In a day and age of having the best for yourself is a norm. People try different means and methods to have a get rich quick fix. We forget to live our lives in the quest to get rich and show our friends and family. To have the materialistic gains is what we have aimed our destiny.
I was made to believe the materialistic way of life is the place for all to be until I met Saraswati. She is a regular person without any hopes of making it big in the world with a simple understanding of life and the hurdles she faces.
I had to go to the outskirts of Mumbai on work and was waiting at a tea stall for the workers to come. While I was waiting, a lady came with a basket on her head and a baby in her arms. She asked the tea stall lady to help her get the basket down and lay it on the ground.
She went ahead to arrange the basket laden with toys and women's accessories. She was preparing herself sell her goods in the village near by. I was sitting and observing her as she did her work.
As she was getting her basket ready, her daughter, 1 year 5 months young, lay on her lap and slept soundly. She kept to her work of readying the basket and also caring for her daughter. It was a sight to see, how she was making an effort to earn her livelihood. I was only amazed at the courage this lady was showing in the world of material craze with the simple products she kept in her basket to sell.
I approached her and asked her why she was doing so much to make a living. She could have easily stood on the streets like a beggar and made a lot more money. She looked at me with a smile and said, "Sahab, God has gifted me with everything I need to earn my living, why should I beg for my living?" I was shocked and awed by her courage. Her answer had made a dent in my belief that the world is getting worse by the day and humanity is a dying phenomenon. Her ability to live life without the need to have the abundance of money but to have the abundance of time with her child and family was truly mind changing.
Saraswati said, she works 5 hours every day except sunday, when her husband would get an off from work and the time would be spent with family on that day. She carries her baby everywhere she goes and does all the work to ensure her child gets a decent education, something she was not allowed to do since she was a girl. Saraswati was the youngest of three siblings and the only girl. Her brothers were educated and worked in the city, where as she was not sent to school beyond class 8th as her father didn't think it was a worthwhile investment.
Saraswati was not in the shadow of being dejected of depressed with the treatment meted out to her because of her sex. Her ability to stand up and earn her living was proof in itself, to show her strength to fight the world around her in a subtle but defined manner. She was a deity in her actions.
I listened with an open mouth and a head held high to her life and her living. Her mother in law and family were very strict and didnt allow her to move out too often. She had to make them known that she wanted to do it for her and her child's happiness. She said she was blessed with an understanding husband who supported her in her wants and needs of being independent.
I was truly blessed to be within the aura of such a person in my lifetime. A person who showcased strength and courage when the world around her was only trying to pull her down. May the world be blessed for having a person like Saraswati to have, to receive and to get what we deserve and not what we want.
