Inspiring story of two women!!!

This is about two women I met during my maternity. They are called by many names like midwife or masseuse or malishwalis or nanny’s. They give a nice oil massage and bath to the newborns. We hired two of them for my little baby, one in Bangalore and other in my native Hubli. Both were in their 50’s and were experts in their work. They had experience of handling the new born from many many years.

 I learnt about their life during our daily conversations. They both had a very different life, but one thing was common. They both had a hard and tough life but they lived through it and lived happily.

The first one I met in Bangalore was a Brahmin lady, talkative and pious. I was mesmerized by the way she did malish and gave bath to my daughter while I was scared to even hold her, she was that little then just a 4 days baby. When we got talking she told me she had no children. I was shocked and felt a deep pain. Then what she told me changed my thinking, I had so respect for her and was truly inspired. She meets around 5-6 kids and she has been doing so from last 30 years, and she sees each kid as hers. Loves the time she gets with them. She told me “you have one kid, I have countless. Your kid will grow soon but mine always remain this tiny, this cute and this lovable. Nobody can be more blessed than I am”. She then planted a kiss on my baby’s forehead and left.

The second one I met in Hubli was again a talkative and a more experienced women. When I heard her story, I was in tears. She had four children, two daughters and two sons. She lost her husband at a very young age. She raised her kids all by herself, earning money from the job that she has been doing, and also by working in a grocery store. And today she stays by herself, no one to support her. She got her girls married off and they stay in a different place. One son has eloped with a girl and got married and never came back. The other stays in the same place but wants to stay away with his wife and children. Not realizing the hard time she has gone through to raise them, they have left her alone at this old age. I felt bad for her but she is such a courageous women. She told me “when I was born, I was alone. When I can raise four kids alone, I can manage anything in this world. I don’t have to depend on anybody. I earn my bread, I lead a happy and respectful life. I meet new people like you every day and make friends. I have nothing to be sad about”.

Many of us having everything we need in life, we complain. From these two women I learnt, if you have the positive attitude, nothing can break you. Life has to keep moving come what may, its left to us whether we break down or we live up to it with courage and pride.