A Success Story

With nothing to report from the life of Jyothi, I am going to take up another subject today.
The subject is a lady in her late 30’s. She has a son who is 14 years old. Her husband leaves her alone to fend for her son by herself a few years ago. She is a beautician and hence can survive on her own. She does have relatives here, which was a lot of help for her. She comes into my neighbourhood and buys a well running beauty saloon that I frequent. She is the epitome of simplicity and of courage. She hails from Aluva, Kerala and is a Muslim by religion.
Recently, she got married again to a friend of a distant family member who is a perfect match for her even age wise. He has never been married before. He is a doctor by profession and resides in London, England.
This courageous lady is planning to sell her business and settle with her son and her newfound husband in London.
The problem with the above said story is that, in spite of her having gone through a lot in her life, I haven’t once seen her cry.
Although she is my age, she always calls me “Molle”. It’s an endearment term in Malayalam, generally used for someone who is much younger than you. (It literarily means Daughter)
The fact that her parents didn’t want her to remarry is not a shocking one. She was sending a major part of her earnings to them. Her son’s needs were always looked after well. She made sure that he has everything he needs. And he has grown into a handsome young man. But, it’s now time for her to move forward in life.
I am wishing her the best that life can offer her. From what I know of her and the cruel life she has had, I am sure she deserves every happiness that comes her way. At times I have thought that she charges me more than she should for the facial or hot oil massage, but I never complained. It’s not because I am extremely rich and I have a lot of money to give away. But I know in my heart of hearts that if I were in her place, I would have broken down and given up long ago. And if in any small way I can be of help to her, I didn’t mind it.
It’s really rare that women like this get appreciated here. In this society being divorced woman is a crime. If you are good looking then that’s even worse for her. If she is into the Beauty Parlour business, then there is no doubting it at all! She is bad! How narrow minded can people get?
I do not vouch for her being good or bad. I am not really sure I know the true definition of either of these. Isn’t it relative in a way? She is as good as a woman in her circumstance can be and as bad as every woman in this world has a capacity to be. It’s all in the mind of the believer. I believe that whatever she has done or is going to do in her life will be good. She possesses a heart that listens, a mind that understands and a brain that can put many an engineer to shame.
Her’s is a success story according to me. Like she said to me today, wherever she goes, as long as she has her profession to fall back on, she will survive!
And survive and succeed she will , of that I am sure.