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Weaving
a Future
Madhusmita Das
Weaving looms in every house of Gondhmow village of Kamrup
(Rural) District are a testimony to Assam’s rich heritage of
handlooms. Assamese women wear these handloom clothes with
utmost pride. While alternate livelihoods in the form of seasonal
fishing and of late, private jobs do exist, people continue to have
weaving looms in their homes. Even Madhusmita, an Akshaya
Patra beneficiary from Gondhmow, has one in her house. Her
mother, Sunmoina Das weaves mainly for their personal use.
While she has not thought about taking up weaving as a source of
income, she is aware that as her children grow, it might be a good
source of additional income to take care of their needs.
Madhusmita is a student of Grade III in Bangala Ghuli Lower
Primary School (LPS) in Gondhmow. The 8-year-old aspires to
become a teacher. “I like to study a lot,” she expresses. While her
favourite subjects are Math and English, she is particularly fond of
reading books about the environment.
In fact, her fondness for the environment reflects in her love for drawing. “I love drawing hills!” she
expresses gleefully. The Headmaster of Bangala Ghuli LPS, Bikul Chandra Namasudra, has an interesting
anecdote to suggest that Madhusmita will make a good teacher. “Even though she is just in Grade III,
Madhusmita helps the children in Grade I and II with Math. If she wants to become a teacher, she will
definitely be good at it,” he says. “If she continues to study well, we will also try our best to provide for her,”
he assures.
A typical day for Madhusmita begins early in the morning. “I wake up, brush, have tea and snacks,
and study. After studying for some time, I get ready and go to school. At school, we learn several
different things, then have lunch and play for a while before we return home,” she narrates. On
returning home, she steps out again to play. Late in the evening, she sits with her mother to
complete her homework. In between, she spends some time playing with her 2-year-old sister,
Nihita. At home, her mother is her best friend. She tells her mother about her day at school... what
she learnt, what she ate for lunch, and how she is eager to go to school the next day.
For Madhusmita and her friends, the fact that they get tasty lunch every day adds to their
enthusiasm about going to school. “We get brinjal sabzi, dal, khichdi, payasam, and pulao at school,”
she says about the different dishes served at school, diligently counting on her fingers all along. “She
usually likes dal,” her mother reveals. “At home, I cook rice, dal, and sabzi, but she won’t eat sabzi.
She will just eat rice with dal.” When asked whether Madhusmita tells her what she had for lunch at
school, she says, “She does, and definitely so when payasam is served. If she gets payasam, she won’t
even ask for rice.”
Yet another reason school brings a smile on Madhusmita’s face is because all her friends: Rudra,
Anu, Nayan, Mansmita, Aakash, and Jotin study in the same school. “We walk to school together and
even play kabaddi, swing, and other games like heta-heti (a popular traditional game) together,” she
says with a big smile on her face.
Weaving
looms
commonplace in every
house of Gondhmow, are a
testimony to Assam’s rich
tradition of handlooms.
Assamese women wear
these handloom clothes with
utmost pride
ANNUAL REPORT 2017-18 ASPIRE - 79
ASPIRE - 80
ANNUAL REPORT 2017-18