Illiterate, But Not So Illiterate

source: national herald

Yesterday my wife said,
“I want to give Rs three thousand extra to Malti every month in addition to her monthly wages.”
“Why don’t you outrightly raise her wages?”
“I can’t do it, others will object to distorting the rate.”
“Okay, but do you need my approval for this?”
“No, I wanted to share her story, and why I want to help her.”

Her story in brief is as under:

Malti is a domestic help, an illiterate, who goes from house to house doing sweeping, mopping, washing utensils etc. She earns about twenty thousand rupees per month. Her husband works as a construction labourer. This is how both make a living.

In the hope of getting a son, four daughters were born to them one by one. But both the husband and wife keep all the daughters very well.

The elder daughter was not so good in studies, so she was given training to sew clothes. She now also contributes a little to the family income.

The second girl is promising and brilliant. When she passed her high school examination with very good marks, she needed to be admitted to a college, and that too a better college, as she aspired to become a doctor.

She started her studies well. All were happy in the family, but the income was falling short to meet the fees and other expenses of her studies. Moreover, after two years, if she gets selected, they will also have to bear the cost of the medical course.

There seemed to be no way out. Finally, Malti came forward,
“The girl will continue her studies, even if I have to work in two or three more houses. When she goes to college, we’ll see then.”

My wife, who scolded her for being late yesterday, became very appreciative of her, when she told her that she had started working in one more house for additional income. So she wanted to help Malti a little.

Malti’s strong will and determination is reflected in the following lines of hers: “God may not have been fair to me by not giving me a son, but that doesn’t deter me from finding a better son-in-law.”

I don’t want to get into son-daughter issue, but what I feel is that if parents, especially mothers, are so concerned, and so resolute, then no child will feel deprived, irrespective of social or financial background he or she belongs to.

–Kaushal Kishore

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