Lost mother, became life saviour for many

Married with kids... that is not an excuse to stop living or having a bigger meaning of life... She started contributing to society while matching her household and financial responsibilities.

Annapurna Tiwari 

Contributing to society while dealing with personal challenges, 76-year-old retired nurse Annapurna Tiwari is an inspiration for women, who limit their life after having children. Tiwari started her career after having two children, and succeeded enough to earn TNAI Centenary Award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Sharing her story, Tiwari said, “I can’t say that my life has been easy, but yes, it has been fruitful.” She shared that she lost her mother at the age of 10, and ended up getting married around the same time.

“My mother passed away because of tuberculosis, and that had first invoked an urge of doing ‘sewa’ (meaning service) in me,” she said. However, because of age and marital responsibilities, she could not do anything like that.

Receiving an award from APJ Abdul Kalam

“I had my first two sons by the time I was 22, when my father in law died because of heart attack,” Tiwari said. She admired her father in law, who had always supported her in every day task. “It was the second time, when I saw someone losing their life, which medical science can save,” she said.

The urge to join medical service strengthened in her and she joined training institute. “Initially, it was tough to manage household responsibilities along with a nursing job,” Tiwari said. With time, she learned to manage her job and duties.

Talking about how she managed awkward timings of nursing and her children’s education, Tiwari said, “I had to work for my satisfaction as well as my children’s future.” She explained that she wanted her children to become doctors and take up service, for which, it was must that she sets a good example for them.

“My three sons have successfully established themselves and my eldest son is a doctor, who tries to help people as and when possible,” she added.

Apart from her job and other responsibilities, she provided free service to patients at home. “I lived in Gulabh Bagh, where there was no hospital or nursing home close by, so I offered to help people in whatever way possible,” she said humbly.

She worked under ODA project for slum development for six years after retirement. “Even today, people sometimes come over or ask me to visit them for treating minor issues like fever or dressing,” Tiwari said.