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behind every successful woman there is a man (yup, Bush and C. Rice for example).
Visakhapatnam, : The wife of a poor pani puri vendor has become
a software engineer in Infosys, thanks to her husband?s support. Sheik
Salar, 26, a street hawker, used every rupee he earned to help his
wife Fatima Bibi Sheik, 21, achieve her academic ambitions. And it was
not in vain. Fatima completed her course at Gayatri Vidya Parishad
College of Engineering with high marks and was given a plum posting by
the software giant in a campus selection.
In fact, she is the first student from the college to get into
Infosys. Fatima and Salar stay in a slum at Rajendranagar. While
Fatimawent to college, Salar roamed around the city with a pushcart
selling puffed rice, corn, chilli bhajjis and pani puri, earning Rs.150 per day.
When she was married off to her distant relation Salar by
her parents in 2001, Fatima was just 15 and felt that she would never
achieve her dream of being a software engineer.
?I did not want to marry since I wanted to study further and achieve
something, she said. She was crestfallen since Salar merely nodded
when she told him about her dreams. But his nod meant a lot and he
started savingmoney to help her study. By living frugally, Salar
somehow got together Rs 60,000 to pay Fatima's fee for the first and
second year of her engineering course.
The Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Finance Corporation helped the
couple pay the rest of the fee. ?At the time of our marriage I was not
sure how serious Fatima was about her studies, said Salar. But when I
realised that she got 536 marks in her SSC exams and stood first in her
school, I decided to help her study.? The pani puri vendor was adamant
that her future should not get spoilt because she married him.
A junior college in the city provided her free intermediate education.
She secured a decent rank in the Eamcet exam and opted to join the
electronics and electrical engineering branch in college. ?We decided
not to have kids till she got a good job,? said Salar. For this, I
took much criticism from my parents.? Fatima's eyes moisten when she
talks about her husband. You can't imagine the hardships he suffered
to help me,? she said. ?In the last six years, he was my strength. He
sacrificed all his joys for me.?
Fatima was always first in our class,? said Asha Kanthi, her
classmate. ?We did not know her story then. Now she is our
inspiration.?? Though happy at the turn of events, the couple is a bit
sad when thinking about their being apart for three months, when
Fatima would go to the Infosys campus in Mysorefor training. Have
they ever quarrelled? When we have issues, we sit together and
discuss and sort it out,? said Fatima. She plans to take her husband
along with her when she gets her posting. Salar too is proud, for he
has proved that behind every successful woman there is a man.
http://phalguni.sulekha.com/blog/post/2007/05/pani-puri-funds-infosys-dreams.htm |
