The backbone of my life

Written by Alwin Joseph, Creative Empowerment Batch 2 , 2022

This story is about my father, my role model - born in 1964 to a farmer’s family in Kannur, who had migrated from southern Kerala to find suitable land for cultivation and better livelihood.  He is the 3rd son of the family, which focuses on agriculture and small business. Their family consists of his grandfather, grandmother, parents and siblings. Along with the family members, he also began his childhood helping his father in farming and business. Staying as a helping hand for his parents in agriculture and business, he has completed his primary education and took up a technical course in electronics. After completing the course, he started helping his father in agriculture and business. Later, he moved abroad in search of job opportunities after his marriage.

But unfortunately, things did not go as he planned; he had to drop his abroad plans and come back to India. Coming back to India, he started to help his parents and try for other jobs, but finally, he landed entirely in agriculture. The nuclear family concept came into his father’s mind, and he and his brothers all are sent to different places to start a new life.

This was a tough time, as he had to start everything from the start; he was sent to an area that was yet to be developed; the road, medical or travel facilities of that time were not designed as we see now for each need he has to travel kilometres primarily by walk and jeep services. The only person to support him was my mother; together, they started a new life for me as a small child. Starting with a small field of rubber, he expanded agriculture into mixed farming. We have most of the crops to meet his needs and earn a living along with cattle. He has spent his days and nights building up the family and setting up the field for agriculture.

He has a vast story of life to tell me about how he has travelled, his places, and his troubles. He always had big plans for me but never forced me into anything. Being very supportive, he never said the word “NO” to me. Always he tried to find a way to meet my needs. For this reason and to give me the better of all available, he put me into a good school nearby for better education and later in the best colleges. He always motivates me to take up this to help me be a better person. He always has one intention that he always tells me to keep in mind that he never expected me to be in any situation where he suffered, like how he has travelled.

A lot more to tell… a lot more to write… But I want to end this small write up about my backbone with his motivating words… “God sees everything, and he has plans, don’t do anything that is not good and never do anything that will drive God away from me. Be helpful and supportive of all the people who are in need. Never harm anyone” ...!

Prof. Dr. T Devi

Written by Preethi.N

 I count myself lucky that I was mentored by Prof.  Dr. T. Devi , Professor and Head Department of Computer Applications, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore    She is an amazing lady who has inspired me to be a lifelong learner and a fighter. She is an accomplished figure in her chosen field; a taskmaster who would keep me on my toes and pushes me to outdo myself in every task I undertake. She thought us to think outside and box and to be proactive and eager when it comes to learning. To this day I follow the same principles and it has stood me in good stead. She was not just a guide but also someone who would listen to our worries, go out of our way to help us, and constantly coach us even after we graduated. Passion, determination, and humility are the qualities that I most admire about her.

Blessed to be your student forever mam! Thank you for all your support.

"Be Happy"

Written by Samiksha Shukla, Creative Empowerment Batch 2, 2022

Born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on 23, July'1960, Sudha Shukla, is my first and the best Teacher. A homemaker in the true sense. The caring mother, loving daughter, and responsible daughter-in-law. She completed her education in Ahilya Ashram. She used to be an intelligent child among 5 siblings. Her, Father Late J P Dixit use to take her advice in all major decisions in their home. She married Mr. Ajay Shukla, in 1981. Blessed with three daughters, whom she groomed and guided to be responsible and caring people.

Seeing her taking all the responsibilities following all the moral principles, all of us have grown up into ethically responsible individuals.

A responsible mother who use to be very concerned about her children's education. For that, she was ready to sacrifice many other things like traveling, and functions. I never found a cook better than her in my life. I remember my grandfather used to tell me to learn to cook from her. I have seen my cousins, and uncles enjoying food made by her. That is a perfect match for my father as he is very particular about the food. and he was severed delicious food varieties every day…😋

I have not seen her serving the same food two times a day, Every meal used to be freshly cooked and served with love.

Getting up in the morning and making us ready for school was a major part of her life. A hardcore theist, use to have deep faith in God. After sending us she used to do pooja, very detailed in the Hindu spiritual books.

I have seen a curious reader in her, she reads newspapers in detail. She is always updated about current affairs across the world.

I heard she used to like movies and at a young age, she used to watch the first day the first show. A very good singer, found singing all along with the work she does. She used to be loving not only among her family members but the house helps (maids) who use to come home were very happy and respectful to her.

 Even today when we are at home it is the same, I might compromise in cooking but she never. She is still the same young and beautiful Mom who is so strong and confident. I learned from her to face challenges happily without any fear. What I am today is mainly because of her, as she stood by me to help in every situation of my life and my two sisters.

"Be happy and everything will come in place at Right Time"

She believes, that in life we should be happy with whatever we have, things will come in place at the right time. God is observing us, he is always with us to help in all the ways we take. Sometimes it may take longer to get what you want but you will get it if you have the true desire and capability to handle it.

I am blessed to have her as my Mother.

 

Maama

 Written by Praveenkumar Vaidya 

Creative Empowerment Batch 2 , 2022

Mama…As I remember…

It is imperative that we are all influenced by our parents and teachers in our life. But when I started searching who else influenced me in my life, many familiar faces reeled in my mind. Then, I was struck by one face which I thought was influenced is, my Mama, my mother’s younger brother. As we know, he was the only one of my relatives who stayed in a faraway city, Bangalore, which was a dream city for many of us. Still, we did not travel to Bangalore quite frequently, but Mama used to visit our place whenever he had his official work at our side. 

 

I really don’t remember what actually made me think about him fondly, but maybe he was visiting us from Bangalore. As years passed by, when I was in class 10, that time I had a chance to interact with him on many subjects (as he was well versed with political history, Indian history, labour issues etc.) Other than these discussions, he had a small camera with him, this made us look at him curiously. As it was his prized possession, he used to give us to hold it and peep through the viewer.  He used to explain to us how cameras work and also introduced us to negatives, negative developing and dark rooms. He used to take us to a dark room where he used to develop all the negatives. Not only that, he was good at repairing wall radio sets, tape recorders and later television sets. He also used to explain to us lucidly how Television works. He used to subscribe to the professional journal “Electronics For You” during the 80s and learnt many things on his own and made small projects. We were awestruck looking at him experimenting with electronic gadgets. This used to be quite exciting for us at the age of sixteen. 

 

He had one more passion of reading Kannada novels as I found this in my mother and her elder brother also. He was an avid reader and used to finish them within no time. I used to ask him about the books, the authors and the story plot. He used to recommend reading the novels of all authors that he read. During my visit to Bangalore, there was a small circulating library near his home where I had an opportunity to visit that library and lay my hands on all sorts of books and since then I have retained my reading habit which actually expanded my vision for any issues that I came across. 

 

When we all grew up older, we had a chance to understand him in more detail. He seems to be one among many who evoked an interest in me about stock markets long back. I remember him telling me how he purchased a few company shares and earned profit by selling them in the stock exchange. I remember taking threads from those early discussions and getting to know more about primary and secondary markets by self-studying. But when I had an opportunity working with Chartered Accountants in a college in Mumbai, it was natural for me to get involved with the stock market.  Amazingly, after his retirement, he again took up online trading and did extremely well in understanding new technology also earned some good profits. 

 

Mama was an avid cigarette smoker but when he was advised by a physician, surprisingly he abandoned smoking. Such was his determination. I questioned him how he could give up smoking so drastically and I was amazed by his reply and came to know how resolute he was in doing what he intends to do. 

 

After his retirement, one more passion that he followed was terrace gardening. I think he did it exceedingly well. I don’t know how he got hooked to terrace gardening. As he told me, he used to attend workshops organised by the agriculture department and he made a group with likeminded people and he could grow all types of vegetables and fruits on the terrace. He got an agriculture kit from Australia by Anil, his son. I think he became an expert on terrace gardening and copiously shared his success stories on Facebook. As I heard he had developed a great bond with all the similar interest groups and he used to travel around Bangalore to study and observe how terrace gardening is cultivated by all his group members. Thus was his level of passion for anything that he does.  

 

I can go on and on telling how he influenced me in my life. Two years back we lost him. Everyone has to leave this world, if he is remembered fondly for his work and leaving others influenced by his work, it’s life well lived. Isn't it? Thank you Mama.

T.Vasantha

 Written by Vijaylaxmi, Creative Empowerment Batch 2,2022

I wish to share something about a person who inspired me a lot. She is the lady of courage who is able to overcome all the difficulties of being born in a community that discourages education and from a remote village with very little facilities. She seems to be always happy and showed no indifference toward her family life even though her husband is a farmer. They lead a life as a model to others. She always encourages and motivates everyone to get educated. She is the one with ready helping hands whenever anyone requires it. She is the shelter for everyone who is almost very much frustrated out of their life. Most of the time she does so many good things without the knowledge of the recipients. She is so simple and always moves with a smile giving positive thoughts only to others. She always tries to make others happy even she is heavy hearted sometimes. She is person because of whom I am able to withstand many a times during my life. She has lead a successful family life as well as official life. A lady of trust, love and affection whom I wish and pray to God to have a long healthy life.

Peramma

 Written by Shine Raju Kappil

 Creative Empowerment Course - Assignment (Essay) for Batch 2, 2022

 There were a number of personalities that came into my mind when Jibrael sir suggested us to write an essay on inspirations that we individually have received for leading an effective living. This included my relatives, friends and many more from whom I learned something or the other. Among these, I decided to write about my aunt whom I call as Peramma. She was not just an inspiration for me alone, but also for her children and her siblings including my mother. This is a tribute to my aunt who inspired us to do their best in their life, no matter in what family environment or work environment we are in.

 My aunt is the eldest child of my grandparents who were settled in Parathode, Idukki. Since the family had their own lands, they were into traditional activities such as agriculture and cattle farming. Most of the relatives and neighbors thought that my aunt would end up as a housewife. This was a common trend during those days especially in the high ranges of central Kerala. I hope many of you might heard or experienced the plight of girl children during those periods. Being the eldest child in the family, she had to take care of the house and siblings when the parents go for farming activities. Along with all these duties and responsibilities, she managed to complete her basic education from the nearest school.

Once she completed the basic education, she could have either get married and enter into a family life. This was the common practice and this is something the family and others expected too. But by seeing the difficulties faced by her parents as farmers, she decided to go for some professional courses and stood back from what her peer groups have done. She reached Pune with the help of her aunt and enrolled for GNM nursing. Pune was a new world and a different experience to her. But she tried her best to adjust with the new life with her strong will power. She completed her course and joined the same hospital as a staff nurse to complete the bond period. During these tough periods, she guided her siblings to enter into some professional jobs so that they get some recognition in their family. She succeeded in bringing both of her siblings to Pune and directed them to join for professional courses. My younger aunt has joined in Pune university to pursue librarian course and my mother decided to join for nursing. In addition, she tried to help the family by sending the money that she saved by avoiding many things.

After a while, she somehow got a job in Kalawati Hospital, which is owned by the Central government in Delhi. During the initial periods, the salary was too low and she was finding it difficult to manage expenses. She was new to the capital city and had to do the extra workloads and adjust to the extreme climate in Delhi. She used to walk to the hospital which is quite far from her hostel. She took good care of her patients and due to her commitment and sincerity, she got various promotions and recognitions.

Meanwhile, she got married to a school teacher and had given birth to two sons. Though her responsibilities have increased after marriage, she made sure to give the best care to her patients. She was successful in guiding her sons and both of them have reached to good positions. She is considered as a role model to me because she has tried to do her best as a daughter, elder sister, nurse, mother, aunt etc. I often get motivated by remembering one of her statements i.e. “Do the best you can, rest the God will take care of”.

 Note: I haven’t mentioned the name of my aunt as she is not interested to share the details. She has also received certain awards for her service which I heard from my mother and other relatives but not mentioned here as my aunt has never said to us. I think she believes in the ideology that recognitions are not meant for boasting around relatives or friends.