I grew up hearing my dadi (paternal grandmother) say
Allah kisi da mohtaj na banaye
Na veliyan da, te nahi aulaad da
May God never make one dependent; neither on those whom one loves nor on one’s offspring
I’d wonder why dadi would say that
Why this became the prayer she found solace in
Dependency on any living thing is a disappointment
And to rely on anyone besides your Creator is foolish
But how naive must we be to believe that those whom we love owe us anything?
And then to believe that we are incomplete until someone completes us?
I came home from school one day, and found out dadi would be leaving to go back home in a few days
I held her hands in mine and asked her,
What will you do there alone? Won’t you miss us? Won’t you be scared, alone?
And dadi squeezed my hands tight and said to me
Yaad teh batheri aayegi, teh yaadein hi laikar jaraye aa
Kalleya iss duniya vich aye ne, teh kalleya marna ne
Teh fir, kalle rehn naal kera dar?
