It's very, very difficult. Kudos to all our governments past, present and future for not giving up despite all odds. To think of it, uncountable amount is spent each year on ads for promotion of literacy. But I wonder how many really listen to the good word?
Take my maid for instance. She has been with me for last 6-7 years. From the intermittent talks I have gathered that she has all the amenities at home like refrigerator, 2-wheeler, sofa- set, washing machine, TV, etc. In fact the house she lives in, is also hers. And I sure appreciate her for this. But none of her children have studied beyond 8th or 10th. Somehow she has never considered this important. I remember telling her to have her daughters trained or educated up to a decent level. But she and her husband have believed in getting them married early.
And so this daughter of hers got married about 4 yrs ago. In due course she was blessed with 2 kids. And so all was fine till last month when she came and told that her son-in-law had suffered a head injury in a road accident. He died within 3-4 days. It was just very, very bad. If that was not enough, the girl was asked to leave the husband's home by her in-laws. It was upsetting to hear this particularly because I had seen her in the bridal attire. But worst was when my maid announced that she was going to get her married again. That's when I blew my top. "Leave her alone. She has 2 small children and she also has the memories of her husband. Let her first come to terms with the tragedy. Help her stand on her feet. And then get her married if you want. But don't force her now. Please!"
I wonder if she understood. It was an outburst I could not control. On second thoughts, I wonder if I over reacted? May be the weaker section is geared up that way. Could be, that as a kind of defence mechanism they avoid getting deeply attached to anyone? In that case I made the blunder of speaking. God only knows!
Take my maid for instance. She has been with me for last 6-7 years. From the intermittent talks I have gathered that she has all the amenities at home like refrigerator, 2-wheeler, sofa- set, washing machine, TV, etc. In fact the house she lives in, is also hers. And I sure appreciate her for this. But none of her children have studied beyond 8th or 10th. Somehow she has never considered this important. I remember telling her to have her daughters trained or educated up to a decent level. But she and her husband have believed in getting them married early.
And so this daughter of hers got married about 4 yrs ago. In due course she was blessed with 2 kids. And so all was fine till last month when she came and told that her son-in-law had suffered a head injury in a road accident. He died within 3-4 days. It was just very, very bad. If that was not enough, the girl was asked to leave the husband's home by her in-laws. It was upsetting to hear this particularly because I had seen her in the bridal attire. But worst was when my maid announced that she was going to get her married again. That's when I blew my top. "Leave her alone. She has 2 small children and she also has the memories of her husband. Let her first come to terms with the tragedy. Help her stand on her feet. And then get her married if you want. But don't force her now. Please!"
I wonder if she understood. It was an outburst I could not control. On second thoughts, I wonder if I over reacted? May be the weaker section is geared up that way. Could be, that as a kind of defence mechanism they avoid getting deeply attached to anyone? In that case I made the blunder of speaking. God only knows!
No comments:
Post a Comment