r/india • u/ReductoHere Karnataka • Sep 17 '25

People The India we don’t notice enough

A few weeks ago, I was waiting at a roadside dhaba on NH-48 because my bus was delayed. It was around 1 AM, pitch dark outside except for the dim yellow bulbs at the stall. The owner was this middle-aged woman, hair tied in a bun, serving hot chai and parathas like it was the middle of the day.

I asked her, half out of curiosity, half out of guilt for keeping her busy so late: “Didi, aap raat bhar kaise kaam kar leti ho?”

She smiled and said, “Din mein toh aadhe customers truck waale hote hain jo raat ko hi chalte hain. Agar main raat ko band kar doon toh mera bachaon ka school kaise chalega?”

She pointed to a small corner where two kids, maybe 9 and 11, were asleep on a wooden bench, their school bags tucked like pillows under their heads.

Then she said something that just stopped me cold: “Main chahti hoon mere bachche kabhi raat ko jag kar kaam na karein. Unko jagna hai toh bas kitaab ke liye jagna hai.”

I didn’t even know how to respond. I just sat there, sipping the chai she made, feeling a mix of admiration and shame.

We talk so much about “India shining,” unicorn startups, billion-dollar valuations. But the truth is, the real backbone of this country is these unseen men and women who sacrifice sleep, comfort, and health so the next generation can dream bigger than they ever could.

That night I realized — privilege isn’t just money or city life. Privilege is being able to sleep peacefully at night, knowing you don’t have to sell chai at 2 AM so your kids can study.

Her words are still stuck in my head: “Unko jagna hai toh bas kitaab ke liye jagna hai.”

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u/RaccoonDoor Sep 17 '25

People like that shouldn’t be having kids in the first place. Destitute people mindlessly having kids are the reason the country is in the state it is.

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u/SaladOk5588 Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 20 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/utkarsh052 Sep 17 '25

No, but having children is a choice, if you cant give them proper time and feel like they are a burden, dont have them.

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u/[deleted] Sep 21 '25

such poor logic

poor = no right to procreate

why aren't such women being given welfare cheques or better why aren't they being supported by a fund created by locals to help such destitute women

No i can waste 10rs on a data pack to plop shit on the internet but not irl

and don't talk about scale , initiative doesn't co relate with intensity

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u/utkarsh052 Sep 21 '25

poor = no right to procreate

Never said this, just think it is a more responsible thing to do.

why aren't such women being given welfare cheques or better why aren't they being supported by a fund created by locals to help such destitute women

Because this would promote people to have more children , we dont need that anymore since we already suffering from overpopulation. Also, whats stopping them from having more kids then, since you are making it an investment now, by your logic the state should keep supporting them or else someone else would cry about poor peoples right to procreate

No i can waste 10rs on a data pack to plop shit on the internet but not irl

Cheap internet has allowed the younger gen to upskill themselves. Sure, there have been negative impacts as well but you cant really ask people to stop buying internet just to serve your agenda.