No matter how educated, talented, cool or rich you believe you are, how you treat people around you tells it ALL. Today I want to share an incidence from my own life where I took a small step forward for a positive change.
Exactly 9 years back, I was a fulltime working mom. I live in a nuclear setup in the BIG city Mumbai where a corporate job never ends up being 9-5. Though I am fortunate to have married a very supportive husband, a reliable and steady maid holds the key to bringing in that much needed work-life balance once the baby arrives.
The initial few months were bumpy, with maids walking in and out every 4-5 months.Some wanted to quit for better prospects, others got fired due to unsatisfactory ethics. If it was not for my own mom, who stood by me, I would have quit just around then.
After many rounds of short-term hires, around the time my kid was 2 years old, Asha walked in. When she came, her name didn’t make any special impact on me. It was like any previous househelp – Geeta, Sarita or Lata. Frail, docile, quiet, she kept to herself and her work.
It’s only over the years that she spent in our house, I understood what her name really meant. With a desire to work, she gave in her 100% to my child and my house. True to her name she took charge, not only in doing her duty but by building that delicate bond with my child. I could trust her, so I could continue with my job.
2.5 years later, it was time for her to leave. She wanted to pursue a degree in nursing. She wanted to go for a 3 year residential programme at a reputed private nursing college in Vishakhapatnam. I think I didn’t mention that she had completed her graduation from her village near Ranchi before she came to work in Mumbai.
How far did I care for her when it was time for her to exit? NO, she did not ask me for money. But I knew the small savings she had, would give her family a relatively more comfortable life back there in the village.
I wanted her to have a better shot at life. The life of a trained ‘Sister’ at the hospital.
By now, I wasn’t working. So I didn’t need her as desperately. I mean, now I was at home, to keep a vigilance, to say the least. But is that how I thought?
She is in her 6th semester now, getting ready for campus placement. The expenses were close to my own corporate job’s 4 month’s salary at a time when I was NOT working. But then there is not greater joy than the JOY of giving. Noone has ever become poor from giving.
To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant or perfect. All you have to do is just care for them
Kadam Chhota, Change Bada!
#PadmanOnZEE5
Every change begins with a small step, whether it’s a change within your family, or the whole country! India’s hero, Padman, had its digital premiere on ZEE5, on 11th May. Don’t miss this inspiring true-life story, only on ZEE5. Download the app and subscribe now. For every subscription, ZEE5 will donate Rs. 5 towards the personal hygiene needs of underprivileged women.
Drop a line in the comment box about an incident in your own life, where you (or anyone you came across) took a small step forward for a positive change.
An Urban Nomadic 
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