My Travel Stories: Heart and Souls. Part II: The lone lady in the market



My Travel Stories: Heart and Souls. Part II: The lone lady in the market                   
I have special respect for people who struggle through unexpected odd events of life and fight for survival and show immense resilience. Their work motivation during troubled times and turmoil of life are definitely encouraging for others. 

Story of a female vegetable vendor, Monowara Begum, sitting at road side in Sixmile, Guwahati is something worth inspiring. She is the lone woman vendor in that part of the market and belongs to Muslim community, carrying out her business with all male colleagues around. What brought you to this place?, I asked. She smiled. Probably felt shy to answer me. ‘My husband met a heavy loss in the business ten years back. I took over and running successfully till now’. She smiled again, visibly with no expectation of praise from me. 

A lone woman selling vegetables in the midst of all male market, is still unthinkable in this area of the city with growing mall culture. This woman changed the traditional gender roles and became bread winner for the family of three children. ‘My husband looks after the household things and I run the business. He has no complaint as I took the burden at a time when he finished all the capital we had’. After ten years of business, she bought a piece of land, house is under construction and children are completely into school and good in study. 

“Life begins from zero’… she told me and smiled again.
I met her again in August 2018after a gap of six year. She has shifted and expanded her shop and is having better business. She recognized me and smiled again. Her children are in college now and she is relaxed that they have completed their preliminary education. I was offered tea and a piece of bread. Two more women opened vegetable shops in the same market.'They must be encouraged by you', I asked. She nodded with a smile.

Salute to such remarkable yet invisible contribution towards feminist movement. 

 



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