I was sitting outside this weekend watching maya play with her building friends. That’s when I saw this lady at the ground floor house window. She’d just had a baby girl a few weeks back. So I went up to the window to talk to her. 

‘Congratulations!’ I said.

‘It’s a baby girl’ she replied morosely.

‘I know…’ I said, a little shocked at her reaction. 

‘No…everyone at home wanted a boy.’ Her first child is a girl.  

‘Girl or boy…what difference does it make. The baby should be healthy. That’s all that matters.’ I said. 

‘No…here at home it does make a difference. People keep names otherwise.’ 

I told her that I would love it if I had 2 girls. Am actually hoping that my 2nd baby will be a girl. All this so that she would feel a wee bit better.  

But I don’t really think it would’ve helped much. Later when I met her mother-in-law & congratulated her I met with the same reaction, ‘Ladki hui hai.’

Yeah, yeah…I know all this ‘wanting a boy to carry on the family name’ etc. still exists…but actually hearing someone speak about this, feel so sad because they had a girl child was….depressing.

Very, very depressing indeed.

-maya ki mummy