Maya was 12 years old when she told her mother that she wants to be a doctor. A daughter of a simple bank clerk and a housewife, Maya didn’t realize it’s an extravagant dream for a middleclass Nepali family. Her mother realized that this dream is not possible with the earning of one person, which was just enough to fulfill the basic need of Maya, her younger sister Chhaya and younger brother Ayesh.

After possibly 2 weeks of sleepless nights and disturbed days, Maya’s mother decided to work. But it was impossible since she has a family to look after. So she decided to start something from her own home. Now the big question is what she can do from home. She is not a very well educated woman or a skilled vocational woman. She cleaned the ground floor room of her house which was unused since she got married to Maya’s father. It was a very small room which opened to a busy street in Kathmandu.

She decided to open a vegetable shop since she realized the locality lacks that. No one supported her decision. Her Maiti people, though very rich and educated thought it was a bad idea and it will ruin the goodwill of their family. Her Sasurali family couldn’t understand her desperation. And her journey began.

According to Meera aka Maya’s mum, “ Maya wanted to be a doctor and Chhaya decided to be an engineer. I worked like a donkey to save money. 4 in the morning I used to go to Kalimati Tarkari Bazaar and get the vegetables to the shop by 6am. Whole day I am in the shop and whenever I got time, when the business was slow, I went to kitchen and cooked. Later I hired a helper. I have saved penny by penny, dime by dime and with that money I have a doctor and an engineer daughters and I am proud of myself.”

The story doesn’t end there. Now her certified doctor daughter, who works in a very well reputed, expensive and posh hospital in Kathmandu, asked her mum not to come inside the hospital. If she has some work, she should call Maya outside the hospital, in a distance and do what she got to do. Meera is extremely hurt with this behavior and still smiles and says its OK.She was told that her appearance and attitude doesn’t match with what Maya wants to take to the hospital. Basically Maya is ashamed of her mother.

Doctors are synonymous with compassion and love. They say a person with a lovely heart should be a doctor coz you need a lot of it when you work. Maya treated her own mother so badly. The mother who had lived her life living her daughters’ dreams and working on it. People like Maya are case of failure to me. I was just wondering if bad Karma someday comes back to Maya ( that I know it will), and her own kids in the future treats her exactly the way she has treated her mum, will she be able to take it??? We shall wait!!!!

(The write up is based on true story, but the names of the characters are changed for privacy reason and requested by Meera.)