The balancing act

They are traditionally known as a close knit business community that has managed to spread their trade way beyond the lands of Rajasthan from where they originate.

They are traditionally known as a close knit business community that has managed to spread their trade way beyond the lands of Rajasthan from where they originate. However,they are also considered as a community that,until the recent past,would not even allow their women folk to venture out. Yet it is a lesser known fact that they are within themselves a community that attest equal rights to women and also let them lend a hand in the family businesses. And in the modern world,they have even ventured out of their traditional bonds to come out and work on their own and achieve equal if not higher successes as their male counterparts.

In a classic mix of traditional encore with personal independence,Marwari women today are going ahead and exploring their possibilities,undeterred and motivated. Deepa Navandhar,who is a writer and works as a volunteer at the Pune Marwari Sammelan Dharamshala,Sasson Hospital Compound,shares, I think we have come a long way from the past when our society was not very free and open. Women were raised in a protective environment but today things are quite different. We have kept our traditional practices intact but also managed to give freedom of opportunities to our children and women. My daughter is a computer engineer and she too is working. Navandhar’s story is a replicated quite often today.

While the community is basically a mix of Jains,Oswals,Maheshwaris and Srimalis,there interactions within the sects are open and cordial and the winds of change are across the large mileu of the community. Komal Mehta,a commerce graduate who got married two years back,says,I will not say that the community has become all open but yes,changes are evident. My parents have let me work from the time I was in my second year of graduation and even after my marriage my in-laws are very understanding. Of course religious beliefs and superstition are still rampant and a lot of orthodox ideals are followed but a beginning is evident. At home I have to maintain my pallu when my father-in-law is around and that is only so that a lihaz is maintained. But I can always talk about any issue with my in-laws without any fear. Plus,I help my husband in his business,which makes me feel good about myself. Mehta does this in addition to the duties that she has to follow at home.

Perhaps what also is quite laudatory is the way in which girls are allowed to follow their calling in these families now. Mehta’s two sisters are pursuing courses in interior and fashion designing. Taking the same,Neelima Jain feels that she is lucky to get a family which supports her in what she wanted to do. I am working as a journalist and my family appreciates it,which is a big support for me. Echoing the same feeling is Geetanjli Singh,a psychologist by profession,” I have always got my family’s support in what I am doing,something which is drastically different from what would happen earlier when women had a lot of restrictions.”

But a few argue that the enterprising qualities that these women traditionally have helped them a lot. So it is not unusual to find women opening up small outlets or boutiques from home,selling everything right from saris,traditional wears,jewellery to handicraft items. Satyandra Raut,a Maheshwari Marwari and a garment businessman,says There are almost 2500 Marawari families in Pune and I have seen a change in the women because of a change in the attitude of men around. They have understood that the society in general is changing. Today you can see women from our communities balancing very well between home and work.

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