SM, a graduate in arts , presently aged 53 years is a house mother in a care home for girls. She is at her job for the last 23 years and has a rich collection of stories to narrate. On my first visit to this care home about four years ago, I was drawn to SM as she would help me in my consultation job, that would take hours and hours to complete and she would just keep on providing me with the requisite datas without ever venting her own thoughts.
I once asked SM why she had chosen such a job as her career, when she could have got a better opening, probably a clerical one with a better pay packet, allowances and retirement benefits.
SM never took much time to answer me. She just adored children, a quality she had imbibed from her parents. A lot of children used to come to their home and while she was still in her teens, she formed a small club called "Manimela", for those children at her home. Her first job with a local NGO had her working in the bustees for eight years, but when she was selected for this particular post, she did not hesitate to take up the offer though she had no prior experience.
She was introduced to a completely new world and gradually as she adjusted to her new surroundings and became so involved in the day to day administration of the home that she just failed to recollect how the 23 years have gone by.
SM did not have time to marry and her family consists of her colleagues, the three other house mothers and the girl children at the home who lovingly call her "ma". SM is happy among the children and rarely visits her natal home in the outskirts of the city of Kolkata. She loves the children and her job but has no expectations in her heart.
So far I assess, SM will continue with the job as long as she will be able to. Though she has been diagnosed with parkinsonism about a year back, SM doesn't let that burden her soul.
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