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
