Over 40 kilometres away from Jaipur, Manpura village is situated. Around 100 women in these villages are self-employed, and their source of income depends on weaving. This has been made possible by the efforts of the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, a not-for- profit organization, which has been working to empower women from the underprivileged community.

Started in 1978 by Nand Kishore Chaudhary, a renowned entrepreneur and social innovator, the vision of this foundation is to enable a society of equality, justice, and peace through opportunities and socio-economic development.  He firmly believes that connecting with weavers on- the ground has played a crucial role in its success.

The founder, N K Chaudhary, recalls starting it with just 2 looms, 9 weavers from a nearby village and most importantly his 'passion' for weaving. Over the past four decades, the foundation has successfully grown multifold and helped many women to become self-reliant with weaving.

The founder of Jaipur Rugs Foundation, Nand Kishore Chaudhary, along with the weavers

The Story Of Shanti Devi- A Skilled Weaver And Bunkar Sakhi

Shanti Devi leads around 100 women in the village in order to get them skilled in weaving. Most of the women involved had hardly any source of income, but today they can earn their livelihood and sustain themselves and their families through weaving. As a child bride, Shanti Devi never got the opportunity to study.

After facing abuse and toxicity in her marriage, she returned to her village with her children. Although the circumstances in her life made her shoulder responsibilities at an early- age and she was hesitant initially to go beyond the confines of her home until she met Bhaisaab ( N K Chaudhary, founder of Jaipur Rugs Foundation).

Women weaving on the loom to complete the process of making carpet

 "When I left my husband and came back with my children, I was clueless about what I was going to do next. That phase of life was difficult for me. Once Bhaisaab came to my village, he asked me to take up weaving. I was doubtful whether it would work out or not since I had never even stepped out in the village without my face covered in a veil. But I was given training through the foundation, and I can proudly say that I have not only learnt the skill of weaving but also gained the confidence to live my life independently, " shares Shanti Devi in a conversation with The Logical Indian.

Today, she is in charge of two centres in the village where she works as a trainer. Known as Bunker Sakhi, she leads the women in the village and helps them find solutions to the problems that they face. With her craftmanship, she manages more than 60 looms and has become an inspiration for many in her village.

One of weavers impacted through the intervention of Jaipur Rugs Foundation

Mission Of Jaipur Rugs Foundation: Weaving Rugs & Smiles

At present, the foundation is acting as an enabler of employment in 102 villages, 7 blocks and 5 districts in  5 states in the country. With the intervention of the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, women who did not have any source of livelihood are skilled in the craftmanship of weaving and are knotting their independence on the loom. The efforts of the foundation have received recognition at the national and international level as well, and it has received many prestigious awards related to the design and carpet industry.

"Any social enterprise which starts to impact people on the ground needs to first start with building personal connections with them. In my journey, I have seen that interacting with weavers has made them feel more connected with the vision and mission of our foundation. Through the work of the foundation, we have not only taught them the skill of weaving but have developed their abilities so that they can sustain it on their own. We also have a collection named 'Manchaha' which means 'Expression Of Heart' in which they can weave their own designs," shares N K Chaudhary while speaking with The Logical Indian.

Women from the weaver community in Manpura village, Jaipur

Initiatives Started For Betterment Of Weaving Community

In order to take care of the weavers, the foundation has started multiple initiatives such as Education Programme, Health check-ups and government linkages. Under education programme, marginalised women in remote villages are taught basic functional literacy. Health camps of Jaipur Rugs Foundation include regular health camps and eye check-up programs for artisans. Apart from this, through government linkages, the artisans are provided access to social welfare schemes run by the government.

Before the foundation's intervention in villages, the artisans were paid significantly less by the middlemen. Now, not only the price paid on a per day basis by the foundation is higher, they are given free training, looms, and other advantages through various programmes run by the foundation. The foundation has even taken weaving behind bars. Prison inmates are provided with the loom where they can weave their designs and, in this way, they get a medium to express their inner emotions.

Weavers from Jaipur Rugs Foundation sitting by the loom where weaving is done

The patterns to be knitted on the carpet are prepared by designers and given in a print format to artisans. They plan to experiment and bring in new designs in their collections which are bold yet simplistic in terms with the present-day times.

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The Indian Army dedicated a newly constructed pedestrian bridge to the residents of the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, said Jammu-based army public relations officer (PRO) Lt Col Devender Anand.

The bridge constructed to enhance the connectivity of remote portions across the Mahu-Mangit stream is 37-feet-long and six feet wide. It has been named 'Friendship Bridge' and is capable of handling a load capacity of 1.5 tonnes.

The official Twitter handle of PRO Defence Jammu shared pictures from the inauguration ceremony of the pedestrian bridge, which they captioned, "#IndianArmy constructed a Friendship Bridge for Awaam at Ramban. An effort to enhance connectivity of remote portions of vill Mahu, Indian Army constructed a 37 Ft long & 6 Ft wide pedestrian bridge with load capacity of 1.5 tonne across Mahu- Mangit Nala."

#IndianArmy constructed a Friendship Bridge for Awaam at Ramban. An effort to enhance connectivity of remote portions of vill Mahu, Indian Army constructed a 37 Ft long & 6 Ft wide pedestrian bridge with load capacity of 1.5 tonne across Mahu- Mangit Nala.@adgpi @diprjk @ANI pic.twitter.com/HArChnTrjQ

— PRO Defence Jammu (@prodefencejammu) September 27, 2022

'Friendship Bridge'

Lt Col Devender Anand said the steel bridge would allow pedestrians an easy passage by connecting the two villages, Mahu and Mangit. He said earlier, there was only a temporary bridge made of wood to connect the two sides, so people faced numerous challenges while using it.

The Lt Col said, "In the past, their access to the other side of the village was almost entirely blocked during the winter and early spring. In the winter, the villagers could not cross the wooden bridge fearing snow, and due to frequent flooding of the stream in spring, it was difficult to go to the other side."

He said the newly constructed bridge has enabled the residents of Rambada to commute on either side of the stream throughout the year. It has made basic services and markets accessible to all, reported NDTV. 

Lt Col Anand added that the friendship bridge would benefit over 1,200 people of the village, who expressed gratitude to the Army for constructing it in less than two weeks.

Other Similar Projects Under Indian Army

In the meantime, the 52 RCC GREF, a wing of the Border Roads Organisation, on Tuesday (September 27) started re-constructing the 240-foot-long CI-40R Bailey Suspension Bridge over river Chenab at Maitra in the Ramban district.

District Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam and Additional Deputy Commissioner Harbans Lal Sharma visited the site and took stock of the headway on re-launching the bridge.

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The annual festival of Durga Puja, which reveres the goddess Durga, sets the pace with many people coming together to build their pandals as a homage to the goddess. It comes along with several interesting themes ranging from environmental ideas to socio-political issues. 

One such pandal that would be joining along in the celebrations would be set up by the underprivileged school-going children of Vikas Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Built around the themes of women empowerment, they opted for a green pandal consisting of reused and recycled materials. 

A One-Of-A-Kind Homage

Amidst the many attractive pandals that are being set across the country ahead of the festivities, a few children of Vikas Nagar, Sector-9, decided to put up a humble pandal that resonates with their ideologies. Going off the beat, they opted to showcase two themes through their pandal - "recycle and reuse" and "women empowerment". Both of them being socially relevant messages, the students dedicated a good amount of thought to putting it together. 

The children who are setting up the pandal come from lesser privileged backgrounds and attend the free school run by the Bal Shashwat Foundation. It was from these school grounds that they were taught and trained in the many handicraft skills.

With this knowledge in hand, they decorated the pandal using materials that can be easily spotted lying around, such as newspaper waste, unused bottles, tin and iron, old sarees, balls, glass bottles and other unused household items. A report by the Hindustan Times conveyed how the children were seen crafting birds, cages, and other decorations carefully with the materials they had picked across. 

Furthermore, the image of the goddess Durga will be shown to reflect the brave freedom fighter Rani Lakshmi Bai to send an important message on women empowerment. 

Adding on to this, the secretary of the Shashwat social and cultural club of Vikas Nagar, Mritunjoy Mukherjee, said that they would also be organising Kumari Puja, an event in which girls aged from one to sixteen will represent the goddess and will be worshipped in front of the idol. 

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Paralympics continues to be a space where India proves their calibre and sports through athletes who have surpassed several physical challenges. Adding on to this, the Indian Army has now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) to bring specially-abled soldiers into the sport.

Signed in the presence of PCI president Deepa Malik, Lt. Gen Ravin Khosla, and Deputy Chief of Army Staff, the works have been undertaken to introduce the soldiers to the sports. This move aims to bolster the Paralympic sport in the country while also providing a space to rehabilitate specially-abled soldiers. 

Soldiers Will Continue To Make The Country Proud

Soldiers who had to discontinue from the army due to injuries or disabilities that came upon them on the line of duty will be trained to enter the paralympic sports and continue representing the country. It will provide them with a space for rehabilitation and have the soldiers contribute to the growth of paralympic sports in the country.

As of last year, India had bagged 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, and the new batch of sportsmen would add to this progression of laurels coming into the country. Commenting on the initiative, Lt. Gen. Khosla said, "It is a natural progression for armed forces personnel who by nature are disciplined. For those who, while performing different duties on the line of fire, have disability, there is no better way to rehabilitate them but to bring them into the fold of sport, make them Paralympians." 

He added that it is a great initiative as the army people already have the basic qualities required for a sportsperson, such as hard work, dedication, and a focused approach. Once they acquire the sports skills as well, the army and committee are sure that they would have "winners all the way". 

A Memorandum of Understanding #MoU was signed between #IndianArmy and Paralympic Committee of India #PCI for joint collaboration in the field of Para Sports & transformation of Army Paralympic Node, #Pune into a Centre of Excellence. #MissionOlympics#IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/kyfcUcTfcQ

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 27, 2022

An article by the Hindustan Times also quoted Malik saying that it would be the beginning of a new era in the Indian paralympic movement. Apart from being the PCI president, Malik is also the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic medal and happens to come from an army background. She believes that there is a lot of similarity in the journeys of a soldier and sportsperson as both of them sacrifice a good share of their personal life in order to bring pride to the country. 

All the members present during the signing of the MoU are optimistic about the partnership that would take para-sports to newer heights.

Works Are Already Being Put In Place

Accommodating the new project, centres of the Army Marksmanship Unit shooting range in Mhow and Army Rowing Node will be upgraded to make them disabled-friendly. Brigadier Dinesh Sharma of the Mission Olympic Cell - Indian Army said that the Army already has some good infrastructure in place and can be upgraded for training and other purposes for the para-athletes.

The project would also bring in elite Paralympians and create a learning experience that will be beneficial for both sides. Malik also stated that the PCI is all set to provide technical support for the army sportspersons and would ensure that they are provided with the necessary skill development to compete on an international level.

Also Read: Kashmir: Indian Army Undertakes Rigorous Ski-Training For Specially-Abled Youngsters