BENGALURU: At 85, she fends for herself with grit and a smile every single day. Devaki is a mother of eight but today she has nobody to call family.
After her husband’s death 16 years ago, all her children abandoned her but she didn’t give up. Instead, she started a petty shop at the age of 70.
Like any working woman, she leaves home at 6 am with dabbas for breakfast and lunch and walks to her petty shop at West of Chord Road in Manjunathnagar, Rajajinagar. She is forced to shut shop at 6pm as there is no electricity in her small shop. She says earns around Rs 400 a day.
“After paying Rs 1,600 as rent, I manage the rest of the month. I also get a widow pension of Rs 1,000 every month,” she said.
Hailing from Kalaburagi, Devaki, fondly known as Devakamma, moved to the city with her husband and eight children. “My kids asked us to sell our land in our village and distributed the money among themselves. None of my children took me to their home,” she said.
One of her sons is an alcoholic. “We sent him to a rehabilitation centre for around five months. Nobody bothered to bring him back including his wife, but I did. However, it was all in vain,” she said. Her son deserted her but even today he comes to her shop pleading for money to buy liquor. When she refuses to give him money, he sometimes assaults her.
Her neighbours helped her set up the 3X3 feet shop. “I picked up wooden planks from a demolished building and someone offered to build a shop for me,” she said.
When asked about Anna Bhagya scheme she said she does not receive either rice, dal or sugar. “My name is included in my son’s ration card so my share goes to him,” she said.
Devakamma’s shop is next to a vacant site. “Once someone starts constructing on that site, I will have to vacate this place. If someone helps me with an alternate place, I will be grateful. My only wish now is to run the shop in a decent place. My children do not take care of me. I have self-respect and want to earn my meals till my last breath,’’ she said.