It is 5 in the evening. Amidst slanted shining rays and sweat dripping off their chins, a bunch of women are sitting together, discussing something. Some talking and some quiet, they are having a serious but light conversation. “See, we need to visit the block office to collect information. Anyone who wants to come along is welcomed. We will together contribute for the travel cost”. Says a politely powerful voice. She is the leader there, Radhika Chand.
Radhika (40), mother of two, is the founder and president of the “Durga Samooh.” Durga Samooh is a ‘Women Self-help group’ operating in Sunkhari Kalan village of Nanakmatta in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand.
Starting with 51 members, this group traces back to 2017. “My husband (Vikram Chand) gave me the idea that a lot of people are doing this; you should give it a try,” says Radhika. She smiled and continued – “But we didn’t even have the idea about how it is going to be. We started it just to save some money”. Started as a private group and a place to save some money, this idea serves to make women economically stronger and borrow money in urgent situations from within the group rather than seeking help from outsiders.
Mobilising other members to answer, she then herself says “In Durga Samooh, first of all, we identify the most vulnerable woman amongst us. Then, we gather up in her home, like a meeting, to discuss her problems.” Along with economical support, this group also acts as a platform for the women of the village to gather up and discuss each other’s problems. And, of course, have a good time gossiping and smiling unlike the packed chores schedule they have.
Being popular and accepted today, 100 rupees per month was what they started with. Every month, they gather up at a pre-decided space and collect money. They continued doing so for 5 years. “Collecting money for 5 years in the private group, we got around 5, 00,000 rupees. While our depositing amount was 3, 00,000 rupees”, says Radhika with a proud wide smile shining in the evening light.
Having been successful for five years, the members of Durga Samooh got to know that the same can be done in a more recognized and legal way. So, they switched from private to government self-help group. Going back in time, she says “As our five year project was completed, all of us were thinking about doing something in the same direction but no one was daring to initiate. So we sat together and discussed it. Again, I was chosen as the head and the responsibility fell upon my shoulders”.
Travelling back with her nostalgia, she says – “I did Polytechnic. I always wanted to be an officer. I knew nothing but Officer. I didn’t know what an officer does or which officer I want to be, but the dream of becoming an officer always revolved in my head”. With a sigh, not of regret but of happiness she says – I got married in 2009. As I got more responsibilities, I couldn’t go to another place for my job. Though both of my families always supported me, I felt like it is better to get a job somewhere around”.
So, she started teaching in 2012. She says – “I started teaching in Parmanand Kandpal Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Nanakmatta, 5 kilometres away from my home. There were 2 reasons behind it. First of all, I always wanted to do a job. Second, because I had to find a source of income as my husband was also not employed at that time”.
But as her foundations are responsibilities, things didn’t go smoothly for a long time. Her family started a Dairy business as there wasn’t any other source of income in a family of 6 i.e. she, her son, husband, mother in law, father in law and brother in law. Through this Dairy, they used to collect milk from the villagers and then sell it to the suppliers. The responsibility of managing it also fell upon her.
Her day began to start even earlier. She’ll wake up, prepare breakfast, see cattles (3 cows), manage dairy, prepare her son for school and reach her school at 7:00 am. She somehow managed to survive with this schedule for 3-4 months. But then she felt nothing productive was happening this way. “Our family grew to 7 as I had a son. Now in a family of 7 members, I had to do it all alone because my mother-in-law had cataracts and brother-in-law was not married yet. It was too hectic for me. So, I left the job. I left because I didn’t want my student’s future to get affected because of this. I left it and started focusing on dairy and my children”.
Radhika started focusing on Dairy and along with her family; she is still managing a source of Income for the villagers. Obviously, she had to face a lot of challenges here too. She says – “It was hard to manage payments of the villagers. Sometimes, when we received payments a bit later than usual from the suppliers, we had a lot of pressure from people demanding their pay. Also, we used to test fat in the milk through a manual lactometer, so people used to be suspicious about the rates they were getting. But ever since we started using machines, they have been satisfied by it.”
Despite all this, she wears a genuine smile like the most precious ornament. Wearing the same jewellery but mixed with a feeling of pride, she said – “Everyone has problems in their lives. So did I. Like when I lost my husband, he was seriously ill. Even my father-in-law was not at home. I took him to the hospital, almost 80 kms from here, on my own. At that time, I even relied on the money we collected in the Samooh. And this is how it is meant to get used; for helping people in times of crisis.”
She is still managing both the works along with household chores with a big helping hand of her family. Not only she helped herself and her family, but has also given an income source to many villagers through dairy. The women of the village also feel supported and economically independent being a part of the group. Deepa Chand (31 years), a member of Durga Samooh says – “This group has helped us a lot in being economically self-dependent and supported. Like when my Father-in-law was severely sick, we had nowhere to go but this group. We were able to save him because of the money we borrowed from the group.”
Radhika is now a soul that everyone looks up to. She is strong, passionate, responsible and a leader, who has influenced the lives of many by her robust independent soul.