|
Munshi Devi Das Khuswaha Rukmini Tankha Six years ago Munshi Devi led his Khuswaha band of brothers to the middle of the Betwa River. Surrounded by ancient temples and with water gushing from all sides of the rocks they were sitting on, he made this group swear, with their hands in water, that they would remain together, be there for each other through all the trials and tribulations that life may throw up at them.
Blessed by the sacred waters, this was the birth of the Khuswaha SHG
(self help group) .What sets the group apart from other SHGs lies in the
services rendered by its members. For instance, once a Khuswaha member needed money for his sister’s marriage. Since he was completely out of pocket, he turned to his SHG brothers. Taking stock of the situation, they decided that the money from the groups’ savings would be given on loan and the dowry utensils would be sent with the engraving “with love from the Khuswaha SHG”. This set the trend of ‘giving’ in the name of the group and schools and temples were also given donations from the brotherhood, each with the same engraving. Munshi Devi Das Khuswaha himself has essayed assorted roles in the stage of his life - from assisting the lawyers at the local courts and managing a stone crushing unit to playing a local Robin Hood (although he did not rob the rich). Currently, Munshiji is leading the groups’ micro-enterprise - a broiler farm they have started just outside the gates of Orchha city, close to their village of Gundrai. Since his 20 acres of land was on the main road he agreed to set up the business on his field once he had discussed the enterprise with his group and after receiving the relevant technical information. Munshiji was told that the loan to be sanctioned by the bank would only be cleared after the hosing unit for the poultry was ready. Munshi did not spare himself, he worked relentlessly through the month of December of 1999, and by the new year he had completed all the requisite formalities. The loan amount of Rs. 85,000 was cleared and the process of setting up the farm commenced. At a cost of Rs. 15 per chick, Munshi purchased 700, along with medicines and chicken feed. It’s blazing hot in Bundelkhand as Munshiji welcomes me into his farm and I sit under a jute shelter. The chickens have been sold several times over and the shed is now in the process of being cleaned and sterilized. Munshi lights two beedis and offers me one. He tells me about his wife, his four children and their schooling before introducing me to them. He then proceeds to tell me his plans for them - one will be a lawyer, one will run his poultry enterprise, one will run his next hopeful venture - a ‘piggy’ farm. What about his daughter? Well she’s not getting married in a hurry, he says, since he is convinced education for girls is of primary importance. So how exactly is the poultry farm doing? Profits are high, fetching him about Rs 7000-8000 a month and all his worries are disappearing slowly. His children are getting quality education, but above all, he has acquired a local status and he knows he will never again walk alone. Not that he does not have his share of problems, dacoits of the area try to use his premises to hide from the police and local politicians try to get his big healthy chickens for free, but Munshi stands his ground, never yielding an inch. He attributes his success to his parents Chaptey Ram and Beti Bai Khuswaha and his one wish is that child marriage should be done away with completely. I observed that Munshiji loved to speak in verse, borrowed sometimes, but mostly from his own writings and musings. A poet, a leader, a trend setter and a successful entrepreneur – now here is a man for all seasons q |
