K, Daughter
K is a force of nature -- anybody who meets her can confirm this. Nothing about her life, despite her nonchalance about her own achievements, is ordinary. The force with which she cares, the dedication with which she works and the life of integrity she has crafted for herself all point towards a woman who truly has chosen her own way. She has chosen to take whatever it is that life throws at her and respond each time with kindness, hard work and dedication. She says, “Everyday there are challenges -- traffic or any disaster. You have to see yourself through each day.”
When she speaks about her approach to life, it is hard not to be struck by her take on things. She recounts a story of once seeing a man walking very briskly on the road, as though he was in a hurry, and how she started following him in her car somewhere near Cubbon road. When she finally flagged him down, she asked him where he was going and discovered he was going to Command Hospital on Old Airport Road because his wife was sick.
In telling the story, she laughs and says, “So I offered him a ride, he must have been flabbergasted! Woman offering a ride in this country.” It doesn’t seem to strike her that the most unusual part of that story is not a woman offering a ride, but rather her impulse upon seeing this man to figure out how she can help.
She explains that she learnt her approach to life, learnt everything really, from her mother. “Mom was the embodiment of a good human being,” she explains, “Mom was the best, she was fantastic.” It was her mother who taught her that you should to be kind to everyone -- “to the king, queen and to the pauper!” It was her mother who taught her to be humble and to share. It is a lesson she has taken to heart. She says, “Share anything. It can be a smile, good fortune, clothes -- anything.”