Ranjana

When faced with many internal hardships wrought by difficulties in her marriage and a troublesome relationship with her husband’s family, Ranjana was driven to make one of the most difficult decisions in her life to leave and return to her parents’ home in Udainagar. Despite relentlessly trying to work out her marriage in Indore, Ranjana stuck by her decision to return home and continued working at Kumbaya where she had been for three years before her marriage. Although a decision like hers is commonly regarded as “taboo” in her surrounding villages, Ranjana’s family supported her the entire time, and Kumbaya is unarguably a major source of happiness for all of them. Ever since her return to stitching, her younger sisters have joined the Bagli bhawan, and Ranjana has risen to become one of Kumbaya’s most skilled producers and the Master Trainer at Neemkheda bhawan. Not only has Kumbaya helped provide a major source of livelihoods for her entire family, they have gained a better economic status, skills, and most importantly, respect.  On a personal level, Ranjana is grateful for the strength from Kumbaya that has propelled her to face her fears and provide for her siblings as the eldest sister.