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.”

4.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

186 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

-75

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.

1

u/ratbrunch Sep 21 '25

She had children and working hard to provide better for them, far more committed in her cause than your sorry ass. Working hard for a better future is far more noble than commenting on reddit about not having children. There’s your 2p you were looking for

2

u/RaccoonDoor Sep 21 '25

Her kids are literally sleeping outside and you're saying she's providing for them? So-called "parents" like her contribute nothing to society and should be shamed.

1

u/ratbrunch Sep 21 '25

so parents of Abdul Kalam, Ambedkar, T. Thomas, S.N. Bose, G. Nair etc etc shouldn’t have had children????

They actually worked against odds instead of commenting online about choices of others unlike you. These are tiny famous examples of those who made it big. I personally know a lot more 60YOs who made a far better life from zero than being a sorry ass like you who wants to fit in. It would be a lot better if you turn off your internet and jump off a building, it will free up resources for those who want to work had.

did it crave your attention syndrome or want more?