I Will Always Find A Way… No Matter What

I will always find a way. To go towards my dreams. Despite the barriers life puts before me, the obstacles will become the way. Just like sunlight can’t be stopped from shining its way through the holes at the dingiest of places.

Rashi’s father worked as a clerk at the local bank. She had a brother. Her parents have always adhered to the view that the ultimate goal of a girl is to get married and have a family. Education for Rashi was never given a priority.

She was admitted in an all-girls Hindi medium school. Ayush was sent to a convent school.

She was passionate about her studies. Without blaming her parents or her luck, she took full advantage of whatever opportunities were given to her. Starting with always being a rank holder in the class to being one of the state board toppers.

“I want to go to college. But my father will never allow me to go to a co-ed college. Well, there is a way. There is a famous all women’s university in Jaipur. They will have no objection to it. I will also get the experience of college life.”

Keeping this thought process, Rashi approached her father. He refused as he would have to spend money on her education; money that would be better saved for her marriage.

Did she accept defeat? You bet not. Always being a bright student, Rashi started giving tuitions and managed to save fees towards her studies in a year. Her father could not but wonder at the dedication in the young girl. Here was his son floundering to pass the engineering exam, and here this girl had collected a semester’s fees.

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Finally, he relented. As the college Rashi wanted to go was only for women, he had no problems. The three years thus spent were among the best in Rashi’s life.  Now she wanted to do an MBA and then go for a job. But it seemed impossible. But wait there was way. Maybe she would not be allowed to go to the big co-ed colleges. Her graduation college had an MBA program. It was not among the best but it was the one she could attend.

Her father said, “You can do this. But you can’t go for a job. No one will marry you then.”

“Well let them say whatever they want to say. Let me at least get my degree first.”

As always, Rashi excelled and sat for the placement season. Of course, she did not tell anyone at her home about this. She secured a package of six lakh per annum.

The following day, hell broke loose.  Her father forbade her to go for the position as he feared that her status as a working woman would wreck her chances of marriage. But Rashi stood her ground and joined the company subsequently.

Time passed. Her parents were still not talking to her.

Out of the blue, she was asked to visit as her cousin was getting married. The next day, as she was prepared to leave for the bus stop to go back to the college after the wedding, her father came to her with an extreme look of astonishment on his face.

Well. the story goes that his best friend’s son had seen Rashi at the wedding and liked her. On enquiring about her, he expressed interest in marriage and had apparently no problem with her working.

Rashi smiled faintly and said “Not now. But after a few years.”

Image is a still from the movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

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