Although the dhakia is a common tool made from grass- loke plants found in the forest, it has a great signigicae in our Tharu society. The use of dhakia has been unique in the social and cultural activities of the Tharus. Therefore, the work of weaving dhakia is prevalent in every household ogf the Tharu society. Since I was a child. I have also been watching my mother grandmothers weave dhakia at home. At that time, I was not interested because of studies, writing and sports. But I never thought that this profession will be the main profession of my life in the future.
During the wedding in the Tharu community, it is customary to marry the bride’s dowry in a dhakiya is used to store grains like lentils, rice, paddy, etc. When a daughter gets married, it is customary to give each member of the husband’s house a dhakiay to over the water. Dhakiyas are also given as gifts to small children as toys. Earlier, such dhakiyas were woven by people who needed them themselves. Now, their commercial production has started. As a Tharu daughter, I have experienced double happiness in being able to turn a traditional work of the Tharu community into a business.
I was not born a professional family in the society. I was born in Sonpur VDC Ward No. 2. Kerutiya, Dang. I born in Deukhuri to father Shivahari Chaudhary and mother Rukumina Chaudhary in 2036 BS. I was born as a daughter after an elder brother and two sisters. I also have a sister the younger brother behind me. After my birth, my mother gave birth to a daughter again, so my father brought the younger one. In this way, we became seven sisters and three brothers in total from our two mothers.
My father was in a government job, but it was still difficult to run the house. I studied at Shree Himal Primary School in the village. After passing 5th standard from there, I was admitted to Shree Sarvodaya Secondary School in Deukhuri Dang. I was got at sports, but not so enthusiastic about studies. My studies were stopped after I failed the test examination of 10th standard. Since I failed, I would not be able to continue my studies, so I left home in the same year, I.e., 2055 BS, and was married to Sundar Kumar Chaudhary of Batolpur Tulsipur Municipality.
He had four sisters and three brothers at home. They were all born from his elder mother- in -law side, while he had b=no children from his younger mother- in -law. Even though I had only studied up to the 10th grade, I was the educated daughter- in -law for the family. After we got married, my mother – in- law was worried from the beginning that my educated daughter-in -law would not do any housework. But I did not do anything that would make them cry.
Even though I had just entered the house as an ordinary housewife, I was looking for some work outside. But since my son was young. I was unable to do such work. When my son was five years old, with the help of my father-in-law, I got the opportunity to study as a mother – infant worker for six months. There were only twenty- two students there. The in-charge of the primary health center and my father-in -law or an old friend were there. Because of that relationship, I was also included in those twenty-two. I got the opportunity to learn all the work of te fields there thoroughly. In the meantime, the rural health sister gave me the responsible of vaccinating children and filling the schedule. At that time, children were vaccinated every Tuesday. While doing that training, I also started working selflessly at Rapti Hospital. I worked there until 2072 BS. While working, I also started furthering my studies, which had stopped after marriage. I studied on my own and completed my S.L.C from the open school in 2068BS. I gave it. I passed in the second division. Immediately after that, I went to study a fifteen -month course of lab assistant. It was about seven months into the study, when suddenly my voice started to dry up. I could not figure out what had happened. My throat gradually started to dry up. Before this incident, I had the same problem of not being able to raise my voice due to my throat getting dry. Around 2062-63, my throat as dry for about two months. Later it healed. After passing S.L.C my voce started to dry up again. Because of that, I could not continue my studies. My dream of going into the health sector remained unfulfilled. This was the biggest irony of my life. The seven months of study I had done to go into the health sector went to waste. After that I stayed at home for sometimes.
What I studied and liked was the health field. What should I do now that I can’t go into it? Instead of sitting around without a job like this, I thought about starting small business. Then we started threshing rice This was a job related to agriculture. We worked hard on it. As we worked hard, the business also started to flourish. When the business started to grow a lot, it didn’t seem like we could support ourselves alone. Growing a business is a good thing, but since I had to spend a lot of time on the business, the time could give to my home started t decrease. After giving time at home, I couldn’t give time to my business. Due t this, business started to suffer losses. When the business suffered losses, we also took loans. That loans made me very worried. I saw that the future ahead of me was completely dark.
Meanwhile, Tulsipur Sub -Metropolitan City Mayor Ghansyam Pandey opened Abhiyan Laghubitta Sanstha from the Community Forest Group. Chakramilan B.K. Sarle of the same organization formed a group of three people including me in Chaitra, 2077 BS. He informed us that there was a handicraft raining and those who wanted to learn skill would come. I also went with my friends to see the inauguration of that training. But there was a problem. Some people whose names were not on the first list of the training did not come t participate in the training. Since the people named on the list did not come, the number for the training was not enough. Therefore, the training instructors Bindu Hamal and Barsha Thapa requested us to include them in the eight- day training in any way possible. We were not ready to take the training, but when such an offer came, we also thought that it is a training to learn skills, what is the harm in attending the training and we participated in it. I was very happy after participating the training. I felt like I had gained a good skill when I went there.
The I participated in another training in 2078 BS. I participated in the forty- five bine training of Dhakiya and Gundri that was held from 5th Baishakh, 2078. But fate betrayed me in that training too. I as present in the first day. On the second day, Baisakh was the sixth and I could not attend as there was a program to feed seven bags of Vitamin ‘A’. Then, I could not attend the training as my son got married. After this, I was far behind by not attending the training for fifteen days. Some of the other participants had already woven two and some three types of Dhakiya. I had given up hope that I would not be able to do it now. But my trainer Ramkumari Chaudhary, the daughter of my sister-in-law’s uncle, told me to leave it as a hobby and taught me to weave until 2 midnight even though I could not attend during the day. After that, I wove two-three Dhakiyas of each type and initially earned 6 thousand 800 rupees which further encouraged me. After that, I was also invited as a trainer in a fifteen- day training conducted by the Green Foundation at Saruwa Dana in Dungisharan. That training was held in 2079 BS. Immediately after that, I also went as trainer in a training conducted for the twelve male wardens of Tulsipur Prison in the same year. Thus, I am now actively, involved as a dhakiya weaving trainer. Even in the village, everyone knows me as ‘Dhakiya Master’.
Earlier, when I worked in the heath sector for then years, I was only acquainted with doctor and nurses in the health sector. Now, as a Dhakiya instructor, I have been able to become known in villages, cities, countries and even abroad. In this way, The Dhakiya that my mother and grandmothers used to weave at home when I was little has now become my main source of income. Through the production and sale of the dhakiya, I have been able to pay off some off my debts. I have also been able to raise money for the education of my son, daughter and daughter-in-la. I feel very proud of my youth.
