Kuldip Maity

Remember when we were all going through the most terrible and trying moment of our lives? We plunged into the troubled waters with clenched jaws and dreams of better days. Then there was the first taste of success.

That was the moment all our back-breaking and nerve-wracking efforts were rewarded. That is perhaps a moment worth capturing.

That initial taste of success leaves some of us thirsting for more. Some of us work non-stop to attain more. The initial taste of victory has set off a chain reaction of cravings that propels us toward our higher goals.

The day Rita was promoted to Class 7, she had her first ice cream. It was a milky bar on a stick. Her father was overjoyed with her performance, and as a reward, she was given a sweet that had just arrived from the city.

At her age, the happy girl did not realise that life isn't always sweet.

A year later, stricken with unemployment, Rita's father had to take the toughest decision of his daughter's life. She was made to drop out of school. While the parents pondered how to keep the family afloat, little Rita craved education and ice cream.

Days turned into years. Rita found herself in newer roles. First of a wife, then of a mother. Responsibilities started piling up. The carefree young girl had turned into a woman who took care of the Pal household.

The robes she donned changed, but her yearning remained the same. At that time, one had to leave the village of Nalpur and travel to the nearest town to enjoy ice cream.

Rita did have ice-cream even after the day she had her first, but with every bite, she was reminded of all the children in her village who had to take this arduous journey for a sweet taste of childhood.

The child in her appealed to her motherhood. The mother in her gave birth to the entrepreneur.

The idea germinated into a desire and the desire culminated inaction.

Rita, on the advice of her elders in the village, found herself heading for the Village Financial Services branch. Crossing the threshold of the branch office, Rita made her decision clear. She was going to bring ice-creams, chocolates and candies to the children of Nalpur.

The day she opened the gates of her new shop, the children rushed inside. They marvelled at the sight of the gleaming, white cold storage. One nudged the other with curiosity. Rita pulled up the lid and a cold mist escaped from the white container. She pulled out a frozen pink cup and handed it down to the girl standing nearby.

The taste was met with a loud cheer. Happiness spread like wildfire. Even the adults joined the huge line of customers. To top it all, event orders for ice creams started flowing in.

The village of Nalpur tasted the sweet joy of childhood. The new entrepreneur of Nalpur tasted the sweet taste of success. It had inspired her next move. The profits were reinvested to expand the line of business. The ice cream shop turned into a grocery store.

From dawn to dusk, her store is now packed with customers. The entrepreneurial initiative had motivated scores of young women in the small village of Nalpur. Many turned their hobbies into occupations.

Dramatist George Bernard Shaw wrote, "Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby."

I say, happy is the village that lets its women turn their passion into careers. Because when our women taste success, it transforms the lives of future generations.

Maa Durga never leaves her children alone. Bidding farewell is not symbolic of her retreat. Rather, its significance lies in our ability to leave behind the mistakes of the past and move forward with the lessons.

The story of Gita Malakar is the perfect embodiment of the proverb “Failuresare the Pillars of Success”.

A resident of Azimganj, Gita is a mother of two. Last year was a year of upheavals for Gita.

Her husband, Sukumar, was a daily labourer. The Malakar family was dependent on his daily wages. One of their childrenwas preparing for the school-final examinations. The government told all schools to shut down and announced a countrywide lockdown by the end of March. Sukumar had to stay indoors with his family, without his wages. The family lost its only source of money. The parents worried about making ends meet while the children were losing school time.

Survival was the priority.

Gita realised she needed to get her family out of poverty and hunger.

She started a tea stall with a loan from a neighbour. She got the courtyard wall demolished and built a shed for the tea stall. Customers trickled in, and Gita’s family finally had some income.

Two months passed,but Gita noticed that customers had not grown to her expectations. Rather, the business was eating up her savings. Her frustration turned to desolation, and she decided to close her tea shop and support her family by selling her gold ornaments. It was her last bid at survival.

Destiny had a different plan. On her way to the gold shop, Gita’s saw the signboard of Village Financial Services. She recalled her sister’s account of VFS and how it had helped her start her business.

Gita decided to step into the branch.

Since that day, her life has taken a turn for the best.

VFS not only assisted her with a loan but gave her the most crucial aspect of entrepreneurship: insight. Why not put the shop in a better location, VFS suggested. Gita used the loan to move her tea stall from her courtyard to a nearby highway bus stop.

Her tea stall was now next to dhabas and souvenir shops. From day one, customers poured in. The mounting losses were converted into increasing profits with some to spare.

The family could finally eat two meals a day in peace. Gita was successful in saving her gold and repaying her neighbour’s loan. With the new mobile phone, the children were able to take online classes.

Sukumar changed careers and began working at his wife’s tea stall.

He fetches the raw materials such as tea leaf, milkand biscuits. Every day, at the crack of dawn, the couple arrives at their stall, cleans all the containers, refills them, and starts the stove for the tea. The aroma of boiling tea fills the air.

The tea stall has become popular among commuters, truckers, and tourists.

Gita, inspired by the success of her first venture and now armed with business acumen, has begun to plan her next venture with the help of VFS. It was her failure that gave her the experience towards establishing a successful venture. She sets an example for us.

Drawbacks are not just hurdles but lessons on the journey towards fulfilment.

Greetings of Durga Pujas!

This year’s puja festival is turning out to be wonderful, especially after last year’s dreary one. This time, many of us have been vaccinated against COVID19.

But we must not let down our guard. We must continue to wear masks —proper ones that cover our nose, mouth, and chin. In public, we must maintain a physical distance of two meters or six feet from others.

Last year, we recommended that you celebrate Durga Puja at home. This year, we are urging you to celebrate with caution. Please be responsible at all times. Not just for yourself, but for others as well.

My heartfelt gratitude to all doctors, nurses, public health professionals, frontline staff and government officials for the unprecedented number of people vaccinated. But let us not forget that the country continues to record COVID-19 positive patients daily. Being completely oblivious to reality will be a tragic mistake.

The threat of the third wave looms big. The reality cannot be ignored.

Coronavirus is constantly mutating, producing numerous variations such as alpha, beta, gamma, delta. Vaccination will assist us in either avoiding infection or dealing with the symptoms of infection. However, the vaccination is effective only against existing viral mutations. We never know which mutant awaits us. The mutations can only be halted if we don’t leave any room for chance and stick to the protocols.

Let us also remind ourselves that there are children and teens under the age of 18 who are yet to be vaccinated. They remain vulnerable to the lethal Coronavirus. As a result, we must continue to adhere to safety precautions. The second wave’s onslaught has left many people bereaved and scarred. Those gloomy days should not return at any cost, especially not for any callous attitude during the festivals.

Amidst the revelry, many are fighting the infection. Let us also be compassionate. One of the most humanitarian aspects of Indian festivities is inclusiveness. Make sure that our neighbours or near and dear ones who cannot attend the celebration are included in the pleasant moments while keeping a safe distance.

The social gap is physical rather than mental. The distance is of the bodies, not the heart. If your neighbour is isolated, be mindful of their needs and their hearts. Help them with the required necessities. Food occupies a big part of the celebration. Share the joy with them.

Durga Puja and Dussehra are about more than just good triumphing over evil. It also has to do with harmony and oneness. Mahisashur was defeated by the combined force of Devi Durga’s manifestations. In the victory against Lanka, the heaven, human, and animal realms came together. Hence, let us be unified in the spirit of festivities and our action against the pandemic.

Maa Durga will leave on a palanquin. The Goddess’s departure on a palanquin is widely thought to prophesy an imminent disease or epidemic. This time, I am hoping that it takes the pandemic with it.

As a last reminder, this is the second time we celebrate the grand festivals in the pandemic. We all are aware of what to do and what not. Last time we might have left some lacuna. And we learnt of its outcome.

So, this time let’s put those learnings into action. Make sure that we enjoy ourselves responsibly and safely.

“Where there is a will, there’s a way.”

This well-known proverb has been around for centuries, but most store it in their basket of proverbs and could write an essay on it. But some live and breathe the words of this proverb every day. Sarita Devi of Jharkhand is one such woman.

Being born in a family that valued female literacy, Sarita could study up to Class 10 before orthodox society started frowning. The fact that she wrote the first board examination caused many of her village’s elders to look down on her. While the men pestered her father with questions about her future, the women sneered at her whenever she ventured out of the house.

But Sarita wore her confidence and determination like armour. She swore that if not her, then her children would accomplish her dreams, not just for her but for every girl told not to fly too high. She will fight the demons of her society as Devi Durga did.

Years have rolled by, Sarita, a wife and a mother of three has realised her dreams and accomplished something far greater.

Her sons are in high school, and her daughter, the pride and joy of her dreams, is a graduate prepping for competitive exams.

Reaching this peak had taken years of hard work for Sarita and her husband, who has a fruit shop.

But Sarita did not stop here; she wanted to become an entrepreneur. She had the will, and she found the means at the Village Financial Services branch in Deoghar.

This time, she had to face the prejudice tainting a woman with her own business and source of income. She roped in some friends and became part of a JLG named Pradhumna.

Sarita launched her garment and cosmetics shop. Her village did not have any shops selling good clothes or cosmetics. People like her had to visit nearby towns or wait for a seasonal fair to deck up for special occasions.

Sarita stocked her shop with a wide range of apparel from Madhupur and cosmetics from Dhanbad. She soon had a clutch of regular customers, many from nearby villages. Her store survived the lockdowns of the COVID19 pandemic in 2020.

While listening to Sarita’s story, I realised that some people live every word of the proverb because it is their second nature. Their strength is drawn not just from talent but their will.