Hard things about hard things (1)


As this is unfolding, I am realizing unforeseen challenges coming my way. 

 
I am approaching many people and seeking their inputs. It's easier for me to speak when I have a particular agenda and drive my conversation with respect to that agenda. But when it comes to having small talk or having a warm-up conversation, I feel extremely uncomfortable. 

Today was one such day. Our domestic help - Sunita maushi (that's aunty in Marathi) came over to speak to me. I had drafted the questions for her. But the real challenge was to strike a chord with her so that she answers slightly difficult questions which she had never thought of before. 

I decided the course of the conversation. I planned on conversation points. I thought about things that would matter to her. I was slightly embarrassed that she has been visiting our home for so many months yet I didn't know much about her. Then I roleplayed all of this with my mother. 

Speaking to her finally, however, left me with mixed feelings. I was very happy that we both could speak to each other without any hesitation and she shared her true story with me. But something that she said really shattered me: last year, just before corona hit the world, her husband suffered a heart attack. She had to run from pillar to post to collect money for his treatment. and she cut down all the expenses that she could. That included money she was spending on milk and food for her three kids. It was truly heartbreaking to know this. But hearing this also strengthened my resolve to help these women. I want them to be able to plan their money in such a way that no emergency deprives their children of the basics of life.  
 




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