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It is
said that Lal Ded was born in 1355 in Pandrethan to a Kashmiri Pandit family.
Even as a child, Lalla was wise and religious-minded. When Lalla was twelve
years old, she was married. Her in-laws lived in Pampur. The in-laws gave
her the name Padmavati. Her mother-in-law was very cruel. She never gave
her any peace. It is claimed that her mother-in-law used to put a stone
on Lalla's plate (tha:l). She would then cover
the stone with rice so that people would get the impression that Lalla
had a plateful of rice. Lalla would remain half fed, but would never complain
about her mother-in-law. Her father-in-law was a good man and he was kind
to her, but her mother-in-law made her miserable. She would even speak
ill of Lalla to her husband. Poor Lalla knew no happiness either with her
husband or with her mother-in-law. |
