Being formal or being informal –what
makes difference? I hardly understand! What I understand is the comfortable dressing!
I prefer chappal (sleeper), jeans (blue) and t-shirt ( preferably black) and
enjoy this!
Relating this fashion funda or
comfort funda with villages –when I tried to look both fashion and comfort with
rural women-I feel discomfort talking about jeans, t-shirts and
sleepers…because here for us sleeper is fashion or comfort for rural women its
desire to have one pair of sleepers!
But day before yesterday I
actually realized the importance of sleeper in villages…I was in Sundari
village of Umariya district ( in one of our Caritas India programme called
JEEVIKA) and was interacting with SHG women, they put a chair for me, I denied
to sit there, they put a mat I denied-as they all were sitting on earth and finally prefer to sat on earth with them
and awe them…but they were quite unhappy and some of them were gossiping ‘ye
ladka bada badmash hein, kursi pe nahi baithta hein, dari pe bhi nahi ( this boy is naughty and is not listening to us we are saying to sit on chair, he is not sitting neither on mat..he wants to sit on earth)...but
believe me I was actually enjoying sitting on earth equal to them; I don’t know
why…but something was there…with that enjoyment.
Before initiating discussion on
saving, credit and IGP ( Income Generation Programme) , I looked that what they
were wearing in their feet...and i astounded that none of them had sleepers;
and before coming to visit I was wondering that I am wearing sleeper what they
would be thinking!
In few minutes, I think sitting on earth worked and I was
quite close with SHG members, important part they shared that they like my
sleepers and they love to wear sleepers but tragedies of life has make them
away from accessing sleepers…they walk kilometers and in forest without any
sleepers…
I have seen some of the feets and
believe me…me and you cannot walk with that type of feet and pain!
In between one women said…its
good if I can sit on chair-as they have seen good pain in their life and prefer
to see people sitting on chair and preferably with good shoes…it gives then
happiness….as they have no access to sleepers and they love to wear it ! I do
not know sitting on chair is important or sitting on earth with people…( may be
the question of higher and lower is there), but I am sure it was painful for me
when I see and know that rural women do not have even access to sleepers! Dard
hota hein!
I do not know how far we think on
issue of sleepers for rural women….my small informal information calculates
that about 80% of women in rural pockets do not have access to sleepers…they go
to field without sleepers….go to sanitation without sleepers…cook food without
sleepers….and many more things!
Think on it!
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