Carrying the baggage of family’s responsibility

Nagpur: Yes, they did come into this profession with their late husbands’ ‘billas’ but it is their grit and gumption that has helped them survive in the male bastion at Nagpur railway station. These woman porters might not be rattling off quotations on feminism but are living examples of courage, equal rights and duties. It is not the physical baggage which is heavy for them but the emotional burden which started right from home — kicked-out by in-laws after getting widowed, living alone in rented shanties, being the breadwinner of the house, being stereotyped by passengers and surviving those curious looks in the hustle bustle of the station.
Forty-two-year-old Vishakha Dable, mother of three, is working as a porter for the last 11 years. Being the lone woman porter back then, finding her place in the crowds was not easy. “After my husband’s death, my in-laws wanted my brother-in-law to use the billa and become a coolie. Knowing that they won’t bear the expenses of my kids, I refused to fulfil their demand after which I was thrown out with my kids,” she recalls.
How she wished she were educated enough to earn a decent living. She has seen days when her kids would survive on just rice. “With no other option, I finally decided to become a coolie and live a dignified life. It was my husband’s last wish to educate our kids,” says Vishakha. Today, her eldest son is employed with a public sector company after completing his polytechnic.
Thirty-year-old porter Runali Raut shares the same fate. She was living peacefully with her husband and daughter until the sudden death of her husband. “Even after marriage, I led a very comfortable life as my husband wouldn’t let me exert much. But after his demise, I found myself carrying heavy loads on the head and shoulders at the station,” says Runali.
Even today, these two are struggling to get acceptance in the profession which has over 200 male porters here. “When our turn comes, passengers many times refuse to hire us as they can’t trust us with their luggage. We may not seem strong enough to them though we carry the same amount of luggage as the male porters,” says Vishakha.
While male porters often become victims of disparaging and abusive remarks, the two women face it even more. “A railway station is not a very safe place to work at. Men misbehaving with us and using expletives while bargaining is quite a routine thing. We don’t enjoy doing this. We are doing it for our kids,” they say.