merely stretched out toward it But with Lajavanti, though he often abused her and beat her, there was never any sign of wilting He used to beat her regularly over the smallest matter the careless way she got up or sat down, the indifferent way she prepared the food Lajo like the slender branch of a mulberry tree was a delicate rural girl She had a strange playfulness about her Her playfulness was like a drop of dew on a broad mulberry leaf, sometimes rolling this way, and sometimes that Her leanness was not however an indication of sickliness but of strength At first, her slender fragility worried the stocky Sundar Lal but when he saw that Lajo could carry heavy loads, when he saw that she could endure any sort of hardship—even his beatings—he began gradually to increase his ill-treatment of her He never stopped to consider that there are limits to what a human being can endure Lajavanti was herself an active participant in obscuring those limits Since she wasn't the sort to sulk for long after even the loudest quarrels one smile from Sundar Lal would start her laughing uncontrollably She would rush over to Sundar Lal and throw her arms around his neck and impulsively say, "If you beat me again I'll never speak to you " making it clear that the beating had been entirely forgiven and forgotten Like alt the other village girls she knew that this was simply the way men behaved The women themselves knew that if one of them was rebellious or defiant toward her husband the others would put their finger under their chin and say contemptuously "Well wed isn t he quite the man' He can't even control a woman ' The beatings the women received had found a place even in their songs As Lajo used to sing A city boy I II never wed He wears big boots and on my thin waist he'll tread But at the very first opportunity Lajo fell in love with a city boy His name was Sundar Lal His first trip to Lajavanti s village was as a member of a bridegroom s party Lajavanti overheard him whisper in the ear of the groom "Your sister-in-law's a real dish she d make quite a wife ' And hearing this she forgot that Sundar Lal was wearing big boots and that her own waist was ever so thin Every morning when Sundar Lat went on his pre-dawn rounds of the neighborhood these memories overwhelmed him If once, he thought if just once I could find my Lajo I would really and truly place her in my heart of hearts I would tell everyone that those poor abducted women are not to be blamed Falling prey to the lustfulness of the rioters is no fault of theirs A society which doesn't accept and give shelter to its own innocent and blameless women is rotten and should be done away with He would urge that such women be rehabilitated and would plead for them to be returned to the positions which mothers daughters or wives are given in the home Then he would go on to say "We should not even obliquely say anything which might remind them of the tragedy they have endured because their hearts are wounded They are sensitive just like the lajavanti plant if you even touch it it will wilt and wither' And so, in order to put the "Take them to heart" program into action the Mullah Shakoor committee would rise before the sun gather together and set out on their rounds of the neighborhood Four or five o'clock in the morning was the best time for them There was neither the hustle of people nor the bustle of traffic Even the dogs, the night-long Annual of Urdu Studies, #5 68