The birth of Lehsuniya

She was born at midday under the influence of Ketu.

Ketu, one of the Rahu-Ketu twin planets which can only be felt but not seen. Ketu, the more subservient twin to Rahu. Ketu the underdog, the under-confident, the insecure. Ketu the quiet. Ketu the spiritual. Ketu the other worldly. Ketu the darker, quieter shadow to Rahu. Ketu of the Rahu-Ketu twinship that exist and control life without having mass, shape, form or colour of their own.

In the world to which she was born – in the middle of hot sandy winds of July, in the middle of Dumra in Gujarat, deep inside India's belly, surely being 'other wordly' was not a quality that would lower the dowry when she would be given away as a bride. So the village priest, Panditji, the Learned One, who is entitled to see the face of every new born child first, decided - the girl, bad enough that she was a girl, well, she might just bring bad luck to the family. Panditji further validated himself for when the girl first revealed her eyes to the world in her first tearless, soundless cry – for she had yellow, garlic like eyes. The women of the neighbourhood were decidedly shocked. Murmurs reached the men folk who huddled around outside the hut. It was decided that there will probably be droughts this year.

"Get her a Cat's eye pendant - a lehsuniya. Make sure you have it around her neck at all times," remedied Panditji, the Learned One.

And so, within an hour of her birth, her father scurried off to get the prescribed pendant, made a donation of 472 grams of silver and circled the Peepul tree seven times at ten minutes past two in the afternoon as per the guidance of Panditji, the Learned One. Her mother was recuperating from her rather abusive delivery – abusing her father for bringing her to this state – indeed what was the need of choosing her over her sisters, bringing her to this strange village – and then, insisting on lifting the saree on the very first night. The bastard. Why, he didn't even have a fixed income, failing at almost all kinds of business propositions!

And so, when at about four hours after her birth, the neighbourhood ladies and their husbands dispersed, Panditji (and via him, God) had been appeased and sent off, the parents sat together in awkward, shameful silence, both more than necessarily embarrassed by the events of the day.

The child let out another tearless, soundless cry. Her eyes opened and shut. The Cat's eye around her neck changed colours according to the side on which she was being breast fed or lifted, reflecting the Sun light that streamed in through the hole of the black wooden window.

"She needs to be named," said her mother.
"I can't think of anything," murmured her father.

"Lehsuniya," said her mother conclusively.




As a cue, her father started a garlic business the following month. It flourished. Too bad, her mother didn't live to see it thrive – Lehsuniya brought bad luck to the family and took her mother away.

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Lehsuniya finally comes out of the proverbial shadow. She was first mentioned on this blog here.