Indian short stories

Is being a girl sin?

A man in his thirties was carrying his one year old son lovingly and making funny faces at him. A big smile was stretched on his face. His eyes shown as if he had achieved the whole world. He thought whole universe was in his hands. He looked at his son as if god.

A little away from the touching scene was a little girl of around six years old sitting on the hard floor and her soft hands carried dirty utensil. A small washing brush was lying on the floor forgotten for a moment. The water from tap flowed slowly making the whole floor of wet.

The little girl imagined herself in place of that baby. Oh how great it would be to be held so lovingly and be nurtured.

So that in mind, she put that utensil on the ground and quickly washed her hands in the flowing water and ran to that man not bothering to close the tap.

She pulled the end of the man's kurta in her little hands. The man looked down at the little girl.

"What??" The man asked annoyed.

"Can you please carry me like that?" Her little wide eyes had hope and excitement in it.

"You wretched girl! How dare you ask for that? Don't you know your place?" The man shouted angrily.

The loud voice made the girl quiver and tears brimmed in her eyes.

Hearing the shouts, a lady emerged running from inside the house.

"Aiji What happened?" She asked looking at that man who was her husband

"Look at this girl! She has become shameless! She asks me to carry her like our precious raja beta. This is all your fault! You have given too much freedom to her" Her husband shouted angrily.

At that instant the little boy cried hearing his father shout.

"Ale! Ale! Na mera raja beta, don't cry. Papa is here, papa loves you" The man rocked a little to calm the baby.

He went inside the house with the crying baby.

Now the lady looked at the girl in front of her angrily.

"How many times I have to tell you to behave like a girl! Your duty is to learn all the housework so that you can be a good wife in future not to play. How can you ask your father to carry you when it should be you massaging his feet" The lady who was supposed to be her mother shouted.

Yes, that man was her father and this lady was her mother and the raja beta was her little brother.

But to anyone she would look as an outcast. She was a part of the family because she was born in it but did she really had a place in it?

The little girl that day cried a lot. She couldn't understand what she did wrong that her parents were so angry on her. She saw that her mother was also a girl but she was not being scolded then why she was?

As years went on, the little girl grew up to be a lady understanding the cruel nature of society. She realized why her parents used to scold her. She thought that if she had been born as a boy then she would have also received her parents love and care.

She grew up to be a beautiful lady but inside her heart was in pain and devoid of love. She felt as if being born as a girl was a crime.

The girl was married off at the age of twenty without completing her studies or pursuing for a career.

Soon years after she was blessed with two little girls of her own. She was a caring mother unlike her own. She wanted to relive her childhood with the help of her little girls. She gave them best education and all the love in the world.

Time passed by and now her daughters were big, they were doing jobs and were successful in their career.

Her brother had also been married and had two children a girl and a boy. Her brother had acquired her parents trait. Though he loved his daughter and treated her well still he had longed for a son. Years after he got what he wanted and now he was happily living in abroad.

Soon came the news that their father was ill. The girl who was now a women rushed off to her father's place to care for him. She took him to hospitals, stayed by him during operations, took care of him, and bought him medicines. She did everything for that man who neglected her, hated her for being a girl. She left her home in the care of her daughters to attend her father and be a support to her mother.

And you may ask about the raja beta , he didn't came. He was too busy in his own life with his wife and children that he forgot about the people who gave birth to him. He was now looking at his son like his father used to. He was busy with his son that he forgot that he was himself a son of a father.

Days passed by, father's condition worsened, the girl and her husband kept on caring for him not thinking about their own lives.

And now the father was on death bed. He was holding his wife's hand. He conveyed his last wish that was his body to be lighted by his son on the pyre. He said he will go to heaven if his son does the ritual.

Hearing this the girl's heart broke again for the millionth's time. She thought where did she lack in caring for her father that her father still wanted his son not her? Was her love and devotion not enough?

It forced her to think that being a girl was sin.