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Pannu, a girl of 18 who lived in Delhi, was very happy. She hadn’t thought even in her dreams that she could earn fifteen thousand rupees every month without doing any hard work.

She lost her parents when she was six. Now she could not remember the beautiful face of her mother if she wanted to. It was told to her by grandma that, “Your mother was very beautiful.” Pannu always complained to God about it when she went to the temple: why had He not made her as beautiful as her mother!

It was true that Pannu was not beautiful. She had two uneven teeth in her upper teeth line. Her hair was short and looked ugly. Nose was smaller than normal. Moreover, she was fat to the point that she could not hope to lose any weight. Despite all these things, she was the master of a decent personality. People around her assumed that, ‘her beauty lies in her ability to dress well and communicate in a charming manner’.

Of course, seeing her while speaking, no one could think that it was the same girl who had never gone to school, never, not even in her dreams. But it was that one year of training which had made her worthy enough to earn fifteen thousand every month without being exploited.

How could she forget those days when she worked at a small factory in Delhi? Labourers worked there like they were not human beings but mules and donkeys that were born to be exploited.

The grandma of Pannu wanted her to work there but it was Pushpa, her mother’s friend, who spent ten thousand rupees on her for the course in spa and beauty care so that she could earn her livelihood without doing mules’ work at the factory.

Pannu was happy dreaming of fifteen thousand every month, remembering those days when she worked twelve hours a day for three thousand. But now she was going to get a handsome salary at the Spa and Health Centre.

Her dreams were not big. She just wanted to support her grandma and grandpa who had been caring for her for many years and now it was her turn to look after them. She hoped that good days had entered her life and they would remain with her forever.

How innocent she was! How limited her dreams were!

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