Hitch your wagon to the Stars- Ralph Waldo Emerson
When life hands you a lemon, or so the old saying goes, make lemonade out of it. But it’s easier said than done. It becomes doubly, nay many times more, difficult when the person holding the lemon falls into the category of a social outcast, facing mind-forged barriers at every turn of his or her life journey.
Asha Kandara’s story may have started on these depressing notes, but it took a fairy tale turn- all because she decided to take her destiny into her own hands and move forward with renewed determination.
A FAILED MARRIAGE
Ms. Kandara got married in the year 1997 and bore two beautiful children soon after. However, within just five years of her marriage, her relationship started to go downhill and she was deserted by her husband in 2002.
She was left alone with the responsibility of raising her two children all by herself. It was the most difficult phase of her life and it took her a long time to overcome the trauma of a broken marriage.
FRESH START: GETTING A DEGREE
But Ms. Kandara soon collected herself and decided to start life afresh. She realized that the first and the most important thing required to survive in the world was education. Without it, a good life remains a chimera.
Therefore, she began all over again from school level and completed her graduation in 2016 with a view to find her own ground.
Realizing that she needs a source of income to support her family, children and her dreams, Ms. Kandara willingly appeared for the examination for sweeper with Jodhpur Municipal Corporation. She passed the examination and started going for her new job. But that came much later, after she decided to go for the administrative job.
HUMILIATION IN THE JOB
The world is a cruel place for an estranged woman trying to find her place in the society and the same happened with Ms Kandara as well. At every turn, fresh humiliations were hurled at her, for her cast, her job of a sweeper and also – yes, this too is a dark reality in many Indian societies- for being a woman separated from her husband.
To be treated in such a bad manner was not acceptable to Ms Kandara. It was intolerable. She decided to do something big enough in life, so that no one else would ever trample over her self- esteem.
PATH TO RAS
Ms Kandara was always taunted with the words, “You are not a collector” when she demanded or asked for her rights.
Ms. Kandara began preparing for Rajasthan Administrative Service as her age had surpassed her chance of getting into Indian Administrative Service. She attempted her prelims in 2018 and when she passed, she burnt the midnight oil every night in preparations for the finals.
She finally appeared for her finals in October 2018 and was positive about the result. However the result kept on getting delayed. Meanwhile to support her family, the officer continued to sweep the roads of Jodhpur until the result finally came out this week.
Her happiness knew no bounds when she realized that she is not just a random estranged sweeper anymore, but is an actual officer of the Rajasthan Administrative Service.
She sat beside the two mayors of the city who felicitated her and wished her luck to be in an administrative role- in the same department where, at one time in not so distant past, she worked as a sweeper.
