Life as I have Seen It

Author(s): Urmila S Dholakia
Publisher: Urmila S Dholakia

Page 41

-
Life - As I've seen it =
With this type of enthusiasm we organized ourselves into work groups. Some went to cut vegetables; some to make the dough for roti; others worked to fire up the big stoves and get the daal and bhaat cooking. In just a small amount of time, the kitchen was humming with activity..
Laughter and harmony filled the kitchen. Girls excitedly showed off their cooking and organizational talents. I could hardly contain my joy. The same girls who fussed around about their hair and clothes were now mature ladies tackling this problem with courage, energy and enthusiasm. It is always more fun to work as a team and these energized women had the table set with plates, spoons, bowls and napkins before the noon lunch hour. Even I was assigned a job. Today, my heart filled with happiness as I called out the names of each girl in a triumphant roll call.
At exactly noon we began lunch and the girls went off to classes as usual. It was amazing to see such strength, courage and wisdom from the girls. It was a matter of pride for the university. But what about the main issue? The head cook and his staff was still outside, hungry, tired, waiting, watching.
How long can anyone hold out on someone else's word? The head cook was not a political person. He was just a pawn in the big union games. He came to me with his hands folded and apologized for the error of his ways. He said they want to put the whole matter behind them and get
39