Echoes of a mother’s grief

“Singhar le lo! Jhumke le lo, Galey ka haar le lo! Makeup ka samaan le lo, sab kuch sasta le lo, [Get your jewellery cheap, get your makeup cheap]” cried a woman in the streets of a village in the suburbs of Rohri town. Carrying a small wooden showcase with a glass panel on her shoulders, she was selling artificial jewellery and cheap cosmetics.

This was Meva Bai, clad in torn clothes, her feet and the flip flops she wore covered in dust. But the woman never looked down at her feet or clothes, she was busy hawking trinkets to women.

Meva Bai walks a long way from one village to another, carrying her little shop on her shoulders in search of livelihood. The day-long toil was not fruitful. She returned with little in her hand, not enough to feed her family of seven.

Her husband Prem Das sells cheap toys and balloons in the streets of various villages and the town and, in the afternoon, he returns home to Bhittai Colony, where they live in the suburbs of Rohri town. With five children and three grandchildren to feed, life in their katcha house is miserable. Meva Bai is in her late 30s, having lost seven children due to extreme poverty, she looks over 50. Prem Das too looks much older than his real age of 45.

Meva Bai sat on a cot along with her husband, eating fritters with flatbread, as she narrated her story to The Express Tribune. She gave birth to 12 children during 18 years of her married life; but seven of them died due to measles. Her remaining five children, including two sons and three daughters, are malnourished and she is constantly afraid of losing them too. Replying to a question as to why she failed to take her ailing children to the hospital, she said, “We live very far from Rohri town, and we never have money to pay the doctor or buy medicines.”

Meva Bai was born and brought up in the slums of Ghotki. As she belonged to the nomad Bagri family, her parents kept moving from one city to other in search of livelihood. Her parents first moved to Pano Aqil some 45 kms away from Sukkur. After living there for a couple of years, they moved to Sukkur near a wholesale fruit and vegetable market. There Meva was married to Prem Das, 20 years ago. In 2009, Meva Bai and her husband moved to Bhittai Colony near Rohri, where they bought a piece of land along with other Bagri families and constructed the katcha house they now live in.

Recalling the painful loss of six children in just one month, she burst into tears. “Losing six children in a month is not something I can get over,” she said sobbing. Two of her children had contracted measles. No home remedies helped and their health worsened. Soon all six children were infected and all of them died one after the other within a month.

According to her, the children who died were aged between eight months to six years. “I was pregnant with my seventh baby at the time, but that too died after three hours of birth,” she said in a choked voice. “Now I am left with five children, of which a son and a daughter are married,” she continued, “while two girls and a boy are studying in class seven and class three respectively.” Her three grandsons – Anand, Vicky and Ashok – are studying in class one and kindergarten.

Meva Bai is worried about her daughter Arti, who studies in class seven. Arti often remains sick, due to some internal disease. “I don't have money to take her to the doctor,” she said. Looking at Arti closely I found that, her eyes were yellow, which is the sign of liver dysfunction. When I inquired about her progress at school, the principal of Riverside Community High School Sana Malik shared that Arti is very obedient and good at her studies. However the girl remains quiet and gloomy most of the time perhaps because of her ailment and weakness.

Meva Bai said Arti takes great interest in her studies and after school she completes her homework with the help of her cousin, who is studying in Intermediate. However, Meva Bai told that, now I have decided to take Arti to a hospital for her medical tests, because after losing seven children, I cannot afford to lose yet another of my child.

“Our parents were uneducated and therefore never bothered to send us to school and this is what we are regretting today,” said Meva Bai. “But my children and grandchildren are going to Riverside Community High School, which is not only at a walking distance from our home, but offers quality education and pick-and-drop facility for free.”

Her elder daughter Chandni used to go to the same school, but was not interested in education. She quit after class four. A year ago, Chandni got married and moved to Jacobabad. Meva Bai's elder son Wakeel is also married and has three sons, who go to the same school.

Meva Bai said the majority of men and women in the Bagri community are illiterate and therefore know nothing about the hazards of repeated child birth. “After giving birth to 12 children and losing seven in just one month, now I have realized that giving birth to many children year after year is neither good for the health of the woman and nor for her children, who are deprived of proper care and upbringing,” she said.

“I have advised Chandni not to produce more than three children, because by giving birth to more children, young mothers lose their health on one hand, and on the other hand, they are not able to pay proper attention to their children,” said Meva Bai.

Meva Bai said, it’s never too late to learn a lesson. “Now I advise all the newlywed girls to ensure their health first and then have babies. The biggest regret of my life is losing my seven children. I wish I had enough money to provide proper medical treatment to my children, but whatever we earn throughout the day is not even sufficient to have a good meal,” she said looking towards the skies. “But I am not complaining to God. We have to be thankful for whatever condition he chooses for us,” she said.

Moved by the sad story of Meva Bai, the founder of Riverside Development Organization Munawar Gill promised to sign an agreement with the Hindu Panchayat Charitable Hospital in Sukkur, where these poor people can go and get medical treatment for free.

Sarfaraz Memon is a freelance journalist and contributor based in Sukkur

All facts and information are the responsibility of the writer