Durga puja is the festival of the feminine power or Shakti, the source of all creation and energy on the earth. Needless to say, goddess Durga took many different avatars depending on the need and situation she was presented with. Every woman reflects this trait in her daily life, smoothly transforming from wife, to mother, to employee to sister and to playing several other roles. An ordinary woman, much like Durga who fought fierce battles against demon Mahisashura without support of any male, can unleash her power and strike back when the need arises.
Ahead of Vijaya Dashami, a day that marks the triumph of good over evil, Sunday POST profiles a few women who have fought the vagaries of life with no partner at their side and come out winners.
Rajalaxmi Das works as a member of Child Welfare Committee, Khurda. The 63-year-old decided to remain a bachelor to take care of her ailing parents. But Rajalaxmi is not just a good daughter, she has played significant roles in changing many lives.
“I was barely five when my brother died in a road mishap at the age of 23. My mother lost her mental balance after that tragedy. Then my maternal grandmother started looking after me and my two elder sisters. When I was in Class V, my grandmother too died soon after the marriage of my eldest sister in 1967. Left with no choice, my other sister and I had to do household chores and look after my mother.”
Situation turned even worse after her sister’s marriage in 1979. She took the responsibility of her parents along with her studies.
In the meantime, Rajlaxmi got the job of an airhostess and then was selected as a teacher in Kendriya Vidyalay. But she couldn’t join any of them as there was none to look after her ailing parents.
Every girl wants to settle down in life, have kids and a good life partner. But Rajlaxmi decided not to get married to take care of her parents. “I had lots of responsibilities. My elder sister tried to share a few but couldn’t. That made me realise that I would not be able to serve my parents properly after my marriage. So, I decided to remain a bachelor to give some sort of comfort to my parents.”
As her father’s pension was not adequate to meet household expenses, she ran a typing training institution apart from providing tuitions. She too had a dairy farm and started selling milk to supplement the family income.
She also bought a car in 1987 so that her father could be taken smoothly to hospital for his regular checkups. She used the car as a taxi and was able to purchase two more cars from what she earned from the first car. The travel business was about to flourish when three people came under the wheels of one of her cars and died in 1993.
“The incident left me in a state of shock and I stopped doing any business. I started selling stationery items for a living,” she said while narrating the roller coaster ride of her life.
Rajlaxmi was an excellent cook and her culinary skill made her known to former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
“I have cooked at many of his functions and had become quite close to him. During a casual talk, I once suggested him to provide free education to kids whose parents were suffering from leprosy. At that time leprosy patients were ostracized in the society. Getting education was a distant dream for their kids. I wanted them to be educated. I urged Biju Babu to do something for the people living at leprosy colony.”
Biju babu liked the idea and involved Rajlaxmi in the project. She used to teach about cleanliness among leprosy patients and distribute ointments and other medicines to heal their wounds.
“I started celebrating Republic Day, Independence Day and other festivities at Leprosy colony. Thanks to my efforts, kids of leprosy colony started going to school. They were given water and electricity supply too. Besides, pucca houses were provided to 39 families at Leprosy colony,” said a proud Rajlaxmi.
That’s not all. She lit her parents’ funeral pyres after their death. She says, “I consider myself lucky enough to get the opportunity to do the honour.”
In the meantime, she secured a degree in law and joined the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights after spending ten years at consumer forum as its member. She also works as a counselor at Madhyam, a women support centre to provide services including counselling, emotional support and crisis intervention.
Rajlaxmi has certainly faced some extreme conditions in life but managed to achieve quite a lot single-handedly.
Multitalented Kasturi Patnaik is a special educator to children with hearing impairment, an Odissi dancer and a super chef. She had a love marriage. Her happy conjugal life lasted for two and half years before she got separated from her husband. As expected her neighbours and colleagues made negative statements against her, but she did not let her morale down. When her husband got married again and is leading a happy marital life, Kasturi has carved a place for herself thanks to her culinary skills. She delivers food home to home.
“After I got divorced, I did not know what to do. Everyone except my family members blamed me for our separation. I got into depression. Even I thought of ending my life. When I thought of my parents, I found myself so selfish. My parents were there with me always, be it good times or bad times. I did not have any rights to defame them by killing myself. I saw hope of life in them. It was then I joined Kaustav Hearing and Speech Therapy centre. However, things were not so easy for me. Many of my colleagues made negative statements about my character after knowing about my divorce directly or indirectly. But it did not make any impact on me. I continued working there without listening to them. First two years after my divorce were tough for me.”
After the Corona outbreak, many had lost employment. Kasturi had to cook food for her and her brother. It was then she thought of launching Petafull through which she delivers food on order from home to home. “As I did not have much to do and was sitting idle, I thought of cooking food and delivering them in order so that I could earn something. To my surprise, I became popular among foodies and it gave me a new identity
Niroja Lakhmi Mohapatra is the superintendent of the Madhur Mayee Adarsha Siksha Niketan, a hostel meant for the children of jail inmates in Bhubaneswar. Niroja started the hostel with two children in 2003.It houses over a 100 students of different age groups today. Besides, this woman with a golden heart, who hails from Tirtol in Jagatsinghpur district, also set up the state’s first college for the hearing-impaired in 2007.
Niroja is a friend, philosopher and guide to the children of jail inmates, who are struggling to make a place for themselves in life. Her concerted efforts through the years have yielded fruit: many of them have got jobs while some others are pursuing higher education and technical courses.
From her childhood, Niroja dreamt of doing something constructive for society. Her father Nityananda Mohapatra was an agriculture overseer. She and her six siblings were leading a comfortable life till her father quit his job to look after her grandpa’s business. His efforts to run the business failed and he suffered huge losses. However, he did not ask his children to discontinue their studies.
“When my father quit his job, we were all shattered,” recollects Niroja. “It was difficult for him to run an eight-member family. When I expressed my desire to pursue Plus II, he asked me to join ITI. However, I took funds from my grandfather and took admission in a Plus II college. I had to depend on my friends for textbooks. I borrowed their books and spent several nights copying entire books in my notebooks because textbooks were out of reach for me. I know what it means to struggle, so I feel happy when I see the smiling faces of these kids. As many as 350 students are enrolled in my college for the hearing impaired. By God’s grace, more than half the students have got jobs so far.”
Niroja also recollects that many people advised her against starting a college. “When I thought of setting up a college for the hearing-impaired, many advised me to drop the plan as it would be difficult to run a college without financial support from the government. I formed a welfare trust and founded the Satyabhama Devi College. The college offers higher education in the Plus II Arts stream to visually challenged students.”
Niroja, who completed her graduation in 1992, also passed a diploma course to teach the blind. She then completed her Master’s degree from the Utkal University before working as a teacher in several schools. She has dedicated her life to the service of hapless children.
“The hostel for the children of jail inmates opened with two children in November 2003 as part of the government’s prison reform programme. We wanted to help educate these children and provide them a better life,” she says.
Mohapatra, who works tirelessly, says that her parents are her inspiration. She owes her interest in social work to them. She has stayed single to devote her life to the well-being of children.
“These children are my family. I cannot spend a single day without them,” she says.“Had I got married, I would have to give priority to my family. Now I can give my 100 per cent to these children.
Rashmi Rekha Das, OP