Fatima is one happy woman today. Every day after finishing her work she tries to visit her favorite place in the Udaipur city – the Fatehsagar Lake. Fatima believes whatever she is today; it is because of the Udaipur city. She has been to many countries – Dubai, Iran, Iraq, but she believes she would never trade Udaipur with any other place in the world. She describes Udaipur by citing very famous lines from Iranian poet Amir Khusro – “Agar firdous baroye zameen ast, hami asto, hami asto, hami asto”, meaning – If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here. According to her, every place in Udaipur is special, but Fatehsagar Lake is very special for her as it gives her immense peace. The peace which she found finally at the age of 44; it came after years of hardship and struggle. It is something which most people take for granted; the peace which she earned by her extreme will power, grit, determination, and hard work. Her extraordinary story is an inspiration, a tale that tells us – when hardship comes, we must carry on, we must not lose faith, and most importantly, we must not give up – no matter what.
Fatima grew up in a middle class family. Right from the beginning she was given the love and warmth which every child aspires. The means were limited in the family, but there was no dearth of happiness. Her father and mother made sure that she, her younger brother and her younger sister get nothing but the best. When she was small, her father decided that she would go to the best possible school, and that there would be no compromise on her education. This one decision by her father early in the life made profound impact in her life. Today, she credits everything to her Father and Mother, who compromised on their own requirements to make sure that she would get good education. She was the favorite of all teachers in the school. Her bright and charismatic personality won hearts of students and teachers equally. For several years she stood topper in the school, and science and math were her favorite subjects; she dreamt of becoming a great engineer one day. With a brilliant mind and ability to observe surroundings quickly, Fatima became mature much faster than other kids of her age. At a tender age of 14 she realized that continuing math/science stream would not be viable option as that would involve huge expenses in coaching and graduation which family could not afford. It was heartbreaking for her, but to make sure that her younger brother and sister continue to get best education, she sacrificed her dream and opted for Arts stream. At this age when other kids usually spend time playing and asking stuff from parents, here she was taking big and bold decisions, that too without letting her parents know about them.
Fatima entered college and started showing her brilliance. Even though science was her original choice, she started doing excellent in Arts stream. She worked hard, extremely hard to make sure that sacrifices made by her parents don’t go in vain. All her determination and hard work paid off when she became the University Topper. Fatima closely understood the financial condition of the family, so she decided to stand up and do something at such young age. Right after college she thought of doing something on her own. She decided to teach other kids. She thought this was the best way to give back to the society and also to earn satisfaction. According to her, an educated man changes the family, but an educated woman could change the whole generation. She would prove this true later by teaching 1000+ students over the course of 23 years! It was not an easy start for her. Right from beginning there were problems, most of the students were from English medium and she had a bit of difficulty in understanding English. So to teach the students, she started learning English on her own. Slowly she gained love and respect from all the students. As she marked her name as a great teacher, she thought life is on right track and that everything is fine, little did she know that Extreme difficulties were waiting for her – not for one or two years, but 20 years of continuous struggle. It is important to note here that in spite of the difficulties, she continued teaching students and never gave up.
Fatima got married in the year 2000 and in 2001; she was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. A new marriage and a beautiful baby – anyone would think that this is the ideal start of a happy family, but for Fatima troubles had just started. The big blow came when she realized that her husband would be working in Kuwait and that he would be coming for only 1-2 months in a year. This was devastating. At the time when she needed the most of the financial, moral and emotional support – she lost her pillar of strength. If this was not enough, apathy from the new family increased her pain multiple fold. She soon realized that she is not the most favorite person in the new family. With no money to support her and the little baby, and extreme difficulties being imposed on her, she decided she would not sit idle and accept the fate. She was strictly asked to stop taking tuition, so going against all the odds, she decided to continue taking coaching classes at her parents’ house. Every day after finishing morning household work, she would take her small baby and leave for the parents’ house. She scheduled the classes at her maternal home. While her parents took care of the baby, she took classes for the students. She was under pressure to give up her only source of income, but she knew that she has to continue – she had only one thing in her mind, that she has to keep going so that she could arrange great education for her kids. She had decided that no matter how tough it would be, she would carry on. Juggling from one house to other and balancing both was not easy. So many times the baby got sick, but she took her to the hospital all alone, only to be back to her routine work next day – no day off, no relaxation, no happiness, but a deep satisfaction as she knew that her work hard will ultimately set the bright future of her kids. After conducting classes for 40 odd students, she would pick the baby and come back to the in law’s house, finishing off all the daily household activities, under lot of pressure and unfavorable conditions. This was the daily routine. The life had become so tough that she stopped smiling completely.
The husband visited her once a year but that was not enough at all. She was doing everything all alone. In 2009 Fatima was blessed with a baby boy. The difficulties continued, the abuses continued, the pressure continued, but she kept her engaged in her tuition classes. His extreme determination and hard work started paying off when she enrolled both her kids in top schools of Udaipur. Saving every penny and sacrificing on all her personal requirements, she spent most of her savings on her kids’ education. She clearly remembered the sacrifices made by her Father because of which she was able to do so much, and she had decided to follow his Father’s footsteps by committing top education for her kids. She is also grateful to her brother who stayed with her, supported her, and encouraged her to keep going in such tough period. She raised her kids single handed, without taking anything from the society, riding high on her confidence and internal strength. In 2017, finally things started to look bit positive when her husband decided to come back from Kuwait and live with her. She was relieved, extremely happy that finally something good was happening in her life. But destiny had something else for her. Fatima soon came to know that her husband has been diagnosed with serious form of cancer. Her life suddenly turned dark again; she couldn’t believe her fate. The only thing which came to her mind that time – why her? Why so much hardship, why so much pain year after year? She had no answer to all these questions, but she knew that after all these years, after suffering so much, she just can’t give up now. She gave up her tuition classes to stay with her husband 24×7. Her daily routine was limited to countless trips to hospital. The money she had saved from so many years – she started spending that on the medical bills and doctors’ fees. The health deteriorated and finally in April 2018, her husband passed away.
Any other person would accept defeat in such circumstances – years of pain and suffering, extremely hard conditions, lack of support, losing loved one, and finally losing the source of income. But not Fatima; probably she is built of something else, something which makes her such a strong woman. She decided to get up and do something for kids and herself. She decided to stay in Udaipur and look for a job. At the age of 44, she had to start a fresh life, and she was afraid who would accept her at this stage of life. With such apprehensions, she applied at Arcgate in November 2018. She hadn’t touched keyboard and mouse before, so to pass the test, she sat with her daughter and asked her to teach the basics of computer. This determined woman just didn’t know how to give up. She learned the basics and gave the test and interview along with candidates half her age. She thought there was no chance, she had no prior professional experience and she was already 44 – who would give her a job? Her negative thoughts vanished when she was declared as one of the successful candidates suitable for the profile of Research analyst. She couldn’t believe it. Even after pinching her several times she couldn’t believe it. She sat down for a moment to grasp the situation. When her senses came back, she realized she has got the job. She says, there are no words to describe this feeling. She first called her kids, and then every possible person she knew. This was a life changing moment for her. She is still continuing the job at Arcgate and her life is full of happiness, she has got her smile back, and also the motivation to keep going. She has immense respect for Mr. Dilip Bagla (Chairman) and Mr. Kunal Bagla (Founder and CEO), who established Arcgate here at Udaipur which is literally changing lives of thousands of people. Through this medium, she just wants to let them know, that she is grateful, that she is thankful for creating such safe place to work, and she is thankful for giving chance to men and women alike.
Hopefully Fatima’s story would inspire several other women. According to Fatima, when tough situations come, women should just get up and take charge. She believes they should take their destiny in their own hands, and should not easily give up. Fatima is a fighter. She is the symbol of strength and courage, and yes, #SheIsUdaipur.