Perspectives

By Nebil Divay

The whole drama takes place in a third world country which has just completed the task of feeding it's population. Many things that come along in the story might sound a bit easy in the present times, but that just indicates how lucky we are, as a generation. Okay, let's begin the story.

After schooling, she insisted on getting higher education to a father whose primary occupation was farming and she was his third girl child. But she wasn't someone to back off from her desires easily. Her adamance won over him and she went on to complete her college. Then came a break in her life for two years basically staying at home and taking care of newborns of elder sister's and helping her mom in the kitchen. Also, she was preparing for public exams to get into government service, giving applications at employment exchanges etc. She wasn't the brightest of students but she had in her persistence, and maybe that is all it needs, to overcome one's life's hurdles.

She took some jobs that came along her way through employment exchange,then got married and moved to a new house. She always wanted to strive and lead a better life. When she was pregnant with the first child, the public exams for government services were scheduled three days prior to her delivery date. Her husband,his family,her own family, everyone told her to drop the exams as it's very critical. Words were sharp as bullets, but she was resilient as diamond. And she sparkled too. From the center of all this,she fought her way out and convinced her husband to take her for the exam. On the day of the exam, she upset her stomach from eating outside during travel. She was all exhausted and nauseous when she reached the hall. The husband reminded once again,she needn't go through this and that they can go to a hospital. She wasn't ready to give up then and never so when she had it in her eyesights. She vomited a couple times during the exam but managed to complete it. And then,as satisfied as she can be, she went on to deliver her child and welcomed him to the world with no problem whatsoever in three days.

When the result of the public exam that she attended came, she passed them and was qualified for the interview. Now, as if the before pregnancy drama wasn't enough, the interview was scheduled in a week after her second child delivery date And by now, you know very well what happened. She went through with it and came out successful. Sorry, no points for guessing. Securing a government job is like getting a safety net for life. She knew that security very well,even before getting one. She became a public health nurse,mainly looking after mother and child related matters in her area. Between this, her life was thrown apart from divorce from her marriage due to financial issues. In her early career years,she was transferred to rural areas as that is the case generally. Once during a heavy rainy season, she was called by some local people to come and look into a pregnant lady. She reached there only to find out that it was a pregnant lady with her water already broken. There was no time to take her to the hospital, though that wasn't an option either, with the nearest hospital being miles away. She hadn't even seen a delivery before,apart from her own,which you know is half woozy. She had learnt about all that one should do at delivery during her training. Then she had her temperament within her along with that knowledge which gave her the courage to go for it. For the poor family in those rural areas, she was their only hope. She thought about the entire process through, then gathered all that she might need or can use from the limited resources available to her. She consoled the lady and asked her to trust her and push the life that's impatiently excited to come into the world. The lady went through with it and delivered a beautiful girl child into this world. She cut the cord,did the first aid and cleaned up the baby. They were transported to hospital the next day and were given all the necessary treatment. The glow in the eyes of a parent seeing their child for the first time,there is very few,if any, that can bring that many emotions in our minds. And being responsible for that kind of emotions in others life is truly a glory. Who knows what would have happened to that child,if not for her.

I had seen my mother my entire life, more than quarter of a century, but never did I look at her the way I was looking at her when she told me this. She seemed to me like a different person, a warrior of some kind,I don't know. To me, she was always a person who played safe,who wasn't much of a fighter. But these stories made me realise how strong a lady she had to be in bringing up two children as a single working mother. Will, resilience, persistence, temperament are things upon which she carried her life. Strong qualities might be found in the most silent place.

In life we overlook so much about things that sometimes we don't give attention to inspirations around you. It would have been simply lying there, all along,until one day, you could see it correct. Perspectives. Right ?

By Nebil Divay