And the woman of the year award goes to.....

Well this year the ET(Economic Times) business woman of the year was Mrs. Shikha Sharma. Every year these awards go to the best and the brightest people in the industry who through their sheer handwork and commitment reached there. At this point, I would like to narrate the story of the maid of my house Shantabai, and why I think she deserves the “Woman of the year award”. Shantabai is a lady in her early 60s.She got married at the age of 20 and subsequently gave birth to four kids, two of them girls and two of them boys. Her husband worked in a private company and his income was barely sufficient to make ends meet. But his hardwork landed him into better jobs and Shantabai was on cloud nine!! But as bad luck would have it, her husband left her for another lady. So, Shantabai was left penniless and with four kids, eldest aged 10 and youngest aged 2. Now she started working for the future of her children, doing tasks like cleaning clothes and utensils. The amount was she earned was barely sufficient but she learned to manage in those tough times. Meanwhile her husband passed away and she was not even eligible for his pension(his second wife received it). Times started getting tougher. Her elder son fell into bad company and got into excessive drinking. He then met with an accident and his legs had to be cut. But he still didn’t give up his vices and instead started pressurizing Shantabai to pay money for satisfying all his needs. Though she was depressed, Shantabai still did not give up. She got her two daughters married. Meanwhile her younger son married and started staying separately. He offered no monetary assistance to Shantabai. Till today, Shanatabai lives with her younger son, who hardly respects her but she lives on her own with no help whatsoever from her family members. And despite all this, she makes it a point to be at work on time, hardly takes any leave and her work is just first class. In these days of financial uncertainty,where we hear news of people committing suicide because they are laid off, or committing suicide because or low grades or any other reason, I would like them to read this story of Shantabai and think twice before committing any act of desperation. I also know there will be many such Shantabai’s and all of them are the Woman of the year,each one of them fighting struggles of their life in their own way. Hats off to them!!