Granny Gheeta had an inherent gift to making people feel at ease or better about their circumstances in life by the stories she told. It always seemed as if Granny had a story to match whatever circumstance one was facing in life.
Granny Gheeta had an inherent gift to making people feel at ease or better about their circumstances in life by the stories she told. It always seemed as if Granny had a story to match whatever circumstance one was facing in life.
For instance, when one of my cousins came home and told Granny her grueling story about trying out for the Netball Team, Granny had a tale to comfort her. My cousin Simone was an incredible athlete, and although she was faster than all the other girls, and knew the game quite well, it seemed as if she was the victim of jealousy and political ploys. She practiced several hours per day to ensure that she would be approved for the team, however, the coach passed her over giving the position to her neice.
It was a difficult experience for Simone to understand, but Granny in her own intuitive way, broke down the underhandedness of the whole situation.
Simone lamented, “Granny, I practiced really hard and followed all of the coach’s instructions. I even played when my aching joints were acting up.”
Granny remarked, “Never mind, forget about it, other opportunities will come your way. Tell me, how did the other girls on the team treat you?”
Simone answered, “Come to think of it Granny, they were downright standoffish and sometimes rude to me, but I just ignored them, because I had a goal in mind.”
Granny sighed, “Past shadows always cast their vibes on events to come. Those girls were not for you from the beginning. You just refused to acknowledge it because you were caught up in the moment.”
Simone and I looked at each other a bit confused but we continued to entertain Granny’s assessment of the whole sordid affair.
Granny Gheets continued, “I am going to tell you girls a story . Once, there was a very pretty girl named Rasmeena. She lived in a little village outside of Bombay. As a young girl, Rasmeena’s parents educated her and gave her all the she needed to get on in life. However, because Rasmeena was not worldly and lived in a cocoon with her parents and other siblings, she really had no real friends. Everytime she attempted to make friends with the other girls, they would play tricks on her and treat her very shabbily.
When Rasmeena got older, a very wealthy man came to the village and she was in the yard watering the flowers when the gentleman stopped to ask her directions to the city. Rasmeena had no knowledge of how to direct him, so she called her father to help. The two men began talking about life, their families and within a short space of time, the father invited the gentleman for dinner. During his visit the gentleman became smitten by Rasmeena and was captivated by her beauty. After several months, the man, Mr. Jyoti asked for Rasmeena’s hand in marriage. The two were married, and he brought her to the United States.
Rasmeena had no idea how well-off Mr. Jyoti was until she came to America. Suddenly, she was thrust into a life of her own servants, beautiful clothes, expensive jewelry and a chauffeur at her disposal. Rasmeena lacked nothing. Unknown to Rasmeena, her husband was a very eligible bachelor before he married her, therefore whenever she went about town running errands and attending events, she was always treated with sarcasm, coldness and deliberate exclusion. The women in the city where they lived treated her with disdain because she was a foreigner and because she had scooped up one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. Mind you, Rasmeena had no knowledge of Mr. Jyoti’s status. He fell in love with her, because of her very innocent, unassuming ways and her kindness. She liked him because he seemed quite wise and was a good conversationalist. The two seemed to find great companionship with each other. They were best friends as opposed to being physically attracted to each other.
Rasmeena was always sweet. She would invite the other housewives to her home for tea, she would host Birthday parties for them. However, they never reciprocated or rarely invited her to their events. Whenever there was a charity auction she was always funding their galas or volunteering her time to make the events a success. Yet, they were never grateful or gave her any accolades. As a matter of a fact, every opportunity they got to embarrass her or make her feel inferior, they used and abused it.
Despite the horrible treatment she received from the community and the other women, she never complained to her husband and never spoke ill of them. However, wherever she went, she always heard disdainful whispers from people. They called her all sorts of names and made crass insinuations regarding her marriage. Some would remark that her mere presence made them sick to their stomachs.
Rasmeena could not fathom why they hated her so much, when she had taken great pains to be exceptionally nice and gracious to them.
Rasmeena’s salvation came, one day when she was invited to High Noon tea at a very posh country club.
Unbeknownst to her, her husband had a golf appointment at the same country club. While the women made a mockery out of her, and excluded her from all their conversations, the final straw came when they spilled tea all over her mink coat. She was humiliated, and wanted to run out of the dining room bawling, but, just at the moment when she was about to give in to their tyranny, her husband entered the Dining Room and looked over at the melee’ that was unfolding. It was then, he realized that his wife had become the but of cruel jokes by the “High Society” women.
Mr. Jyoti was livid, because he knew that most of those women “came up” by marriage. They were not born into money just like Rasmeena, however unlike Rasmeena they were not as virtuous. They all had sordid pasts, prior to their marriages and since they were so classless. Mr. Jyoti took the opportunity to subtly remind them of their backgrounds.
On that day, he took his wife by her hand and lead her out of the country club, away from those women, counseling her that she did not need the companionship of mean people. He reminded her, that she was a valuable asset in her own right, and had her own money. Therefore she did not have to “play up to them”. Mr. Jyoti advised his wife to let them seek her out.
Rasmeena lead a very lonely life for a few years, yet when folks realized she had withdrawn herself from their circle, they were banging down her door to be her friend. Suddenly, she was being invited to more parties than she could attend. But, having been bitten once, she was very careful with choosing the individuals she wanted to be associated with. Rasmeena’s husband often told her, “You are a soul from out of this world, and not too many people can see that you have no hidden agenda. You are one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Unfortunately, beauty , charm and goodness make some women a threat.”
Mr. Jyoti remained very protective of his wife and she learned, if she reveled in her sweetness and all the qualities that made her “Rasmeena”, the right people would be attracted to her and she would no longer have to put up with insolent and abusive individuals.”
Simone smiled. “Granny that was a wonderful story. I see what you are trying to say. If I believe in my talents as a player, the right individuals will seek me out. If I practice and have faith, eventually I will get my due.”
Granny nodded, “Precisely, jealousy and covetousness are potent stumbling blocks. But, if you work hard, ignore the naysayers and press on…..True talent conquers all.”
Granny’s story was quite entertaining, but the moral was even more poignant. People will often try to belittle you because of their own issues, but, if you just focus on your path and try to be the best at whatever you do. There is no way success cannot find you. Success becomes compulsory, and with God’s help, no one can stop it or block it.
It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for every individual that BELIEVES.