The tales of an Iron lady to whom age and gender sees no boundaries

The dusty roads of Anjar nurtured the most promising story of all times. Age seems to be undefined when it comes to working for Bibibai who has recently celebrated her 49th year of her birth anniversary. Arriving at her doors she gladly welcomed me with a broad smile. She was amidst shaping the cluster of wooden planks from a big trunk laying in the front yard of her household. The interior of her residence comprised two miniature rooms with the kitchen placed in the opposite to the rooms. Our conversation started with a glass of water and little did I knew that the next few minutes would be a fascinating journey to witness. Bibibai is popularly known as the iron lady in and around her locality and has successfully stood upon her title over the past few years. Her trade revolves around traveling all over to the remote areas and buys big chunks at a wholesale rate.The wood is then processed into formatted planks which are finally sold over to the nearby wood manufacturing or furniture processing industries. The family is blessed with a son who is excelling in his profession of auto driving. Her husband who works as a skilled worker in the nearby industry is now planning to venture in his new trade of garment exporting. With a little pause, Bibibai states that, “I do not bring my gender into my trade. My laborious daily work makes me feel that I am no less that any man and it is my will power clubbed with my firm determination laid the paths of the success of my business”. Today, her trade brings home a monthly average profit of Rs.18,000 and adding to the income of her husband and her son the family’s saving cycle reaches up to Rs. 30,000 per month. The discussion was interrupted by the invasion of a group of men who came to buy wooden planks from her. Bibibai readily hurried out to attend her customers. Within a minute she pulled out the heavy metal measuring balance and placed it in an aligned manner. From picking up the bulky wooden planks to placing the massive weight bars, everything was perfectly managed by her single-handedly. With the saved capital incurred from her business, she would repair her house before the appearance of the rainy seasons. “Yes, today I labeled as the most promising entrepreneur in and around my village because of the gracious help of the kind-hearted lenders who have crafted an economically empowered future for me and my family member ”, concluded Bibibai.