It was an honor to be asked to write the biography for a senior teacher of mine to be read at her family get together. That you mam for letting me into your world, you really are a source of inspiration for me.
On this auspicious day when Ganpati Bappa has blessed us all and left to come back again next year, I feel lucky to be spending this time with my dear ones, my family, children, the people who matter to me the most in my life, “my world”…. and so today, I want to share with you all some thoughts from the pages of my life.
Last few days, I have been feeling emotional, nostalgic and I thought for a long time to share with you all, the thoughts, the hurt, the anger that lay hidden in the deepest corners of my heart. “Zindagi sab ko sab kuch nahin deti, Par sab ko kuch kuch zaroor deti hai ”
I was born and brought up in a very middle class family…enjoying myself…satisfied…happy being the eldest among 4 brothers and sisters…. Like a good daughter, I did everything for my siblings…. loved them…played with them, guided them…gave them all the love that they should have got from their eldest sister.
Time went by, we all started to grow up…school…studies…I was always the hardworking person…I wanted to be the best…I worked hard to be the perfect daughter…set an example for my siblings…so, surprisingly, all my hard work paid off and I stood 16th in the state merit list in my 10th std…that was the first time I actually saw “Khushi ke aasun” in my parents eyes…we all were so happy with my achievement…I continued to work hard because I was always ambitious, understood my responsibilities…and by God’s grace, I had the option to go for medicine or engineering both after 12th…I chose medicine because my father wanted me to be a doctor and I was interested too…So I had no regrets about what life offered me till then…I was happy because my family was happy.
The feeling to push myself to the limit…work hard made me work even harder during my MBBS days and with my hard work, I stood 3rd in Mumbai University too. My family was over the moon and I felt the sense of pride too…my efforts had paid off…I had every specialty branch available…medicine / surgery/ gynacology, obstetrics but I chose paediatrics by choice… I was the eldest sister naa…I loved my brothers and sisters like kids only…I kept going on, working hard to support my family…my brothers education because we knew we had to help ourselves with whatever resources we had…I educated my brother so he could support my youngest sister…look now…she has grown up to be a dentist…I’m so proud of you too…Till these years, everything was a perfect story, but the family needs were increasing, I could feel the pressure, the responsibility…and I continued my journey working as hard as I could…I then stood 6th in the DM entrance exam…I was getting gastroenterology which I always wanted but at the same time, I was getting a job in railways as a Class I gadded medical officer…This was the first major sacrifice in my life…I left the DM seat to help my family because they needed me at that time… I knew tough time lay ahead.
As time went by, I felt that it was time I should get married and settle down in life…I should have my own house, family, kids… So I had an arranged marriage with Dr. Joag…a very down to earth person from an average middle class family like ours…Together, we started of with our married journey…arranging funds for the house…taking a loan…running a pathology lab in Nalasopara… A normal middle class hard life story…but the shocker came when 6 months after marriage, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour…though it was a benign one, it left us devastated…Meanwhile, we also went through the problem of infertility…I underwent treatment, got pregnant…but we came to know that it was a quadruplet pregnancy…we both accepted it…But after 4.5 months, all 4 had an IUD….It shook our world and I started to understand that life doesn’t give you everything what you want…no matter how good a person you are…I began to value life more…wanted to make more out of it…Till the 3rd decade of my lifetime, I was satisfied in spite of what I went through, hardships, sacrifices…it was fine.
But then, life took a 180 degree turn…my world turned upside down…I lost the elder of my 2 brothers at a young age of 26 due to SJ syndrome…I was broken…Then in 1996, I lost Dr. Joag in a car accident…I was left alone…shattered…I couldn’t understand what was happening in my life…was it really happening with me, I asked God? Why? …I didn’t get my answers…all my dreams were shattered in front of my own eyes like a pack of cards and I couldn’t do anything…But that women instinct to embrace motherhood kept asking me to move on in life…however hard it was and so meanwhile, I adopted my niece…Then I met my current husband Mr. Jhadhav who had lost his wife too and had 4 children…We met and he asked me if I was ready to accept his 4 children along with him…I didn’t know what to do…Then I thought , may be God wanted me to move on too and he had given me back my 4 unborn children whom I had lost….with a family…another chance at life and here I am with you all…I was happy again…forgetting my past…accepting it as destiny, life went on happily…But my world broke apart again when I lost both. My mother and father in a span of 1 year…I was angry with life…It was too unkind I felt…I was helpless but I had you all with me as my support and I love you all for that…
After going through all this struggle, hardships, sacrifices….I have seen a lot of life…how difficult it is…it teaches you everything…you get something and you lose something….that there is a price for everything…I have done everything in my capacity to balance between my career and family…Life has taught me a lot and I have come a long way…and it would have not been possible to go through the wonderful learning experience without all your support and love, of course…From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for being there for being there for me…I love you all a lot…and so my journey continues with 1 thought… “ We never have what we like, we never like what we have, still we live, love and hope that some day, we will get what we love or love what we want !! That’s my life ”
Thank you
