This is a story of the 1980s about a 10-year-old boy from a small village in Banaras. He belonged to a well-to-do family, which had recently faced a partition in the joint family. His family consisted of his parents and 5 siblings, with him being the third child after two older sisters, making him the eldest boy in the house. His father's job was in a very very far city of Mumbai, so he had to be away from his family most of the time.
In the absence of his father, the responsibility of the house fell on his mother. The boy helped her as much as he could. He carried 50kg sacks (बोरी) tied to his cycle and brought them home from the market which was approximately 10-12km away! This hefty task is nearly impossible for today's 10-year-olds! Although he did not have much interest in studies or in going to school, he passed with marks that were then considered decent.
At the young age of 19, unfortunately, his father passed away. The entire family was devastated. The boy moved to Mumbai to take up his father's job all by himself with nobody to guide him. He was away from his family but he learnt everything and did everything by himself. He lived in a tiny house in Santacruz. He became the support system of his family which was far away in Banaras. Surely, there must have been a lot of unspoken struggle to get stability in a bustling city like Mumbai along with all the chaos happening in your own life. Such inspiring resilience!
He got married at the age of 21. His wife has been supporting him ever since. Over the years, slowly and steadily their lifestyle improved and they moved to a different city with better surroundings and better living conditions. Now they have 2 children, an elder daughter and a younger son, and he tells them the stories from his childhood and about how much he misses his village. The daughter is gladly writing this blog post right now ðŸ¤. Yes, that boy is my father and this was his life story.
He got married at the age of 21. His wife has been supporting him ever since. Over the years, slowly and steadily their lifestyle improved and they moved to a different city with better surroundings and better living conditions. Now they have 2 children, an elder daughter and a younger son, and he tells them the stories from his childhood and about how much he misses his village. The daughter is gladly writing this blog post right now ðŸ¤. Yes, that boy is my father and this was his life story.
And that's the end! Thank you for reading!
Peace! 🕊️✨
