When the going gets tough,Manju gets tougher

At 33,life has thrown far heavier challenges her way. Married off early in her childhood,she cant remember her wedding clearly. Life with an alcoholic husband and three young children was not easy. About a year ago,her husband,a porter at the Jaipur Railway Station,died due to chronic liver failure. She then approached the porters union for a job in the Railways. The union applied to the authorities on her behalf and sought for a transfer of her husbands porter licence.

On March 15,Manju got her Badge Number 15 that sits on her right arm. Women porters have no uniform,considering she is the first ever in the state,but she designed one. A maroon shirt and a loose salwar. And a stole to cover her head.

The work was unlike anything she had imagined. Back home in her village Sundarpura in Phulera tehsil,the only manual labour Manju ever did was to work in the fields or deliver milk to households. Neither required much stamina or physical labour. Theres a major water scarcity in our village so women dont even go to fetch water; tankers come directly to our houses. And now,I find myself having to lift heavy luggage. I am allergic to direct sunlight,so I have worked out a schedule for myself. I work from 5 to 8 in the mornings and again from 5 to 8 in the evenings. It is a bit difficult to find work but I am not giving up yet, she says.

Todays been a particularly lean day. She has found no customers yet. Not a rupee yet! And half the day is over. What will I eat today?

It has been the same for the other porters at the station. Shiv Dayal,president of the 178-member porters union,says,It is a bad season for the Railways. At this time of the year,families dont travel much and children have exams. Wait another fortnight,the summer rush will begin and itll get better. In fact,after a month,there will be so many travellers that there will be near-stampede like situations at the station all day. Manju will find enough and more work.

Just then,a Tata Innova pulls in at the station,loaded with at least a dozen pieces of luggage. Shiv Dayal signals to Manju and another porter to unload the luggage. She sprints towards the vehicle,but doesnt talk money. Manju can only converse in a rural Rajasthani dialect and besides,she has to also know the rates she can demand before she can haggle with the passengers. These are skills she is quietly observing and picking up. She unloads the luggage,piece by piece,and hauls them onto a wagon trolley. She tries to manoeuvre the wagon but it doesnt move an inch. She lets the other porter take over. Its too heavy,I really cant do this. But of course,Manju will get some money for helping around.

This last week shes been chased around by the local media. In between ferrying luggage and looking for customers,she sits at the entrance giving interviews and posing for pictures. Its all very nice,but when will I start earning decently? she says. Yes,it is nice to get attention. I dont think I got so many pictures clicked even when I was getting married. I see my photos in the papers and on TV. I dont see why there is so much hype, she says in her rural dialect.

I think there should be more women porters. At least Ill get to chat with them.

She quickly adds,Ill do this only for another 10 years or so,till my children are educated and on their own. Next month,Ill bring them to Jaipur and enrol them in schools here. They are now with my mother in my village Harsoli.

Manju has a lot to learn at workbeing able to speak Hindi,know train schedules and coach positioning at the platforms and the nitty-gritty of being a porter.

But she is not worried. Once I start earning enough,I will feel more relieved and also these things will come naturally.

For now,Shiv Dayal and the others are by her side. As she calls it a day,a fellow porter escorts her back to the one-room accommodation she has rented next to the station.