A Tale Of Selfless Love In The Times of Partition

It was a terribly dilapidated house where Krishna Malik lived with his family of married sons and their families. Money was scarce as it had been barely two years that the whole family had to flee Lahore due to the partition.

The head of the family was Krishna Malik’s mother Lajjo Malik whose word was the law in this huge joint family. Krishna Malik used to give his wife, his mother and his three daughters in law pocket money every month. Money was not in plenty but they managed by having just the basic necessities. Partition had left their extended family in extreme poverty. Lajjo had a much younger sister with two sons who she was struggling to educate.

The day she got her pocket money from her son, she would immediately send a money order to her sister. And in between if she got the time she would go to meet her sister and stay there for as many days as she could so that the sister would get respite from the housework. Lajjo herself barely did not have more than five pairs of clothes. The gold bangles she used to wear had become thinner with constant use and one day her hands were bare. She had sold them and with the money, she had decided to finance her sister’s son to a professional college.

Image is a still from a play

Anu Chopra

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