The Gift Of A Life Of Independence

In response to Spread the Ripple’s February writing prompt “Gifts”

From birth to finishing school

I have got the opportunity to thank my parents who inspired me and were very kind to me and made me an independent woman.

I have a sibling a younger brother who is 7 years younger than me.

I was born in India yesterday where women were not considered to be equal to men.

Everyone in India wanted to have a boy but I was the firstborn and a girl. I was told that my parents distributed sweets to all their friends and relatives and even sent gifts to some family members.

They were proud parents of a girl born to them. This was so unusual.

The girl was treated with love and kindness and was pampered.

My father was an economist of his time and a senior officer in the Agriculture Ministry and my mom was also educated at a college in Delhi. She was a home science graduate.

When I was young she gave talks at the Radio station but she did not go every day to work as women were not expected to work or be financially independent. She would collect funds for charity as my father was the Rotary President of his club. She sang, danced, and was a great cook.

I grew up with determination and courage and faced a lot of opposition I was given a lot of freedom by my parents and people told my parents often that girls should be kept in control because ultimately they have to be home makers.

The transition from school to college

My father listened to other people but he never bothered about it. At 18 he inspired me and I learned how to drive. Believe me, not a single young girl drove a car in Hyderabad in those days. My friends were shocked that I drove independently and there was no driver with me. In fact, just a handful of girls drove a car in the whole of India.

As my father’s office was next door to our home. He was transferred from Ranchi and we lived in Hyderabad. He did not need the car so I would happily drive down to the college.

When I completed school, I wanted to do English as my graduation subject. My father called me for a serious talk. He said that I should consider a subject that women do not do.

I should take up a subject that gives value to the employment field. I should not be only a homemaker. He had dreams in his eyes to see me in The Indian Administrative Services (IAS) Or something high up in my life. He wanted me to be an achiever. I had to seriously consider a subject that would give me a career in life.

I made a bit of a face. English was too frivolous for my father because girls usually took that subject, finished graduation, and got married.

My father said only one thing -Rise and shine! Go and find something that will give you financial independence in life.

My mother of course took my side and said to let her do what she wishes to do.

I thought a lot and of course, finding a career had a lot of merits. I was inspired by my father’s words. I had to work and earn and have a career.

I enrolled for B.Com which was a brand new undergraduate course that would give me access to the language of business.

This is how I enrolled in a course to learn about business. I learned the three primary subjects of business namely economics, law, accountancy, and several other subjects all related to business.

My father got transferred to Nagpur and being in the Agriculture Ministry he was now to take a position as Director of the AGMARK (Agriculture Marketing)

I continued my post graduation in Nagpur where I was the sole girl student. There were three sections of boys. I had a lot of fun there but before I completed my master's I got a job.

I came to Delhi for a vacation and saw a vacancy in the accounts department of a multinational company. I went for an interview and I joined immediately.

I never joined the IAS but I worked in the corporate sector for a year and a half and then switched to higher education and joined as a lecturer in a very reputed college in New Delhi.

I never looked back. I went through many challenges to being accepted into the department but I trudged and moved on with challenges and did my Ph.D. as the first woman in the department of commerce to complete it from Delhi University.

The business department was very young as it had moved out of the economics stream.

Today the tables have turned. There are a lot of women in the business department so those challenges of my time are no longer there.

I have to thank my parents for the gift of education that I received in making me a woman of honor. I was able to do a balancing role of work and home despite having three children in a space of 4 and a half years.

I did pretty well for myself with deputations, distinctions, book writing, and research paper awards. I roamed the world alone, again women were not supposed to travel without husbands. I emerged as a financially independent woman. I was financed by many universities to go to conferences to present my thoughts and put things on the table.

I have carried the gift of my parents forward by doing several research studies on urban women in the workspace. I also helped many women to be independent and have a career for themselves so that they are financially independent too.

The foresight, inspiration, and kindness of my parents made me financially independent to lead a good life.

I am spreading the ripple of kindness.

This is in response to Ali Hall’s pub Spread the Ripple’s February prompt. To check out the prompt see the article below. I also wish to thank Mukundarajan V N whose kind posts inspire me daily.

I was tagged by Yana Bostongirl and Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles.

©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2023.

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