Above: Sarjit Kaur celebrates Mother's Day 2010.
People
The Saga of a Sikh-Malaysian Single-Mum
by LIM SU LYN
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
When Sarjit Kaur's husband died in 1972 from cancer, she had the enormous task of raising eight children on her own.
She did not know how she was going to feed and clothe the children because finding a job was almost impossible as she was illiterate and could not speak Malay or English.
Fears of losing the roof over their heads were also imminent. But fortunately, the family was allowed to remain at the quarters of Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan where her husband Kartar Singh had worked as a hospital attendant.
"At the time, it was like a nightmare, worrying about where we would live after my husband died," said the 80-year-old Sarjit through her daughters Manjit Kaur and Jasbir Kaur, who helped to translate her replies in Punjabi.
"My mum couldn't find work. She was illiterate and could only speak Punjabi. She couldn't even shop for groceries as she couldn't count. But that didn't stop her from providing for us," said 45-year-old Manjit.
Jasbir, 47, said that with financial help from close relatives and income from the three eldest children who worked after completing Form Five, Sarjit managed to put her remaining five children through secondary school and college.
Generous neighbours and friends had also chipped in when she was in need of help.
Jasbir also recounted how Sarjit made a chicken coop and her own stove that used firewood, adding that her mother also fixed the leaking roof.
Jasbir said her mother always waited to see their school report cards although she could not read as she wanted them to excel in their studies.
"She would look for red or blue marks in the report card to know if we were doing well in school. She would also sit with us every night while we completed our homework," said Jasbir.
All eight children are now married and Sarjit is blessed with 19 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
[Courtesy: The Star]
May 12, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Harinder (Bangalore, India), May 12, 2010, 9:13 AM.
Happy Mother's Day, Sarjit Kaur ji.
2: H.S. (U.S.A.), May 12, 2010, 4:13 PM.
These are our the mothers of our Khalsa Nation today, who have been through what it meant to be born and raised in struggling Sikh families in Punjab. May Waheguru ji aapji nu chardi kala vich rakhey! Our children should learn from such lives and appreciate what family life truly means.
3: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), May 12, 2010, 4:33 PM.
This one is one of the most heart-warming stories I've read recently on sikhchic.com. From 1972 to 2010, in 38 years, this mama, later as a grandmama, faced, braved and endured almost every kind of challenge to have this wonderful celebration on Mother's Day! People say money, cash, is nothing, and how naive they are - but you need it every day ... it is money that helped Sarjit Kaur buy food and groceries, clothe her kids, protect them from hunger, thirst, and so on. sikhchic.com - thanks for bringing this great mama's story.
4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 12, 2010, 8:09 PM.
Guru Nanak's shabad comes to mind: 'Ghaal khaa-ay kichh hathahu day-day/ Naanak raahu pachhaaneh say-ay' [GGS1245.19] - "One who works for what he eats and gives some of what he has/ O Nanak, he knows the path". Or, if you like, Khalil Gibran's quote from memory, who said: "All you have shall be given one day. Give now while the season of giving is yours and not that of your inheritors." Despite our good fortunes, we generally feel shy to help the less fortunate ones. But for marriages, the money is spent with obscene lavishness. We forget that 'Gharib da mooh, Guru ka golak' - "The poor man's mouth is the Guru's donation chest." With the lessons taught by the Gurus, no one should go hungry and the needy always adequately helped. Or, perhaps as Shakespeare said; 'There are more things between heaven and earth' (Hamlet). We are perhaps waiting for 'Cheerriaa(n) khaa gaiee khayt' - "When the harvest is gone to the sparrows", and then it too late, and it's time to render account at Dharam Raj's court. 'Ki-aa tai khatia-aa kahaa gavaa-i-aa/ Chaluu sitab deebaan bulaa-i-aa' [GGS:792.14] - "What have you earned, what have you lost?/ Come immediately, you are summoned to His Court."
5: Gurinder Singh Johal (Amritsar, Punjab), May 13, 2010, 10:11 PM.
That's a great story.