The Continuation of The Story

Now we shall continue on with the story of Darbarra Singh. Where we had left of Kehar Singh had managed to kill the attacking lion. This is what happended afterwards, as the story continues:

He was well versed in Punjabi and was very regular in saying his prayers, attending the regimental Guardwara, giving discources on special religious days and organising and managing the religious activities as an ideal Sikh for the other Sikh soliders and Officers. His trhougt and his word was his action which enlightened, inspired and purified his life. He had served the army for twenty years but was still a bachelor. His days of retitrement to go on pension were approaching. He was still thirthy-nine but was in better health, greater happiness and bloom than many teenagers or his colleagues in early twenties. Something unexpected happended in the platoon. A halvidar died and his young widow was left behind who had no child. Many colleagues decided and made that young widow willing to marry Kehar Singh who was going on pension just after a few months. In those days, the widow remarriage was a social taboo. So, if left a widow, then her whole life was to be condomned to loneliness, negligance, inferior status and dehumanising drudgery in the house of her in-laws or in that of her parents. Kehar Singh accpected that proposal more as reformary action. Hence, his marriage to the widow, named Bibi Rattan Kaur was consummated according to Sikh rites. In 1909 some months after his marraige, Kehar Singh retired and came back to his native villiage of Jarg, getting a monthly pension of seven rupees. Bibi Rattan Kaur was a very wise women of religious ideas. Like her husband, she knew how to read the Guru Granth Sahib and often read book on Sikh Religion and history. Kehar Singh's mother, Harman Kaur was very happy to have a daughter-in-law, so beautiful, wise, humble,devoted good-natured and well versed in household affairs . Three happy years passed at Jarg and in 1912 a beautiful son was born to Rattan Kaur but unfortunetly his mother died when he was only 21 days old. What a tragedy! The grandmother Harman Kaur and father Kehar Singh humbly and quietly bowed to the will of God, with a spirit o resignation. Therefore, the grandmother took the entire responsability of brining up the motherless child who was to be named Darbarra Singh. A few moths after the birth of Darbarra Singh, Kehar Singh alongwith his mother, son and two brothers migrated to the village of Dalla Chanda Singh, Chak number 85, District Shiekhupur, where he bagan to cultivate land taken on lease.