Going to Ahmedabad in Gujarat was almost a last minute
addendum to our itinerary. The planning of this trip did not come together
smoothly, and was actually quite stressful. In retrospect, I can see more
clearly that our East Coast, North American drive and need for answers NOW was
in culture conflict with a more spontaneous Indian approach to life. Hard to
manage that difference via email with a ten and a half hour time difference! We
put as much as we could in place before we left, and then resigned ourselves to
the fact that more would get planned and settled once we had landed in Mother
India.
A couple of weeks before we departed, an amazing “old girl
network” connection was discovered. Marytha had dinner with her close college
friend Trisha and two close friends of hers (that particular group of four
convenes for a shared meal about once a year). The fact that we were soon to
depart to India of course came up in conversation, and one of the women said, “Well,
you MUST be in touch with my dear friend Mirai Chatterjee, I am sure she would
help you set something up. She is well connected. In fact she probably could
have been Prime Minister!”
Mirai Chatterjee is nothing short of a Goddess who walks on
this Earth with an incomparable grace, beauty, intelligence, compassion, commitment
to bettering the lives of Indian women, and remarkable air of peace. She is the
current Director of an organization
based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat that is well-regarded
around the world—SEWA (http://www.sewa.org/)
or Self-Employed Women’s Association.
Since 1972, this trade
union has helped over 1.8 million women who comprise a large part of the
informal economy of India.
93% of the total workforce in India
is in this category—people who do odd jobs or barely scrape together a meager
living from various sources, with no regular salary and unprotected by any
worker rights. Of the vast women’s
workforce in India,
more than 94% are in this unorganized sector.
Guided by the Gandhian
principles of truth, non-violence, the integration of all faiths and all
people, and the propagation of local employment and self-reliance, SEWA has moved
tirelessly to organize women workers across India, improving work and income security,
food security, access to banking their own money, health care, child care and
shelter. By fostering self-reliance, the well-being of women—and thereby the
well-being of their families and communities—is strengthened.
Wow. A last minute possible connection to SEWA? By all
means, let’s explore what opportunities it might present! Mirai openheartedly
invited us to come spend time getting to know the work of this organization by
meeting with some of their women’s cooperatives. And so, last minute changes to
our itinerary ensued and we added on a flight to Ahmedabad.
Our amazingly inspirational time together began with a morning
prayer meeting at their headquarters. A prayer meeting conjures up one thing
here in the US.
There, it felt completely different. We gathered on the floor with all the women field
workers in a beautiful peace-filled room, and they began their morning chanting
in song. Hindu and Muslim chants were
included. This is the way they start their work every single day-—with a
beautiful setting of their heart’s intention. By the end of their singing we
were already so moved, and then they asked us to sing a song. Then everyone
went about their workday-—with our mutual connection already having been begun
to be forged through the vibration of chant.
Accompanying us through the rest of our time there would be our wonderful companion, guide, and translator Rashmi--who explained many things, answered many questions, helped us through menu options, navigated the rows of Kutch craft stalls at Law Gardens with us, attempted in vain to keep us on schedule, and gave of herself wholeheartedly to this band of American visitors in a city where English was spoken WAAAY less than in Delhi!
After the prayer meeting, Mirai talked to us with warmth and inspiration about
their work, and cast a mind-boggling perspective on the lives of women in India. She
talked about the slow pace of change, and how she has come to think in “20 year
bites”. But what had already been accomplished by this organization since 1972—a
year that witnessed the undeniable movement of Feminism begin to change the thinking
and the lives of women globally—was beyond inspirational.
After a shared lunch seated on the floor, during which we were
introduced to a woman named Lalita (who with an aura of motherly power seemed a
bit like a Matriarch within the organization) we piled into two vehicles and
drove to our first meeting with a women’s artisan cooperative. The chaos of
Indian traffic seemed to have been amplified by a factor of a hundred in
Ahmedabad. Driving through absolute mayhem, we landed at the end of street too
narrow to drive a car into. We got out and walked our way down this street
which, despite its narrowness, was jampacked with pedestrians, dogs, cows, motorbikes
and the everpresent green and yellow auto-rickshaws. We were in the old part of
the city, and the houses and shops vibrated with antiquity. Reaching the older-than-anything-we-know-in-the-United
States building of our destination, we entered and were immediately greeted by
a woman sitting on the floor doing traditional blockprinting on a large piece
of fabric. Moving slowly up to the second floor, we passed other women sitting
on their section of floor immersed in their own creative process with some
gorgeous piece of fabric, and then on up to the third floor, where a group of
these organized artisans were gathered on the floor in a beautiful old room
filled with fabric, books, and a pervasive sense of peace.
We all sat together, with Lalita being our guide and
translator. We learned about how it is not just traditional patterns and
processes which were being remembered and created (although these were
stunningly beautiful), but how the women are encouraged to create something
new. Books are there to browse through and inspire their designs, so that these
fabric artforms--blockprinting, appliqué,
embroidery, mirrorwork--continue to evolve as they become infused with the
creative expressions of these contemporary artisans. This was the proud daily work
of these women. Their finished pieces are sold in various SEWA stores in cities
around India,
and are beginning to move out into the rest of the world No middleperson. The majority of sales income
goes directly into the bank accounts of these women, bringing the
aforementioned security to their lives. The concept of Fair Trade at its
finest.
Masala tea was brought in for us all, and after admiring
their recent and current work, we asked if they ever sang as they worked. We
were treated to a couple of traditional songs with inspiring poetry by the
group of brightly clad women, and then a brave solo song and dance from one
young woman. It was if a tsunami of energy poured through her, pushing against
the societal history of shyness and subservience. She took the floor, we were
mesmerized by her spontaneous performance, and then she sat down and covered
her face with her hands as she giggled through the spirited applause of her
Indian colleagues and American guests alike.
We sang Woke Up This
Morning for them, which they LOVED. And then, again, we joined our voices
in a rendition of We Shall Overcome
with these women who are bravely doing their part in the broader picture of
social change for women in India.
We cannot underestimate the profoundly entrenched societal forces that have to
be indeed overcome and transformed for these women to have gotten to this
point. They can now contribute to their family’s security and be protected in
the process—all while sitting in a peaceful third floor room creating every day
in the company of their beautiful sisters. I understood why We Shall Overcome—such an important song
in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s here—seemed to have been adopted all
over India as a widely known anthem of social change. There is SO much to
overcome in India.
It is unfathomable how much there is to overcome in India. But thanks to the inspired
work of women like Mirai and her dedicated colleagues, change IS happening—even
if in 20 year bites. Despair and resignation is being replaced by hope and
action across this vast land.
Gandhi’s ashram is very close to here. There was sadly not
enough time for us to visit it. However, this man who changed India continues
to inspire the daily work of so many. Thank you, Gandhiji.
Sue
