Lalita Devi, 42, a resident of Samastipur district of Bihar did not have a stable married life. Her husband had a drinking problem and with time, the problem only intensified. Married in 1993, Lalita decided to leave her husband’s house with three children in 2000. Cut to 2023, she is a successful entrepreneur and provides jobs to many women like her.
Lalita runs ‘Avinash Jhola Udyog’ in Samastipur. She has a number of women employees and exports the Jhola’s to different states of the country. Her journey from 2000 to 2023 is an inspiring one, this is what Lalita told Organiser on May 16.
‘Jhola’ is a term used in the Hindi belt for carry bags made out of cloth. These bags are used to carry vegetables and stuff.
‘My husband was an alcoholic, I had struggled a lot since the day I was married in 1993. By 2000, we had three children two sons and a daughter, the kids were growing so were the expenses. The attitude of my husband never changed and it was then I decided I will have to get out of the marriage’.
In 2004, she took her children, Avinash (now 26), Nitesh (now 25) and Gunjan (now 23) and boarded a train from Nazirganj station. She had no place to go but still, she boarded the train. She says, ‘It was all destined and I had hope, so it happened’.
Recalling the day she said, “At Samastipur, Gunjan began crying for food, I had no food, nor did I have any money. The city was new, I was lost, had no idea what to do, so I sat down at the station”.
She sat down there and watched people come and go, she did not ask for help from anyone, “But around 5 in the evening, a woman came to the platform selling clothes. Observing us for some time, she finally sat down beside me and asked what had happened. Her name was Deena, she said and asked me mine. Initially, I did not want to recount my past memories and plight that had brought us to this point, but eventually, I did,” says Lalita.
Deena was no less than an angel says Lalita, she said, ‘She will help me and took us to her home. From the next day, Lalita had a job for herself, she looked after Deena’s house, she would accompany her, in selling clothes at the station, in turn, Deena provided, Lalita and her kids a shelter’.
Back then the children were less than 6 years of age. Now, Gunjan lives in Delhi and is a UPSC aspirant, while her brothers look after their grown-up business. Curious to know, how this happened.
Well, after months, Lalita came across a tailor’s shop and inquired if she can work there or not. The owner agreed and called her the next day. This was the first job that provided money to Lalita, so she joined immediately. However, Deena’s house was far away from the tailor’s shop, so she inquired about work in the nearby areas.
“Fortunately, Deena had a relative who ran a hotel that was closer to the tailor’s shop. The mother was elderly and lived by herself, while the sons took care of the hotel. They were looking for someone to take care of the home in their absence and help the old lady. She took me to their house and for a few thousand rupees, I would cook, clean the home, and take care of the old woman. In the evenings, I would go to the tailor’s shop and stitch,” she added.
By 2007, Lalita had earned enough money to start her own venture. The kids did well by themselves and then she rented a shop in the market. It was divided into two, one part used as the shop while the other as a warehouse. The shop sell, Jhola’s (bags), and Lalita would prepare and sell them.
Taking on this project was a hard decision to make, as she was all by herself. Asked, if her parents or brothers helped her during this time, She said, no. She has three brothers and two sisters, the parents are well and good, but a daughter after marriage is not their responsibility, she said.
It was a tough decision, as she could not afford to fail.
The first few months were all about exploring, finding out from where the material comes, how to stitch the fabric for jholas and from where to buy the resources. I had never imagined having a business of my own. But as I started, I began to get excited,” she said. The first few months were tough as she had no sales but then the sales picked up.
Throughout the journey, it is quite visible that Lalita is a fighter and learner, when it comes to her children she would do anything. In her business, Lalita kept an eye on the trends of the market, she kept updating her products as per the demand, her product was available at affordable prices and she would provide delivery services too, these services were not available in the beginning.
The Avinash Jhola Udyog, was officially set up in 2008. For their unique styles and trendy looks her Jholas became the talk of Bahadurpur market.
Lalita’s work was expanding and she needed manpower, for this she hired women. Lalita believes says, she will support women like her who have been abandoned by their husbands and families so that they become self-dependent. Her small business earns a sum of Rs 35,000 per month and for the work, she has hired as many as thirteen women from the nearby areas.
These women not only look after the stitching of the Jholas, they are also a part of the marketing team and lead the supply chain.
About her husband, she said, he never tried tracking them since they left his house. Almost four years ago, her husband passed away. She dedicates her success to her children, who were there to support her. She said, she did all of them for them, ‘they are my power’, she said.
“The same people who taunted me when I left my home, asking, ‘What will you do with no job and three children?’, now look at me and say that I am lucky with how life turned out. I feel proud that I never gave up. I feel happy that even when things seemed to be the worst, I tried harder,” says Lalita.
