Life is like a pendulum that oscillates between so-called good and bad times. When life unfolds the way we want it, there is reason for happiness. When it’s the opposite, we blame our fate, circumstances, people and all other possible reasons than ourselves. Many a time, I have heard people who are going through troubled times saying, ‘I am fed up with the process of getting back on my feet once more. I don’t have the energy to be slapped around one more time by destiny’. It is hard for me to accept such thoughts. On the contrary, it is very natural for me to rise up each time I fall or fail.
In fact, the very essence of my journey from a slum boy in Pune to a science diplomat in Copenhagen is the ‘rising up’ one more time! And to acquire this quality, I did not have to leave the house; I learnt it from my mother. Today, when I look back, she lived and continues to live her life according to the principle of ‘fighting back’ every time. As the daughter of ‘below-the-poverty-level’ dalit (backward class) parents from the drought-prone Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, she was deprived of educational opportunities. She had barely managed to complete her 7th standard by the time she married my dad, who is another great example of a ‘fighting spirit’. When young, she used to walk about 10 km barefoot each way to attend her school. With a 20 km walkathon every day, I don’t think one needs any additional exercise to keep fit. In spite of not having books (which her parents could not afford to purchase), nor extra tuition, she came first in the entire district in her 7th grade board exam.
After my birth, she was diagnosed with asthma. However, her financial situation deprived her of the basic treatment needed. To make it worse, she had to work to support her family. I have seen my mother working on a bridge construction carrying stones weighing probably 20 kgs or more in scorching heat, when she was 7-8 months pregnant with Vivek, my younger sibling. It is still very fresh in my memory that once she stumbled over another stone and fell. I could see pain in her eyes as she was trying to get up, but I saw unlimited determination to rise one more time. With bruised hands, bleeding head and toes, she continued carrying stones for the next 3 hours, when most women in her situation would be advised not to lift heavy things. A few years later, she was diagnosed with nearly 100+ allergies, and her asthma worsened. She used to spend 9 months a year in the intensive care room of the hospital, most of the time on ventilators. On many occasions, doctors told us that we had only 24 or 48 hours to spend with her. But each time she fought back and surprised both us and her doctors.
Throughout all these years, her quest for knowledge and knowledge-based prosperity and progress of the family continued. She learned stitching. With great difficulty, she managed to purchase a sewing machine and started her home-based business. I have seen her paddling on the machine when one in her position should be in hospital being treated for chronic illness. Many a time, the needles pricked and pierced her fingers. Each time this happened, she defiantly pulled needle out, applied turmeric powder on the bleeding finger, and continued her work. She had no option but to rise for the sake of her kids and to shape their future.
Her quest for knowledge is never-ending. When I had to sit my 10th grade exam, she decided to join me. We both appeared together for the exam. She could not write the required papers as she had to be hospitalized for severe attack of asthma. Over the years, similar obstacles kept her away from achieving her dreams. It took her an additional 7 years to clear the 10th grade with distinction. But each time she was not able to attend the exam because of her illness, she fought back. Many of our family friends, relatives and acquaintances made fun of her, but each time she rose with more determination.
She then joined a poultry farming course. She completed it in the first go. She purchased a small piece of land several kilometers outside of the city, and we shifted from the centre of the city to a barren field with no drinking water, no electricity and no roads. She started her poultry business, which her doctors advised her not to undertake as it would only aggravate her asthma. Yet she persisted and pushed ahead with her plans and dreams for her kids. Several times, she had setbacks- both financially and emotionally, as the whole batch of birds died because of one or another problem. But she bounced back with renewed determination.
Looking at her struggle, her determination, her resolve to fight back, and rise, we had no other option but to succeed and work to fulfill our dreams and her dreams of being a proud mother. If it hadn’t been for my mother, I would not have been able to sustain the journey from a slum boy to a science diplomat. I did not have to look outside of my house for inspiration. Each time she fell, or failed, she stood up. Thus, I had no choice but to rise each time I was faced with adversity, or a failure.
I am sure she is not the only mother who has shaped family and kids through troublesome times. However, what she taught us throughout these years with her own deeds has made an indelible impression on our minds. Last time I met her, I asked how she had been able to ‘rise up’ so many times? Is she not tired of it? ‘It is just natural; there is nothing great about it. It is a law of nature that those who don’t rise up become extinct’, she responded promptly. Thank you Aai (Mother in Marathi) for unfolding one of the many sutras (principle) of success!
SUCCESS = Rising up (one last time)!
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