NEW DELHI: It was beyond the dreams of Manju, the first woman coolie from Rajasthan, that her compulsion of breaking the male bastion to earn livelihood would land her in the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the company of Aishrwarya Rai Bachchan and over 90 other woman achievers.
When Manju, porter number 15 at the Jaipur railway station, narrated the circumstances in which she had to take a profession where only men worked even President Ram Nath Kovind got sentimental.
“I weighed 30 kilograms and the passengers’ luggage was also 30 kgs but it was nowhere to the burden of feeding three children. After the death of my husband, I had to feed them. My brother asked me to come to Jaipur and look for something,” Manju said addressing the gathering of women achievers at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
She said the authorities initially told her there were no women porters and hence it would be difficult for her. But she persisted and eventually given the badge number 15 of her husband, who was also a coolie.
Manju said she was illiterate and did not know how the platforms are numbered so she had to depend on passengers and fellow porters to locate coaches and seats.
“I told the authorities about my difficulties. They trained me for six months and gradually I picked up,” she said.
After hearing her story and stories of some other woman achievers, the President said every one in the gathering has a story to tell.
“I never get so emotional easily but after hearing the story of our daughter Manju, I have become….” (AGENCIES)
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