Meena, an ever-smiling village woman married to a daily wage worker, is now perhaps 30. She wouldn’t know. She was the first person who joined our household as domestic help.
One day, she said God had been unkind to her. She had not been able to bear a child in her seven years of married life in spite of all kinds of medication. Physiologically, everything seemed fine with her and her husband. And village sorcerers and doctors had made enough money from them.
With two healthy and beautiful children, her employer—my wife—was very sad to hear Meena’s tale. Her heart melted. She gave away her sewing machine so Meena could learn stitching and keep thoughts about being barren away. Meena found a better paying job in a richer household. We were sad she had to leave but one can’t grudge someone doing better in life.
A few domestic helps down, another younger, married woman, Divya, came to our rescue. She was married for two years with no children. Now, my wife was perturbed and came to talk to me about it. It seems Divya said, “Aunty, how will we pass through life without children?”
Having produced stories on Ayurveda and grassroot NGOs, I recalled having seen an Ayurvedic formulation that lay claim to ensure conception. We discussed it in detail. My wife located and secured a few jars for Divya and remembered to order a few extra for Meena. She sat with Divya and Meena and explained the dosage instructions carefully.
At that point, Meena was overwhelmed that my wife had even thought about her.
Days passed. Soon Divya conceived. As the days became difficult for her, she left work. She delivered a baby boy at her mother’s home and returned to the village after recouping. A message was sent to us about the birth. We were happy. My wife went for the ceremony. Now, the child must be over a year old. I have not yet seen Divya or the child. And that is fine.
The shocker came today. The new nth maid, pretty Panna, a widow, got talking with my wife. She informed that Meena, too, had conceived and delivered a baby boy. This too was good news. So, why do I say Shocker? Because Meena did not deem it fit to send us a message about the delivery or the name-giving ceremony. She lives just a distance away from us.
“See…she too conceived but did not have the courtesy to come and inform us,” my wife came and told me. She was sad. My advice to her was to go and read the Gita again.
To overcome a feeling of sadness and dejection at such moments, one needs to recall the Bhagawad Gita. According to Ved Vyas, in his discourse to Arjun, Lord Krishna says, “Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.”
Notwithstanding Gita, sewing machine or the Ayurveda, questions remain unanswered for us. Were the two young women selfish and ungrateful? Did they really conceive because of the Ayurvedic medicine? Was it mere chance that we are glorifying into sadness for ourselves?