I had mentioned visiting Nuapatna, Cuttack, to meet the Maniabandha weavers in an earlier post. Our visit on that day had another purpose too. I along with Dr. Annapurna Pandey, a prof at UC Santa Cruz, and Rajesh, a film director, ventured out one day for Nuapatna. It was a beautiful day fairly warm for the winter season in Odisha. We reached in the mid-afternoon. Before visiting the weavers, Annapurna nani and I stopped by a computer and tailoring training center named, Digital Empowerment Foundation, in the heart of Nuapatna where we addressed a lovely bunch of young, aspiring girls. This is part of another initiative by SASI, the South Asian Study Initiatives. The center is run by Sunil Kumar Rana and Gayatri Patra. Sunil teaches computer skills and takes care of admin work while Gayatri teaches tailoring skills. They had already informed the girls about the purpose of our visit and invited them to join us for the session.
As we were driving to the center we noticed many skinny young girls riding their cycles ahead of us who soon gathered in the room to greet us. Upon inquiry, we found they travel 15 kilometers or more every day from their home to attend nearby college and after their classes, they come to this center for tailoring and computer lessons before heading home. It was really encouraging to see that. Decades back this was so unheard of. India is definitely growing and changing at the grass-root level.
The girls were excited to see us and shared their stories. They also showed us what they already have learned in the past at this center. Their innocent faces filled with excitement felt so heartwarming to us. Our goal there was to encourage them to join for a three-month training session in the city as it is not always possible to find someone to come to the village with all types of equipment to train them for any given program.
Deepa Padhi, a retired Professor of Philosophy, and an international Vice-President for the Theosophical Society. She lives in Bhubaneswar and runs philanthropic activities as part of the projects of TOS. The society collects funds through fund-raising events and also through donations from other members and friends including SASI. (This year TOS received CSR funding). An incredibly warm and caring person. She runs these training programs which include different skill training along with grooming young girls to be more confident to meet the demands of modern society. We arranged a video call to chat with her along with all the girls to assure them that they will be in safe hands if they decide to join the program.
Given both Annapurna Nani and I live away from home, we both know the importance of how a little exposure can build one’s confidence. Many of the girls present expressed their concerns and their parent’s resistance to such endeavors. Even though we promised them that housing and living costs will be provided and all they need is to take that one leap of faith to see their dream. We even assured them that we are happy to speak to their parents if that will help them to make decisions.
Breaking the boundaries of social norms is not always easy but not impossible. Towards the end of our discussion, we both were hopeful given these girls are already riding miles to come out of their homes and why wouldn’t they go to the city. We can sense their desire to establish their identity. This initiative may take a little time to take off but I was very positive our visit that day will motivate at least a few to step out of their comfort zone in near future.
