Why look for heroes amongst the stars when you have them right before you!
Shravani Thota
Chennai
In the wee hours of Pongal morning we woke up to the voice of Chinnakolandu calling upon Malar. I wonder how these sweet ladies are so full of energy all the time. It baffles me sometimes and sometimes, gets me inspired. As I walk towards the restroom reluctantly to begin my day, I find Chinnakolandu and flash a smile at her, she smiles back. And now if you wonder who these power-packed ladies are, these women who we call our heroes, they are the housekeeping staff of Sharavathi Hostel in IIT Madras. Do not be surprised! There is so much we learnt from them and there is so much we wanted to learn about them, hence, we decided to interview them.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness” they say, but how often do we recognize that? Some might as well say “Oh dear, we are impious”. One undeniable fact is that we Sapiens, at least most of us cannot function at our best capacities when not present in organized atmosphere, and the ones who organize for us, we don’t quite recognize them. There are some tiring days and some lazy ones, the ones when you don’t just want to wake up. These ladies who age anywhere between 30s and 60s , devoid of any such privilege put us on our feet and keep us going. When we asked them “How are you people so disciplined?” quoting discipline as though it were a super power, shrugging it off they said we need to show up at sharp 7:30 in the morning, “else they will send us back home” said Mariamma. Because of the problems they have at their homes and because of their responsibility to cater to the entire family they need to keep working and cannot take a chance added Kavitha who is in her mid-thirties. As we asked them whether or not they have school going kids all of them nodded with happiness. Chinnakolandu the eldest of all these women said she has school going grand kids one of whom is 10 years old and studies in Kendriya Vidyalaya, IITM branch. Elated to know, we further asked them about how hopeful are they about their kids’ and grandchildren’s future. They replied saying that they are very happy and aren’t hopeful but are confident and strongly believe that the next generations have a bright future. “It’s for them after all, that we are working here, we did not get to study that is why we want them to study” said Malar. As we conversed with them, we realized that they had a very positive perception of education. When asked “Would you go back and study if you ever got an opportunity?, Do you like it?”, Chinnakolandu said “We had no one to guide us” while we shared biscuits, “I haven’t studied so I don’t have an idea but I do like the idea of it” she said. It was a very smart reply, instead of nodding in agreement she said she didn’t know yet because she had not tried. As we spoke we surely fell more in love with these women. These women are the ones with a progressive mindset.
All of them gather around in the badminton court at 11 a.m. in the morning to have their breakfast, speaking about all they got. They teach us friendship, they teach us how being happy is not that a big deal. It is a sweet sight indeed. They forget about all the responsibilities weighing them down, all the difficulties they have for some time and enjoy to their fullest. They really like each other and work together all the time. “Us being there for each other makes this easier” they opined. On being asked about the students, they were all excited. Chinnakolandu said “They address us by the names akka, amma”. Our fellow students also give them the clothes they don’t use anymore.
After the short and sweet interview we felt utmost admiration for these women . They teach us so many things while doing their own thing. Compassion, responsibility, friendship , the idea of being happy and hopeful and what not. They smile at us as we cross by, we already are the makers of a very warm , close knitted society. When we want help shooing away the monkeys we scream, “Akka!” and here they come and when they need something they are free to call upon us.
If you ever want inspiration, you just have to look around because these amazing unseen heroes are everywhere to find!
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