Life --A true blessing!!
“ Shreya Soham, please come up on stage!” called out the speaker . Shreya suddenly woke up from her thoughts and hurried up the stairs, her shiny black hair tied up in a bun and sweat rolling down her face. With an anxious smile on her freckled face, she rushed up the podium to collect her degree in Mathematics from the prestigious Oxford University. To Shreya it felt so surreal, she feared if it was all just a dream. From the corner of her eye she could see the lady dressed in a beautiful Yellow and green saree waving at her . She waved back , it was her guardian angel!
Shreya got off the stage and sat next to the lady in the saree, she handed her the certificate and said proudly “ Ma, this belongs to you . Thank you!” . Shreya could not focus on the graduation ceremony, her past came flooding to her mind. Her thoughts took her several years back when she was an eight year old walking the streets of Bangalore along with her mom looking for food. It was a hard life --on most days she only had one meal,had to sleep in a mud hut with a broken roof and wake up to see her ailing dad coughing up blood and gasping for air.
Shreya’s mother Naga did odd jobs for a living , she could not take up a permanent job as Shreya’s dad was seriously ill and had to be tended to most of the time. Half of Naga’s daily income went into buying medicines for him.But the family stayed together, trying to find happiness in their little world. Her mother would often say “ Shreya , Life is a blessing , look at it positively no matter how hard it is.. ” . Little shreya took that advice very seriously .
On Diwali day, Naga was walking back home after the day’s work. She was upset that she had not earned enough to buy something special for the family.She sat in front of the village school wondering what to do . The school principal had spotted the poor hungry lady limping down the road , her scrawny hands adjusting her tattered sari. The principal madam felt sympathetic towards Naga and offered her some food and old clothes. Naga felt happy that atleast on Diwali she had something good to give her family, she went back home cheerfully thanking the school principal,Ms. Bhatnagar.
On reaching her make shift hut, Naga swung open the old fungus eaten door and called out to Shreya“ Beta, I have something special for you!” . But Shreya did not respond, she was lost in her usual activity, going over the old books her mom had picked up from the waste cans. Though Shreya could not make any sense of it, she loved going over them trying to figure it out. She desperately wanted to learn to read. It never bored her , she could sit and look at it for hours . But, her mom was always upset over this as she thought Shreya was wasting time looking at garbage. Naga called out to Shreya again “ Shreya!! Stop looking at garbage .Go, call baba! I have brought something special today. ” Her mother’s scream jolted Shreya and she ran to wake up her baba. “Baba, Baba wake up!! Mama has a surprise for us .Please open your eyes!” She shook her dad, but there was no response. She shook him again “Open your eyes, Baba!” but he did not open his eyes, nor did he respond.
Hearing the commotion Naga went in . As she looked at her husband , she gave out a loud shriek and fell on the muddy floor. Shreya could not understand what was going on, she felt so confused and sad . “Mama, what is wrong ?” she asked . Her mom hugged her tightly , with tears rolling down her cheeks she whispered “ Beta, baba is with the Gods now.”
Few weeks later , when Shreya got home after selling the days’ pick ,she saw her mother talking to an elegantly dressed but stern looking lady. On seeing Shreya, Naga said “ Beta, This is Ms. Bhatnagar.She is our guardian angel --the lady who gave me food on Diwali. She has offered me a sweepers job at the school! ”. Her mom could not contain her excitement. “ She has even given us permission to sleep at the school !!”.
“ School!!” -her mother’s words echoed in Shreya’s mind, that one place she had always wanted to be at . She could not wait .She wished she could be there that very moment!! Shreya felt few drops of rain on her face, and in seconds there was a huge downpour. She got drenched in the rain, but she did not care..she pulled her mom and they danced happily in the rain . It was the happiest day of their life!!
The very next day, Shreya and Naga packed up the few belongings they had and set out for the school. Shreya could not stop staring at the huge building. The pictures and the writings on the wall gave her goosebumps, she wished she was one among the students. She thought
to herself “ Life is a blessing, let me make the best of what I have ".
On Monday , Shreya waited for the kids to come in so she could play with them . But none of the children noticed her, she felt so invisible and small. Minutes later , the bell rang and the kids entered their classrooms. Shreya looked around, she had a plan in mind. She swiftly walked towards the classroom by the tree, she had found a spot to hide and listen to the lectures. Shreya made this a habit, everyday she would be ready by the tree when the bell rang, and after school she would go over what she had learnt that day. Now the old books she had treasured all these years made sense to her.But, she made sure that no one ever noticed her , she was afraid that she would be punished.
Rainy season started and her mother fell ill, her already frail body became miserably weak.One morning, after a bout of fever and Pneumonia Naga did not wake
up. Shreya realized that like her father, her mother had also left her. Once again, she felt so confused and sad. She took refuge under her favourite tree. She felt numb in her heart, “ Why did God do this to me?” she thought. She did not know what to do next or what will happen to her. “Will the school keep me here ?, Will they send me back on the streets ? ” she worried. She felt dizzy thinking about leaving the school ,Shreya had grown so attached to the school that she could not bear to think of leaving it.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulders. She was shocked to see the principal madam in front of her. Her whole body shook in fear, she has been caught. Now she will be punished! Principal madam told her to walk with her to the assembly hall.
“ Assembly hall? ” thought Shreya “I am going to be humiliated in front of the whole school”, a shiver ran down her spine , she wished she could just run away. But the teacher had a firm grip on her hands.
She saw the whole school looking at her, in fear and embarrassment Shreya hung her head down. She could not face anybody . She walked up the stage like a culprit being walked by a policeman. On stage the principal madam walked up to the mic and said
“ Dear students and staff, I have an announcement to make. ” There was pin drop silence in the room. Shreya could hear her heart beating fast and loud. Madam continued, “ This little girl should be an example for all of you! All these days I had noticed her hiding behind the banyan tree and listening to the lectures . She is a true role model ! I have decided to adopt her as my own daughter and quench her thirst for knowledge!!”
Shreya could not believe what she just heard. She looked around the room in disbelief. The whole school clapped and cheered for her . Ms. Bhatnagar the stern looking principal gave her a warm tight hug and said “ Don’t be afraid , sweetheart. Everything will be fine!! ”
“ Shreya, where are you lost?. The ceremony is over ” said Ms. Bhatnagar . Kissing Shreya on the cheek she said “ I am so proud of you !”. Shreya gave her a tight hug and
whispered “ Life is indeed a true blessing! ”
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