videse vidya

स्वदेशे विद्या इति लिखितुं प्रवृतोऽहं ॥ तत्र कारणं एका युवति या गृहमागता ॥ तस्या: स्वगृहं कतिचित पूर्वी प्रदेशे यत्र सा स्व मातृ भाषायां एन्जिनीरिन्ग उत्तीर्णा सकुशलं वसति स्म॥ अन्य मित्र जना: अत्यधिकं धनार्जन विषये विदेशं गता: इति लोभ वशात अत्र आगता॥ अत्र तस्या: भाषा ज्ञानं – अत्रस्थ आन्गिल भाषा परिचयम विना किञ्चिदपि कर्तुं अशक्ता जाता ॥ तत: जीवनार्थं गृह सहायक सेवा अथवा  विद्ध्यार्थिन: शिक्षा –  इत्यादि न्युनतम सामान्य प्रवृतिरीति संजातं ॥
अत्र तां दृष्ट्वा मम मनसि – विदध्या सर्वत्र धनं इत्यादि वचना: – व्यर्थम किं इति प्रश्नं उदित: ॥ वर्षानन्तरं वयं अमेरिका देशे पुनरायाता: तनयं तां प्रति अपृच्छत ॥ स: अवदत् – अम्मा॥ सा तु आन्गिल भाषायां शिक्षां प्राप्तवा अधुना कम्पनी उध्योघे सकुसलं वसति इति॥ विध्या धनमेव यत्र उद्योगं अपि स्यात्-उद्धरेदात्मना आत्मानं इति भगवत: वाक्यमेव प्रमाणं इति विश्वासो मयि आगत: ॥

We had a visitor. A lady quite good looking and educated greeted us. Must be in her early thirties. She had heard from somebody that my daughter in law was looking for a Nanni for her child.
On further inquiries what we heard was astonishing. She is a graduate engr. working in some far away country. She comes from that area. She came to America in search of a similar job. But she does not know English. That ignorance of the language has made her come for these petty jobs till she manages and masters the language and make herself eligible in the market.
We felt sorry for her. hesitated to appoint her or say no to her – as she said it will give her some weaning time to grasp the language and apply elsewhere for better job. she has a daughter and family to support.
I remembered the saying in Sanskrit that vidya is dhanam in videshe – When you go to other countries your education will help you. but nobody talked about the medium of education. whether it is in one’s own mother tongue or the so called universal language. We have seen people of other eastern origin without much knowledge of this langauge and they are also carrying on.
Next year when we came again I asked my son – what happened to that Bulgarian lady? He said – Oh- she went for a course in English and now she is well settled with a good job. So, it is not vidya only dhanam in vidhese – one’s own perseverance and readiness to adapt to the new region fully.