A mild winter breeze wafted through the village streets. In the old neighborhood of Shantipur, Radha Devi slowly walked towards her home. Her back was slightly bent, and the old pain in her knees was more pronounced today. On the way, Kiran, who lived in the neighborhood, saw her and said in a cheerful voice, "Hey Radha Didi, you've been out so late. How are you? Are there any problems with your knees?"
Radha Devi smiled slightly and replied, "Yes, sister, it's the effects of age. I ran out of medicine, so I went to get it. Otherwise, I was resting at home."
Kiran said softly, "Then why didn't my son go with me?" Radha Devi's eyes moistened slightly. Her son, now grown, often neglected his mother's needs. What could she say now, and to whom could she tell? Kiran simply lowered her eyes and fell silent.
Radha Devi slowly climbed the stairs to her house. When she opened the door, she saw that her room was being moved to the upper floor. Hearing the sound of things being moved, Radha Devi stopped.
"What's going on? Why is my room being moved upstairs?" she asked.
Meenakshi, her daughter's daughter-in-law, said coldly, "Mom, we needed that room. My sister is coming. She has a two-year course, and she'll be staying here during that time. That's why your room is being moved upstairs."
Radha Devi felt a slight tingling in her knees. "But it's very difficult for me to climb the stairs again and again."
Meenakshi closed her eyes and said, "It doesn't take long. You go out for a walk; your knees don't hurt, but it's difficult to go up and down, that's just an excuse."
Radha Devi suppressed the searing pain inside, saying, "I went to get medicine, not to go for a walk."
Meenakshi's voice was a mix of sternness and authority, "Mummy, we need our sister's room. And yes, we're paying for this house, so the decision is ours. If you have a problem with the upstairs room, you can live in the outer room. We have no objection."
Radha Devi's eyes welled with tears. Her son's name was Rajesh, but he stood there silently, watching the spectacle. The outer room? It was practically a storeroom, dark and small.
"Daughter-in-law, when you first said you needed Mummy's room, I endured it silently. Today, you're sending me to the storeroom. My son isn't saying anything. Now, I won't keep quiet," Radha Devi said firmly.
Meenakshi taunted, "Be thankful I'm sending you to the storeroom. Not to an old-age home. You're listening to us from upstairs."
Radha Devi replied with determination, "Enough is enough. This house is still mine. And yes, this house wasn't part of your dowry."
A sense of shame flashed in Rajesh's eyes, but he said nothing. Meenakshi said dismissively, "We're paying for the household, so why bother listening to you?"
Radha Devi said slowly, "If I have to stay at home, I'll stay with my dignity intact. You guys decide."
Both Rajesh and Meenakshi immediately realized it was time to make a quick decision. Eventually, they apologized, but Radha Devi was determined.
She was happy living alone in the downstairs room, still with her dignity intact. One room in the house was rented out to someone else. And Meenakshi's sister was studying in a hostel.
Time passed, and Radha Devi learned that the bread of self-respect can never be left unfulfilled, no matter how difficult the circumstances at home.
Her story teaches that sometimes it's necessary to live alone for one's dignity.
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