Motivation

“Mummy, when will you buy me a new sweater?”, seven-year-old Raju used to ask the same question to his mother every day of the frigid winter season.

Raju’s poor mother used to tell him, “If you get good marks in the upcoming final exam this year, and get promoted to the next class, I will buy you a new sweater; just like the ones you see in the showcases in the shops; those with beautiful blue, pink and green colors; the ones you admire so much”.

“Raju’s hardworking mother was working as a maid in an upper-class family and to provide for her family for the winters, she depended on the second-hand old, tattered shawls and sweaters which her employer would no longer need and had thrown away. She bought anything woolen that she got from them back home for herself, her husband, her two daughters, and her son Raju. Sometimes the family would appreciate the old clothing, and sometimes, considering its poor condition, they simply chuckled but used it anyway.

But as Raju was growing up, he carved a beautiful, fancy, new sweater which he always hoped that his mother would get him one day. With a zeal to get that sweater, he studied very hard, although he was an average student and had often failed the tests and exams before. But now his motivation was different. It was not just the harsh chilly winter season, but a cozy new sweater of his choice.

Year after year, Raju studied, passed his final exams, and kept being promoted to higher classes, but his mother never gave him the promised sweater.

As Raju grew up, he somehow realized that it was his mother’s financial incapability that refrained her from gifting him a new sweater each year. It had nothing to do with her love for him or his marks and progress in school. He began to understand that his poor mother would rather spend the handful of earnings to provide them with food and basic amenities and pay for their school, rather than buy new woolens. Raju used to see his family shiver every day in the winter, his mother wore a torn sweater to work. He used to see his sisters wrap themselves up in a single blanket while sleeping, pulling its edges to stay warm. As he grew up, he felt bad for his family’s condition.

Raju gradually stopped asking the same question to his mother every year.

Instead, he studied as much as he could, graduated, and got a job.

And the very first thing he bought with his first salary was winter gifts for all his family members. It was the month of November and Raju happily gifted affordable but brand-new woolens to his family, made with nice warm wool, which had pretty patterns.

“Thank you Mummy”, he said, “if it were not for you, I would not have studied so hard and be able to get a decent job for myself. But from now on, I will get you all everything that you need. You would not have to depend on the clothing of others.”

His mother, who was extremely proud of him, hugged him and thanked him too.