Mohan sat down in his chair looking at the job offer in his hand. One of the most sought after companies had hired him. He closed his eyes, remembering the journey to this day.
Let’s go around for a walk and visit Mohan’s life.
Through the eyes of Mohan’s parents
Mohan’s parents are uneducated. Both their families are based in the rural areas of Odisha. At a young age, both of them decided to go to the town in search of a job carrying the burden of their whole family. They somehow managed to get jobs after struggling for months. They just managed enough for each of them. When you are new to a city, it can be overwhelming for you. You have never had so many expenses. You have never seen life moving so fast. Their offices were close by and while they crossed every day, they were not aware of each other’s existence. Fast forward a year and they got married.
Nurturing a family in the city
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A year later, they had a son. It was tough for them to manage a family with such a meagre income. They had to return back. They thought about the decision for days. They decided to give their son what they had never got – an opportunity to study. They moved to the capital city, Bhubaneswar. Mohan’s mother had to quit her job to take care of Mohan. Their expenses increased and the family income decreased. They had to fight against poverty for years to come. But nothing would stop their decision. They enrolled Mohan in the best of schools, took loans, asked for money, but never let poverty be a reason to stop Mohan’s flight to success. They did not attend parties, they did not go out to eat at restaurants, they did not go on trips but they sure knew how to stay happy.
A sense of responsibility
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Amidst all that, it could have easily swayed anyway. Mohan could have ended up not studying. But then when someone does so much for you, it’s natural that you would want to repay them. You would love to see the people, who toiled hard every second of their life so that they could pay your school fees, happy. You would want to repay all the loans they took and give them every happiness in the world there is. You feel a sense of responsibility. Mohan felt the same. He would not let his parents down, not without a fight at least. He studied hard.
The stars would someday shine
It was not a small fight. It was a fight against poverty for nearly two decades. A fight that could easily weaken even the best. But Mohan’s parents never gave up. Mohan scored brilliantly and was enrolled in one of the most prestigious colleges in India. His parents had won. They were now respected in the society. People started talking about them.
They set out on a journey, a journey many would not dare to take,
With their sights set on the future, knowing life ahead would not be a piece of cake,
They fought every other day, they toiled hard in the sun,
But when they returned home to their son, they remembered to make his life fun,
This continued for years, but they never lost hope,
They had a dream and that helped them to cope,
A dream to see their son succeed, a dream to see him win,
And at last, he did win. But it was not just his victory. It was also, their win.