The main market in Risia block, Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh, is bustling with activity.
The only big market for the entire block, there are several shops lining the narrow winding streets. While some sell groceries, vegetables, sweetmeats and readymade clothes, others offer tailoring and hair cutting services.
Squeezed among them is a small shop run by Rachna Kumari, a petite and soft-spoken young woman selling unique wheat stalk paintings handmade by her.
Not surprisingly, this unconventional entrepreneurial choice has made the 23-year-old the cynosure of all eyes for more reasons than one.
Not only is her shop the only one of its kind here, but what also makes her stand out is her grit and courage. Every morning, even before her mother awakens, she finishes cooking and cleaning before cycling 5 km from her house in Risia block’s Chhitan Purva village to run her shop alone. It is this indomitable spirit and determination that has helped Rachna follow her dreams.
In an aspirational district with low socio-economic indicators where girls are married soon after reaching puberty, Rachna too, would have met the same fate.
Having to drop out of school due to family’s financial constraints, she resisted early marriage and dared to pursue her dreams to become an artist and an entrepreneur. Over the past year, she has sold about 200 of her paintings, 50 of which were bought since she opened her shop in April this year.
Here’s how she achieved this admirable feat.
When opportunities make dreams come true
Back in 2019, Rachna had almost given up on life. “I became depressed after dropping out. I thought I would have to spend the rest of my days doing household chores. As the eldest of five siblings, there was a lot of pressure on me to get married,” recalls Rachna.
Around this time, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) came into the picture with Project Lehar. Started to provide vocational training, entrepreneurship, and life skills courses to marginalised young women, Project Lehar, run by AKF in partnership with The King’s Trust International, empowers girls and young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to rediscover and realise their potential.
The Project Lehar team was reaching out to help school dropouts in the Risia block restart their education. This was a godsend opportunity for Rachna to not just resume her studies but also to convince her parents to drop her marriage plans.
After she was admitted into college through Project Lehar, she was also counseled on entrepreneurial and career prospects. One such session on wheat stalk painting was to change her life forever.
Wheat stalk painting, a traditional art form of Bahraich, is a laborious and time consuming process. It is created by cutting wheat stalks into fine sections to craft intricate designs on cloth using sharp-edged blades and razors.
“After class 10, I couldn’t study further because the government inter college was very far away from my house. My family income was not enough to enroll me in a private college nearby and they also didn’t want me to study any more. But now I am economically independent and am paying for my education,” says the BA third-year student proudly.
However, Rachna is not resting on her laurels. Her shop also doubles up as a training centre where other girls from marginalised backgrounds like her who want to stand on their feet get a second chance to change their lives like she did.
She trains them six days a week in two batches. The one-month basic training course in wheat stalk painting costs Rs 500 per girl. Currently, she has 20 students between the ages of 12 and 17 years.
While teaching these enthusiastic young girls is a joyful experience, what gives Rachna immense pride is being chosen as a wheat stalk painting trainer in February 2024 by the foundation. After being a trainee under this project to now becoming its paid trainer, Rachna’s life has come full circle.
Paving a path for others
It takes Rachna almost 8-10 hours to make one painting. The price of each framed wheat stalk painting ranges from Rs 1,000-3,000, depending on the intricacy of work and its size.
While some part of the proceeds of the sale is spent on raw material like wheat stalks, paying shop rent and electricity bills, Rachna is using the rest of the money to fund her dream to continue her education.
Interestingly, it was Rachna’s success story that inspired most of these students to join her classes. When Pooja (17) heard about how Rachna turned her life around with her painting and entrepreneurial skills, she was keen to do the same.
“I dropped out after class 8 two years ago when I got married. If I could earn at least Rs 5,000 a month, then I can save money to resume my studies and also buy a scooty. Then I don’t have to walk 3 km from my village to the Risia market,” says Pooja.
Meanwhile, Fatima Khatun (14), Afreen Begum (12), Rehana (13) and Soni Bano (15), all students who live in nearby villages, learnt about Rachna’s classes from Pooja, and joined it to uplift their families’ incomes.
Anjali (14) discovered this art form on Facebook where Rachna posts the photos of her paintings. She was so motivated that she walked 8 km from her village to Rachna’s shop to learn the work.
The demand for wheat stalk paintings has increased since it was chosen to represent Bahraich under the state government’s One District, One Product programme. Launched in 2018, its goal is to encourage greater visibility and sale of indigenous and specialised products of each district.
Monika Rani, the district magistrate of Bahraich, has been pushing for women’s empowerment through education and livelihood training. “Rachna is proving that given the opportunity and skills, girls can overcome all obstacles,” she says.
Edited by Padmashree Pande. Picture courtesy: Swapna Majumdar.
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