Author: Sitaram Mukherjee
This
is the inspiring story of an ordinary housewife who rose above her position and
succeeded in making her life worthwhile. Hailing from Narpatpur, Varanasi, Gita
Devi was just another regular housewife whose job description included looking
after her family and doing daily chores. Her family consisted of a husband, a
son and a daughter and an aged father-in-law. Belonging to a lower middle class
family they were not well off, financially. Her husband was the sole earning
member of the family and like every average Indian household, Gita Devi was a
homemaker.
She had a habit of saving money and economising on the family needs.
She, tactfully loosened the purse strings and saved whatever amount she could,
although more often than not, it was a meagre amount. She opened a FINO account
and started depositing the family savings. This habit persisted and after a few
years, she realised that she had enough money to start a small business of her
own. Going through times of tough financial crises, Gita Devi decided to help
increase their financial conditions. Using the saved money as the starting
capital, she started a small handicrafts business of her own. She was 39 years
of age when she started the business and her journey was definitely not a
smooth one.
Being a woman of a lower middle class family, from a small town of
India, who is expected to remain within the boundaries of her home and look
after her family, Gita Devi took a brave step in going ahead and placing
herself at the position of the earning member of the family. Her decision
helped improve the financial conditions of her family, which is now stable. Her
children can afford to earn better education and other familial needs like
medicine, better hygienic conditions, etc can be taken care of. Gita Devi is an
inspiration for all the women in the rural areas, who want to rise in life and
be independent but are not able to do so because of the lack of motivation and willpower.
A regular practice like saving money resulted in improving the life of a whole
family. In a country where sex-ratio is low and patriarchal norms are the
dominant forms in society, Gita Devi’s story teaches a lesson to everyone who
question the capabilities of a woman, more so, a woman of rural India. This
also proves that technology’s effects are far reaching, where a simple village
woman gets to know about saving accounts in institutes like FINO. It is
important to be aware of such things so that the services provided by the
government and other private organisations can be used profitably by people who
hail from the backwards strata of society. By better means of communication,
people living in the rural areas get to know more about alternative occupations
other than agriculture.
The handicraft business of Gita Devi does not require
her to migrate to the cities in search of jobs and in the process be away from
her family. It is a job which she can administrate from her home and continue
with her household chores, so that both her personal and professional lives are
balanced. Apart from generating money, the business also gave her confidence in
her own potentials outside of being a homemaker. It gave her a skill and a
hobby she enjoys. It does not have the limitations of a curbing government job
like stiff work hours and limited holidays. It gives her freedom to work as and
when she likes with addition to being profitable.
Gita Devi now has her own
identity. She is not known merely as her husband’s wife. The business earned
her due respect and the satisfaction of getting paid for a work she devised of
her own. It is a matter of pride for her family who have better living
conditions. Gita Devi’s success story is that of a poor woman rising above her
social conditions and proving herself to be a strong, confident businesswoman.
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