Over the last 17 years, none of Pabitra´s four sons has visited her on this day. However, she has not yet given up hope. Ever since she was thrown into the old-age home, Pabitra has waited for her sons to come back to her. But, unlike in the past years, she did not break down when they did not turn up. [break]
“Perhaps my tears have dried up,” says Pabitra, who has never been happy after her husband died 24 years ago. “Although I yearn to see my sons, I don´t shed tears anymore.”
Two of Pabitra´s sons live in Salyan district while the other two are in Kathmandu. Pabitra says she would not expect her sons from Salyan to visit her as it would cost them a lot of money. But, even her sons, who are in Kathmandu, do not turn up. "I feel they have completely forgotten me," says she.
She says she was proud of having four sons. She now wishes she had daughters instead. “I now think daughters love their parents and care for them," says she. “I was unfortunate that I only had sons.”
Tulamaya Puri
Similarly, Tulamaya Puri, 70, fostered a son as she did not have children of her own. “I felt my family was incomplete without a child,” says she. "So, I fostered a son and never felt he was not my blood.”
Today, Tulmaya, who is living in the Pashupati old-age home along with her old husband, regrets her decision. “We gave away all our property to our foster son,” says she. “But, he threw us out of our own house.”
Tulmaya does not blame her foster son, though. She believes this happened because of her daughter-in-law. “I do not have any complaint against my son," says she. "I know his wife forced him to do so.”
Like Tulmaya, Sanu Maiya Jayshi, 72, also blames her two daughters-in-law for her plight. “I went through hardships to make my son become a successful person,” says she. "But, he threw me out of the house after he got married.”
She asks herself: “How could our own children be so unkind to us?" Although this question pops up in her mind every now and then, nowhere does she find the answer.
Currently, there are 127 elderly women in the Pashupati old-age home. While some have come here as they do not have children to look after them, some have been thrown out of their houses by their own children.
Sanumaiya Jaisi
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