After a gap of 30 years, the kitchen in sarpanch Charan Kaur’s haveli in Moosa village of Punjab’s Mansa is once again filled with the aroma of panjeeri, a traditional preparation made with flour, dry fruits, sugar and desi ghee to help speed up postpartum recovery.
Just as they had done when singer Shubhdeep Singh alias Sidhu Moosewala, 28, was born in 1993, Kaur, 57, says her family prepared the panjeeri after the arrival of nikka (little) Shubh. “My sister and sister-in-law made the panjeeri since I am nursing nikka Shubh,” says Kaur, holding her bundle of “miracle” wrapped in a striped blanket in the room that only the family and the baby’s two nurses can enter.
Nearly two years after his elder brother was gunned down in 2022, nikka Shubh was born via caesarean section on March 17 this year at a private hospital in Bathinda. The elderly couple hired two nurses from the same hospital to help them with the baby, who was conceived abroad via in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) since the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act bars women over the age of 50 years from accessing the procedure in India.
Wearing a white kurta — his elder son’s signature embroidered on the right cuff — father Balkaur Singh, 58, says, “Little Shubh has gained weight since birth. Not just him, ehde aan naal mera vi 5 kilo vadh gaya hai (I too have gained 5 kg since his arrival). I had lost over 10 kg after Sidhu (Moosewala) left. This is the first time since his death that I have felt real happiness.”
Days after Moosewala had lost the Punjab Assembly elections from Mansa, one of the state’s most backward districts, on a Congress ticket, the chart-topping Punjabi singer was shot dead on May 29, 2022, in the district by assailants. Though members of the Goldy Brar-Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for his murder in a social media post and multiple arrests were made, the kingpins are yet to be arrested.
For his grieving parents, the birth of nikka Shubh this year has not just brought raunaq (happiness) back to their palatial residence, but also made it slightly easier for them to bear the loss of their firstborn. “He (the baby) was sent by Waheguru (God) to lessen our pain,” says Kaur, her eyes moist.
Moosewala moved his parents from a two-room house to this haveli in Moosa village. His parents say he died before he could live in the haveli for long. (Express Photo by Divya Goyal Gopal)
Despite their obvious elation over little Shubh, they say their loss is “too big to be compensated”. The mother says, “Shubh taan sirf Shubh hi siga.. mere layi oh hi rahuga (Shubh will always be Shubh for me). I cannot forget him even for a second. But I will try to make little Shubh like him — large-hearted and brave.”
‘The baby looks just like Moosewala’
The couple have named the baby “Shubhdeep”, just like his elder brother. The siblings even share the same nickname, “Gaggu”. Singh’s phone is full of two sets of photos — one of his newborn son and the other of Moosewala as a boy. Comparing photos of his two sons, Singh, a former Armyman and a farmer, says, “The same round cheeks, broad forehead and pointed chin… Bilkul mere Shubh varga (the baby looks just like Moosewala).”
Stating that they had never imagined becoming parents again in their late 50s, Singh says, “Instead of becoming grandparents at this age, we had to become parents.”
Nikka Shubh’s birth has meant many changes in their lives. Earlier, Singh would start his day by reviewing files and paperwork related to Moosewala’s murder, besides looking after his fields and other work in the village. But now, he says, he has an extremely important task at hand: to keep a record of his newborn son’s vaccinations and weight gain. “On days when he is supposed to be vaccinated or have his regular check-ups, I cancel all other commitments since we have to travel to the hospital where he was born (nearly 50 km away). Even a mosquito bite on his cheek worries me enough to call up the doctor immediately,” says Singh, calling himself an “over caring father”.
Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh, surrounded by a team of security personnel, including Punjab Police cops and commandos, at his haveli in Moosa village of Punjab’s Mansa. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh).
For Kaur too, there have been changes. She says the crib placed in their bedroom is hardly used since “the baby prefers to sleep snuggled up to her”. Despite the nurses, Kaur says she prefers to massage him herself. “At first, it was tough to wake up at night to feed him, but I have adjusted to his schedule now. I am usually up till 4 am since he hardly sleeps at night. I have told his father not to stay awake with me because he has other duties during the day,” she says.
Commenting on her husband’s bond with the baby, she adds. “He asks about him every few minutes and loves to play with him, especially now that he is growing bigger. He’s scared to carry him right now and is also afraid of passing on infections (since he meets many people during the day), but he loves to watch him sleep,” Kaur says.
Vendors selling Moosewala merchandise outside his mansion. They say the singer has given them a means of livelihood even after his death. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
A visibly proud Singh chimes in, “The baby has started responding to my voice.”
For six months after Moosewala was murdered, his devastated parents mourned in the very “haveli he built for them but never got to live in himself for long”. While Kaur cried all day, Singh “developed a heart condition (he has five stents)”. They said they were “encouraged” by their relatives and their son’s fans to have another child a few months after the shooting.
‘Had informed authorities about pregnancy’
Due to restrictions under the Indian law, the couple consulted experts abroad. “We were told that the success rate of IVF after 50 was quite low but we succeeded on our first attempt. We just wanted to become parents again, irrespective of the gender. Our doctors from abroad would send us lists of tests over WhatsApp and we would get them done in Bathinda,” says Singh, adding that Kaur refused to consider hiring a surrogate despite his fear of losing her due to the pregnancy.
The IVF process was both tough and painful, with Kaur required to take multiple injections each day. And then Singh’s worst nightmare almost came true during her fourth month of pregnancy. “She started bleeding profusely late at night. My heart was in my mouth as I rushed her to a private hospital in Bathinda. Had something happened to her that day, I would have lost everything,” he recalls.
Fans pose outside the haveli’s gate. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
On the controversy surrounding the baby’s birth — the Centre had directed the Punjab government to probe if the ART Act had been violated — Singh told The Indian Express, “There was no violation since our baby was conceived abroad. After we returned to India, we informed the local health authorities about the pregnancy too. In fact, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s mother congratulated us over telephone after little Shubh’s birth. Even (Punjabi singer) Gurdas Maan visited us after he was born and placed his own gold chain at little Shubh’s feet.”
The father adds, “The way little Shubh’s arrival was celebrated by millions, aam cheez taan eh vi nahi hai (he’s not just any baby). He is probably the first newborn whose photo was flashed at Times Square (in New York).”
Despite the love the baby has received, Singh says he is “very much aware” that he might not be around to see little Shubh grow into a gabru (young man). “Look at the number of pills I have to pop daily for my heart condition. At least I will have someone by my side when I die. Should something happen to the both of us, I’m sure my family will take care of him,” he says.
The elderly parents agree that their younger son will probably spend his entire life in the long shadow cast by his elder brother. Singh adds, “Little Shubh will never have a normal childhood, unlike his elder brother. He will always be under public gaze, and won’t be able to roam in fields and go to school in a van. He will also be targeted by our enemies. But we will give him the freedom to choose his own path, just as we did with Sidhu (Moosewala) when he told us that he wanted to be a singer. Maybe he will get more success in life, but it is not easy to be Sidhu Moosewala.”