and all other fragmented states of UP . 

The heart beats only fro a male child. Well , my father was no less, he did what all men do. Simple silly , he got himself another wife. Wives are plenty , you see, a dime a dozen. There was never a problem , women are always bartered , sold as an exchange commodity since the Pharaohs. And who bothers about emotions ? No one, that is just a silly thing conceited by writers to sell their books.

 So my father got himself a middle aged wife ,a teacher who was docile  who had passed the marriage age and was teaching in an obscure village with life passing by.

My mother was catapulted into fame, notoriety for  being the other woman , for breaking a marriage, for spoiling bade mummy's life . She was the harlot but if you could find another gentler woman , well tell me. I was born after umpteenth try ,  a loveless clinical try  battling against the human body's failings , even the machinery gets old . A man thinks that he is infallible , cannot err or nothing can come in his way . 

 I was born nine months hence, a clock work but they forgot that all things are not in the hands of Man kind, the big guy also has his humorous side. I was a girl , a tiny sickly thing , nurtured and cared for but not a waaris to all the property , the land.

The question was the same, back to square one . My father dies, a month later . I am a mere babe , a member amongst the other two women . Are we three's a company or a crowd?

Why was I given birth ? I am still not accepted as a waaris by this society which is a double standard , hypocritical mammoth where we need women to procreate but are not willing to accord status to Her.

Can we all meet and discuss my identity or  wajood why I am here on this planet, eighteen years hence? It so happens that this feudalistic , old fashioned male dominated society will not let me live anyway . Well meaning uncles or cousins will pop out of the woodwork to steer this poor unfortunate family who need a man's guidance so that the society will not point fingers. 

If , I'm alive , it's a date .