Gulab Rani, another woman of the village would rather be a man if born again. She feels that God has been unfair to women and much too kind and benevolent to men. But she also wants the village girls to study really, really hard, for education is vital to life.

Whoever this is, Meera, Geeta or Gulab Rani, all these women have their dreams and aspirations, miseries and hopes, queries and pleas for help, but nobody has been there to answer them, advise them, or even understand them. Today, they believe that there is someone who feels for them, cares for them, and worries over their trials and tribulations. This someone tells them that if they are ill, they must take medical help; they too must get equal wages and benefits, they too should study, and not have to accept injustice or violence. Ask these and other such women: Who is this friend? The answer is - Radio. These women say that it was the radio that came to them, asking for their views, their thoughts. What do they think? What do they want? How do they want it? Till now, all they have heard is do’s and don’ts….. Countless no’s of society, family and from other relatives and beloveds. Nobody was never in favour of them. Nobody was thinking or talking about them. But it is the radio that says to them: it’s your world, your life. You are free. You have the right to question. You are free to roam in the open skies, breathe in the fresh and open air and follow the light of knowledge.

It is the radio that informs them about the various schemes and incentives available to them. It is Radio that shares with them that there is a world outside of kitchen, children, homes or fields where they are working as laborers. Away from this world of labour, toil and work, there is another world, another friend, who promises them to take a walk in the free air with them. There is only the need to take an initiative….the need to be a little courageous….only take one step…! The issue here is not how the radio can be a friend or help women. The question is this: whether a woman has access to a radio or even she can listen what she said on the microphone as her view or to what is being talked about or discussed. It is not important whether the radio will become the voice of rural women, but whether a woman can speak and voice her concerns on the radio. Or does she need someone’s permission for that?

Whether it is Bhojpura or another village of Bundelkhand or, for that matter any village, everywhere, on January 26 the Indian national flag is unfurled by the (woman) Pradhan’s husband, father, father-in-law, brother as the representative of the panchayat. It is only the radio that categorically states that on national occasions of celebrations, the village Pradhan has this right, and not anybody else. A radio will serve as the voice of women, a place where she can speak for her rights and privileges and complain against injustice and outrage.

A woman doesn’t wake up, she doesn’t think, she never speaks! There is nobody to awaken her, speak to her, or ask her anything. In such a situation, the radio speaks to her directly. It asks her to think and speak on various matters pertaining to daily life, from her cooking stove to the fields, families and finances.

Every morning, this well wisher asks: How are you today? Have you eaten since morning? Did your husband come home drunk last night? Are you sore from his beatings? Where do you hurt? Apply some warmed over mustard oil, the pain will lessen.

What! Since the last three days you and your children haven’t eaten anything? Oh! Your husband blew away all his earnings? Why don’t you avail of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme? You too will get work. You can at least get milk for your children. It is the radio who advises them - Spinach is readily available in the fields. Legumes and molasses are also not too costly. These foods will take care of your anaemia. In case of fever, a broth made of thyme, ginger and black pepper consumed at night will have you up and about soon. There is no need to get a doctor for these simple things. You want to make any complaint or raise your voice against the system or people; radio is a way… the way to speak, the way to know, and the way to avail of your rights. It can show you the right path to know and achieve your right as a civilian or as a human being. In these ways and more, the radio awakens the women every morning, with day-to-day cares and concerns. Only the radio will say to them every morning: Good Morning, see the sky is so bright and clear.

Is this a dream or a fantasy?

I don’t know of others, but to me, all this is a dream now. I remember not wanting to come to Jhansi. The heat doesn’t suit my health. But something brought me here. Before coming here, I had no idea that the sky has no limit. The stars seemed to sparkle like diamonds. I remember a few lines of my poem written a few years ago… ‘Bitiya mat janmo tum, yahan kuchh bhi nahi hai tumhara, bitiya!’ Even today, for a girl child, forget identifying stars and constellations, it is a crime to even look to the skies. In some places, girls weren’t even allowed to be born. But now, girls can look to the skies and even soar across the great blue.

There is a reporter in our midst – Prachi. When the radio was being set up, we would often stay late. By 11 in the night, we would drop Prachi home. The entire village would be sleeping then. After taking care of her daily chores, 17-year-old Prachi is keen to learn the ropes of the trade. She is learning the lessons of Rural Journalism. Her enthusiasm has to be seen to be believed. Everyone told her, ‘Leave this job. You come home so late. What kind of work is this?’ But Prachi is unstoppable. Just like a stream and river, nobody, nothing can stop her. After all, the radio has given her the wings to fly, the vision to see things and a voice to her thoughts. She is dreaming now.

How can we say that rural people don’t know anything? Everyday, Prachi has to bring in a story about any woman. She has to seek out any one issue or thought that will help her village, improve their lot.

I remember Prachi coming to me crestfallen. ‘Didi, what do I do? These women don’t even speak?’ Now, every week, she looks into the life of any one woman, delving into her thoughts and emotions. Prachi tries to awaken a spark in these people, trying to understand their travails. The radio is now Prachi’s voice too, as it is for the countless others wallowing in darkness.

Bundelkhand is a traditional patriarchal society. It is not easy to talk with or about women. Getting a woman out of her house and the four walls is a daunting task. Now, they too have a window to speak out against injustice fight for the truth, a platform to air their views and listen to that of others.

A few days back, two girls came to me. They were ambitious and willing to fight traditional bondages, poverty and the rampant feeling of helplessness. How can you stop anyone who says to me, ‘I want to study and be self dependent’? ‘I need work so that I too could touch the stars.’ These girls are dreaming with open eyes. In their area, at the radio station, these girls feel that they will achieve something worthwhile. Anuradha and Nishi walk 9-10 km everyday in order to learn to work. Nobody has the courage to stop them to dream. The radio is fast turning into their voice as also a proof of the fact that they are turning their dreams into reality. Who knows, if tomorrow early morning, they can call out all the other girls - ‘Wake up friends, go to school’. This medium of communication is beckoning the people to rise and learn, study, go to school and aspire to improve their lives. Who knows, tomorrow it may become a movement of open voices.

In this journey of Radio Bundelkhand, may be I am a late traveler, but in this movement of finding one’s voice, I am the oldest and the very first voice who always raised my hand in the sky and asked for her space and her world……I need my sky…not your boundaries! The radio is a search of a million voices who can tell every next voice - get up, my love, you have to walk with me. q

Anuja Shukla
ashukla1@devalt.org