Bhubaneswar: In an age where children are busy chasing their dreams, leaving their parents behind to fend for themselves, 20-year-old, Queen Nayak is riding an auto-rickshaw (not so usual vocation for women), to earn a square meal for her aging parents and self.
Queen hails from P.Bandhaguda village of Mohana block and is a student of Plus II 1st Year Science at a college in Mohana. Queen belongs to a poor family with aging parents. Her siblings (a brother and two sisters) are married and she being the youngest, is left behind to take care of her parents.
“Both my sisters are married. My brother is also married and lives separately. My father used to drive an autorickshaw but now he is old and cannot work. To meet the ends and eke out fees for my studies, I started to drive our auto and ferry customers after college hours and on holidays,” said Queen.
Her father Bachhia Nayak and mother Kanak Nayak are very proud of her. “We expect sons to be our support system in our old age, but my son got married and is living separately. Now, my daughter has stepped in and has shouldered all the responsibilities expected from a son. By driving an autorickshaw, she is able to take out her tuition fees and our home expenditure,” boasts Bachhia.
Her mother Kanak heaps more praises for her daughter. “She also cooks at home, helps in the fields, grazes cows and looks after our needs. We are lucky to have her as our daughter.”
Queen mostly works after her college hours, but on some days like the weekly ‘haat’ days, her working hours increase, and sometimes she misses her classes to earn a little more.
The government aid of 15 kg rice and an old-age pension of Rs 500 is not sufficient for their well-being. So, this girl broke that age-old shackles and jumped into the male domain of driving auto-rickshaws in a village.
“This girl has broken the glass ceiling and has proved that girls are no way less than boys. She is a science student from a poor family and has balanced her studies and work. She is a motivation for other girls as she is self-reliant. We are proud of her,” said Bhagwan Bisoi, a History teacher at Mohana Hilltop College.
“Where there is a will, there is a way” can be aptly said for this resilient girl who has found out her means to reach her goals.
