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Journalism of Courage
Do you believe in miracles? This emotional story of a woman owing her education to an angel in her life is no less than one. Her journey from a chawl room to getting into a private school is like a roller coaster ride, and all because of a stranger’s kindness, who she lovingly calls ‘Anjali Didi’. The heartwarming story of the woman on Humans of Bombay has garnered more than 9,000 likes so far and has gone viral.
Read her emotional story here.
“Growing up, my family home was a room made of sheets of tin and plastic on the main road. Our slum used to ‘steal’ electricity from the BMC lines, we used to have to wait in line for hours for water and leaking roofs were the least of our problems. Abba was a chef at a small catering company…he didn’t earn a lot but he loved us tremendously. My father was my best friend which is why I still feel like I had a great childhood.
I went to a Municipal school where most of my friends had an alcoholic father or faced domestic violence. Our school itself was so bad — our teachers used to treat us like servants. They used to make us wash their tiffins, come to class to just sleep and my Math teacher would smoke in class, in front of all of us. But my parents really wanted us to study and make something of ourselves, so when I was 4 I joined Akanksha, an after school supplementary programme.
I never told my father these stories, because I knew that he couldn’t afford a private school, but I used to tell Anjali Didi at Akanksha. She was from an affluent background, but she changed all our lives. When we told her these stories, she felt like our talents were being wasted, so in the 9th standard she sent me and 8 others from my class to a private school — she paid for all of us from her own pocket.
Everything I am today, is because of Anjali Didi. When I joined this new school, I didn’t know anything — I didn’t even know that different teachers teach different subjects — so I failed my 9th Grade twice. I was so upset that I’d let her down that I asked her if I should quit — and she didn’t take no for an answer. She pushed me to work harder…when there was no electricity at home, she would stay back at the centre with me and help me study. Around this time, I lost my father and that was really difficult to deal with, but with Anjali didi’s support, I managed to clear my exams and even became the Head Girl of my school.
After my 10th, I began to work to help my mother at home and as luck would have it — I even got into Xaviers and my dream of becoming a film maker was so close! However, my mother was facing so many financial problems. She used to work, but she even borrowed a lot of money and it hurt me when people humiliated her…so this is when I considered stopping college and starting to work full time. Again, Anjali didi spoke to me and said, ‘education is important — you have big dreams, of traveling the world, of making your mother travel…how will you do all of it if you don’t study?’ I listened to her — my entire life at college was either about studying or working. I had multiple part time jobs — from being a ticket collector at theatres to working in call centres, I took up any job I was offered.
I guess it all paid off because I got a job at Future East films straight out of college and now I work full time with Education World. On Sundays I teach the girls from my community all day — and it’s so gratifying to give back. My dream of travelling the world with my mother is still alive, but a far bigger dream…which I strive to achieve every single day is being an ‘Anjali Didi’ in someone’s life.”
Here’s the actual post on Facebook:
