We saw her first time in our childhood. She was strange to us, as that time we were unaware of the fact that in this world there exist black people too. We tried to finish our confusion in front of our parents in a childish way
"why is she black colored?"
"She belongs to Bangladesh."
This answer plus the possibility that every black person means he is a resident of Bangladesh, remain engraved in our minds...
Until we entered the limits of consciousness. To us, Bangladesh was a country of dull colored people. But we were not having any hatred for them.
Infect according to our parents Allah has made them with love so we should also love them. Therefore we continued to become friends with our Bangladeshi aunt. Her healthy body, wide lips, deep dwelling eyes, higher cheeks, her unique style of fixing the dupatta around her body with one end covering the head, was all a matter of great discussion to us. She used to come in our home daily at the time when we returned from school. We kept watching her, vacuuming the carpet, dusting the furniture, collecting the garbage and throwing out, cleaning the kitchen floor, doing the dishes and pressing the clothes. Hence to us She was a maid. But we were never allowed to call her a maid. She was elder than us and we always called her by the name "Aunty Kulsoom". The remaining day we discussed her talking style and walking style with each other, for everything was unique in her according to my brothers and sisters.
She kept on serving us and we kept on stepping the ladder of life. Now we were able to understand and analyze the life of our Aunty. Isn't it amazing to know that she is working continuously for the last twenty years, not only in our home but four to five homes daily. Which become eight to ten homes occasionally. Is she an iron woman? We can say yes! She is a hardworking woman for the sake of her relatives, her siblings, her old diseased father. The never ending want of money in the hearts of her beloved ones. She is working non-stop for the past decades just to fulfill the little requirements of her family dwelling in her homeland. Sisters call her when their daughter is to be married, brothers call her when their son has to take admission in college, sons call her when they want to marry. She commits herself to send them the required amount by hook or by crook. She never said "no" to them. For, she still remembers that day when she had to leave her kids and was sent miles away to test her destiny. Her husband died and being a widow was not easy. In hope of better future she came here in Kuwait, though illegally, but it was her luck she always remained safe.
In our childhood she was young and now she was getting aged. But now and then, she worked in the same style. If these years brought any change in her, it was regarding her connection with Allah. She was becoming more and more pious. Earlier she spent nights watching tv. And now she spent nights listening to lectures by different Islamic scholars and praying. She used to talk with us on the immortality of this world and showed her keen desire for the acceptance and welfare of Islam in the world. Sometimes we become bewildered on her connection with her Creator, how sweetly and lovely she talks about Him.
Her real name was Nigom begum (in her language), which should be Najam begum. Now to us, she was beautiful because we are able to know the meaning of inner beauty. Most of the houses she works in, are Pakistani, and she loves Pakistanis. I remember once when we were small, she watched how brutally flight captain Rashid Minhas (shaheed) was beaten by his Bengali teacher, and she said a lot bad to that cruel man though we told her "Aunty he is from Bangladesh." And aunty replied, "so what, he is doing wrong and wrong is wrong".
For us aunty has become a home member. She mostly asks us to change the dress which she is watching on our body for last two days. Whenever the government becomes strict regarding the illegal expatriates and the police surrounds the suspected areas, aunty lives in our home for couple of days. A kind hearted lady and care taking is never harmful for us. She is different from all other maids. She never back bites, never delivers the news of one home to the other by adding hundreds from herself. She is true and when she offers her prayer we really feel pride, how calmly and heartily she talks to Allah. She has been serving us for a long time and being aware about her getting old, we have reduced her load. She remains thankful to Allah and to His creatures. No doubt aunty has seen a very tough time in her life, her son was caught in Greece living illegally. The days when he was imprisoned aunty used to cry all the time. Aunty herself was imprisoned in Kuwait and sent back once. But she had to come again for it was impossible for her relatives to accept Nigom Begum without money. Therefore in the beginning Aunt Kulsoom was not ready to leave Kuwait and go back to the country where life is hard. But when she suffered from muscular pain and got to know burden of work has lead her to diabetes, her heart wishes to spend the last days of life with her blood relatives. We all are truly sympathetic to her in this regard and wish her true happiness in this life and hereafter. She is a lady of character and dignity. She will be remembered by all those to whom she has served. And this is the success of this life. Living in a way to be remembered after the life ends.
