Translated from the Original Hindi by

Kanwar Dinesh Singh

“Aunty, I want a full month’s leave. My brother’s son is getting married. It’s been a long time since I visited him. If I go to the wedding ceremony, I shall also stay there for some time.” Maya had been telling me that for many days. She had started preparations for attending the wedding. She took a month’s salary in advance from me. She got new clothes stitched for her children. I also gave her a sari to wear on the wedding day. As the day of her departure drew near, her happiness and eagerness were increasing.

            Yesterday, when she came, she looked sad. She did not even feel like working. When I saw this situation, I asked her, “Maya, why are you upset today? What’s the matter?” She was already distraught. Tears welled up in her eyes. Wiping them, she said, “Aunty now I’ll not be able to go to the wedding.”

“Why? What went wrong?” I asked her anxiously.

She said, “Aunty, there was no prior information from school; but, now when I went to the teacher to ask her for leave, she told me that children have exams in those days. Tell me, Aunty, how I can go now. Children’s exams are unavoidable. I have deposited the fees by working hard all through the year. If I take the children along, how will they progress to the next year?”

            I was sorry, but also happy about her not going to the wedding. Maya does not even know how to write her name. She cannot count above fifty; but how well aware she is of her children’s education! For the sake of their future, she thought of not going to the wedding.

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