THE MAID WHO MADE IT....BIG!

who made it!!!

Shy, innocent and a bit rag-tagged, she walked into our house on that morning, along with her mother. The initial information exchange over, her mother left, and the girl- who we had hired as a caretaker- was shown her room, her corner and also given a download of the pets- each pet's ka nature, who's aggressive, who to play with and who to stay away from- and every single idiosyncrasy of each one- Prince, Misha and Cherry- respectively. Didn't have much info tho, to share with her on the new-born baby- for whom she was going to be the caretaker.

Days and weeks passed by and she was part of our family- playing with the kid, taking care of her while mom is away for a while, or simply soaking the baby in the early morning sun...I and my wife could make out one thing for sure- that this girl- the maid if be put in crude terms, and caretaker-if a little polished way to say- was certainly different from the rest. She was curious, wanted to know more, asked many questions on everything- right from music to arts, to even sciences....and that, when she was barely educated upto 9th standard.

All her curiousity led us to one conclusion- that this girl doesnt deserve to be a maid- just because she is poor. Her ambitions and her level of thinking is too different and we gotta do something about her. So, one day, my wife struck a conversation with her and asked 'beta, what do you want to do in life" what's your goal.....Out poured her stories of how her father hadn't allowed her to study, how she was crushed in her family and what traumas she has undergone. The answer came at the end- she said- DIDI, i want to become a famous beautician. I want to have my own Beauty parlor 2 years from now. Bang on! She was different- because she had a dream, a mission, and ambition. It was only a question of how to reach there.

Things were worked out for her- first step to get her enrolled in a good course- we couldn't allocate so much money at one shot- so we worked out an emi arrangement with the parlor. Next- was to allot the entire afternoon time slot for this girl- and 3rd- to ensure that even in her absence, all the things went off smoothly.



Done and over, on the first day this innocent yet fire-in-her-eyes girl came back all smiles, and in a prancing style. She was almost in tears as she thanked my wife for this big opportunity and all. My wife maintained her composure- and in a typical shaadi-ke-time-and-just-before-the-fera style- she said " But hum ek baat toh kehna bhool hi gaye"......The girl was a bit shaken...maybe all of a sudden she thought something has gone wrong. Maybe her father has come to pick her up. Maybe we have changed our mind. Maybe......

Before the next thought flashed across the lil girls mind- my wife said ; Dekho beta- we want one major promise from you....Before wife completed her line, the girl said didi, mujhe bhi aapse baat karni thi....about the fees....i never knew you have paid so much..how will i return the money.....It was my wife's turn to interrupt and then....Humko yeh fees nahi chaiye vvapis....but ek promise chaiye tumse. That tomorrow, when you open your own beauty parlour- you will teach 3 underprivileged girls free of cost. The girl stood silent for a while- and said. 'didi' main kasam khati hoon, main vaisa hi karoongi.

Time flew, and after a few months, she completed her course. My baby too, had grown up a bit and now, and it was time for us to push this girl away from the comforts she was getting too used to. lLest she forget her goal.

She cried a lot while leaving, and we told her ' the next time we wanna see you- is with an invite' of your own Beauty parlor. We will wait for that moment.

Life moved on....till one such day- a couple of years back, we heard a knock on our door. On opening- we saw what we had maybe subliminally waited for. The lil girl had grown up- was carrying a big box of sweets, and a glittering card in her hand. She hadn't forgotten that Prince- my first doggy loved Monginis and that too, she had brought in full stock. A big chocolate for wife. And a silver kada for my baby- which was now 3 years old.

Yes, her dream she had fulfilled. And today, she had a full-fledged beauty parlor, some 20 tolas of gold she has made for herself, she has renovated her house, complete with all the modern gadgets- and lastly- she has taught not less than 8 girls-free of cost' at her parlor.

Reminds you of one sign that many rickshaws in Bombay sport behind their hood 'Ek mulgi sheekli, toh parivar sheekla.' When you teach a girl, you are educating an entire family.