I was born in a very poor family in 1952 in Mirpurkhas district. My maternal uncles were educated up to the final class (i.e., equal to Class VII).
That inspired my mother to send me to school. At my village, ‘Dengan Bhurgri’, the birthplace of Raees Ghulam Muhammad Khan Bhurgri (the first graduate of Sindh), I studied up to Class VI. The great and selfless teachers taught very well. I studied from Class VI to Class X at Tando Jam Muhammad. To pay for my studies, I started working when I was in Class V. The first wages was 25 paisa for half a day. It increased to Rs 15, Rs 50, Rs 125 and finally to Rs 200 a month in 1975. Domestic circumstances compelled me to marry at the age of 20. I could not continue my engineering classes after HSC (Pre-Engineering) because of financial constraints. I did many odd jobs – at a restaurant, a fruit shop, a paan bedi shop, a shoe shop, a cotton factory, a flour mill and at a trading company.
In January 1975, I took a bold step of quitting the job that meant losing Rs 200 a month and sought admission in MA English Literature at the University of Sindh. It all became possible because of Mr Fayaz Ahmad – my best friend – who gave me Rs 200 a month for two years. His salary was only 350 and he was married too.
I studied 14 hours a day at the university hostel because there was no room for any sluggishness. I did my MA and got second position. The great principal, the late Capatin Shukuruddin, and the late Prof Tariq Mustafa Khan selected me for the post of lecturer in English in 1977 on merit. I taught English at Cadet College, Petaro, for 35 years, and retired as vice-principal this year.
The boy who earned Rs 25 a day in 1962 was receiving Rs 133,000 a month in 2012. Now, I am receiving a pension of Rs 55,000 a month. My head bows down to God Almighty, all the time. Thank you, my dear Pakistan. Thank you, Cadet College, Petaro. Thanks to all those who helped me, especially Mr Fayaz and my late mother.
The moral of the story is: never be without hope, never be discouraged. Just keep working hard with total faith. Time does not remain the same. Stop talking and writing against Pakistan. We have, recently, been declared the 16th happiest country in the world while India is 32nd and the US is 105th. We do have our problems but it is we who have to rise above the self and steer the ship out of the troubled waters to the island of safety, happiness and prosperity. Just keep the faith. Things have changed for the better but you must try harder to bring even better changes to make Pakistan great and strong.
PROF JETHA NAND RAHI
Hyderabad