After Thakiyuddin’s death, Salma Biwi’s routine changed too. She was no longer interested in her cows and visitors. She would sit on the veranda of her house, singing. She sang about a hero, his naughty and enterprising childhood, the epic struggles of his youth and the great fortunes he amassed on distant shores. She finished with a heartfelt rendition about the hero’s death, savagely killed by evil men one evening on a street where he was revered. Her eyes welled up as her songs drew to an end, and she would weep uncontrollably. She was narrating folklore from religious traditions, and also
...more
