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Over the last 2 weeks, I was able to publish the first ever interview of the New Indian Woman podcast. Should I say interview ? I would prefer to call it a chat. No, we will not get into the difference in the definitions. Well, my intent was to give you the feeling of listening in to a conversation among 2 friends. More like overhearing a freewheeling chat, without the guilt associated with overhearing. You know what I am referring to, right ? I get excited when I overhear bits of conversations while going in trains and buses. But then, one has to focus on something else to avoid doing that. These 2 chat episodes are intended to give you the feeling of overhearing, with all license to do so. If you haven't yet, please do give these 2 episodes a listen. If you have not installed a Podcast App yet, listen to the episodes at http://bit.ly/niwepisode3 and http://bit.ly/niwepisode4 .
I admire women who decide to focus on something that they believe in, besides the roles at work and/or home. It doesn’t matter what it is, how big or small. Does it matter ? I am fascinated to find out more about their thought process , how they managed to find time and persevered over several years .
The chat with Mala focusses on these and more.
We have all heard stories of people moving from small towns to cities and how liberating it is in a way, especially for women. Here, we hear the perspective of growing up in a city like Mumbai and then opting for life and career in a small town. While Mala talks about the perks of a small town, she also shares how this influences one's thinking in a completely different way.
Of course, she discusses about her projects for the community and that too, related to her area of work. Running an occupational rehabilitation centre with pick up and mid day meal is no small thing. Remember, the impact is not just on the 30 inhabitants, but their families. They otherwise had to have a person at home to take care, thereby depriving the family of income from that person. And this centre focusses on products using local materials in innovative ways.(Click here to know the latest about this centre). The 2nd project, of setting up a learning centre, is more recent and I am wanting to visit there soon to see this.
There is this particular point she said where I felt many listeners would feel almost jealous of her. This is about how the home maker role shifts between her and her husband. That’s lucky, isnt it ? There is also scope to learn more here - this happened with openness and a significant amount of communication.
Later in the episode she proceeds to talk about the need to call out for help. She highlights how important it is to express frustration. In these days of carefully curated social media pictures and ads where we see women always walking around the house with a winning smile and far from being frustrated, it is interesting to hear this perspective , especially from a mental health professional..
What aspects of this episode touched you the most ? Do feel free to share..
If you have missed listening to this episode it is available here
Excellent