The highlight of the program we conducted on 19th February 2025 was 25 adolescent girls shouting in one unified voice: “Phool Nahi Chingaari Hoon, Main Bharat ki Naari Hoon”. This Hindi slogan translates to “I am not a flower, I am a fiery flame, I am an Indian woman”
Mangal Pratap StreeArogya Kendra (StreeArogya Rural Foundation) is a non-profit with a vision to improve the health and well-being of rural women and girls. We collaborated with Dr. Shobha Shah, a gynaecologist who is an esteemed member and Coordinator of the Solapur branch of Vivekanand Kendra. Vivekananda Kendra, Solapur is affiliated with the main Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu branch and has conducted social welfare and health promotion activities for over three decades. Dr. Shah brought a team of 12 women and adolescents (Kishories) to conduct a workshop on Adolescent health at our Arogya Kendra. The workshop included games, songs, stories, and dance. There were no formal presentations, yet the participants learned in subtle ways the importance of being confident in oneself. The participants realized towards the end of the workshop that this belief in oneself will profoundly impact their health in many direct and indirect ways. The songs were fun, had rhyming words, and included lyrics on local traditional foods, emotions, and self-confidence. The sessions started with prayers and songs written by Swami Vivekananda that invoked patriotism. 22 women and 25 adolescents from the nearby villages attended the program. When invited to contribute to the start of the workshop through songs, an old lady volunteered to sing a ‘gavalan’- a traditional Marathi devotional song dedicated to the Hindu God, Lord Krishna. Another young girl in her early teens recited a ‘powada’- a folk performance. This one was in Marathi and described a scene where the famous Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj of Maharashtra kills the invader Afzal Khan with his tiger claws (coincidently, this workshop was on the birth anniversary of Shivaji). The workshop moved on to the games section where the youngsters moved outside and participated in games that required them to use physical strength, defense, and attack movements. These movements were coupled with inspirational slogans that had to be shouted out. I started this blog with the one I liked the most. A close second was this one “Asuramardini Main, Ranaragini Main, Main MahaKaali.” This Hindi slogan translates to “I am the destroyer of demons, I am a powerful woman, I am the great Hindu Goddess Kaali.” The importance of believing in oneself and the ‘power of one’ was emphasized through a short story where a 6-year-old boy rescues a 12-year-old from a well by pulling him out with a rope. Older women had ‘baithak’ games, which they played while remaining seated. These games focused on memory, hand, mind, and speech coordination. The workshop ended with a short interactive and insightful talk by Dr. Shobha Shah. It was evident that the participants had warmed up to the whole experience. Our founder director’s 91-year-old father expressed his happiness at seeing his dream of a health center run by his daughter in rural Solapur come true. He advocated the women to seek healthcare in a timely and wise manner and urged them to plant as many trees as possible to battle climate change and the soaring temperatures. Dr Kusum thanked all those who made this event possible. Everybody ate lunch at leisure and left with good and kind words for the Vivekananda team and our Arogya Kendra (health center).
One of the participants said before leaving: “We are grateful to you for conducting this workshop. It made us feel alive and helped us break free from our monotonous routine. We hope you conduct many more such events in the coming future.” (This has been translated as best as possible from what the participant said in Marathi). A few of the girls are willing to undergo training from Vivekananda Kendra Solapur, so that they can get trained to be adolescent ambassadors (Kishories). This is a way in which the cycle continues and more people experience these engaging activities. Dr. Kusum seeing the confidence with which the youngsters conducted the activities remarks, “I could see the body language of the girls from the villages change considerably in just those two hours. I was told that the young adults who conducted these activities are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This did not deter them from being great at what they were doing. I was inspired to rekindle the fire inside me. These young adults reminded me of how I was when I was in my late teens and early twenties- fiery and free-spirited. I almost mourned the loss of that side of me, but I am now determined to get her back.”
Overall, it was an eventful day. We look forward to such events which are not ‘preachy’-‘lectury’ and yet touch people where it matters most.
