When I was a kid, I used to live with my parents in a small village named Krishnapur. My parents had ancient thinking. They thought that girls shouldn’t be educated–they did not have the right to do this–and girls should do household work. This was why I had never gone to school.
One day when I was returning home from the river after washing clothes, I saw a book lying on a bench. I picked it up and tried to read but I couldn’t read it. I realised that I should also take up education like my other friends.
I got help from my friend Madhavi and took admission to a school. But now the problem was, who would pay the fees? I asked my uncle who was staying in Mumbai for help; he paid the fees and I started going to school. I would tell my parents that I was going to Madhavi’s house to learn stitching from her mother because her mother was a tailor. This continued for a few months but one day they came to know about this. They said, if you want to study, you can’t live in this house. I packed my bag and left the house.
I contacted my uncle and told him what happened. He came to the village with my aunty and we went to Mumbai. I saw Mumbai for the first time in my life. Here, there was no difference between girls and boys. The next day, my uncle took me to a big school and we took admission there. After a few years, I passed 10th and I got 89%. I went to college. I passed 12th with 91% and started doing a part-time job in a company. After a few years, I completed my graduation. I became a doctor. My parents also came to know about this and they realised that they had made a mistake; they also started supporting me. Now I have my clinic where I also do surgeries.
Moral of the story: Never depend on others; just trust yourself and move ahead.
Image for representational purposes
