Patna: A group of Dalit women from Bihar have broken yet another glass ceiling — they have formed their own music band, which is now making waves in the state.
The all-women music band, the lone such band in eastern India, not only represents a story of women empowerment, but also highlights hard work, grit and dedication.
Two years back, the poor Dalit women from Dhibra village in Patna district couldn’t even imagine taking up drum sticks in their hands as all they were familiar with was farming, soil-cutting and taking care of children at home. But now they have emerged as a harbinger of hope for the society.
Their band is now high in demand for wedding ceremonies, social functions and festivals. And each member of the band now earns around Rs30,000 (Dh1,725) to Rs50,000 per month, which has strongly strengthened their financials and also filled them with confidence. The band is now booked almost every day and the members have also travelled to faraway places like Bhubaneshwar and Delhi to perform.
“It was not easy for us to gain mastery over drumming and reach to this stage. Our husbands discouraged us while the other male villagers would taunt us when we began learning with the help of a local drummer, but we hardly cared about their comments. Now, we are proud of our achievements,” Savita Devi, who heads the 10-member musical band, told Gulf News.
Another band member, Pancham Devi, said in the beginning each member was getting hardly about Rs500 per day but now “we are earning around Rs1,000 to Rs1,500 each day”. She said they always have to keep abreast of new tunes as people demand such tunes and they can’t disappoint them.
“When we are not performing, we gather on the rooftop or in the field to rehearse to get perfection in our art,” she added.
However, the woman behind the unique mission happens to be Suddha Verghese, a social worker who has been working for the upliftment of Dalits for over two decades. In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Shree by the President in recognition of her service.
“I always thought of the upliftment of the poor and Dalits and was surprised to see some women playing music at a social gathering during my trip to South India. Soon I decided to implement this idea in Bihar too and thus came into being the all-women musical band,” Verghese, who heads Nari Gunjan, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Patna, told Gulf News.
She says the unique concept has now brought a huge change in the life of the poor Dalit women as they are not only earning a good amount of money but are also being looked at with respect.
“Initially the rural women were reluctant to the idea but eventually they agreed for it and now they are challenging the male bastion. This is a great satisfaction for me,” Verghese said with happiness in her voice.
