SHE, is the one who creates her own destiny .This story is about an ordinary woman but not so ordinary for me. She is my inspiration & my Alma Mater of real Life learning. She is none other than my mother, so fondly called Ma by us & the famous, ‘Badi Ma’ of my village. Born as the eldest daughter in a family of 10 siblings in a rural town of Nirsa in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand she was named as “Gita” after the Holy Hindu scripture, which later had a great influence in her life. Fighting against all odds she completed her High school. She was the only girl child who successfully completed High school in her town that year & among the very few students who passed high school with merit in the entire district. My Grandfather was very proud & happy. Still he did not have the courage to give a thought for her higher studies. Bowing to the pressures of our society, he got her married. At the age of 18 she was married off to my father with all her desires & yearnings for higher studies being nipped. Post marriage my father seeing her desire to study enrolled her for graduation in a college near our home town. My paternal grandfather was supportive of this decision. Our home town is in a small village called Gogna,in Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, then erstwhile Bihar. It was a herculean task for my mother to manage both her studies & the domestic challenges at home. Somehow she was able to balance; the first year went through without any hitch. Then destiny had predestined some other plans for my mother. My father got his engineering degree & got his first posting in some other city away from our village. Same time my uncle also had to leave as he had opened up is business in another town. My mother stayed back to take care of my grandfather & grandmother. My grandmother was an acute asthma patient & needed hospitalization very frequently as nebulizer was not available during those time.
My Grandfather had a very successful wholesale business & was also into farming. He needed support. My mother became the third son to him which time demanded. She had to leave her studies midway. She took care of the wholesale business & helped my grandfather run it very successfully till date, long after my grandfather was bedridden & finally when he expired. She very efficiently deals with the local businessmen & has developed very sharp business acumen. She also turned out to be the landlord managing the family farming business, dealing with the local farmers, helpers & daily wage workers with deftness & humanely, displaying people/workforce management skills very aptly. People in the village from the small children to the village elderly very fondly call her “Badi Ma”. The love & respect she commands to date makes her rooted to the village till date. In spite of all her engagements with the Business & farming she has always been there for all three of us right from childhood till date. She has been the homemaker too for the family, managing our domestic needs skillfully. She has very rightly earned a place for herself –in what we call as the Man’s world. She is an Independent lady who dared to grab what Destiny had to offer & then chalked out her own path. She is the epitome of womanhood for me filled with courage, inspiration & a never daunting spirit. She walks the Mile with a Smile.
SHE, is the one who creates her own destiny .This story is about an ordinary woman but not so ordinary for me. She is my inspiration & my Alma Mater of real Life learning. She is none other than my mother, so fondly called Ma by us & the famous, ‘Badi Ma’ of my village. Born as the eldest daughter in a family of 10 siblings in a rural town of Nirsa in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand she was named as “Gita” after the Holy Hindu scripture, which later had a great influence in her life. Fighting against all odds she completed her High school. She was the only girl child who successfully completed High school in her town that year & among the very few students who passed high school with merit in the entire district. My Grandfather was very proud & happy. Still he did not have the courage to give a thought for her higher studies. Bowing to the pressures of our society, he got her married. At the age of 18 she was married off to my father with all her desires & yearnings for higher studies being nipped. Post marriage my father seeing her desire to study enrolled her for graduation in a college near our home town. My paternal grandfather was supportive of this decision. Our home town is in a small village called Gogna,in Dhanbad district in the state of Jharkhand, then erstwhile Bihar. It was a herculean task for my mother to manage both her studies & the domestic challenges at home. Somehow she was able to balance; the first year went through without any hitch. Then destiny had predestined some other plans for my mother. My father got his engineering degree & got his first posting in some other city away from our village. Same time my uncle also had to leave as he had opened up is business in another town. My mother stayed back to take care of my grandfather & grandmother. My grandmother was an acute asthma patient & needed hospitalization very frequently as nebulizer was not available during those time.
My Grandfather had a very successful wholesale business & was also into farming. He needed support. My mother became the third son to him which time demanded. She had to leave her studies midway. She took care of the wholesale business & helped my grandfather run it very successfully till date, long after my grandfather was bedridden & finally when he expired. She very efficiently deals with the local businessmen & has developed very sharp business acumen. She also turned out to be the landlord managing the family farming business, dealing with the local farmers, helpers & daily wage workers with deftness & humanely, displaying people/workforce management skills very aptly. People in the village from the small children to the village elderly very fondly call her “Badi Ma”. The love & respect she commands to date makes her rooted to the village till date. In spite of all her engagements with the Business & farming she has always been there for all three of us right from childhood till date. She has been the homemaker too for the family, managing our domestic needs skillfully. She has very rightly earned a place for herself –in what we call as the Man’s world. She is an Independent lady who dared to grab what Destiny had to offer & then chalked out her own path. She is the epitome of womanhood for me filled with courage, inspiration & a never daunting spirit. She walks the Mile with a Smile.
–This article was contribution by Archana Kumari who participated in International Women’s Day Campaign- “Breaking Myths & Inspiring Change organized by Delhi. Delphi is a leading global supplier of electronics and technologies , which delivers real-world innovations.
