A Life of Love, Courage, and Integrity

My father always used to believe that, "#Education is empowering, enlightening and liberating." Hailing from a remote village in Nellore, he was the first graduate from his place. He was excellent in English, Science and Mathematics, and used to teach students all through as his hobby. He completed Bachelors in Science(BSc) from Jawahar Bharati Degree & PG College, Kavali Nellore, in 1973. After appearing for several written tests and interviews, he got job at Tehsildar office in Rapur Nellore. Jawahar Bharati laid a strong foundation of values to all the students. They were made strong and inspired by values of anticorruption, equality and hard work. They resolved to serve the nation faithfully. My father's Best Friend and his classmate from 6th Standard till Bsc, Mr M Anandarao uncle retired as Assistant General Manager State Bank of India and is known to revive several banks which were in bad debts. He was offered bribe several times and he never took any. His sincerity and immense hard work had been blessing to SBI. Not only that Uncle helped so many genuine and poor people to get education loans without much hassle. Also uncle used to financially support, guide and mentor many students .

My father couldn't continue at Tahsildar's office, as bribes were part of the system. This caused my father to resign the job of clerk in less than a year. Later he got selected for Satish Dhawan Cell for Space Science , Nellore. He worked there for two years. Back then, in 1976-1978, there wasn't much work in ISRO and my father was feeling restless. He decided to take up a new challenge and joined the Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) in Ramagundam. It was far from home, in a place with a different language and culture. But my father embraced the change, and soon Ramagundam became our home. The working conditions in factory were really tough. but he continued to work there. after 15 years production of Urea, factory was stopped due to some technical reasons, and soon the factory was marked as loss making. There were no pay revisions from 1988 and then the factory was closed down in 2002 with minimum benefits to the employees. So much so that they get EPF pension of rs. 900-1300.

Inspite of all these dad was always cheerful, and he used to save every for penny for our fees and education. Even when we were small my father made it clear that he would make his daughters also study till post graduation. He would encourage my mom, and his cousins, friends to rejoin college and join jobs. He used to bring my cousins to Ramagundam from Nellore, who had stopped their education, and teach them, so that they can pass tenth board exams. He would financial support poor students of our village, though he himself was drawing very low salary as FCI was in losses.

After Factory's closure in 2002, he took up a private job for a decade in Hyderabad, where he went way beyond his responsibilities. He would help everyone with their requests which often needed him to stay back and work extra hours. On several occasions, he would go along with workers under him to hospitals, so that dad could help them communicate with doctors and he would help them pre and post surgery. My dad always wanted to bring smile on the faces of people he worked with. He never used to give them chance to complain. He would not take any commissions but rather support the workforce under him.

After all this, in 2019, when Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis hit hard, Dad was still cheerful, courageous and fought it with great courage. His #ALS journey was for five years, of which 3.5 years we had set up home ICU, and dad was on life support. Yes he was on feeding tube and invasive ventilation at home. We faced many emergencies and near death experiences. I left my job to take care of him, so that I can be always available. I was in house duty doctor, nurse, nutritionist and doting daughter to him.

Many times I wonder why dad had to go through so much hardship. He was embodiment of love and courage. He worked hard all his life. He helped so many people all through his life. He never took advantage of any body. Still??? We don't know. We don't have any answers. All we need to show is gratitude! I'm very lucky to be daughter of such a wonderful person and also lucky to serve him in his time of need! Those five years, though extremely tough, were years full of love and Best Years of my life!

#love #courage #amyotrophiclateralsclerosis #als #motorneurondisease #life #education #WomenEducation