#CelebrateingtheRainbow at the workplace – share your stories of Pride!
My mother was married off at 16, became a mother at 19, yet she fought all odds with the support of her mother, and became a successful doctor.
Can’t imagine myself married before my 10th board results, aspire to become a doctor and pursue my career thereafter. But my mother had this journey of her own!
She was born in a small village of Bihar in the 1960’s while India was facing Indo-China war. She wouldn’t have known then, that time was about to prepare her for a war against all odds.
Her grandfather was a freedom fighter and father was struggling to get a central Government job. Her mother gave birth to her when she herself was 17 years. By the time her father got the job in a small town, she had a younger brother and a sister. At school, they studied by on sharing books from the neighbourhood kids who were rich enough to buy books of their choices.
My grandmother was worried now with 5 children… as her husband was not keeping well. She decided to find a good alliance for her eldest daughter who is my mother. When a good match came up, a wedding date was decided after her 10th examinations. As scheduled , she got married.
My mother gave in to marriage as a tradition of a society for getting married at that age, but she never failed her dedication and perseverance towards her studies. Soon after the marriage her board results were out and she had passed with first class and a very good percentage.
By then she was staying with her husband and in-laws, but she, got admission in inter college for further studies. She had to go to college after marriage, while neighbouring girls and daughters in law were busy cooking for families and hobby nurturing. They use to stare her and wonder what my mother was going to do with all this study.
Soon she finished her 11th grade. In the 12th grade she came to know that she was pregnant, and 12th standard exams were approaching fast. She was the first student in my family, on both my grandparents’ side who took PCMB (Maths+Biology) in the 70’s era.
My granny meanwhile realized that she had done wrong in marring her daughter at an early age while she had great zeal in her studies. She came to my mother rescue in her third trimester of gestation period and 12 grade examinations. Also, meanwhile she filled the form for medical entrance examinations (AIPMT) as an appearing candidate. She took her entrance examinations while pregnant with me. After few days i was born and so was her medical entrance result. She cleared both her tests.
By now she was a medical student and a mother of a girl child. Her third phase of life started so early that she was only 19yrs old. Now she had to be both – a mother and a medical student. My grandmother (nani ma) took the burden of taking care of her granddaughter, and sent her to the medical college hostel for her further studies while I was only two months old.
I came to my mother when she was in her fourth and final year of MBBS for schooling, and i too was 4 year old. By the time she cleared her MBBS she was a mother of two daughters, and pregnant for the 3rd time.
She fought all odds with the support of her mother, and became a successful doctor. With her journey towards her aspirations and perseverance, she became a Professor at the Medical college in Bihar where she teaches medical students and holds the post of the Head of her Department.
This year, my mother is 60.
I always look upon her and learn from her journey, and she is my forever inspiration. “Look only at your goal, circumstances will take care of her own and nature will come to your rescue in unexpected ways.”
Mothers are always an inspiration and your first school.
A law graduate and an MBA in HR working in an MNC based in Noida. Family roots in Bihar, living in Delhi/NCR. A truly Indian and I have a zeal to write on social read more...
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