To me the world seemed to be a
paradise. I never knew any unpleasant happening could dawn on me. I was
optimistic and full of life. But when the realistic world struck me, I knew
unforeseen dangers could touch and devastate. I lost my father. My father whose
I am a shadow of! He was suffering from damaged kidney and was on haemodialysis
for quite sometime. But believe you me; I never thought that he will succumb to
his illness. I never quite believed that negativity could ever surface in my
life. That morning, he was feeling weak but as usual I thought all will be
well. But it did not turn out the way I thought. He left and for good. And I was
left wondering, if what just happened was true. But it was true, to the core!
My optimism left me, I felt insecure and unsure of the future. Whenever my mother
went ill, I got scared. After marriage each time, my husband hit the crowded Mumbai
roads with his mean machine, I felt tensed. I felt the pain of loosing one near
and dear one, so to my heart that the fear of loosing more reigned supreme
within me.
This lack of confidence took a
toll on my health and even my career. Panic attacks became a part of me. And it
is at that time when my husband came to my rescue. Infact I can easily name him
my crisis angel. He showed that how blessed I am. He vowed to bring in front of
me the underprivileged reality of our society and make me understand where I
stand. Such that I know to value, whatever the creator has given and even taken
away. And stop thinking of what is in store, instead live and enjoy what I have.
He was hugely involved in student
politics, during his university times which is also the time we met. And during
his course he had collected stories. Stories which impacted him and later
helped me come out of the shelf I enclosed myself in. Stories that threw
pessimism out of me and replaced it with optimism! Stories I believe!
The first story was of a girl,
who later topped the West Bengal Board class X examination. She was poor and
knew what hunger was. Her father was a farmer and they lived in a mud hut in a
village near Kolkata. Proper food and amenities were daring dreams to them.
Avishek my husband had seen her study. On the mud floor of their hut, with
mosquitoes around, in humid hot summers with an oil lamp! But she excelled and
touched the sky. The adversities instead of scaring gave her encouragement.
The second story is a
conversation my husband had with his professor. Due to his over indulgence into
politics, a time had come when his studies suffered. But otherwise he is very
sharp. One fine evening, when he was deeply engrossed in some conversation over
a smoke, his professor called. He said, “Look at that poor rickshaw puller smoking,
do you know the price he pays for his smoke has tax added? And that tax is used
for students like you, to study in government colleges with negligible fees…… so
remember all you people are studying from the contribution of the poorest of the
society, so never become a national waste. Studies come first for a student.” This
changed him, and today he is a successful chemical engineering professional.
This changed me too, I knew the losses
cannot be replenished but life is worth a living anyways. That sadness should
only make us stronger. I also understood my responsibility as a Indian national.
I knew I could not afford to disgrace my father, my education and the society
by becoming a national waste.
When I came across this topic in indivine
as LOOK UP STORIES, I was instantly determined to share. Please see the
following link of New Housing, bringing optimism: housing.com/lookup, it surely does bring optimism.
Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta
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