From Mumbai to California: Sarita Mali, Who Once Sold Flowers Gets Admission in US University For PhD
Mumbai: A person’s dream does not become reality through sheer magic, but takes sweat, determination, and a lot of hard work. One such inspiring story is of 28-year-old Sarita Mali, who once used to sell flowers on the streets of Mumbai and is now set to pursue a Ph.D. degree from the University of California. She is currently doing her PhD in Hindi Literature at Indian Language Centre at JNU. She will now join the University of California for PhD in Hindi on the topic ‘Subaltern Women’s Writing During The Bhakti Period’.
A childhood full of hardship
Mali grew up in a slum in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar and studied in a municipal school there. She used to assist her father in making flower garlands to sell on the streets of Mumbai from middle school to graduation. During festivals, she used to sell flowers with her father, especially at big festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, and Dussehra. Sarita has 6 members in her family including her mother, father, elder sister and two younger brothers. The sole bread earner is her father, however, due to lockdown in 2020, her father went to his hometown in Badlapur in Jaunpur.
Talking to ANI, she said, “I feel there are ups and downs in everyone’s life. Everyone has his/her stories and sufferings. This is decided in which society one is born and what life you get. Unfortunately or fortunately in some sense, I was born in a society where problems were the most essential part of my life.”
Entry in JNU a ‘Turning point’
In 2010, one of her cousins mentioned to her about JNU and said whoever goes to JNU, leaves as ‘somebody’. Those words stayed in her mind and though she didn’t know what JNU was, she was determined to be ‘somebody’. She started studying for the entrance exam in BA first year and prepared for it for the next three years. She later got entry into the JNU through last OBC seat and got admission in MA in Hindi. She calls her entry into JNU a “turning point”.
Mali said, “JNU is the turning point of my life. Getting admitted to JNU in MA is the turning point of my life. Had I not got admission here, I don’t know where I would’ve been. A university like JNU gives abundant hope to people coming from the society where I belong to.”
“Sometimes it feels unbelievable that I am living in some dreams, but I feel there are more responsibilities for me now. When I turn back to look at that society from where I have come, that journey I can’t believe it. If JNU would’ve not been here, I would not have done what I am doing right now. Trust was made after coming to JNU that we can achieve many things,” she said.
She appealed to the government to make more such public-funded universities so that more students from their society can come and study, she said.
Sarita Mali is one of the youngest scholars at JNU. “I used to face mixed reactions from people around me. Some people get inspired by me, some used to think that my father is doing such a small job and I am studying at JNU, and some used to raise questions asking what kind of study I am doing for so many years. I am one of the youngest research scholars at JNU. I was 22-year-old when I got admitted here in Mphil,” she further said.
(With Agency Inputs)