My maternal great-grandmother, Bithika, was an extremely resourceful lady, willing to go to any length for the betterment of her family. Bithika came from a poor family in a town called Patna, in Northeast India. Growing up, all her parents could afford was basic food, clothing and elementary education. Bithika was married at 16 and the one thing that her family splurged on was buying Bithika one sari for her wedding. It was a classical wedding Bengali saree, beige silk body with a red silk perimeter and was to be paired with gold jewelry.

The economic downturn in India right around the time of its independence from the British (1947) resulted in my great- grandpa Bhola losing his job. Poor overnight, the family had to sell their belongings to make ends meet; yet Bithika saved that sari. Then something magical happened for her; Bithika managed to transform her hobby of tailoring into a mini company. She took a bank loan, bought ten sewing machines, hired staff, and set them up in the shed at the back of her home. Gradually the customers came as word of her good tailoring skills spread. Slowly but surely, not only did she start making money for herself, supporting her husband and putting food on the table for her own kids, she also employed nine women in the neighborhood. A woman helping other women!

This family story is an ode to my late great-grandmother and a celebration of that symbol of hope and womens’ power that she passed down to us - the beige and red sari. 


 

– A

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant