The Mother Teresa Women’s Complex in Nungambakkam wears a mood of camaraderie. Over 56 women from across Tamil Nadu have gathered here to sell handmade products from their respective self help groups (SHG) as a part of the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women’s ‘Kodai Kondattam’ initiative. The smell of sambar pervades the air from the nearby kitchen, signalling it is almost mealtime. Before the women break for lunch, we catch up with four of them to learn their stories of independence, hard work and perseverance.
Mango mania
CHENNAI, 18/05/2018: For Metro Plus: Jothi with her hand made products at a stall in Kodai Kondattam organised by Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women at Mother Teresa Women's Complex, Valluvar Kottam on Friday. Photo: R. Ragu
When P Jyothi’s family went through a lean period in 2015, it was the humble urugai that lifted them up. Vel Pickles soon became a household name in Rangasamy Street in Krishnagiri, inviting attention from the Collector’s Office, on whose suggestion, Jyothi and her sister-in-law Santhi, formed the SHG Vel Magalir.
The 10 members of Vel Magalir spend their days cutting up pieces of mangoes, narthangai , lemon, tomatoes and garlic, drying and seasoning them — churning up to 300 bottles on good days. “I never liked the taste of pickles as a child,” reveals Jyothi. “But people seemed to like what I made, and this helped me stay at home and earn, so I went with it.”
Woman of steel
CHENNAI, 18/05/2018: For Metro Plus: Revathi with her hand made products at a stall in Kodai Kondattam organised by Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women at Mother Teresa Women's Complex, Valluvar Kottam on Friday. Photo: R. Ragu
N Revathi tenderly cradles a doll, adjusting the pleats of its red sari. The doll’s body is made of gada and stuffed with cotton, rods of stainless steel forming moulds of arms and feet. Large eyes are painted on the papier-mâché head. It’s one of the many organic cotton dolls that she has made from scratch.
Despite making dolls since she was 20, it was only two months ago that Revathi decided to turn her hobby into a full-time career, asking her neighbours in Vandipalayam, Cuddalore to join her. While her friends can’t help her in the delicate process of stuffing dolls with cotton, they contribute by stitching dresses and golden lace jewellery on to the dolls. And that is how the SHG Sembarathi came into being. “I want to be like the hibiscus flower, always in bloom,” she says.
60 years young
CHENNAI, 18/05/2018: For Metro Plus: Rani with her hand made products at a stall in Kodai Kondattam organised by Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women at Mother Teresa Women's Complex, Valluvar Kottam on Friday. Photo: R. Ragu
Dressed in a sari as pink as her name, J Rani is a sprightly woman, eager in her mannerisms. She is selling stationery such as files, baskets, notepads, pen holders and exam pads. They are made out of recycled paper and cloth and created by her SHG, Nagavalli, based in Thiruvallur.
When asked about her work, Rani launches into a detailed explanation, describing how the paper is mashed into pulp, dried, cut and overlaid with sponge and sari fabric that they buy wholesale. Holding up a purple dustbin, she gushes, “Please take my picture with this one, look how cute it is.” She likes contrasting elephant and flower motifs on her files.
Rani has even been to Delhi for a month to sell her wares. With all the energy of a teenager, the 60-year-old says she won’t retire any time soon. “You’ll have to find someone who can do this work as perfectly as me.”
For the love of Chennai
CHENNAI, 18/05/2018: For Metro Plus: Swapna with her hand made products at a stall in Kodai Kondattam organised by Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women at Mother Teresa Women's Complex, Valluvar Kottam on Friday. Photo: R. Ragu
Thirty-year-old P Swapna does not want to be photographed in her wheelchair; she doesn’t want her disability to rule her identity. From behind her stall selling Rajasthani jewellery, she tells the story of her entrepreneurship.
It all started in 2008, when Swapna won a gold medal in a jewellery-making competition for the physically-challenged in Bengaluru. It was then that she realised that not only did she have a knack for this art, but she could also make good money off it. She trained 14 women of her Chennai-based SHG Annai Velankanni.
Swapna gets the mould for earrings, necklaces, anklets and bangles from her relatives in Jaipur, where she belongs, and assembles and sells them here. Though a native of Rajasthan, her heart beats for Chennai. “I have grown up here. This is my city. Here, I feel treated like an equal.”
