Oh! Are you thinking about the title? Are you thinking about what I have written and what I am trying to say to you? Wait for a minute, I will tell you everything.
This is not about any government plan or policy, it’s all about the things that I watched in front of my eyes, and understood, in five days. Yes! I am talking about the Bihar Mahila Udyog Mela or Holi Milan which was organised by Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh last week.
Most of us think that it’s just a fair, but when I went from one stall to another, I felt that it resembles the emerging power of women in Bihar. The five-day Bihar Mahila Udyoga Mela, organized by the Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh, started at the planetarium last Thursday.
In a total of 70 stalls, there were saris and decorative items from different states. Every stall represented a story of women’s’ struggles and innovation.
The items on sale included embroidered suits, ‘Anarkali’ suits, Madhubani paintings, handmade wall hangings, artificial flowers, block-printed garments, ‘papads’, pickle, ‘sattu’, potato chips, sweets, jewellery and other home decor items.
Two sisters started their business with handmade and customized gifts from Craft Patna. Maheru is a student of JD Women’s College while Shaheru currently studies in school and, they have been making handmade and customized gifts for the last two years.
Initially, both of them used to give gifts to their friends and relatives, and that’s when their friends asked them to start this business, as they liked the idea. You could easily find cards, gift boxes, scrapbooks and wind chimes in their stalls.
Kumari Kavita, 38 years old, had brought her homemade incense sticks to the fair. She has employed many women through this business. Her pottery products are found all over the city.
She has associated with the Women’s Development Corporation six months ago. She was informed that after a training program from Mahila Vikas Nigam, marketing of their products was improving.
They have also started selling their products online. And their products are reaching people through Khadi Mall. She makes housekeeping products with a variety of incense sticks.
No chemicals are used in these products, and they are made in a natural way, to keep people away from any harm. The price of these items varies from 20 to 300.
Babita Kishore, a 51-year-old, started the business of handmade organic soaps a month ago. Her daughter’s face had a lot of pimples and Babita made her first papaya soap as a result. The soap had a great effect on her face and after that, Babita got the idea to start her work on a large scale.
She made 12 types of soaps through the help of internet and books in about a month. These include goat milk soap, honey soap, papaya soap, charcoal soap, neem soap, ubtan soap and many more. They have many benefits ranging from curing skin diseases to promising natural glow.
The price of 100 grams is 100 rupees. Babita said that the response of the people is quite good. “This is my first exhibition, I am nervous as well as excited”, she added.
Monica Prasad stopped using plastic about two years ago and started using biodegradable bags. She felt that this awareness should be brought to everyone. After this, she started stitching bags with a group of women.
