Anything For You

Jahanvi, a village girl born and brought up in a village in Gurugram, Haryana. The main occupation of the people of that village and that of the neighbouring villages was farming and all the girls were just taught the household works like cooking, cleaning, taking care of the cattle, etc. Her father was an educated man, a man of ideals. He was a postmaster in Delhi and was always in favour to educate his children. So, he has admitted Jahanvi to school and convinced others in the village to do the same.

From the starting itself, she had a deep interest in studies and highly dedicated to it. She not only did all the household chores, took the cattle out for grazing, bathed them but also used to walk 2 kms. to her school and after returning back home, manage to take out some time to study. She wanted to fulfill her father’s dream, i.e. “To see Jahanvi as a reputed government employee.” She worked hard also those years and completed her Bachelor's in Arts, Bachelors in Education and Masters in Hindi, along with all the routine works that any other girl in the village did.

When she completed M.A. (Hindi), her family started looking for a guy for the marriage. Meanwhile, she has started giving exams for various government jobs to complete her father’s dream which was, by then, her dream too. Her preference was to become a teacher, so she gave mostly exams for that only.

After some time her marriage was fixed with a guy named Samrat, from Atrauli village of Aligarh, UP.

Samrat’s mother died when he was just 10 years old and thereafter his father least cared for his education. Samrat started to provide tuitions when he was in class 8th to arrange money for his

studies. Though his father and other relatives cared the least about his studies, still they put the burden on him to take science stream for higher studies as he scored good marks in the 10 standard. This led to the situation of immense pressure over him He was deeply interested in commerce but due to the family pressure he had to opt for science. Still, he continued to do hard work and somehow managed to get the degree of Bachelors in Science from Delhi University. The family pressure and economic conditions didn’t allow him to continue his studies further ahead. And he started to give tuitions as his full-time job. He managed to get his sister married and always took care and look after his father’s health.

Jahanvi and Samrat got married at the time when both of them were struggling hard with their

careers. They had worked hard in those 26 years of their life but were unable to shape their careers till now. Both of them were not ready for the marriage but as fate would have considered, two young people, struggling to give shape to their careers, got married.

Jahanvi still continued to appear in many of the exams but she was unable to get the desired results, maybe because of the reason that we live in a country where caste is greater than your talent, capability and hard work and her fault was that she was born in a brahmin family. Though Samrat was not looking for a job but was waiting to get economically stable to be able to support his family. But the two people accepted their fate and went ahead to start a new journey together.

Samrat was a part of a careless family and always around careless people, so he never knew what a family really meant. Jahanvi made him understand what a family really means.

They used to live in a single room in a house which was bought by Samrat’s father, but most of the

part of it was possessed by his uncles forcefully and his father didn’t oppose that. So he couldn’t do anything except to live there. He has started building his contacts in the locality, which was quite easy for him because of his jolly and lovable nature. On the other hand, Jahanvi did all the household chores and also managed to take out time for the preparation of exams. Both of them were still working to shape their future, but now together.

Samrat helped her in the daily routine household chores whenever he was free so that she can have some more time to study or get time to take rest. She helped him to manage his time, his diet and everything to improve his personality. Two different people, working together and for each other, to get their careers and their economic conditions to be stable.

With those efforts, Samrat opened a coaching institute in the locality and managed to create a

crowd of 52 children in the first month itself. The first step of success for the couple. One day Jahanvi started feeling unwell and vomited thrice. He took her to the doctor in the evening and they found out that she was pregnant. As they got out of the hospital and she looked at him, he had tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

“What happened?” She asked.

“Thank you, sweetheart. You’ve made me realise what a family is and what love is. In these 6 months of togetherness, you’ve made me realize that home is where your heart is and that home is not a place but a feeling that you’ve given me, a feeling that I’ve never known after my mom. Thank you so much and I’m sorry that I am not able to give you what you deserve, but I promise that I will work harder now, for the three of us. Good times will come soon.” He said.

“We will.” She emphasized on the words and went ahead and hugged him. The two strangers now

knew what true love is.

As the crowd began to increase at the institute, she also joined in. Though her work increased,

she was happy at helping him. She did every household work, went to take classes at the institute and also kept preparing for exams. They usually went out of the city to Allahabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur for her exams and on such trips they just came closer and closer.

The result for the state PGT exam was going to be out on the 26 of January, which was their first

marriage anniversary. They went to the nearby internet cafe and searched for the results. ‘List for

the candidates selected for the post of PGT in state government schools.’ The screen read. He

searched her name and there it was, her name and roll number. She finally cleared the exam and now eligible for the state PGT teacher. Tears of joy rolled down his eyes as he looked towards her.

“You’ve made my day much more special. Thank you.” He said.

“And you’ve made my life much more special.” She said.

He smiled as he took her in his arms. The hard work was now going to pay.

‘Congratulations to the selected candidates. You have been mailed your selection details.’ The last

lines on the screen read. “Congratulations Mam!” said the guy there.

“Thanks.” She said.

He opened her mail which read ‘Congratulations you’ve been selected in the state PGT exam. You

have been appointed as a lecturer in Hindi at the Kendriya Vidyalaya Number 1, Aligarh city. Your

joining letter will reach you soon, by post, which will contain information about your joining date

and time.’

She stared at the email message on her computer, her mind racing so fast that the words blurred

together and no longer made any sense. Just 3 lines, but enough to make her life–the life she’d

worked so hard and sacrificed so much to build–begin to crumble around her. She looked at her

husband, he was still very happy, maybe he didn’t know what it meant, or maybe he was just

ignoring it for her happiness. They went back home and he went to distribute sweets among his

friends and relatives. He came back home in the evening after taking his classes, she was sitting on the bed thinking something. He went into the room and hugged her tightly.

“Congratulations madam, lecturer of Hindi in Kendriya Vidyalaya, I am so happy today.” He said.

She smiled watching his happiness and hugged him back.

In the night, after they finished their dinner, he said looking at her, “Hey, what happened? You’re

lost in deep thoughts after looking at the email. Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing. Let’s go to sleep.” She said.

“No way. Tell me what it is.” He said firmly.

“I have been posted in Aligarh city. You know that it takes about an hour at least to reach there.” She said.

“Yes. So what?” He asked.

How can I travel in this condition? I am 6 months pregnant. And after 3 months how will the newborn be able to undergo the situation?” She said.

He was still and expressionless, knowing nothing about what to do next.

“So what next?” He asked.

“I don’t know. I am not able to think anything now. After a year you’ve been able to set up your

institute here. This is not our personal property so that we can sell it and shift it there. Traveling daily isn’t an option.” She said.

”Listen, let’s go to sleep. I will think about it later on. Don’t worry. We will find a solution. Come and

take rest.” He said and took her to the bed.

They woke up next morning with the same question, what to do now? They didn’t talk about it and kept doing their routine works. In the evening when he came back, he sat beside her and said,

“Look, madam, it was my father in law’s dream that you get into a government job. You must fulfill

that, after all, you’ve worked so hard all your life just for that.”

“But…” She was about to speak but he stopped her.

“Let me finish first. Fulfill your duty as a daughter. Then do whatever you wish to do as a mother.” He said.

She kept quiet.

“Is it okay madam?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She said with a smile.

A week later her joining letter arrived. They both went to the school on the joining date and time

and she, after years of hard work, was finally a government employee. Her eyes went wet as she

remembered her father. She played the daughter’s role brilliantly, but now it was a mother’s turn.

He was waiting for her decision calmly. He knew that whatever she’ll decide, will be good for his

family. He believed her. He used to drop her to school in the morning and she came back by bus in the afternoon. That was their routine for 2 months, and after that, she went on her maternity leave.

On the 2nd of April, they got blessed with a boy. Their family was complete now. They were both

happy. He distributed sweets in the whole locality. He was on Cloud Nine. They named the boy

Arjun. 3 weeks post Arjun’s birth, she was absolutely fine, and she started thinking about her job. She discussed it with some people and everyone said that a government job isn’t easy to get, so don’t resign. But no one was able to answer the question, ‘Who will take care of the newborn?’ Samrat’s brother, brother’s wife, his uncle, and uncle’s family, all lived in the same house, yet no one said that they would take care of Arjun. So many relatives, but not a single family member.

She was worried about Arjun. She knew that it was not possible for Samrat to take care of Arjun, as he had to take his classes. But who else would take care of him?

One fine evening, she said, “I’ve decided. I’m resigning.”

Samrat looked at her calmly, smiled and asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” she said, “I can’t run after money and let my kid be like any other. I believe you. You will

provide us with enough so as to live happily. And I’ll help you with your institute. We’ll grow it.”

Looking towards Arjun she said, “I’ll make my kid special. I’ll give him a good education and moral

values. He’ll be successful in the future and will earn more than this.”

“As you say, madam.” He said as he smiled and hugged both of them.

This is what a mother’s love is. She will sacrifice everything for you and yet act like its nothing. For her, sacrificing her career isn’t a big deal, as she will look for her happiness in her child’s

successful career. She can do anything to make her child happy and successful. A mother’s

sacrifice is no small thing, and a mother’s love has no equal.