Varalu - what I did not see ...

Varalu, abandoned by her dunkard husband and with three  small children to bring up, needs income. 

Eashwaramma's grandson needs focussed tutions - he is extremely bright, but having been care of only a harried, unwell, grandmother who is barely able to earn enough to feed him, his studies has gone neglected. Next year when he enters middle school we worry that he should be labelled and made into a dunce.  

My friend came to the village and suggested that Varalu teach Sasi. Despite all her burdens, Varalu has had deep care for others. She has spent much time counselling Eashwaramma's grandchildren and giving them much needed mentoring and kindness.

 I had only been seeing Varalu as 'needing help', and did not see her as 'giver'. That was blindness.
 

Varalu beamed down the phone when i suggested it. When I told her that the small stipend for her work would be divided as half spending money and half for milk daily to be divided between the three infants, she beamed even more broadly down the phone ... She has for too long seen her children ask for biscuits when they see other children eat, and been unable to get them any , having had to give highly diluted milk to the infants because there was no money for enough milk ...

  

Varalu has proved most responsible ... and with the way she has with children,  she has managed to improve Sasi's reading skills considerably. She is firm, despite her gentleness and despite not raising her voice once, or being harsh. Sasi now only wishes to learn from her. 

Later she took on the medical care responsibilities for the village, and discharged her role in ways we would never have imagined.