Now 40, this has been Lilabai’s ceaseless work routine for three decades. “My parents got me married when I was 13. I wanted to study, so I continued in school even when I was living with my husband and in-laws, and passed the 10th standard in 1994. But I was not allowed to study further because my in-laws felt it would not do to have me study more than my husband [he had failed his 10th standard]. That was the end of my education.”
Since 2016, two non-governmental organisations have been running adult literacy classes in Phalode village. Even after working for long hours, Lilabai volunteers to teach the village women at these informal classes, often held in someone’s home. When some women were reluctant to take time off from housework to attend the classes, Lilabai went from house to house to talk to them. She has helped teach 30 women how to read a bit and sign their names.
Through their decades of hard work, Lilabai and her husband have tried to give their children an education. Their oldest daughter, Priyanka, 23, has a BCom degree and is preparing for the state’s competitive exams to try and get a government job. She recently got married and now lives in Alibag. Pramila, 20, has been selected as a constable in the Maharashtra police force, but has not yet been asked to join work. Urmila, 18, is studying in Manchar village, around 50 kilometres from Phalode, for a BA degree. In 2018, 16-year-old Sharmila obtained 78 per cent in the Class 10 board exams. Nirmala is in Class 9, Gauri in Class 6 and Samiksha in Class 1. Their son Harshal is four and goes to the anganwadi where Lilabai works.
“I keep worrying that I should not fall short as a parent in giving them a good education, in ensuring their good health,” she says. “I constantly feel they should not have to suffer like I have. Our circumstances will change only if they study and get jobs. I can’t sleep thinking about my children’s future. But the next day, for them, I re-energise myself and start working again.”
Special thanks to Kiran Moghe and Subhash Thorat for suggesting I visit Phalode village for this story, and Amol Waghmare for help in getting around the village.