Meet Manju – the woman of the house
Born to a lower middle class punjabi family with meagre resources but plenty of Indian family values Manju grew up with four other siblings in a two room house in East Delhi.
She was yet a small child and had seen her mother pawning her only gold bangle to make ends meet many times. It was then she decided that she had to do something to support her family. It was a long time before she could earn something because she was still in school. Books were her best friends. She loved Ancient Indian history and linguistics. She was a topper in her class. She started giving home tuitions to the neighbourhood kids when she was in high school, kept this a secret from her father as he was a very self respecting man.
A strict disciplinarian whose word was the law of the house. He didn’t want his girls going out to earn at such an age. Manju was successful hiding her home tuition secret for a while but it came to light when a neighbourhood woman told on her and she had to stop giving tuitions. She soon finished her school and double graduated with Sanskrit. She took up library science as her post graduation subject in university because of her love towards books. She joined a start up as a telephone assistant to support her education. She didn’t know how to communicate over the phone because she didn’t have a phone in her house. Spoken English was also a handicap for her. She sought help from her friends and practiced English conversation. Completed her post graduation with flying colors. Soon she was appointed as a documentation assistant with Directorate of Film Festivals. Her dedication and honesty towards her work caught an eye of a senior in her office who helped her hone her skills. Her parents decided that she was now at a marriageable age and soon the struggle to find a suitable match began. At the age of 25, she wed a simple middle class boy who worked with a private organisation. “Say yes politely to everything your elders ask for” were the only words of wisdom that were spoken in her ears before she embarked the new chapter of her life. Her family life was a struggle too, from a nuclear family she now was a part of a joint family. She had 7 sister in law’s and 4 brother in-laws. She became a mother to her first child a girl at 26 and another at 32. The couple bought a new house in East Delhi. Her husband lost his job soon after the birth of their second child due to company dissolution. He tried searching for a new one for years but didn’t find one. He tried his hands on many other errands, started small home based businesses but nothing worked. It was getting difficult to survive with each passing day. Manju then resorted to freelancing. Her library science background helped her learn the art of indexing. Along with her full time job, she moonlight as an indexer for a lot of publication houses. Over the years, her work expanded with word of mouth. She then took up proof reading, editing and translation works as well. Household duties and two jobs took a toll on her health. She was still determined to make it work for her family. She read over 500 books for her freelance assignments over the years. She got retired from her official duties in the year 2016. Got both her daughter’s married. Invested all her savings in the weddings. At the age of 64 today, she still remembers every assignment she has done for a publisher. Post retirement she spends time gardening. She has more than 100 plants to love. She has also taken up social service and contributed to the education of underprivileged. Manju donates her time and money for mass marriages of destitute girls. Her intellect and knowledge on diverse subjects amazes the people that come to know her. She has been a pillar of strength for her family and friends even after all the struggles she has seen in her life.