REKHA

I turned the car to take the left hand cut to my office, but irritated that I already was, because of having to deal with all the daily chores on my own; my help , having all of a sudden decided to take two days off, I suddenly turned right & raced towards Rekha’s ( my help) house. I always knew by her ways , by something in her sorrowful doe eyes, that something was terribly wrong in her life, or was not as good as she always tried to portray & present. Every day she keeps on juggling & managing her work, in fact our work, because it’s our household, chattering away, advising, informing about so many things with a beautiful smile that at times successfully hides all her worries & pain from the world.
I parked my car outside the slum that she lived in & asked for her. Masterni Rekha Mausi said a voice as the small finger of his pointed towards a small dwelling. I was not sure whether she was the one who I was looking for. Still I somehow managed to walk past the dirty, muddy road braving the flies around to the humble house & knocked, & to my utter disbelief saw Rekha coming out. On seeing me with an equally surprised & happiness mixed look of disbelief, she just hugged me & pulled me inside. Everything inside had signalled to the NOT SO WELL OFF tag. It was a one room tenement & very cleverly the veranda had been transformed into something like a room, where I was made to sit on a rickety plastic chair & 3-4 poor kids sat on a mat with a few books strewn around.
I was a little taken aback & was trying to look for words to frame up a sentence. I was really shocked to see her as “Masterni”, a teacher. I always knew that she had dropped out of school after 8th or 9th because her mother could afford no more, but Rekha as a teacher!!!!
“So, this is it. This is the reason why you take day offs, naturally this must be more profitable”, I felt the blood pressure in my veins mounting.
“Madam Ke liye chai mangwa de” (get some tea for madam), a fragile old woman came out from the room inside.
“Bahar se kyun? Tum hi bana do amma. Didi pee lengi” (why get tea from outside. You make it, Didi will have). Her innocent trust & faith in me surprised me & prevented me from saying “No” even though I really did not feel like having tea at that time of the day.
“No Didi I did not take off for teaching these kids. In fact my daughter is running very high fever & since Amma is also old & weak so I had to stay back to take care of her. Now that she is sleeping so I thought I will teach them now so that I can come to help you out in the evening.” Saying this she urged me to come inside. It was really dim inside. Once my eyes got accustomed I saw a small girl lying on a folding cot ( incidentally given by me to Rekha), delicate & fragile, doll like but no one to notice , because she does not belong to that noticeable strata of society. I touched the child’s forehead & felt a lump in my throat, as welling tears pierced my eyes & curtained my vision. I pulled up the sheet on her & asked whether she has been taken to the doctor. Rekha nodded in the affirmative. It was a small room with that bed, a few old trunks in one corner withholding the belongings of this family, and a few utensils & a gas stove on which Amma, the old woman (Rekha’s mother) was making tea for me. But everything was neat & clean & arranged properly.
We came out. She asked the kids to do some writing work & turned to me.
“Didi my mother was widowed when I was seven.” I looked at her with a question in my eyes, as if asking why you are telling me this, holding the glass of hot tea which Amma handed me. She smiled at me, the same innocent, lovely smile with pain and agony reflected from the beautiful eyes, which bound me to her gaze. “My Chacha ( uncle) threw us out, with not a single paisa in hand and a daughter to take care of, she thought of taking refuge at the best shelter she could think of, her brother’s house. But three days later the stark reality hit her in her face when her own brother tried to sell her off to a local goonda. She somehow mustered courage & fled with me in her arms & a little money she managed to steal from her sister in law’s purse, boarded a train & landed in Ghaziabad. Not all people in this world are bad Didi. A poor rickshaw puller saw me & my mother huddled in a corner with a scared look. He was a messiah who understood our plight & brought us to this colony. He helped my mother find work & fed us & provided a roof to us till my mother was capable enough to manage on her own.
My childhood was not pleasant. It was deprived of the toys, the good clothes, the new books, the chocolates that all the children in the bungalows had, but my mother didn’t deprive me of her care, love, protection & education. She tried to give me the best that she could, till she could afford no more because of her declining income as a result of her deteriorating health. I dropped out after ninth & helped her in her work. As soon as I attained puberty Amma, in her way of keeping me safe from the hoodlums got me married. He was working in a clothes shop & earned well. A few months, to be precise, two or three were dreamlike. I was very happy but slowly my husband started changing & that too for the worse.” My tea over, still clutching the glass I sat there unable to move listening to this small woman sitting with me, who was with me since the past two years & still was a stranger to me.
“The final straw in our relationship’s end was added when he brought a woman working with him, home, after marrying her. I was hurt, dejected, rejected, destroyed but still couldn’t end my life because I was expecting his child & the picture of my mother too appeared in front of my eyes. What harm has she done that I end my life & leave her alone in this fag end of her life fighting with the tragedy of her daughter’s life shattered & battered. I walked out of his home never to return”.
“Why didn’t you ask for divorce, complain to the police, sue him & ask for a settlement”, I asked.
“Didi when there was no love, no respect between us, what would I do with his money”, the strong answer from the supposedly small woman left me stupefied. I felt like the haughty woman who actually has no knowledge about Life.
“He didn’t want me in his life I didn’t want anything from him. I came back to the sheltered nest of my mother & started looking for work. My child in my womb too must have understood & didn’t give me any trouble till the last day before coming out into this world.”
“Why didn’t you remarry? You were so young” was my next question. ”I wanted to bring forth my child & give her a life full of happiness, not burden her with a second loveless father. She is my little angel who gives me the strength & courage to live life & fight against all odds. I now live for her & my mother. They are the ones who propel me to live life happily & carry on. I never discuss my life with anyone, but with you, I did because I know you are a human being with a beautiful heart & you care & understand.”
“And one more thing Didi, I don’t charge anything from these children for teaching them what I know. They are also deprived & this is my way of doing something for God’s children as other people have done for me or at times do for my daughter. It’s my way of saying thanks, expressing gratitude & giving back to society, something of myself, whatever or however small it may be & feel that yes I too belong here.” I was dumbfounded. Tears in my eyes & a smile on my lips, I just got up & hugged her. My whole self bowed in front of this unique form of womanhood, with great respect & love. In front of me was an image of perseverance & confidence. I had no words to express myself & just left abruptly.
Even as I write about Rekha there is a feeling of pride & hope for the Women of the World. I remember the family, the mother & daughter duo of Amma & Rekha. Both the women were from very humble backgrounds, but strong & independent. In the case of Rekha a working woman & a mother, a mother not only to her daughter but to other children of her society, to whom she was imparting whatever education & values she had & helping them grow as beautiful humans. She is to me a true woman, a motivator, a true example to show that yes women can make a difference. There are many women who are troubled & harassed & are in similar situation as Rekha.
I vow today to help women in such situations & will always try to educate mothers who give birth to children but due to the societal pressures or their own problems, leave these unwanted children to die. I take this vow today as a mark of respect towards Rekha, a small woman with a great, big character.
My salutations to her spirit & her generosity!!!!