The Momma Clan

My daughter, Tejasvi, and I were waiting at the bus stand for the past twenty-five minutes but to no avail. It was past 11:30 pm and I was now getting a little impatient and nervous. My 19-year-old daughter was pacifying me saying we live in a city that never sleeps, being in the field of journalism she had already become smart and strong, and travelling no longer bothered her. 

We luckily got a rickshaw, driven by a lady, who readily said yes to the trip and we stepped in with a sigh of relief. Tejasvi saw the tension on my face and started the conversation to calm me …..

Tejasvi : “Mumma , you need to come out of your nutshell and start being abreast with developments….an example is right in front of us….she may not  be as famous as Alka Jadhav, Tejashree Sawant, or Shila Dawre but look at her confidence ….she is really cool “

Driver ( smilingly) :  ” Madam, your daughter is right …. I come from Telangana and am doing this to make ends meet. I lost my husband ten years back and started doing part-time small jobs in people’s houses but the income was not sufficient to serve my two children both studying in good colleges now .”

Smita ma’am: ” Ohh, so you are a mother of teenagers …..hope they too are supporting you in your earnings….nowadays children are otherwise only busy on social media making tik toks ….. I am so proud of my daughter who is showing the world to me through her eyes “

Driver: ” Indeed you are blessed ….my daughter too takes care of the house , my mother-in-law and my son and at the same time studying for her CA intermediate exams .”

Smita ma’am: ” That is really commendable. What is your name and you didn’t mention your son…”

Driver: “My name is Aishwarya and my son is studying engineering in night school as he needs to earn too…

Actually, he was a ranker in 12th grade but fell into bad company ….smoking and wasting time with friends. I made it clear to him that being a single mother it is extremely difficult for me to handle expenses and he needs to shift out if he wants to pursue a luxurious life, not fending for livelihood, instead splurging money and wasting precious time. I stopped his pocket money….he soon realized his folly and decided to help me earn and build up finances to purchase a decent house in a good locality “

Tejaswi : ” I’m sure it mustn’t be easy  

to  sustain her family in the face of increasing costs of living in the city, no mumma !”

Smita ma’am: ” Yes, of course, taking advantage of her single status and gender, people must be casting aspersions on her character too….but that is what women are made up of….unimaginable strength to shoulder any responsibility and face challenges bravely ” 

Driver (Aishwarya) : ” Actually, Labour unions such as CITU help women with the necessary support, helping out with union registration, ways and means to access government benefits, and even initial training in how to deal with customers at ease. This helped me a lot and gave me more confidence. ” 

Tejasvi: ” See mumma ….where there is a will, there is a way…even I might need to venture out of the city in order to explore opportunities. Women will get equal rights … Deeper commitment and enabling policies are all we need  to build enterprises that can successfully address women’s entry into any  sector and create more Aishwaryas across India.”

-Bhavna Menda