Feature news story for my DMJ module, Story on Tika.

Tika: Of Womanhood and Hardships.

Women are beautiful creatures. Not only by the way they seem but also for what they do for the rest of the world. It takes a woman to make a home out of empty rooms and silent walls. The nature of woman is of nurturing like of a circle that has no end. She’s a perfect companion in the shoes of a sister. The best half, when she’s a lover. And, when she is a mother, no one in the world can defeat her from being the best protector. Even without physical strength, a mother has the courage and the bravery to endure all hardships that comes from her body or the world. A woman’s love and care is so selfless that can win over any battle and leaves no word to describe. 

Tika Maya

Tika Maya is a sweeper in the hostels of Sherubtse College, Kanglung. She earns an income of Nu.4000 monthly. She is in her early 40s today and works along with her husband.

Tika's better half, Krishna Bdr.

“We don’t have a hometown like others here in Bhutan. But we try to be happy in our own small ways.” Tika answered when asked about her hometown. Tika and her husband eloped from Darjeeling around two decades ago. She regrets that she can’t go back home like others do when shoulders become heavy but deep inside her, she has developed a lot of love for this kingdom. She assumes that their people back home have forgotten them. It was love that was innocent and immature that brought Tika and her husband to Bhutan. She says that they came through Dantak to Bhutan, to work. They expected some day their families would call them back. But, nothing happened the way they expected and they made their living here till now.

Tika on duty

Tika has 4 children today, excluding the eldest one who died. She said, “We never knew what the disease was until a day he got severe. The doctor said it was cancer and there was nothing we could do but just see him die since we couldn’t have much money to help. The thing which saddens me more about this is he was just 20 years old. He hadn’t even lived half of his life.” She looks after his widow and his child along with other grand children. Two of her daughters have gone to their in laws after marriage and Tika and her better half lives with her two sons and their family. The whole family except the kids do petty works which earns an amount of hand to mouth, to buy their everyday’s bread and butter.

Tika sweeps the kitchens and corridors of all the hostels along with her husband every day. Earlier they used to work for the road maintenance for dantak, but they have become too old for it. 

This was a story of a woman who has encountered a lot of hardships in life and has many yet to see. She hardly smiles and is rarely happy.