{"id":1895,"date":"2015-12-15T11:48:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T19:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=1895"},"modified":"2015-12-15T12:24:35","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T20:24:35","slug":"this-happens-in-india","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/?page_id=1895","title":{"rendered":"This Happens in India"},"content":{"rendered":"

These Narratives
\n<\/span>\"This<\/a>are of the women who suffered abuse\u00a0at the hands of their relatives. Originally jotted down by Dr. Harshinder Kaur in Punjabi they\u00a0were later edited and rewritten in English by me. The bilingual book was designed and published beautifully by the Singh Brothers, Amritsar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Women of Punjab share their pains with Dr. Harshinder Kaur. They phone, they write, they visit her in person. Harshinder also goes to visit them. There could be some villages where Harshinder may not have gone but there\u2019re many where she and her husband Dr. Gurpal Singh have gone more than once. Women who die before she reaches them leave their tears for Harshinder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stories in this book are written in these tears.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last time we (Navtej Bharati, Gurdev Chauhan and I) went for lunch at her house in Patiala. She and Gurpal inundated us with the sufferings of Punjabi women. We suggested she write these stories. But time? The room downstairs was full of women before we left.
\n<\/span>These stories are the stories of the womb of Punjab. Punjabis stab the womb from which they take birth. They feel ashamed before the world but continue stabbing the womb even deeper. What would you do with such people? They go blind when they thrust the knife. Maybe these stories will show them the blood of their daughters and\u00a0 sisters still dripping from their knives.<\/span><\/p>\n

– Ajmer Rode<\/span><\/p>\n

Stories<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a32\u0a15\u0a36\u0a2e\u0a40<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a3e \u0a28\u0a3e\u0a2e \u0a32\u0a15\u0a36\u0a2e\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a24\u0a32\u0a3e\u0a28\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964
\n\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 95 \u0a38\u0a3e\u0a32 \u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a02\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a2e\u0a41\u0a70\u0a2c\u0a08 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a05\u0a70\u0a2c\u0a4b\u0a32\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a40 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a2c\u0a32\u0a48\u0a38\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a17 \u0a38\u0a41\u0a38\u0a3e\u0a07\u0a1f\u0a40 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a30\u0a39\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a02,
\n<\/span>\u0a06\u0a2a\u0a23\u0a40 58 \u0a38\u0a3e\u0a32 \u0a26\u0a40 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a2a\u0a3e\u0a30\u0a35\u0a24\u0a40 \u0a28\u0a3e\u0a32\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a07\u0a39 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a28\u0a47\u0a24\u0a30\u0a39\u0a40\u0a28 \u0a39\u0a48 \u0a24\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a26\u0a41\u0a30\u0a15\u0a3e\u0a30\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a30\u0a39\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a3e \u0a39\u0a4b\u0a30 \u0a15\u0a4b\u0a08 \u0a1a\u0a3e\u0a30\u0a3e \u0a28\u0a39\u0a40\u0a02\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a38\u0a3e\u0a30\u0a3e \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a28 \u0a2c\u0a3e\u0a39\u0a30 \u0a2c\u0a30\u0a3e\u0a02\u0a21\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a2a\u0a08 \u0a30\u0a39\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a02\u0964
\n\u0a06\u0a02\u0a22\u0a40 \u0a17\u0a35\u0a3e\u0a02\u0a22\u0a40 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a47 \u0a24\u0a47 \u0a24\u0a30\u0a38 \u0a15\u0a30\u0a15\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a47 \u0a09\u0a24\u0a47 \u0a1a\u0a3e\u0a26\u0a30 \u0a2a\u0a3e \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a39\u0a28
\n\u0a1c\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a18\u0a41\u0a71\u0a1f \u0a2a\u0a3e\u0a23\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a3e \u0a2a\u0a3f\u0a06 \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a39\u0a28\u0964
\n\u0a15\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a15\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a15\u0a41\u0a1d \u0a16\u0a3e\u0a23 \u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a35\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a47 \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a70\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a39\u0a28\u0964
\n\u0a1c\u0a26\u0a4b\u0a02 \u0a36\u0a3e\u0a2e \u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a35\u0a3e\u0a2a\u0a38 \u0a18\u0a30 \u0a2e\u0a41\u0a5c\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48 \u0a24\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a05\u0a70\u0a26\u0a30 \u0a32\u0a48 \u0a1c\u0a3e\u0a02\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a39\u0a41\u0a23 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a39\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a36\u0a3e \u0a32\u0a08 \u0a2c\u0a30\u0a3e\u0a02\u0a21\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a1b\u0a71\u0a21 \u0a15\u0a47 \u0a24\u0a41\u0a30 \u0a17\u0a08 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a07\u0a38 \u0a38\u0a2d \u0a24\u0a4b\u0a02 \u0a1b\u0a4b\u0a1f\u0a40 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a24\u0a4b\u0a02 \u0a07\u0a32\u0a3e\u0a35\u0a3e \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a47 6 \u0a39\u0a4b\u0a30 \u0a27\u0a40\u00a0 \u0a2a\u0a41\u0a71\u0a24\u0a30 \u0a39\u0a28
\n\u0a2a\u0a30 \u0a38\u0a2d \u0a06\u0a2a\u0a4b \u0a06\u0a2a\u0a23\u0a47 \u0a1f\u0a71\u0a2c\u0a30\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a17\u0a32\u0a24\u0a3e\u0a28 \u0a39\u0a28;
\n\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a47 \u0a24\u0a4b\u0a02 \u0a2a\u0a3f\u0a1b\u0a3e \u0a1b\u0a41\u0a21\u0a3e\u0a09\u0a23\u0a3e \u0a1a\u0a3e\u0a39\u0a41\u0a70\u0a26\u0a47 \u0a39\u0a28\u0964
\n\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a39\u0a41\u0a23 \u0a07\u0a15\u0a71\u0a32\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a02, \u0a05\u0a1c\u0a3f\u0a39\u0a47 \u0a26\u0a47\u0a38\u0a3c \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a1c\u0a3f\u0a25\u0a47 \u0a2c\u0a1c\u0a41\u0a30\u0a17\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a26\u0a40 \u0a38\u0a41\u0a30\u0a71\u0a16\u0a3f\u0a06 \u0a32\u0a08
\n\u0a38\u0a30\u0a15\u0a3e\u0a30 \u0a28\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a21\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a21\u0a47 \u0a15\u0a3e\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70\u0a28 \u0a2c\u0a23\u0a3e\u0a0f \u0a39\u0a4b\u0a0f \u0a39\u0a28\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a28\u0a47\u0a24\u0a30\u0a39\u0a40\u0a28 \u0a27\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a3e \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a32\u0a47 \u0a24\u0a71\u0a15 \u0a15\u0a4b\u0a08 \u0a05\u0a24\u0a3e \u0a2a\u0a24\u0a3e \u0a28\u0a39\u0a40\u0a02 \u0a32\u0a71\u0a17\u0a3f\u0a06,
\n<\/span>\u0a24\u0a47 \u0a28\u0a3e \u0a39\u0a40 \u0a15\u0a4b\u0a08 \u0a09\u0a38\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a32\u0a71\u0a2d\u0a23 \u0a26\u0a3e \u0a2f\u0a24\u0a28 \u0a15\u0a30 \u0a30\u0a3f\u0a39\u0a3e \u0a39\u0a48\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a38\u0a41\u0a23\u0a35\u0a3e\u0a08 \u0a15\u0a3f\u0a09\u0a02 \u0a28\u0a39\u0a40\u0a02 \u0a39\u0a4b \u0a30\u0a39\u0a40?
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a4c\u0a24 \u0a24\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a06\u0a32\u0a47 \u0a26\u0a35\u0a3e\u0a32\u0a47 \u0a2d\u0a3e\u0a09\u0a02\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a2b\u0a3f\u0a30\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964 \u0a36\u0a3e\u0a07\u0a26 \u0a09\u0a39 \u0a39\u0a40 \u0a38\u0a41\u0a23 \u0a32\u0a35\u0a47\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

Luxmi<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am Luxmi Datlani, a woman of 95 years.
\n<\/span>I live with 58-year old Parvati, she is my daughter
\n<\/span>living in Amboli\u2019s Merry Blessing Society in Mumbai.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parvati is blind, disdains me
\n<\/span>but I have no choice.
\n<\/span>I lie in veranda all day long.<\/span><\/p>\n

Occasionally
\n<\/span>a neighbour takes pity when I am cold
\n<\/span>and throws an old sheet over me.
\n<\/span>At times they give me water and something to eat.
\n<\/span>Parvati takes me inside
\n<\/span>when she returns home in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today Parvati is gone
\n<\/span>leaving me in the veranda, forever.
\n<\/span>She was my youngest daughter. I have six more.
\n<\/span>But they are busy with their families
\n<\/span>and want to get rid of me.
\n<\/span>I am all alone,
\n<\/span>in a country where they say the government
\n<\/span>\u00a0has made \u00a0\u2018great\u2019 laws for elders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing is known about my blind daughter,
\n<\/span>no one is trying to find her,
\n<\/span>I cry out loud. Every one has gone deaf.
\n<\/span>Death is around. Maybe she will listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a2a\u0a42\u0a1c\u0a3e<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a2a\u0a42\u0a1c\u0a3e \u0a39\u0a3e\u0a02\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a09\u0a2e\u0a30 \u0a2a\u0a70\u0a1c \u0a38\u0a3e\u0a32 \u0a26\u0a40 \u0a39\u0a48\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a36\u0a3e\u0a2e \u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a06\u0a2a\u0a23\u0a40 \u0a17\u0a41\u0a71\u0a21\u0a40 \u0a28\u0a3e\u0a32 \u0a16\u0a47\u0a21\u0a23 \u0a32\u0a08 \u0a2c\u0a30\u0a3e\u0a02\u0a21\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a3f\u0a1a \u0a28\u0a3f\u0a15\u0a32\u0a40
\n<\/span>\u0a24\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a17\u0a41\u0a06\u0a02\u0a22 \u0a26\u0a3e \u0a38\u0a4b\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a06\u0a2a\u0a23\u0a47 \u0a26\u0a4b\u0a38\u0a24 \u0a28\u0a3e\u0a32 \u0a06\u0a07\u0a06 \u0a24\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a47 \u0a15\u0a71\u0a2a\u0a5c\u0a47 \u0a2a\u0a3e\u0a5c \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a24\u0a47
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a06\u0a2a\u0a23\u0a47 \u0a25\u0a71\u0a32\u0a47 \u0a38\u0a41\u0a71\u0a1f \u0a32\u0a3f\u0a06 \u0a24\u0a47 \u0a2d\u0a48\u0a5c\u0a3e \u0a15\u0a70\u0a2e \u0a15\u0a40\u0a24\u0a3e<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a30\u0a4c\u0a32\u0a3e \u0a2a\u0a3e\u0a09\u0a23\u0a3e \u0a1a\u0a3e\u0a39\u0a3f\u0a06 \u0a24\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a09\u0a38\u0a28\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a3e \u0a17\u0a32\u0a3e \u0a18\u0a41\u0a71\u0a1f \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a24\u0a3e
\n<\/span>\u0a24\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a28\u0a42\u0a70 \u0a05\u0a27\u0a2e\u0a4b\u0a08 \u0a1b\u0a71\u0a21 \u0a15\u0a47 \u0a1a\u0a32\u0a3e \u0a17\u0a3f\u0a06\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a09\u0a38\u0a28\u0a47 \u0a2e\u0a47\u0a30\u0a40 \u0a17\u0a41\u0a21\u0a40 \u0a26\u0a47 \u0a35\u0a40 \u0a1a\u0a40\u0a25\u0a5c\u0a47 \u0a09\u0a21\u0a3e \u0a26\u0a3f\u0a24\u0a47\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a32\u0a39\u0a42 \u0a35\u0a17\u0a26\u0a3e \u0a30\u0a3f\u0a39\u0a3e\u0964 \u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a1a\u0a40\u0a15\u0a3e\u0a02 \u0a2e\u0a3e\u0a30\u0a26\u0a40 \u0a30\u0a39\u0a40\u0964 \u0a15\u0a4b\u0a08 \u0a35\u0a40 \u0a28\u0a3e \u0a06\u0a07\u0a06\u0964
\n<\/span>\u0a2e\u0a48\u0a02 \u0a2e\u0a30 \u0a17\u0a08\u0964<\/span><\/p>\n

Pooja<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am Pooja
\n<\/span>just five years old.
\n<\/span>I had gone out in the veranda
\n<\/span>\u00a0to play in a corner with my doll.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was evening.
\n<\/span>Our neighbour boy Sonu came with a friend.
\n<\/span>He tore my clothes
\n<\/span>threw me under him and did bad things
\n<\/span>I tried to cry but he strangled me,
\n<\/span>left me half-dead.
\n<\/span>He tore my doll into pieces.
\n<\/span>I was bleeding, I cried.
\n<\/span>And cried.
\n<\/span>No one came.
\n<\/span>I died.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These Narratives are of the women who suffered abuse\u00a0at the hands of their relatives. Originally jotted down by Dr. Harshinder Kaur in Punjabi they\u00a0were later edited and rewritten in English by me. The bilingual book was designed and published beautifully by the Singh Brothers, Amritsar. Women of Punjab share their pains with Dr. Harshinder Kaur. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1895","page","type-page","status-publish","h-entry","hentry","h-as-page"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1895"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1903,"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1895\/revisions\/1903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajmerrode.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}