" The Ox" and her lamp! | Milaap
loans added to your basket
Total : 0
Pay Now

" The Ox" and her lamp

Written by Moumita Publish date 14-Mar-2018
Prickly prawns in the net- a prey to light
Prickly prawns in the net- a prey to light

Basanti owns a grocery store which is right beside her house. It has almost everything one needs in daily life. The neighbours come down after their day’s task and pick up their items of needs. This shop is about 10 years old and has built a goodwill over the years. When I asked her about her daily routine she sounded no less than an iron machine. Basanti maintains her household chores. She gets up in the morning, early, which is not restricted to her. Everyone in Athagarh seems to get up with the sun. She prepares breakfast for the whole family and packs tiffin for her sons who are working. By 8 am, she completes cooking and cleaning and rushed down to the shop. In the late afternoon, she takes a break for an hour to come came home and do odd domestic work. Her shop reopens in the evening and serves till 10 pm after which she drags herself home and cooks dinner. She reminds me of the protagonist of a story I read in school, “The Ox”. Relentless working at the age of 55 years, I can only dream of living that long. While elaborating her battle she mentioned that the solar lamp is used for both running the shop in the evening as well as taking care of her grandson during power cut who is a neonate. Her husband is a fisherman. Fishing is a common livelihood in Athagarh considering the Mahanadi River flows right against it. At night time, her husband takes the solar lamp to the pond and then focuses the light on the bridge of the pond. She actually showed me how he holds the handle of the lamp between his teeth. The prawns and crabs get attracted by the light and come right beside the clay-edge. He catches them with much ease and sells them in the nearby fish market. If one knows to utilize an investment it can be a lifetime boon, Basanti’s family is a sheer example of this.

Did this story inspire you? Share your thoughts.