My Inspiration. My Perfect Woman. My Housekeeper.

I was one-year-old, when the woman which later was to become my first love came in my life- my housekeeper, Bhagwati.

The first person to leave a far-reaching impression on me which was to be congealed in years to come. Having lost her husband at a very young age, she had no family left of her own. Upholding dignity in her personality, she was a woman of grace and conviction. Retaining the smile on her face and warmth in her eyes, forcing the strength in her delicate body she worked till night. Explaining the meaning of life to me one day she said, life gives you a reason to live if it’s for others.

Find your love, the motivation to move forward will follow. Looking into her eyes, I could always see desolation but I couldn’t ever find that on her face. Teaching the best life experiences she could, she had been the most beautiful and inspiring woman for me. I wondered what it feels like to be alone, but it was invigorating to see how she always managed to find someone to call as her own. Transforming houses into home, she laid her life in the service of people, she braced me like her own daughter.

Year 2010, in the month of July she passed away, leaving her legacy behind. She was in my life for 20 years, the loss will always be deeply embedded. My woman of substance didn’t taste success. She was neither educated, nor famous. But to me she meant the world, where only kindness and good deeds existed.

by- Pritha Singh