Our Dream

“Education is a prerequisite for a secured future. It is the gateway to buy a good livelihood,
earn respect in the neighbourhood, to provide security to your parent’s health and most
importantly to see yourself as the bride in a well to do family. Irrespective of the difficulties
and objections hurled at you, have only one dream, the dream to become a graduate”.

Those were the last words Suhani heard from our late grandmother. She expired at the age of
67. She had 8 children in total, 6 girls and 2 boys. The boys were born at number 5 and
number 8. Suhani is the eldest daughter of the last boy child the grandmother had. With the
absence of our grandmother, the family count stood at 6. Suhani’s class 11 examinations got
over recently. The preparations for class 12 Math, Physics and Chemistry paper is already
underway. Suhani’s dream is not just to score pleasantly but to score comprehensively which
enabled her to apply for a scholarship in Engineering.

Suhani has a clear and transparent dream, to be a graduate engineer. No one in our family tree
had ever imagined about education after class 5. She is already a young achiever in the
family, successfully made it till class 11! She has very few friends in the college,
predominantly attributed to our economic condition. The few she has are very helpful and
always willing to share their tuition notes. She often brings home their notes and very
ardently makes a copy of her own. I have never considered my sister as a genius or a child
prodigy. She is the hard working average individual of modern India, with an additional
pinch of determination as compared to other privileged masses in society.

Our father stopped funding my Sister’s education when she reached class 6, thanks to our
Mother that she got the opportunity to make it so far. Between 7 a.m and 11 a.m our Mother’s
profession is being a house keeper; she has limited her skill set to washing clothes and
cleaning utensils. Her service is hired by 6 households, all in the same locality. Her loyalty
and disciplined work has helped her earn a minimum 10% increment yearly in addition to the
festive season bonus she never fails to receive. Between 12 noon to 6 p.m our Mother wears
the hat of an artisan. She is the part of a Self Help Group which evidently pays her almost
twice of what she earns working as a house keeper. Unfortunately, with the abusive husband
and a bunch of hungry people to feed, all the money my mother earns is always short of
supply. Demand always exceeds supply! By the way, my Mother is a programmed machine;
she wakes up automatically by 4 a.m, never figured out what makes her so habitual,
circumstance or pure state of mind?
I am the second eldest child in the family and the only among the four daughters to be born
so pretty! My mother always taunts about the dowry she is saved of giving away in my
marriage, it flatters me but I also feel bad at times. With all the pain she endeavours to see us
grow up, she never misses a chance to be humorous which keeps us in the comfort zone of
her warmth and care. Money is important in our lives but not as important as the love my
Mother has towards all of us. Nothing compensates her love, nothing.

We all sisters want to study, all of us want to complete graduation, be independent by

ourselves and provide every bit of happiness to our Mother, the true hero in our lives. I am
happy that at least my elder sister Suhani has the opportunity to go to college. Our Mother
can afford only one’s education, that too until class 12, thereafter she wants to save money
for our marriage. The hard work Didi has put together all these years shouldn’t be of
insignificance, she is trying hard not to think of the constant quarrel between our parents.
‘My dream is to make my Didi’s dream a reality’.

Hi Didi, when do we call you an Engineer?

Well, to become an Engineer, one needs to first enrol into Engineering. It takes four years of
rigorous study in order to be called an Engineer thereafter.

Oh my god, four years? That is such a long duration! I thought once you cleared class 12, the
following year you become Engineer! Are you serious about the duration?

Haan, I am serious. That is why I am so tensed. I don’t know how Father is going to react. He
was mentioning about my marriage the other day.

Marriage? But why so soon, I mean that there is no urgency as such.

The sooner he washes his hand off us, will he be able to torture Mother for more money.

But Didi, how will you convince Mother, she has already informed that she can’t fund your
education further.

True, but I can only hope that Mother understands the importance of Graduation.

I will try my best to talk to her Didi, I guess she can utilize the dowry amount that she is
going to save in my marriage!
All these years of hardship shall not make us weak; our sail is in relatively calm sea. Life has
taught us so many things, I have the confidence that a way out of it will surely emerge.

You are so optimistic Didi, salute to you. By the way, you had to furnish the college fees, has
the college administration provided you an extension?

I requested them for an extension; they informed nothing which could pacify me. I borrowed
money from one of my friends; I asked her an extension instead! Don’t tell it to Mother, she
will fume at me, alright?

You are the best judge of your actions, trust me regarding our confidentiality.

The unanticipated rain brought immense relief from the scorching heat. The topping of the
ice is Didi’s class 11 result. It is a Distinction it seems. Although I don’t know the meaning,
Didi said that anyone who scored above the 80% mark earned a Distinction. She is such an
intelligent girl; Mother gifted her very beautiful salwar as reward. Now my sister’s wardrobe
has a total of 4 salwars, highest among all the sisters!

Suhani knew that she had the potential to make it through till the end, certainly an Engineer
in the making. Her class 11 results boosted the possibility of getting funded for the class 12
preparations and tuition fees. After two months of borrowing money for the remittance of
college fees, Suhani eventually cleared all her debt. Whenever there was immediate need of
money, she borrowed from friends and would later return back at the earliest, she had a
wonderful set of caring friends; two to be precise.

With the blink of an eye, the board examinations approached. Didi’s preparation was up to
the mark but she had the distant fear of not being able to pursue education further. Each
passing day her concentration dwindled in studies. Anxiety started to take the best out of her.
Our Mother tried pacifying her, motivated her that she would reconsider her Engineering
dreams but Didi knew that it was a far cry. After nearly having had a nervous breakdown, we
somehow inspired her to take the examinations. Didi was of the opinion that she would take a
year break during which she had plans of working. The money she earned would be
beneficial for her Engineering days until she was rewarded a scholarship.

Post-Examination

Everyone in our family was eager to hear the examination result, including our Father. After
each examination, Didi returned home with not so enthusiastic feeling. Mother never asked
her anything, she would prepare sizzling hot chapatti so that Didi could start studying for the
next paper. I’d be awake late into the night so that Didi could relieve her stress, usually we’d
have tea early in the morning. Didi always confessed one thing after each examination, that
the examination was tough but she would pass it commendably. At times we talked about the
awkward situations when we were confronted by boys, they commenting non-sense and the
shyness that almost always persisted. The moments of joy when Mother would bring hot
jalebi and how we always never bothered to ask her to eat. The pranks we played as small
kids with the neighbours, so many months of pocket money that we saved just to watch the
movies of SRK. No distress made us forget such memorable moments, each day we lived to
die another day!

I am very young but I don’t have a choice either, it is time to add wings to your Dream.

No sooner did the board examinations culminate, Didi started to focus her attention at the
Common Entrance Test (CET). The % progress of achieving her dream was only 15%
complete, hypothetically assuming that Suhani admits herself in Engineering which formed
nearly 60% of her Dream. CET formed another 15% and the admission into Engineering
contributing to 10% of the overall Dream.

Not a long way to go but certainly it was one of the hardest which Didi would ever imagine
to come across yet in her life. Resilience compounded by the immense positive outlook
helped her to stay calm in times of turmoil; Mother also played a vital role of the Shepherd,
keeping us together, entrusting upon us the values of good deeds. She always mentions that
as the disciples of Holy God our mission in life is to work sincerely till the last breath without
any expectation or anticipation of benefits/returns. Each day will be a rewarding day, no
matter how meagre the reward, it is a driving force for a better reward the following day.

Didi had no expectation in CET either; she gave it her best attempt. She had the most
rejoicing day of her life that summer. Her CET ranking was more than sufficient to secure a
seat among the best streams of Engineering, in the top colleges of the state. She wouldn’t
have had a happier day especially in the past two years. As she hugged me, we both had tears
of joy, we knew the importance of this accomplishment. We were ecstatic, shouting,
screaming and jumping all over the home. Neighbours were as curious as our father, they
wouldn’t figure out what had happened. Didi explained the situation in detail to Father, he
was much amused about the achievement of his young daughter.
After three months of the announcement of CET results, Suhani had enrolled herself into the
best Engineering College in her hometown. Against all odds of deprivation her name was
edged in history. Suhani had not only made our family proud, she had also achieved 40% of
her dream. She had become a role model for a lot of young people in the town. Her story of
determination made headlines in the media.

Didi thanked our parents for everything especially our Mother, she also praised the efforts of
us sisters and the countless moments of deprivation through which we sailed in unity. No
matter what situations we face in life, how we face those situations is what makes us different
from the rest. Most people cry over things which are not exclusively available at any given
point of time, the things they might have achieved otherwise. Suhani is one among so many
young Indians who has the zeal to accomplish their dreams, no obstacle will make them
weak, with clear focus and selfless action they march forward. If you have a dream, have the
courage to achieve it! There is no defined way to reach your destination, when you know
where to reach; the alternate routes on how to reach the destination will automatically fall in
line.

Pre-Examination

Didi’s board examinations were scheduled to commence in a month. I was as uncertain as my

Mother as to how we were going to sponsor Didi’s graduation. Our Father worked as a day
labour in a rice mill, his income never reached our home. Mother was already working
excessively.

We could loan from domestic financers or ask for assistance from the self help group.

Domestic financers lend money at an annualised interest rate of 5-8%. They don’t ask for
collateral, but one thing which is uncommon as compared to banks is that the domestic
financers are ruthless when it comes to repayment of loan. Unlike the banks which serve
notices when the repayment has hurdles, domestic financers have goons rolling up their
sleeves to thrash the life out of you.

The self help group has a lottery system of disbursing loans. The group has a total of 21
members, every month each member deposits a minimum sum of money as part of the lottery
system. The lucky draw winner will get the entire money which is collected for the specific
month. The cycle continues until every member has had the opportunity to be the winner. In
other words, a person who has won the lottery in the first attempt can expect the turn of
becoming the winner second time only on the 22nd month after the first win.

The latter was a more practical solution for the problem at hand, we didn’t have to pay any
interest. But Mother said that even if she won the lottery, the amount would not be sufficient
for the sponsorship.

I couldn’t have been more convinced about my existence. ‘My dream is to make my Didi’s
dream a reality’. As these words resonated in my mind, one thought was persisting clearly. I
had to wear the shoes of a bread winner. I could join hands with Mother. The housing society
nearby had a shortage of house keepers! I can also work at the Self help group, the money I
earn there will also be useful for the family. But I find myself to contribute more. There
shouldn’t be shortage of money at home, I mean that the supply should equal the demand.
The scope for growth is limited in both the above situations; I feel that I have the potential to
grow higher in an organizational structure.

In that way, I not only secured my Didi’s future but also secured my future. What if I am not
literate, the country in itself is run by illiterates. Out of the numerous possibilities, I knew I
could grow big in one industry, the industry which has witnessed tremendous growth in the
past decade. Most of the multinational companies outsource their work here. I mean, we have
among the world’s cheapest labour rates which makes this industry all the more lucrative. I
approached the team lead today, the response was positive. They have a lot of vacancies, the
first month would be dedicated to induction and training. From second month onwards, your
performance determines the eligibility for reward and recognition. The team lead maintained
that the work hours would be 8 hours a day. Each hour earned a payment of Rs. 25/-,
additionally Over Time will be paid at 1.5 times the rates as and when required. Rs. 200/- per
day is not bad to begin with, besides I have the opportunity to grow vertically in the course of
my employment.

By the time Didi joined Engineering, I would have earned 5 month salary, I guess that would
be sufficient to get her admitted into Engineering. I was informed regarding the confirmation
of my employment by the team lead today. I join the company starting tomorrow...