Meet Porter Number 15: The First Woman

Porter For The Entire North Western Railway

Region
Abha Sharma

September 8, 2014

Inspirati onal , Raj asthan, Women
346

When death and hardship knocked at her door, Manju did not let it knock her down. Instead,
she decided to enter the male bastion of the Jaipur Railway station and take up the decidedly
male profession of coolie (porter) the first woman in the entire North Western Railway
region to do so! Here she talks about her insecurities, her views and her sources of strength in
dealing with surely one of the toughest jobs in the world.
In the hustle and bustle of a railway station, one needs grit and courage to survive as a
porter. Right from negotiating a fee with passengers to carrying heavy loads on the head
while expertly weaving ones way through the jostling crowds, the job is all about tough
work, patience and people skills. For a lone woman porter, trying to make a place for herself
in this completely male-dominated profession, the burden not just physical but emotional
and psychological as well is only bigger.
Manju, 34, works at the Jaipur Railway Station in Rajasthans state capital. She is the lone
female porter of the 177-strong porter force working there. A mother of three, she was living
a quiet, carefree life in the village of Sunderpura village in Jaipur districts Phulera block,
until the sudden death of her husband turned her world upside down. Mahadev, who was a
porter, had an untimely demise due to liver dysfunction. It was his income that had enabled
Manju to feed her family and educate her two daughters and one son. With her husband dead
and no support from his family, how could this 34-year-old with little education and three
children, survive with dignity?


Manju, 34, is the first female porter at the Jaipur Railway
Station in Rajasthans state capital. (Credit: Abha Sharma\WFS)
Pushed into a corner, Manju packed her bags around a year ago and moved to Jaipur with her
children. With the help of her husbands former colleagues, she approached the Northern
Western Railway authorities to find out if she could get his job.
My only brother and six sisters barely manage to fend for themselves so how could they feed
me and my children? Thats when I took the tough decision to step out of the home and work.
It was not that I liked the idea of becoming a porter but sheer necessity drove me to this male
bastion. How I wished I had been educated enough to take up a small job in an office but I
realised for an illiterate woman from the village there were not many options to earn a
decent living, says the young woman.
The railway authorities had no real objections to her signing up. So, after a brief training
stint, Manju donned Mahadevs Badge No. 15 and was ready to start her new life as a
working woman. Of course getting the job proved to be far simpler than actually doing it.
Being the only female porter, it was really awkward for her to sit all day among the men.
There was no one to talk to or with whom she could share her thoughts and insecurities.
Recalls Manju, in her rustic Rajasthani dialect, I hesitated a lot in the beginning. It was
tough to sit with all the coolies waiting for my turn to get work. I felt embarrassed when out
of sheer curiosity people came to see me pick up luggage. I was always on display.
Sometimes, dealing with the heavier bags, I would stumble more times than I care to
remember.
During the first six months Manju says she cried more and worked less, constantly
questioning her decision, doubting her abilities and wondering whether she would ever be
any good at being a porter. Initially, even a small suitcase seemed like a mountain to me. But
it wasnt just the physical strain that was pulling me down; I was unable to get over my
hesitation of working with men. I hardly ate or slept properly and as a result got really sick. I
even had to be hospitalised for a few days, she reveals.
This was when her mother came to spend some time with her. She counselled me a lot and
told me to buckle down and get over my inhibitions. By then I too was gradually coming to
terms with the reality and decided to give this profession a serious go, she adds. From then
on things became better.

While earlier Manju used to find it tough trying to work
alongside male porters, today she is comfortable in their company.
(Credit: Abha Sharma\WFS)
Once she was back at the station she started interacting more with her male colleagues and
with their support and under the guidance of the president of the coolie union she gained
enough confidence to strike out on her own.
I no longer find it difficult to interact with my colleagues, chat with them as we wait for our
turn, or consult them if I have a problem. Physically I am much stronger now and have learnt
to carry loads of bags into the various compartments and arrange them for the passengers.
But that doesnt mean that if I find it tough going unloading bags I dont take some help from
the male porters. Its a difficult job because the platform is always crowded and one has to
maintain both balance and speed, she says.
During winters Manju works in three shifts from 5 am to 8 am, then from noon to three in
the afternoon and again from 5 to 8 in the evening. In the scorching summers, however, she
works in the morning and evening only when it is not very hot. For trains originating from
Jaipur, she waits with others at the entrance to the station to negotiate her coolie services with
passengers. When the train arrives, she waits for customers on the platform.
A busy day entails doing a minimum of six rounds up and down the platforms. By the end of
her shift, she is bone tired. But then there are also times when an entire day goes by with no
kamai (earning) worth the name. According to her fellow porter ,Vijay, who has been
working at the station for many years, the introduction of the escalators at the station and the
stroller-style bags has greatly affected their earnings. It is so disappointing when passengers
just walk past us with their suitcases and we keep waiting, he rues.
When men have their share of woes, it is obviously a tough battle being a woman. Manju has
her limitations and she is still not smart enough to negotiate a good rate for herself. Talking
about the income, Manju says, Theres no real fixed rate. Even today it differs from
passenger to passenger. If they are reasonable and fair, they themselves give what is due,
respecting our hard work. But thats not always the case.
In between her shifts Manju quickly swings by her home a rented room in a building close
by where the residents are mostly porters. A narrow, rickety iron staircase leads to her small
accommodation on the fourth floor where her three children eagerly wait for their mother.
Her eldest, Puja, is currently studying in Class Eight, while Aarti and Rahul, are in Class Five
and Two, respectively. She is educating them with the help from a philanthropic family she
knows.
Tarun Kumar Jain, spokesperson of the North Western Railway (NWR) region is proud of
Manjus work and achievement. He says, She is not just the first female porter in Rajasthan,
but in the whole North Western Railway region.
On her part, this gritty woman is conscious of her responsibilities as a mother and a working
professional. She concludes, I am tougher than I was before and my life has started moving
on the right track. I want to motivate other women like me. Nothing is impossible, if you think
you can do it.
- See more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/13770/porter-number-15-rajasthan-northwestern-
railway-region-manju-first-woman-porter/#sthash.y4Dn5t2n.dpuf