Importance Of Education

"Anita, where is my newspaper?" Mr. Sharma shouted. It must be at its usual place, please make it yourself. While packing lunch for Rahul, she said in a high pitched voice. Anita, please get me a cup of tea as well. But Rahul is getting late, I need to drop him to school. I will make once I get back. Sure, it's alright, ask Chinki to make it. “Actually she is engrossed in her coloring books, worry not I will make it.” She replied in a comforting manner. Mr. Sharma got annoyed, since a typical father he was. “Why don’t you ever let Chinki do the chores, being a girl she must learn how to clean and cook. How would she be able to manage once she gets married? She would repent over the loss you are causing to her.” He alerted his wife. Poor Anita, perhaps staying silent was the only choice she had. She bowed her head and continued to cook.

"Beta Rahul, how are you doing with your studies. Is everything good?" His father asked with all the care in this universe. You have to become a big man one day and earn a huge name for our family. Yes, daddy, I am doing very good in studies. In fact, my teacher appreciates me a lot since I am one of the bright students. That’s great my son. I am sure you will make me proud one day.

Carried away with all the hustle and bustle, Chinki kept the book aside and went into the kitchen. she stood alongside the crooked little window and glanced at her elder brother who was all dressed up going to school. She innocently went to her father and said: “Dad, I want to go to school too, just like Bhaiya.” A blanket of silence covered the ambiance. Chinki held her father’s hand and started pushing it gently in an attempt to persuade him to allow her to go to school. Daddy please, I want to study and make you proud just like Bahiya. Mr. Sharma got extremely agitated and let go of her hold. Like a loving father, he gently brushed his palm over to Chinki's head and asserted, “you are a girl, going to school and getting an education would be of no use for you, rather you should be learning household chores. One day when you will get married, education won’t help you, but the chores would. So better is to help your mother in household work and learn the same for yourself.” And all her dreams were shattered in just a fraction of second. 

However, since a tough lady she was, her hopes didn’t die. It was the very next morning that she saw Rahul going on a bike ride with his friends. Chinki’s eyes sparked with an immense amount of happiness. She hurriedly ran to him and pleaded to teach her riding bike. Watching her talking imprudently, her father forcibly pulled her arm from behind and yelled at her again, infuriatingly this time and made her clear not to repeat such childishness else the consequences would be undesirable. Tears emerged out of the corner of Chinki’s eyes.

Such a ritual continued to happen for years and soon Chinki grew up into a beautiful woman with silky long hair, a few strands of which would fall deliberately on her cute round face, overshadowing her mystical big ambitious eyes. Yes, that was the time much-awaited, especially by Mr. Sharma. Of course, he was supposed to be happier than anyone else. So much so, soon she got married to a well-reputed electronics shop owner. No one could have ever imagined but yes, Chinki was, fortunately, leading a very happy married life until one day she became a mother to two twins that her happiness elevated and knew no bounds. She was on cloud nine. She and her husband, Karan, named them Dhruv and Drishti. It seemed like her life was no longer caged in darkness and pain. She’s a happy soul.

One day, while having breakfast together, she expressed Karan, “I will send our daughter Drishti to the best school in the city. I want her to get the best education.” Grim sadness of her own past life could be easily recognizable in her eyes. Karan, the epitome of perfect wisdom and kindness, said: “of course dear, we will leave no tables unturned to get our Drishti the best we could for her.” He kissed her forehead and left for work.

Meanwhile, Chinki was engrossed in her so-called household chores, she was pulled back by the constant ringing of the telephone. She tried to avoid it for some time but it kept ringing. Annoyingly she picked up the phone, little did she know her whole world turned upside down. It was a call from a nearby hospital that said, “Mrs. Mehra, we are sorry to tell you that Mr. Karan Mehra is no more.” Kindly visit us once to fulfill the required formalities. She was all consumed by the hollow quietness. Indeed she was all mum from the outside but shattering and choking from the inside. All hopeless and deeply destroyed. Tears began falling from her face onto her lap. She couldn’t say a word. “Hello? Ma’am, are you there, hello?” The receptionist asked for her quite a couple of times and disconnected eventually.

Apparently, destiny had been very hard on her. She had to go through a terribly tough time she hadn’t ever wondered in her wildest of dreams.

“Chinkii!”, a gruff voice called her from some distance. It was Chinki’s father in law. Child, I know what is going through and I truly understand how you must be feeling right now. But I need to talk to you urgently. See, I don’t want to sound harsh but since Karan is no more and as you know besides being sick, I am old enough to look after you and my grandchildren, I have decided to send you back to your parent's place. Moreover, the shop will be sold out too as there is no one to run it. May God bless you kids and rest Karan's soul in peace. 

Chinki stood there quietly, lowering her head. What else she could have had said. A flashback of her entire life started running in the back corner of her mind when her father never allowed her to have access to education and due to which she was struggling to put her pieces together, fighting the battle of life. She wondered if she were educated she could have managed to run her husband’s shop and lead a better life for her and best for the twins.

However, she packed her bags and left for her parents’ house. They were indeed dumbstruck to see the trio. She narrated the whole story. Mr. Sharma almost fell unconscious. He couldn’t grasp what destiny played with his daughter. “All my life, you kept telling me to learn this work that work etc etc etc. why didn’t you ever think about my future, my success, a better life for me. The phenomenon of limiting girls to the kitchen and preventing them from getting educated is the stigma of our society. You can very easily comprehend my situation, what am I supposed to do now. If you had given me a vision, I would have had the knowledge to lead a decent life. I would have been running my husband’s shop and had made him proud. Dad, why did you do this to me. Just like mom, I always adorned my face with silence. Just like mom, I too had hoped on my heart that one day you will understand the importance of education and one day everything will be alright. But no such day to be seen, no such hope ever blossomed in my life.”

The typically arrogant father was the first time to be seen with a tinge of guilt on his face for never sending his daughter to school. Realization dawned upon him. He became an epitome of gloom and agony. Through all the trials and tribulations of life, his daughter never lost hope. She thought of assessing her life once more and again patiently went to her father, held his hand and rattled it in an attempt to persuade him to allow her to go to school. This time the father was not agitated at all but was filled with remorse to the brim. He couldn’t let go of her hold this time. Rather he embraced Chinki and yet again like a loving father, he gently brushed his palm over to Chinki's head and asserted, “yes my daughter, you should go to school, you have to become a woman of substance and make me proud one day.” I don’t know how to apologize to you, what I did to you is no less than committing a sin. Please forgive me chinki.

The pain chinki had to go through all her life could never shatter her being. She was and will always be a woman of spirit. Yes, she’s an inspiration for everyone in our society.