Elderly KP woman braves all odds to feed, educate her grandchildren
Mahwish Mushtaq Khan
Ganderbal: Chain Kumari, a septuagenarian Kashmiri Pandit, runs a small Dhaba in the foothills of Kangan area of district Ganderbal to feed and educate her grandchildren.
A widow since 2015, Chain Kumari has been fighting against all odds to provide a better life to her remaining family.
Life for Chain Kumari was peaceful and stable when she and her husband along with their son moved back to Kashmir after staying in Jammu for about 10 years.
“We lived in Kashmir peacefully for a long time, but in the 90’s, like many Pandit families, we also moved to Jammu. But after 10 years we returned to Kashmir with our son and set up a Dhaba here. We were a happy family”, she said.
However her life turned upside down in 2015 when both her husband and son died leaving behind three grandchildren and a daughter-in-law.
“In 2015, my husband died of cardiac arrest and while I was still mourning his death, my son also died in a road accident just two months of his father’s death. It was a terrible phase of my life,” she said.
Life for Chain Kumari has been a constant struggle ever since. She said that after losing her husband and son, there was no earning hand left in the family.
“I had no other option but to step up and take charge of the Dhaba, the only source of income for the family,” she said.
Kumari is in her 70s and given her age she should have been living a stress free life. “But I have to work every day to make sure I earn enough to feed my family and pay for the education of my grandchildren,” she said, adding that she has been doing this since the death of her husband and son. “I had no other option but to fight and step up for the sake of my family.”
Utkarsh, a grandchild of Chain Kumari says that his grandmother sacrificed her peace of life to raise him and his siblings.
“We are proud of our grandmother. If it wasn’t for her, God knows what would have happened to us,” says Utraksh who along with his brother offered a helping hand to their grandmother at the Dhaba.
“She is a strong lady and she has been doing something that even a man cannot do for us. She takes good care of us and without her we can’t imagine our lives,” he said.
During the last two years, the business was hit due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and suspension of Amarnath Yatra. However, this year she says business was finally back on track with the resumption of Amarnath Yatra.
“I suffered a lot in the last two years due to Covid 19. This is my only source of income. But this year I am happy as the footfall has increased with the resumption of Yatra. I hope it will continue like this in the coming days as well”,” she said.
Amit Agarwal, a tourist from UP, Lucknow was moved by the story of Chain Kumari. “The story of Ama ji has melted my heart and inspired me to never give up in life,” he said.
For tourists, Amaji (Kumari) has set an example for other people by showing how even in the face of adversity one should not back down without a fight.
“And she really cooks amazing food,” he said.
KV News
