Baidain Kaki entered with Ram Anjor.
“What happened, dear?” Baidain Kaki asked as she stepped into the room.
Hearing Baidain Kaki’s voice, Piyari rose from the cot, pulled her veil over her face, and bent to touch Kaki’s feet.
Baidain Kaki placed a hand on her head. “Stay happy, dear. Always be happy,” she blessed her before sitting down on the cot.
Piyari sat on the floor below, and Kaki leaned close to whisper a question in her ear.
Blushing, Piyari whispered her answer into Kaki’s ear as well.
Getting the answer she had expected, Kaki burst out laughing and said,
“This ox-brained husband of yours… your ox-brained husband has been bringing medicine for indigestion from Vaidya Kaka and making you take it for two days. If I hadn’t overheard you today, who knows how long this treatment would have continued…! Perhaps until you were confined after giving birth! You’re such a fool! You didn’t even realize the signs that you were going to become a mother. But never mind. Whether your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law explain things to you or not, I will. Listen… from now on, don’t lift anything heavy—buckets or anything else—and don’t do any heavy work for four months. Walk slowly. Don’t run, jump, or move around recklessly. Take care of what you eat and drink. Don’t fast if there’s nothing special going on. Don’t hesitate to send Ram Anjor to me. I’ll give you what you need. And Ram Anjor, don’t gobble down and finish everything yourself before anyone else gets a chance to eat or drink. Make sure there’s something left for her too. Now I’ll be going.”
After explaining everything to them, Baidain Kaki left.
Ram Anjor didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. He felt a little proud that he was going to become a father. His elder brother still had no children, even though Ram Anjor was seven years younger than him, and now Ram Anjor was about to become a father.
But the very next moment, he grew sad thinking that they could barely manage the expenses of two people. How would they make ends meet once a child arrived?
But what could they do? Neither he nor Piyari was at fault for what had happened. When they had been together, they hadn’t had to worry about arranging food or carrying the responsibility of running a household. Their hunger could be satisfied, but to find peace for their bodies and minds and quench their thirst, they had to struggle terribly. Like the other men of the household, he slept outside, while Piyari slept inside with her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law. Only after staying awake and waiting through most of the night would they sometimes manage to steal an hour or two together in some hidden corner of the house.
Now that Babu Ji had separated them from the rest of the family, no matter how many other troubles they faced, the obstacle to being with Piyari had disappeared. Whenever he wanted, whether in the middle of the day or late at night, he could be with her. And when their love was unrestricted, it was hardly surprising that it had led to this.
Seeing the uncertainty on Piyari’s face, Ram Anjor composed himself and tried to reassure her.
“Don’t worry. Everyone who comes into this world comes by God’s will. And God doesn’t send us with only a mouth, does He? He gives us two hands as well. Leave everything to God. Whatever He does will be for the best. Just take care of yourself the way Kaki explained.”
With that, Ram Anjor pulled her into his arms.
Blushing, Piyari pushed him away without using much force and said with feigned annoyance, “Look at you… you’ve started again. It’s because of your impatience that I’ve been throwing up. Stay away from me now.”
Tightening his arms around her, Ram Anjor said, “Oh, my love! I’ll gladly stay away, but first you have to set me free.”
Baidain Kaki had returned to her own home. There was no one nearby to come between Ram Anjor and Piyari. Telling each other to move away, they only drew closer and closer.
When everyone in Ram Anjor’s family learned the news, his father offered no help. Instead, he instructed everyone to keep their distance, saying that with such a major responsibility coming his way, Ram Anjor would surely become responsible. The women of the household did secretly help, though. Whenever Baidain Kaki cooked or prepared anything at home, she would always set some aside for Piyari in a bowl, saying, “Here, eat this. Otherwise you’ll crave it, and the baby will start drooling.”
Time passed.
Nine months went by. As soon as the tenth month began, the women of the neighborhood and the household started guessing that the baby must be a girl—that was why it was taking so long. Whenever Piyari and Ram Anjor heard this, their faces went pale. They were already poor, and if the baby turned out to be a girl, how would they ever manage to marry her off?
When her time came, Piyari went into labor. With the help of Baidain Kaki and the midwife, she gave birth to a daughter.
Everyone’s guess had been right.
But the moment Piyari looked at her daughter, all her pain and worry vanished. A daughter as fair as butter had been born into their home. It was as though someone had mixed saffron into the butter of her cheeks. Her large, dark eyes were black as jamun berries.
Ram Anjor was spellbound when he saw her too. His daughter was as beautiful as a princess.
With great love, Ram Anjor and Piyari named their baby girl Bibhavati.
As for his elder brother and sister-in-law, it seemed this was the very moment God had chosen to show them mercy as well.
After Piyari gave birth to a daughter, the eldest daughter-in-law also became pregnant, as though she had been waiting for Piyari to become a mother first. Exactly nine months after Bibhavati’s birth, the eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a daughter too. But the eldest daughter-in-law’s daughter looked completely different from Bibhavati. After so many years, God had finally allowed them to see a child’s face. They had no regret that He had given them a daughter so late. But He could at least have given her beauty like Bibhavati’s.
The eldest daughter-in-law showered love and affection on this precious first child of hers. But whenever she caught sight of Babhna, she writhed with jealousy. She dressed her own daughter in the finest clothes, making one unsuccessful attempt after another to enhance her beauty. Then she would grow irritated by her failure.
Bibhavati began to grow up amid a lack of money but with a richness of spirit.
Any prayer, hymn, or devotional song she heard anywhere, she memorized immediately. Whenever she recited one in her sweet voice, listeners became spellbound. The little girl would sit with her father on the temple steps. As he chanted, she chanted along with him. It was as though Saraswati herself lived in her throat. The clear prayers that flowed from her sweet tongue captivated everyone who heard them. Seeing her faith and devotion to God, somehow her name changed from Bibhavati to Babhna without her even realizing it. Before long, the entire village, along with her relatives and extended family, called her Babhna.
What turn did Babhna’s life take? Find out in the next installment.