Her story wasn’t like my other grandparents’.
Though she was also forced to leave Karachi in 1947 and adapt to an entirely new country, she held onto a sense of positivity early on.
She asserts that much of the reason for her lack of fear during the partition was due to her young age of 8 and a half years.
After being transported to Bombay and staying in a military barrack with three other families, my grandma, my Nani, recalls the horrible food they were given.
“But we were so small, we didn’t even think about it. We used to be playful and go into the jungle and pick up sticks and wood and things like that.”
“So it didn’t really affect us as much as it affected our families.”
Similarly, when I asked if adjusting to a new school system was difficult, she, without hesitation, responded no.
“When you’re small, adjusting is not that difficult.”
While her age certainly played a part in her ability to remain adaptable and endure, the support from her mother and uncle, her Baba, played an even bigger one. For it was “because of those two people” that she was able to graduate from college.
Her college was 30 miles away and, though “in today’s world, that’s nothing because of cars”, back then it meant waking up at 5 am, taking a bus or train and then walking.
Fortunately, her Baba would keep her company and keep her safe during her early starts to the day, waking up at 5 am every day to walk her to the station in the dark. His wife would ask “why does she have to study?” After all, there were only 5 or 7 other girls attending college at the time.
But to this, her Baba simply responded “what is your problem, don’t worry. I’m taking her to the station.”
Because of their financial situation, she also took up a job with a railway station.
So, her day looked something like this:
5 am - wake up
5-7 am - transport to class
7-10 am - classes
10-5 pm - work at the railway station
5-7 pm - transport back home
This tiring schedule was worth it to my Nani, however. Because “education is very very important.”
In fact, my Nani told all of her children from a very young age that “you have to have a professional degree in the subject of your choice. And the choice is yours. But you have to have a professional degree.”
And, as she had it, one of her children, my mother, became a doctor and both my aunts got Engineering degrees.
Education was also the reason my Nani migrated to America; she wanted her children to have the best academic opportunities which would hopefully lead to their dream careers.
It was also in America that my Nani reaped the benefits of her own education.
Although she could not use her BA in Economics to propel her career in India, it was the reason she was able to land a job in America.
The job required “ 60 units of college” and, when it came to for a promotion, it was her college degree that qualified her.
It was “her degree”, her education that allowed her to secure a place in an initially “scary new country with new people and a new language.”
While listening to my Nani share her stories, I reflected that, by contrast, I have never doubted my ability to get an education of my choice. Whether it’s tuition payments, societal acceptance of a person of my gender or race attending school, or the support of my parents. I have found it easy to treat education as a given, or even a chore, rather than a privilege. I have found myself complaining about the workload, the hours, or the system’s structure, but at the end of the day, as my Nani contends, education is a tool that is fundamental to so many facets of life.
It is a ticket to future careers. It is the basis for which people/future employers determine your credibility. It is opportunity.
The second thing my Nani emphasized as being important in life is friends.
“Even when life was very hard, having good friendships really helped us a lot.”
Having a support system, a group of sincere friends, can ground you, she shares.
But nowadays, “finding real friends has also become a problem. Everybody is so artificial and competitive,” she reveals.
So when you, in the midst of this often cutthroat world, find those few people that you can trust to have your back hold on to them.
For these friendships, and your education, stay grateful.
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