When the micro mini me turned up on Earth, my parents were not on best terms. Most families in rural and small towns of India are joint families – a couple settles down after marriage with the family of the husband which includes the parents, unmarried siblings of the husband and sometimes other relatives of the extended family. My mom had married into a family and post marriage, faced numerous problems in adjustment. My paternal aunts often bickered about her and once my paternal uncle had even hit her (after being instigated by her in-laws, my grandparents).
When mom got pregnant with me, at that time her matrimonial home environment was at a critical stage. My father refused to side with her and avoided arguments with his parents. Ultimately things came to a head – in her late pregnancy she had to relocate to her natal home (in another town that was some miles and two hours away) to live with her own family, who took her to the nearby hospital and got her admitted in the maternity ward.
Not once did my father turn up to see his pregnant wife. He was preparing for his law masters exams reportedly. A night before his exams, my mom went into labour. When they heard the news of the baby’s birth, my father drove to the hospital along with my grandfather. On the way they learnt that it was a girl rather than a boy (boys are desired more in asian societies while girls are perceived as burdens to the family budget) and they went back without seeing the new mother and the shining bright bundle of me…
After delivery mom had to leave the hospital and stayed in an agricultural plantation along with my maternal grandfather, who was the resident doctor there. After some months dad eventually turned up to take back mom and the new born me…
(All these events are true and I heard them from my mom, as I was too young to remember what had transpired before my birth, J lol)
