I never miss the opportunity to visit exhibitions that showcase the works of our vast and hugely gifted crafts community.
Especially when a committed NGO is involved in helping those underprivileged craftspeople to market their products. ‘Sadhna’ was started in Udaipur with just fifteen women. That was 1988. Now, there are over 600 women workers who also happen to be stake holders of this enterprise. I happened to meet some of them when they exhibited in Mumbai recently. One particular lady broke my heart. She was a young widow with a son to raise. The fate of such a woman in our closed and cruel society is pre-determined – she doesn’t stand a chance in hell. Her in-laws keep her under virtual house arrest, if they keep her at all. Her own family rejects her (poverty being the main cause), and the rest of society has no further use for such a person. Shunned and ostracized, especially in as hierarchical a society as the one in Rajasthan, such women are condemned to a life of abject misery, driving some to commit suicide, or worse, sati (Rajasthan’s dark and disgusting secret).
Well, this woman was saved from either tragedy. Why? Because she has magic in her fingers! And she was fortunate. ‘Sadhna’ gave her the chance to convert her skills into a livelihood. ‘Sadhna’ gave this grief-stricken woman her life back.
Today, she earns enough to look after her young son, educate him, and plan his future. She not only manages her time well, but also her financial resources. She operates her own bank account, saves for a rainy day, has insurance cover and is leading a life of dignity. As one of the many highly motivated office bearers of ‘Sadhna’ told me, this lady who was not allowed to step outside her modest home, now makes it to Mumbai as a core member of the team and proudly displays her work to discerning buyers.
It’s Mumbai today, it may be Manhattan tomorrow. A better future beckons and with these amazing opportunities, chances are, her only child will be able to improve his own destiny and make something of his life. Despite these advantages, I found tears in her eyes as I admired her embroidery and complimented her on her skills. She tried to hide them, but when I put my arms around her to ask: ‘What’s wrong?’ she broke down completely. In real terms, even someone like her, who is empowered enough to feed herself and her son, still faces a bleak tomorrow. ‘Sadhna’ is her surrogate family for now. But how much ‘izzat’ does society at large give such a woman? She is young – still in her thirties. She faces possibly fifty years of loneliness ahead, given our extended life span.
The question of starting over, remarriage, does not arise in her situation. Village elders, already suspicious and hostile, would hack her to death if she were to as much as suggest such an option. It is a small miracle she is allowed to work and get out of her house at all. This is an even bigger tragedy than to be given a life sentence … solitary confinement at that.
There are millions of women like her all over India. We never hear of them. Nobody is interested in their grim stories. One does not have to leave the big cities to meet these ladies. Try talking to the house help – yes, the same women who slave away in our homes and are beaten, raped, routinely brutalized in our high rises, by so-called educated and wealthy saabs and memsaabs. Their stories are equally poignant. The magic they have in their fingers is of a different kind – they uncomplainingly do our dirty work for us – clean our toilets, wash our clothes, scrub our utensils, swab the floors. They work those fingers to the bone. Often for a paltry sum, a handful of rice (if that).
Yet, we expect them to be smiling, obliging, tireless creatures whose only job is to ensure our lives are cleaner and more comfortable. We care nothing about them knowing how dispensable they are – one goes, three more show up. One dies, ten others take her place. India is busy spending countless crores of rupees on space research and sending moon missions. If even a fraction of that sum were to be spent on replicating the ‘Sadhna’ model, our society would benefit greatly on every level. What is that they say – to empower a woman is to empower a community.
I believe in magic – it will happen!