Published On : Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014

A poor woman shows the way, honestly

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Sulochana Bele, a housemaid or Molkarin or Bartanwali, was felicitated and honoured for an outstanding and eye-opening service. The poor woman was showered with praise and accolades for her honesty, a rare thing in today’s era.

press image Guddhe Patil
Nagpur.

November 19, 2014 turned out to be a cherishing day for a poor woman. The woman was felicitated and honoured for an outstanding and eye-opening service. The poor woman was showered with praise and accolades for her honesty, a rare thing in today’s era. The poor woman is Sulochana Bele, a housemaid (Molkarin or Bartanwali in common parlance). Sulochana spent her entire life, and still doing so, in carrying out household chores, honestly. And her honesty got tested on a nice day.

Recently, Sulochana Bele was returning home in Rambagh area after finishing her daily chores. Midway, she found a bag lying on the road. The bag contained Rs 26,600 in cash, PAN Card, ATM Card, Debit Card, Cheque Book, Passbook and other important documents. For a poor woman like Sulochana, the cash of Rs 26,600 could have been a ‘blessing’ in running her house, a dilapidated hut, having watchman husband and an ailing grandson. But Sulochana displayed her real, in-born grit. The honesty. The illiterate Sulochana, after returning home, found the writings hard to follow and therefore called her neighbor Sudhir Rangari to pinpoint the owner of the bag. Rangari immediately came to know the owner of the bag after scanning the documents and the phone numbers. He and Sulochana called the owner to their house and handed over the prized possession to him. The ecstatic person was J D Singh, a Government contractor working in Irrigation Department.

Sulochana Bele’s honesty was recognized by the Nagpur Loksabha Youth Congress and a felicitation programme was organized on November 19, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The felicitation programme, held at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Samajbhavan in Rambagh, was attended by social worker and President of Molkarin Sanghatana Dr Rupatai Kulkarni, Corporator Praful Gudadhe Patil, social workers Babasaheb Shelke, Godavari Shelar and others.

“It was not my hard-earned money”:
“I spent my entire life working hard. I never took other’s money nor accepted money other than the work. I am totally contented with the hard-earned money. The money found in the bag was not of my work. It was of somebody else. Hence I returned the money and I am very happy for that,” said Sulochana Bele while replying to her felicitation.

“Surprised in today’s era”:
“After losing the bag, I lodged a complaint with Dhantoli Police Station. But soon forgot the matter resigning to the fate that the bag will never return to him. But the phone call at 10 pm from Rangari and my visit to Rambagh changed my life’s perceptions. After witnessing condition of Sulochana’s home, I was not happy to receive my bag but was rather surprised. I am dumbstruck to find Sulochana’s honesty despite badly in need of money. I am really surprised to see the poor woman’s honesty,” reacted the owner of the bag J D Singh.

The bottom line is: “Being honest never hurts anyone.”