The importance of education is a widely addressed topic but, in reality, we fail to acknowledge the fact that many kids in India lack even basic education due to their unfavourable circumstances. Some start working at a very young age to support their parents, while others are bowed down by community’s pressure. And even if they are sent off to government schools, many drop out due to the lack of resources and facilities.Yet, there are few students who are able to excel and make their dreams come true due to the presence of a special guardian angel in their life. And such is the story of this young woman who owes her education to her guiding support “Anjali Didi”.
Posted by Humans of Bombay on their official Facebook page, this heartwarming story is going viral with 10k likes and 565 shares. Speaking about her childhood, she says despite having financial difficulties she had a “great childhood” because of her loving father, who worked as a chef at a small catering company.
She was sent off to government school just like other kids in her locality but asserts that her experience at government school was not great. According to her, the children were treated like servants, asked to wash tiffins, and asked to run errands. But because of her parents’ keen interest in her education, she was enrolled in Akansha, an after school supplementary programme.
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And that is where her life changed. Being financially unstable, she and 8 other kids were sent off to a private school by a person at Akansha whom she lovingly calls, Anjali didi, who took charge of their education and covered all the expenses from her own pocket. Talking about this special person, she says,
When I joined this new school, I didn’t know anything — I didn’t even know that different teachers teach different subjects — so I failed my 9th Grade twice. I was so upset that I’d let her down that I asked her if I should quit — and she didn’t take no for an answer. She pushed me to work harder…when there was no electricity at home, she would stay back at the centre with me and help me study. Around this time, I lost my father and that was really difficult to deal with, but with Anjali didi’s support, I managed to clear my exams and even became the Head Girl of my school.
Wading through all the difficulties with the help of Anjali didi, she managed to get admission at Xavier’s to fulfil her dream of becoming a film maker. She says,
My mother was facing so many financial problems. She used to work, but she even borrowed a lot of money and it hurt me when people humiliated her…so this is when I considered stopping college and starting to work full time. Again, Anjali didi spoke to me and said, ‘education is important — you have big dreams, of traveling the world, of making your mother travel…how will you do all of it if you don’t study?’ I listened to her — my entire life at college was either about studying or working. I had multiple part time jobs — from being a ticket collector at theatres to working in call centres, I took up any job I was offered. I guess it all paid off because I got a job at Future East films straight out of college and now I work full time with Education World.
Guess we all need a guardian angel like Anjali didi in our lives.
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