Jamuben Aahir, a Sewa member, went on her own to participate in a US exhibition.
She is illiterate, has never been to as much as a Delhi or Mumbai herself, and has nothing but her craftsmanship to call her own. And yet, Jamuben Aahir, a Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa) member and a grassroots leader, recently did what would have been deemed unthinkable for someone like her - she went all the way to the US, changing four flights on the way and braving all sorts of obstacles - all on her own!
The Sewa Trade Facilitation Centre, a body that provides employment and an identity to poor women artisans, recently got the opportunity to participate at the International Folk Trade Market, to be held at Santa Fe in New Mexico. However, the rural artisan who was initially designated to represent the body, could not make it to the market as she lost her daughter. Jamuben then took it upon herself to represent her community of poor rural artisans, in the US.
“However, Jamuben's was a case of bad luck from the word 'go',” says a Sewa member. “Her US visa got delayed, and she was unable to travel with the rest of the artisans. She finally had only one choice - to travel by herself, a day after the rest of them left.”
This was far from easy. Jamuben is uneducated, and hasn't seen much of the world except, probably, the brief travels her work entails. But she was far from daunted. “I wanted to represent my community of 15,000 sisters at any cost, as there could be no better platform for us than this. I boarded the flight to Newark, with a piece of paper carrying all my details, including my flight number and timings, among others,” says Jamuben.
Jamuben managed half of the journey, with the piece of paper and some help from facilitators. But the real challenge was in Houston, where Jamuben realised her flight to Albuquerque was cancelled due to a thunderstorm. Worried about how to inform her Sewa colleagues back home and fellow artists in Albuquerque about the delay, she sought solace in the company of a fellow Gujarati woman, and a Malaysian artist she met there.
“At 3 am, when I finally managed to reach my hotel in Albuquerque, there were tears rolling down my eyes. I had made it!” says Jamuben.
From Santa Fe, Jamuben even travelled to New York for an exhibition. An unlikely person to imagine travelling all alone across the seven seas, but Jamuben is quite a symbol of grit, not to mention, one of great pride to her colleagues back home.
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