As soon as we went and parked near our room at the Hotel TamilNadu, Rameswaram, she came with a team to help us unload. She remarked saying “it looks like a small house on the move !” And we told her that’s exactly what it was. As walked into our room, she walked in with a cleaning lady and very efficiently got the entire room cleaned. When we asked her for towels, she got them instantly. We complained about the water in the bathroom and she got that cleaned right away. She had a bright smile and was very efficient. Krishnan and I thought we should ask her whether she was a permanent employee or contractor but got busy with other stuff and forgot about it.
My mother talked to her a little more and she shared her knowledge about Rameswaram and the important places to see. Then the second day we were standing outside with her while the room was being cleaned and she spoke about “villundi theertham” which is a place where Sri Rama shot an arrow into the sea and sweet drinking water came up for Sita to quench her thirst. We had a debate about whether Ramayana is history or fable and she made a comment saying “Aquafina water came out when the arrow was shot”…. I didn’t like the comment but I let it pass as its an eternal debate if Sri Rama existed and one can argue both ways.
The day we were leaving, we decided to tip her well like the others because we had found out by then that she was a contractual worker like many others. She broke down as Krishnan gave her the money and said, this was the first time someone had given her a tip. Then she told us about her life … She gave up her studies after the 12th so that her brother could get educated. She fell in love and married her dream man with the blessings of both the families and lived a wonderful life for 4 years. A year back her husband went for a new job and fell from a height onto a live wire and died … She cried and we cried too, she is just 27 and to have lost someone she loved deeply and to have held his lifeless body was heart wrenching. She said “actually it was I who died that day, not him … I became a walking corpse”. She spoke of her little daughter who is now in UKG and was her sole reason to live. She had got her daughter admitted to a convent school and her fees had to be paid. She was living with her parents, her father is a fisherman and she earns just ₹3000/-. Her brother works as a teacher. We immediately offered to pay her daughter’s fees and we asked her to study further.
Reji was overwhelmed with our offer to pay for her daughter’s fees… But her spirit and willingness to live for her daughter had moved us. We spoke to her about Dr. Michael Newton and his research on souls, emphasising the fact that each of us has a purpose to fulfil. Her husband’s purpose was done and so he left, but her mission is yet to be accomplished and her lessons yet to be learnt. I shared Shalini and Soni’s story with her and hopefully our words brought some solace to her.
Reji’s honesty touched us. She had already paid ₹2000 of the yearly fees for her daughter, and we told her to check if she can get it back from the school and we can pay the full fees. She came back and told us only to pay the balance since the school won’t return the ₹2000. She could have easily convinced the principal to return that money but chose not to do that. We gave her the cheque for the balance fees and she said she was unable to believe that this happened to her. She and her mother felt that her prayers had been answered and it was a miracle that we had come to Hotel TamilNadu and not somewhere else.
Our whole purpose of doing the ShikshaDaan Yatra is stories like Reji’s and the lives we are able to touch positively. What we get out of it is priceless inspiration to live our lives meaningfully … So many people live lives of great dignity and strength in the face of tremendous challenges, and the Yatra helps us find them and spread their examples. It may just make your problems seem smaller and easily surmountable. Reji will be a ShikshaDaan beneficiary as she is planning to do her B.A (English) by correspondence. Will need help from the readers of this blog for career suggestions for Reji once she becomes a graduate.
Reji called just now to confirm we had reached Kodaikanal safely and I got to speak to the youngest beneficiary of ShikshaDaan, her daughter :):) and well, she sounds super cute. May God bless this mother-daughter duo with strength and purpose and may they live well.
