QUEPEM: Khushali Borkar, an 85-year-old resident of Amona, possesses a work ethic that hardly exists anymore. Strong and wiry, Kushali still cycles six kilometres from his home to his shop, and is up on his feet all day, pressing clothes with a heavy, coal-heated iron. Living in a joint family with his brother, Khushali’s hard work supports his wife and son. Kushali was born in 1938, and throughout his eventful life, has dabbled in several different vocations to keep his family fed. “I was a farmer in my younger days, and then I started working at a pharmacy until I turned 60, the age of superannuation,” he recalls.
“Being simple people, we only knew that we had to work hard to earn our daily living,” he says, adding that he continues to live the same way and will do so for as long as he can.
Although his son struggled for a long time to find regular employment in both the private and government sectors, he recently secured a job on a ship, though Khushali is unsure of the details.
After retiring from the pharmacy, Khushali started working at an ironing shop in Tilamol and has supported his family through this work ever since. “People trust us with their clothes, and as this trust has not been betrayed, people’s confidence in us has grown by leaps and bounds,” he says.
Dressed sharply, Khushali cycles from his house in Amona to Tilamol, three times a day. “I cycle to the shop in the morning, come home for lunch, then return to the shop, and come home after closing the shop in the evening,” he explains.
Despite his son now working overseas, Khushali has no plans to take it easy. “I shall continue to work as long as I can because that is my nature. Blessings from God and from our ancestors have given me the courage to work hard, and my journey has been fuelled by these blessings thus far,” he says.
