All of us know about the Sabyasachis and the Diors of the world but today we're going to talk about artisans, the force behind the craftsmanship of these famous brands. It is one artisan in particular, Ruma Devi, a woman hailing from a small Rajasthan village, Barmer, who is changing the way the world looks at rural Indian artisans. From being a class 8 dropout to speaking at Harvard University as an annual guest speaker, Ruma has traversed a hard terrain to get where she is. Though she had been trained as an artisan by her grandmother, the first time she came across designers was when some showed up at Barmer for a fashion show. Inspired by them, she expressed her desire to participate in the show when she was told, “You are supposed to stitch. Fashion designing and participating in a fashion show aren’t your forte," she told Khaleej Times, a UAE-based newspaper. This behaviour lit a fire in her to make a name for herself and artisans like her. According to the World Economic Forum, Ruma has trained 22,000 artisans from 75 villages, working in the Thar region of Rajasthan. Being a promoter for handcrafted products made by tribal women, she has herself modelled for handcrafted apparels made by Thar women on ramp shows at the state and national level. Ruma was a child when she lost her mother and had to in turn also drop out of school in Class 8 to contribute to household chores. She even had to travel 10 km every day to fetch water, according to Khaleej Times. She was married by the time she turned 17 but her passion never waned. Determined to turn her only skill into her source of income, in 2006, Ruma Devi established a self-help group after convincing 10 women from her village. Initially, with a contribution of Rs 100 from each woman, they bought cloth, threads, and plastic wrappers for making cushions and bags. Fortunately, they found customers in the same village and that augmented her to scale up the production. Now Ruma does not only have an eponymous label as a feather to her cap but also is President of the Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan NGO (GVCS). “During the initial period of struggle, nobody believed that I could be successful one day, but my dedication towards my work proved that sky is the limit," Ruma told Khaleej Times. She received a mail from Harvard University, inviting her as a speaker for the 17th annual India conference. She apprised Khaleej Times she was about to drop the opportunity due to lack of funds when the Bajaj Group came to her rescue. Appreciating her inspirational journey, she was even invited to the special episode “Karamveer” in Amitabh Bachchan's Kaun Banega Crorepati, which is when she shot to national fame. Ruma has been bestowed the Nari Shakti Award in 2018, presented to her by the President of India on International Women’s Day in 2019. In the same year, she also won the “Designer of the Year." 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
