Women's Diary - Chapter 1 - The GIRL

The chapters are based on real life stories of women who been through lot of sufferings.

THE GIRL

 

“Rich men have enough money but do not have enough heart to render a helping hand to the poor. And poor men have enough sympathy but sympathy doesn't fill the stomach”.

 

Well said by one of my friend “We are fried till Friday. Hence the term FRIDAY has evolved”. Let me add some thing to it “If you deny the above mentioned you are fired”. Working professionals do understand this. It may not be exaggeration for some as they really work hard and ask them what does weekend mean for them? With God’s grace I do not have a very hectic schedule to complain about. I am busy with my students and syllabus. I love my job. And I will not forget to mention that I have an off during Saturday and Sundays. My weekends are occupied by shopping (though I am not very shopaholic and it would be a joke If a lady says so. Anyways I am among st those who believe in doing window shopping), hanging out with friends, room mates, catching up old buddies, boozing with friends (I hope my parents aren't reading this;-)) I f I am doing nothing of this sort and I am not in the city then I plan to visit my parents residing in the near by town.

I was holidaying at my parents place. It was a fine Saturday noon. I had heavy lunch (Don’t ask me my mama loves me more than any thing else in the world when I am back home) After watching TV I thought of taking nap. I was fast asleep in our bedroom. I was in a glorious dream when I heard a girl child shouting at the top of her voice in the near vicinity . It took me less than a second to come out of my so called “ glorious dream “. I was annoyed over the thought that who the hell broke my sleep? I started yelling “We work all week so that we could take rest during weekends. And kids like this neither rest nor make us take rest. Did their parents not teach them manners? What kind of individuals they will become in future? “ and bla bla bla went on…

The girl child’s mother came up. She seemed to be a poor lady. She apologized to me for her daughter’s misbehavior. I did not say a word further. All my anguish had subsided. I am very bad at handling some one’s apology. She grabbed her daughter’s hand. Scolded her and took her away. My mother who was not taking rest and yet working in the kitchen came to bedroom to speak to me.

 

My mother in turn scolded me for scolding the girl child. I wasn't agreeing to her point. It is then my Mother explained “ How can you expect manners from a girl who is mentally challenged?” Having heard that I felt as though some one has slapped me on my face. I was numb for a while. I said “ mummy sorry”. She continued “ You don’t know her story. You don’t stay here to know her”. I was curious to know if there was any background to it? I urged her to tell me what happened to her?

 

 So my dear friends let me reveal you the fact - Her mother is a poor lady who lives in near by slums. She is a very hard working women. She is a maid to couple of few houses here in the apartment. This is how she makes a living. Her husband works in building construction as a worker. He is alcoholic. He beats her, takes away the money which she earns and which she had kept for her house expenses.

One fine day when she was already 4 months pregnant. In a usual quarrel her drunkard husband hit her and she fell straight on her face. Though she managed herself not to be hit at stomach but still there were some injuries. Later she could not afford for sonography. She went to her mother’s place for delivery in her ninth month. The delivery happened in a village because they could not afford the medical expenses.

The baby was born. It was a female child. It had a normal weight but it was deaf. Baby could not grasp any sound. Later it was known that it is mentally retarded too. Having heard this I felt ashamed of myself. I felt like digging my head in to ground. I went back to bed. Tried sleeping. But even the sleep and the dream were upset with me. I got up a little later. I went to kitchen and I hugged my mom. Some where it was an acknowledgment and a thanksgiving that God created me normal and my Mother loves me so much. I said “Mama.. you get aside. Let me make a cup of tea for you”.

The next day I thought of paying a visit to the women and her daughter. I bought some chocolates. I entered in to their house. Having seen me the lady was a bit hesitant. May be she was thinking I have brought up the yesterday’s issue to discuss with her. I said her “ I am sorry about whatever had happened yesterday. I wasn’t aware about the health of the child”. The women was too generous and she offered me a glass of water. Though I had water at my place yet I did not turn down her offering. Because she had a pure conscious in giving me. Poor people are very good in hospitality let me tell you.

 

 

I asked her” where is your daughter?” “She is out with her granny” said she. May be she doesn’t want her to be around because she can hurt anybody as her mental health is not normal. I told her by collecting lot of courage “ there are some special schools for such children. If you don’t mind you can admit her there. They are run by Christian missionaries. They are really good. If you permit I can have a word with our father and nuns”.

With a face full of pity she said “ Mam thanks for your help. But her father is a drunkard. She is my only hope. If even that is snatched from me. I can’t live mam. I know they will take care of her. But no one can take care of a child more than her own mother”. At that moment I felt how Mother Mary would have felt when Jesus was taken away from her. How my mother felt when I had to leave my home for employment? I thought of it all and said “ As you say.. I understand your situation. If you need any kind of help? You can feel free to let me know about it. It was nice meeting you. Give love from my end to your daughter”. I handed over the chocolates I had brought for her. I felt very low as it was the only thing I could give to her considering my own economic conditions. Every one can’t be philanthropic in nature not because of less mercy but also because of out of cash.

Very well said by a writer “Rich men have enough money but do not have enough heart to render a helping hand to the poor. And poor men have enough sympathy but sympathy doesn't fill the stomach”.

 

__________________________ Thank you for reading….!___________________

Author's Note

I do not have a degree in English so excuse me with my grammatically incorrect English. But being a science grad doesn't approve me to commit one either. Anyways I shall be grateful to you for sparing time to read.

Reviews

[Irfan Bashir Shah]

Full of emotions and pure conscience! Wonderful!
We as humans often tend to forget that being human means to be kind.... It's not the big things that matter it is the small things that do.... I have a very curious nature and often ponder over the value of our existence...
They say that If there is positive then there is also negative.... I totally agree.... Though the negative seems to be very large but its the small daily deeds that neutralize it....

There were some grammatical glitches in this piece but i for once didn't care... I was so submerged into your way of thinking that nothing really mattered...
you have a very casual style of writing which pleases the reader; you deserve to be applauded.... Very well done!

[Mary Christabel George]

Thank you so much Irfan. I respect and adore your review.

[AYVID]

You write very wisely and very well. I liked the story a lot. May God bless the child and all such unfortunate little ones. I share all yor beliefs and am proud to be your friend. Keep writing. It will only get better and better from here. Thanks.

[Mary Christabel George]

I am very happy & proud to discover a great friend like you through WC.
Thank you Divya.

[Chris]

You told a worthwhile story with heart and understanding as its main points.

I did find it hard to read but NOT hard to understand. Pointing out all the flaws and the possible corrections would take too long AND likely make you feel less willing to try again SO I make this suggestion. Visit your library. Find a Novel (of a genre of your choosing) written in English by a current author. Read a few chapters several times. Feel the word flow and how its structured. Actually listen to the dialogues. Review any descriptive sections to further understand the little details that adds to the perception of realism and empowering readers to care about the story and its characters.

Next write several short works of two or three paragraphs - they need not be complete stories... perhaps a description of a room or a lawn? Perhaps a dialogue between two students? The idea is to practice getting used to the word usage and sentence structures.

I look forward to discovering more of your thoughts.

[Mary Christabel George]

Thanks for such a wonderful support. Bowing down... I will follow as you have mentioned.

[Will]

A very good piece. The emotion behind the piece is utterly apparent. Well done

[Mary Christabel George]

I feel speechless to express my gratitude towards you. Thank you so much.