The shift begins

After 50 per cent of the 21,162 seats in three-tier bodies and half of the governing positions were set aside for women in the polls in Kerala,hundreds of women like 46-year-old homemaker Girija saw themselves in elected positions for the first time. And almost immediately,found themselves juggling home and office.

I now wake up at 5 a.m. to prepare breakfast and lunch for the family before I leave. There is more work if there are people working on our farm. I have to cook for them too. Sometimes I dont find time to eat breakfast, says Girija.

There are days,Kelu adds,when Girija is so busy that she doesnt find time to cook. And then,he and his son Girish have to eat at a restaurant nearbyI have learnt to cook rice but cant manage the rest, he says.

Though the family owns a mere 20 cents,Kelu is an enterprising farmer who takes land on lease and grows paddy and plantains. The couple have four childrenwhile two of their sons have jobs outside Kerala,the third son,Girish,is an engineering graduate waiting for a job in one of the Gulf countries and the youngest,Ajesh,is a student of computer science.

By 8.30 a.m.,Kelu returns from his farm. I had gone there to check if any of the workers had turned up today, he says,before turning to Girija: Have you given the cows fodder yet? She hadnt but he thought it wise not to argue.

We had three cows before the elections. After Girija was elected vice-president,we sold the other two. Rearing three animals is a full days work, says Kelu.

On her way to the Vazhayoor panchayat office,Girija treks up a slope from where she will hail an autorickshaw. She is carrying a new handbag. I bought this after being elected panchayat vice-president, she says.

Girija has to go to the panchayat office everydaywhile panchayat members need not go to office regularly,the president and vice-president have to turn up every day. She has to attend to the scores of people who queue up outside the office,clutching applications for various certificates and sanctions to construct houses or buildings.

People come to us if the applications arent cleared on time. The most sensitive business of the Vazhayoor panchayat is the issuance of permit for collecting sand. Like elsewhere in the state,the sand quarrying lobby is very strong here. I have to learn to take them on, says Girija.

Girija,who had studied up to class X,says she never thought of becoming a peoples representative. Though her husband Kelu is president of the local unit of the Congress,she had never given politics much thought or time.

But after her electoral victory,Girija had more responsibilities coming her wayshe was also made chairman of the panchayat standing committee for finance. I have to draw up a plan for the next financial year, she says.

At 10.30 am,after rushing through the daily routine at the panchayat office,Girija is ready to leave for inspecting a road work. She has a meeting planned with an assistant executive engineer from the district panchyat. On her way to the site,Girija stops by at home for breakfast. She looks confident about the meeting with the engineer.

Thats because I gave her crash course last night on some of the technical words that might come up when they discuss roads, says Girish,Girijas engineer son. Every night after mother returns from office,we discuss her work. I help clear some of her doubts, says Girish.

At 4.30 p.m.,Girija has to take part in a march organised by the Congress in protest against the recent racket in government appointments. I am not sure if Ill have to address the gathering. Its usually my husband who helps me prepare the speech, says Girija.

On most days,Girija leaves office by 6 p.m. but there are days when she has programmes to attend at night. When she gets late,I go to the bus stop or to the panchayat office on my bike to pick her up, says Girish.