A Sewa work

It8217;s raining, no, it8217;s reigning women. Only women. I8217;m reminded of the hard-working Houyhnhnms in Gulliver8217;s Travels. At...

It8217;s raining, no, it8217;s reigning women. Only women. I8217;m reminded of the hard-working Houyhnhnms in Gulliver8217;s Travels. At Ahmedabad8217;s SEWA Self Employed Women8217;s Association office building, I wish I could add a fifth episode to Jonathan Swift8217;s novel. I would write about the lives of some of the city8217;s 5,30,000 beavers, hard at work, initiating welfare and empowerment; in villages embroidering and embellishing cloth to make salwar kurtas, wall-hangings, floor coverings, bedspreads, purses and bags, with colourful satin threads. All bettering their lives and adding colour to those around them.

The women I plan to spend time with are from villages in Kutch and Patan, experts in traditional embroidery. They8217;re waiting for me at SEWA8217;s retail outlet Banascraft, co-ordinator Monaben informs me. In less than five minutes we8217;re there, and greeted with generous smiles. They know their work is appreciated. Even better, they know it8217;s given them a livelihood. And this is reflected in the confidence they exude.

They surround me, each one eager to show-off their pieces of embroidery. Bright flowers, animal and human figures, colourful scenery, their thoughts translate plenty through thread on cloth. I8217;m crowded by the numerous pieces, each looking better than the other.

One at a time, they decide. So it8217;s Jomiben, to begin with. She8217;s been with SEWA for 15 years now and is a master craftswoman in patchwork. Hailing from Madhutara, in Gujarat, she was a salt worker earning a measly Rs 15-20 a day, sometimes going without that too. But that was before SEWA happened. Now, in her family of seven, there8217;s no one who hasn8217;t taken to embroidery. She8217;s the aagevan team leader of the 150 women in her village. She excels in bharat kaam, kataab kaam, khaap kaam types of patchwork and mirror work and has even been to France and America as part of a Community Learning Centre workshop. Her eyes twinkle as she tells me that it8217;s her husband who manages the home, be it serving guests or helping his daughters in the kitchen, before each one takes to the needle.

The SEWA Way

Of its 5,30,000 urban and rural membership, SEWA has about 50,000 artisans alone. About one lakh members hail from Patan while the rest are from villages in Kutch. Started by Ilaben Bhatt in 1972, SEWA is a member-based organisation that helps self-employed artisans by ensuring craftswomen receive on-the-spot payment for their work.

Raw material is made available from district level storehouses and the women themselves decide the price of their products. SEWA also realised the potential of craft production as a way of ensuring sustained livelihoods, and as a disaster mitigation tool, during the worst ever drought in 2000. Efforts were immediately upscaled after the earthquake in 2001.

Through SEWA, women in villages are standing on their own feet, earning money, educating their children 8212; and are far from the fear of unemployment. Bedcovers, wall-hangings, cushion covers, handbags, shoulder bags, wallets, kurtas, tops, shirts, jackets, stoles, scarves, files and mobile cases are all part of their repertoire.

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Each village has a woman leader who looks after and assists others in completing their required quota of work. This way they not only embroider but also handle production matters.

They see hope in the work they love doing. It gives them a free hand with money, and a better life for their loved ones. True then, the lives of many a family hang from the thread they embroider!

Ramiben Ratna Rabari, Chanduba Viramji Sodha, Rajuba Godji Sodha and Ramuben Ratna Aaiyer 8212; a gregarious foursome 8212; share details about the types of embroidery they enjoy, their approximate income and how SEWA has changed their lives.

Ramiben shows me the kurta she8217;s embroidering and Chanduba, her cushion cover. Each will take about four days to complete.

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I8217;m tempted at the sight of a half-done cushion cover and Rajuba agrees to initiate me. Colourful threads all around me, I try my hand at it. She teaches me to attach a mirror and embroider around. I manage, but the neatness isn8217;t quite like theirs. And how could it be8230; this is my first time, at least at mirror work!

They enjoy assisting me as much as they take pride in guiding me. They8217;re excited when they see the camera in the photographer8217;s hand. After all, not all are fated to appear in a newspaper, two of them reason.

Next, I settle for the chain stitch in Chanduba8217;s wall-piece. Detailed patterns with minute work, it8217;s impressive to watch these women quickly move on from one stitch to another, one pattern to the next. Ramiben informs me she can embroider as many as 200 mirrors a day. But then they8217;ve been doing it from childhood. We saw our grandmothers doing it; then we began with making dresses for our dolls, and later, things for our own marriage, they say, maintaining a balance between laughter and shyness.

I ask for their leave, reassuring them of the wonderful time I had. But they want to show me more. An invitation to Nanu Nakhatrana and Lakhpat 8212; their villages 8212; follows. They want to extract a promise. I give in. I8217;m sure I8217;ll make it there some day.