Journey To The End Of Civilisation

On the way…

“What work do you have at the end of civilisation?”

One of my friends said when I told her that I would be travelling to Khopoli tomorrow, for my first centre visit.

Khopoli is an industrial city in Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. My friend knew Khopoli as the place people went to, if you wanted to visit Imagica Theme Park. I was not travelling for the theme park but the journey to Khopoli was as thrilling as being on a rollercoaster.

24 hours later, I was taking the local train. I was supposed to meet my co-worker at the Thane station at 8:30am and to make this happen. It was my first ever train at 6:50am. You would imagine a few people this early in the morning. Don’t do that. It’s not true. There are always people travelling in the locals of Mumbai. After getting lost at the station for a while, I finally made it to Thane, where I met my co-worker. Let’s call her Mona*. She informed me that we were travelling for a meeting with an SHG (self-help group) that comprised of only four women, all from the Katkari community. My organisation, CSA (Centre For Social Action) works with the Katkari community on four major themes, one of which is livelihood. CSA is working with women towards better livelihoods. In one of the projects, they make and sell various items like laddoo, papad and pickles.

Also read: Who Are The Katkari?

On the train journey, the women compartment was filled to the brim. Mona is a Mumbaikar and with her help, I could safely get on the train. It was a DDLJ kind of a moment. Once on the train, there was no seat available, so my co-worker started asking women at which station they are getting off. If someone was getting off after a few stations, we booked the seat she was occupying. Coming from Delhi and being accustomed to the Delhi metro, this whole exchange was fascinating to me. A little further into our journey, once I was comfortably seated, I saw women sharing snacks, fruits, gossip, Facebook videos and lots of laughter among themselves. One woman was showing her friends the items she bought this weekend and they were all discussing how she could accessorize. I was curious and asked Mona if these women work together. She told me that these friendships are formed on the train.

These women take the same train everyday and over time, they have formed small groups. Most of them don’t see each other outside the train commute but in the distance of those few stations, the time they spend together is when they are just themselves. In this time, they don’t worry about the work waiting for them or their families at home. In between stations, they are just friends to a bunch of women who share this journey.

Just like that, we reached Khopoli. This was my first time visiting the center and meeting the SHG. Here, I had to navigate through the language. Mona started talking with women in Marathi. I felt as lost as I had in the morning at the station and had to hold on to every sentence spoken to understand parts of the conversation, much like I hold on to the local train handles at peak hours. The women had taken loan from a contractor and now the contractor was calling them to work at Brick Kilns. He won’t take the money back because he wanted labor. The women wish to continue with the SHG and the livelihood activities. Other issues they are facing include one woman having trouble at home. Her husband doesn’t want her to work. The other three women in the SHG say that if they continue to work without the 4th one, their friend might feel bad and they didn’t want that.

One thing that struck to me and stayed with me through my long journey back, was the thought that in spite of the barriers the women in SHG are facing, they still showed up and want to continue working for themselves. That’s what makes the difference. They also care as they didn’t want their friend to feel bad and/or left out. So, they were thinking to stop working in solidarity for her which made me think that the selflessness even in the face of adversity really shows that you care. I was also fortunate enough to be at the receiving end of this care which is also the story of how I got to eat the meal I will remember for a long time. On regular visits, we eat at one of our partner organisations but that wasn’t the case this time. At lunch time, women in the SHG found out that we weren’t carrying our lunch. They insisted on feeding us. Even though Mona told them that it wasn’t necessary and we just had breakfast, the women went ahead, bought ration and cooked us a fresh meal.

I have never experienced this kind of hospitality. I myself have never cared for someone enough to actually go out, buy the ingredients and cook them food.

The end of civilisation and my journey there taught me about womanhood, how a bunch of women coming together and working for themselves is what strength looks like, how even when there are barriers you show up, how caring for someone doesn’t only mean saying it in words but also showing it in actions, whether it be standing with your friend in solidarity or making a warm meal for a girl from Delhi.

*Name changed to protect identity