Women Leadership: Inspired and Inspiring#3

I am extremely happy to share the struggle and inspiring life story of a wonderful woman.

We are taught from childhood to thank God for everything we have.

How foolish, useless those words sounded then! We thought – why thank anyone when we are the rightful owners of all that! Then, as we started matching our pace with time, we started understanding the enigma that is life. Yet, we still find ourselves unable to find the time to say thanks.

There are, though, many characters who despite the mercilessness of time never forget to thank God for the blessings in their life. They don’t really seem to care that most of their needs go wanting. I have such a personality in my life … Pinky Aunty… she’s been just the same since the last 21 years… thin, slender, weak… ferrying goods on her cycle to homes round the year… incessant rains or sweltering afternoons don’t seem to affect her… come night or even when it’s time for the morning tea, if anything’s needed, just a call to Pinky Aunty and… voila, she’s at the doorstep 10 minutes later with the stuff.

Does the darkness of the night not bother her, I wonder.

A face with a smile playing around the lips, sure there are many like that… but she’s fought many gruelling battles – she’s illiterate, went without having the comfort of books in her life…a husband who abandoned her some time into the marriage, having not an iota of support from her own family, bringing up two little children all by herself – one of whom grew up drug-addled, requiring help day in and day out, having her tiny store demolished many times, building it again brick by brick… these unrelenting troubles would have broken most of us, but not her!

She still has a radiant smile for everyone, the desire to live, with no bitterness in her soul while wanting to kiss the skies – that person sure does command a salute!

I salute her for her strength, her unstinting hard work, her desire to live, her self-respect that remained strong despite the rigours of life, and for her independence that didn’t allow her to beg for favours from anyone.

Pinky Aunty is one of those precious icons of life… she is a wise, weighty tome that must be read by all… she’s among those who see every day as a beautiful one, who unfold the wings of hope and spread laughter in the air like pearls across the ocean floor, who make self-esteem their armour (pride)…I want to give direction to my life.

I, the inspired, and the inspiration.

those wh