#FIELDSTORIES: You Just Can’t Beat The Person Who Won’t Give Up

Rina Saha born 1964 in an upper-middle-class family in West Bengal was unwanted for no fault of hers. She was a girl… In spite of being fairly well to do, the family married her off soon after she completed her matriculation. Thus denying her the opportunity for higher education. She did not get a chance to complete her education, while her three brothers were fortunate and were allowed to study and make themselves well established in life.

Fate however favored her and she got supportive in-laws, who encouraged her to study and complete her graduation after marriage. Her husband was a Master’s degree holder and also an established wholesale Saree dealer in Bara Bazar in Kolkata.

Rina gave birth to a daughter and life could not have been more pleasant. Trouble started when after a few years of marriage, her husband became addicted to drugs under the influence of bad company. He started abusing Rina physically and mentally. Her in-laws, tired of the situation, consulted with her parents and advised them to take her back as they had no control over their son. The couple separated and Rina and her now three-year-old daughter came back to her natal home. Her baby was her motivation to live. Initially, the parents were sympathetic but gradually they started misbehaving with her daughter. They blamed Rina for her misfortune. She continuously tried to adjust with her parents but the relationship further deteriorated. While staying with her parents, Rina had entrusted her ornaments with her mother.

Her parents told her that they would neither give her any share in their property nor would they return her ornaments. Her elder brother did not support their parent’s decision and requested her mother to give her the ornaments back as well as her share in the ancestral property. But his wish did not prevail. After some time Rina was forced to leave her parents’ house. She started living in a small rented place in Howrah with her child and began working in a diagnostic centre for making ends meet. She struggled a lot to earn her livelihood, during that time.

Over a period Rina set-up a small travel agency and life was picking up again for her. Rina got her child admitted in a boarding school to ensure her good education. Rina’s child often used to visit her father’s place, Sinthi, a part of North Calcutta during  holidays. In the year 2003, Rina’s daughter went to meet her father during vacation and was staying there to enjoy her holidays with her father. One day Rina was informed by her in-laws that mysteriously the girl had died there. Rina was completely heart- broken. For several months she did not meet anyone. But life taught her to survive again. She focused on her travel business and set up a small office of her travel agency in Central Calcutta. She used to provide  package tours for Himachal, Ladakh, Amarnath and, Kashmir. Her business was running smoothly and everything became normal and stable, till March 2020.

The worldwide pandemic of Covid19 placed severe restrictions on mobility. The travel industry is almost closed since the outbreak of COVID19. Rina’s once-thriving business has come to a standstill. Financially, she is destroyed again. And there is no end in sight… Still, the strong-headed woman is ready to bravely fight, fight to live.

Women day in and day out display exemplary courage against all odds.  Yet society does not want to let  go of its preconceived biases. Covid19 has challenged many businesses, but Rina’s courage stands out for its grit and perseverance. Not everyone can be what she is…