The Mitanin from Bastar
Every trip to a remote tribal part of India teaches me a lesson. A recent trip to Bastar was no different.
Bastar is a district in Chhattisgarh state, replete with the bounties of nature — dense forests, waterfalls, ancient caves — and a unique tribal culture that is often surprising because a visit there reveals how rural some of the communities are, even today.
On the second day of our trip, a lunch was arranged for us at the home of a tribal family in a village called Lohandiguda. The family belonged to the Dhruwa tribe and are engaged in agriculture as a profession.
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Sangeeta, the daughter-in-law, who had cooked us a tribal vegetarian meal. As we sat in the courtyard of their humble home devouring the meal, in walked a lady. She commanded respect from those serving us and soon we understood that she is the matriarch of the family.
After we finished our meal, we were introduced to her by our guide.
She is a ‘Mitanin’ — a designation that is used to describe the position held by a woman who is the nurse in the village and also the teacher who teaches at the primary school in the village.
Her stately air was now easy to understand.
She spoke fairly good Hindi as well.
While it is a bit rare to find tribals who speak Hindi in these parts, as all tribes have their own languages and many of them cannot speak any other language, she knew Hindi because she was also a teacher.
When I asked her for her name, she promptly, in a straight forward tone replied, “Shirimati Sukhdayi.” (Mrs. Sukhdayi).
Shrimati or the the rural version, Shirimati is a title given to married women, like Missus. And it is, like Missus, not used to address oneself.
But, in India, when used the way she did, it denotes respect for self, and not due to her marital status, but due to her ‘status’ — in this case, as the ‘Mitanin’ of the village.
I was floored.
When I asked my guide, I was told that she must not be too educated — perhaps till class 10, or have any formal education in medicine, perhaps basic nurse training — but she must be the best woman for the job in this tribal region, and must have been chosen after much deliberation. Not just her family, but as a Mitanin, she is held in high regard by the entire village.
And it showed — not just her demeanour and body language, even her introduction showed immense self respect.
Now thats a lesson for many of us women from cities, isn’t it?
