Nilanjana Nandy

Sharmila Joshi

Text Editor

large_01-12-NN-The_temporary_chairwomen_of_Banswara.jpg

medium_01-12-NN-The_temporary_chairwomen_of_Banswara.jpg

small_01-12-NN-The_temporary_chairwomen_of_Banswara.jpg

thumbnail_01-12-NN-The_temporary_chairwomen_of_Banswara.jpg

01-12-NN-The_temporary_chairwomen_of_Banswara.jpg

‘
 
 Hoon jano, hoon khabar?’ (‘How do I know what it is?’
in the local Waaghri dialect)
 In the villages of Bori, Kharveda and Semalia in Banswara district of Rajasthan, while
interacting with the women, I noticed that most of them sit on the ground, either
on a mat or without one. The men and elders always sit up – on chairs, on cots
– though in the presence of men, elderly women sit on the ground, even if they
are ailing. This is true for children too – boys sit up, the girls don’t.
 Most of the people of Kharveda and Semalia are
farmers. They were traditionally weavers, but it’s been a few generation since
they stopped weaving. In Bori, some of the women are also dairy farmers.
 
 When asked, they all said it was the custom for women
to sit on the ground. Once married, the daughter of the family may sit up when
she visits her parents’ home, but the daughter-in-law must sit on the floor.
 The women sit on the floor not only when they are in
the same space as men and village elders, but also when visitors like me are
around – that is, whoever they perceive as more powerful or privileged than
themselves in any way.
 We gradually began discussing this in a self-help
group. They were cautious about not offending their elders and in-laws. Some wanted
the practice to change, some wanted it to remain.Over time, they all agreed to be photographed sitting
on a chair, a cot or a raised platform. They would often insist that I take the
photographs indoors, or in their backyards, or with their sons on their lap. A few were lighthearted about this, for many it took a lot of
preparation to allow themselves this momentary symbolic elevation.

02-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

03-Vimlaleft--Lakshmi-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

04-Kachri--35-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

05-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

06-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

07-NN-The-temporary-chairwomen-of-Banswara.png

The temporary ‘chairwomen’ of Banswara

আমরা নারী, কুর্সি পেতে পারি!

பன்ஸ்வாராவின் தற்காலிக 'நாற்காலிப் பெண்'

बांसवाड़ा में औरतों को कुर्सी पर बैठने से कौन रोकता है?

ବନସୱାଡ଼ାର ପରମ୍ପରା: ‘ମହିଳାମାନଙ୍କୁ ଚଉକିରେ ବସିବା ମନା’

ബാംസ്വാഡയിലെ താല്കാലിക 'വനിത അധ്യക്ഷർ'

بانسواڑہ میں عورتوں کو کرسی پر بیٹھنے سے کون روکتا ہے؟

Banswara

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

The temporary ‘chairwomen’ of Banswara

In many villages of Rajasthan and across India, women are custom-bound to sit on the ground. It took some persuasion to photograph them in three villages of Banswara district sitting on chairs or cots, and allowing themselves a symbolic elevation

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit