For a parent to lose a child is one of the most painful feelings in the world. A heart-wrenching story of this autorickshaw driver will bring tears to your eyes as he lost both his sons in an untimely manner.
Shared on Humans of Bombay, Mr Desraj's story is full of pain and yet, has a lot of hope. In the post, he revealed that after losing both his sons, it became his responsibility to provide for his grandchildren and daughter-in-law.?
'Six years ago, my oldest son disappeared from home; he left for work as usual but never returned,' said Mr Desraj.
His son's body was found after a week. He was only 40 years old; the saddest bit is that Mr Desraj didn't even have the time to mourn him.?
"A part of me died with him, but burdened by responsibilities, I didn't even have the time to mourn - the next day, I was back on the road, driving my auto," said Mr Desraj.?
As fate would have it, two years later, he lost his other son to suicide.?
"It was the responsibility of my daughter-in-law and their four children that kept me going," says Mr Desraj.?
His granddaughter was in Class 9 back then and asked him if she would have to quit school. He assured her that nothing of the sort would happen.?
He then started working longer hours. He managed to earn around Rs 10,000 per month after driving his autorickshaw from 6 am till midnight. Out of the 10k, he paid Rs 6,000 as fee for his grandchildren which left him with Rs 4,000 to feed a family of seven.?
"On most days, we'd barely have anything to eat," says Mr Desraj.
However, his hard work and adversity was worth it when his granddaughter scored 80 percent in her Class 12 Board Exams. To celebrate this win, he gave free rides to customers all day long.?
His granddaughter then asked him if she could travel to Delhi for a B.Ed course. Knowing he won't be able to afford it, he still found a way.
"But I had to fulfill her dreams... at any cost. So, I sold our house and paid her fee," he says.?
He sent his wife, daughters-in-law and other grandchildren to a relative's home in their village while he continued to drive his auto in Mumbai.
"It's been a year now and honestly, life's not bad-I eat and sleep in my auto and during the day, I ferry my passengers," he says.
He added that all his pains disappear when his granddaughter calls him to tell him that she stood first in her class.?
"I can't wait for her to become a teacher, so that I can hug her and say, 'You've made me so proud.' She's going to be the first graduate in our family," says Mr Desraj.
His story impacted every person's heart who read it and several people offered to help him.
A Facebook user named Gunjan Ratti?started a fundraiser?for Mr Desraj. It has raised more than???5.3 lakh from 276 donors.?
His story was also posted on Twitter by the Congress's Archana Dalmia and retweeted by Milind Deora. Ms Dalmia shared the auto driver's phone number and requested people to help him.
Always lend a helping hand to those less privileged than you.