When we have nothing to do (that means most often 😀), Mahesh Athavale and I park the scooter in Boregaon and climb up to Virani. A couple of weeks back, we started the climb around 7.30 pm. The last shop on the road was dimly lit. As we passed the shop, the shopkeeper called us. "Gadgil will you accompany this woman up to Kasmal," he asked. Till then, we had not even noticed a tribal woman uncomfortably standing outside that shop. She must have been 25. Her hands were full with bags of groceries and other stuff. Involuntarily, I nodded.
She was hesitant. She told us that her husband will come down and pick her up in a while. The shopkeeper assured her that he knew us and she need not worry. Reluctantly she followed us.
After we climbed the first steep gradient, Mahesh asked her what she was scared of? She did not reply. As we reached Kasmal, she saw her husband at a distance. She rushed and only stopped when she reached him. The husband thanked us, and they took the route to their home.
We have been going to Virani for more than 2 decades now. We have climbed there even past midnight. The tribal women (Thakurs and Katkaris) are very open. Many of them speak openly with even strangers. I have seen women going home alone after they finish their work in Pen. Today, a woman from that community was scared to go alone!
A few months back, a 3-year tribal girl was brutally raped and killed in Pen. But, I realized that the fear is not limited only to these tribal women. Our neighbor accompanies their granddaughter to her tuition class in the next lane. If this is the condition in a closely woven community like Pen, I wonder what would be status in the Metros and other cities?
If 50% of the human resources of a country are living in fear, can we really dream of becoming a superpower?
- Subodh
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