‘Bagging’ the delegate identity

‘Bagging’ the delegate identity

POOJA JAYAN

The month of December sees Trivandrum flooded with people from every nook and cranny of the state to celebrate the festival of films, the IFFK.  In the sheer spirit of the festival men and women would be seen rushing from one theatre to the next sashaying their IFFK bags. The bag is a proof that you too belong to the much sought after festival of Trivandrum. Holding it close to your body with the smug look of being a ‘film worm’ you arrive at the movie hall but have you ever thought of the effort behind its making.

  The magical hands that created the festival bags are those of a group of women who run ‘Alankar Cloth Bags’ near Kattakada. They are members of Shishiram, a Kudumbasree unit. Their product range from baskets, small sachets for jewellery to  shopping bags. The unit was started seven years ago and this is their sixth year in the film fest. Since they got the first work of IFFK in 2006 there has been no looking back and this time the unit has bagged a whopping order for 10,000 bags. Finishing the work at right time at the right time is their forte which helps them win more orders from different parts of the state.

  The training program conducted by Kudumbasree in 2005 at Kozhikode has made them self dependent women who till then had only the tag of homemaker to identify themselves with . “We have supplied materials for the Women’s Commission, seminars conducted in museum premises, AKG centre and so on but IFFK is the most rewarding”, said Bindu, a worker in the unit while printing logos on new bags.

  Many models were shown to the authorities and IFFK director Priyadarshan selected the model for this year. This year’s bag is black in colour with an off-white logo on it and there are some notable differences in length and width too compared to previous years. The design for the logo was given by the festival authorities. The bags are made from a net-type material and the quality of cloth used is better than last year’s.

  The order for the bags was given in mid-October and the new bags were to be delivered by the end of November. Each member of the unit had to make about a thousand bags within a short span of time and the rains added to our troubles while drying the printed material, said Girija, the Secretary of the unit.

  Our unity is the factor which has led to our successful strides in the handbag business said another worker Ehiyamma with a smile.

       

Helpers turn helpless

Helpers turn helpless

Remya Nair

            A group of self engaged scribes surrounded by layman -  a common scene in front of government offices in the city. They are in a sense, unauthorized service providers with no benefits from government. From dawn to dusk they help a number of people in preparing the necessary documents to be submitted in these offices with a small service charge.

            Nobody really knows about the hardship these scribes face in this profession. Sati, an application writer sitting in front of corporation office says that she manages to earn an average of Rs.150 per day. But a huge share of it must be invested next day in the business. The maximum service charge is Rs. 20; you may even get a concession in this rate. There are even graduates and post graduates among these people.

They are not allowed to use  bathroom facility in the offices around which they work. The whole day, these scribes are forced to sit under the burning sun controlling their basic needs.

            The forms supplied by Kudumbasree units will not be sufficient in the months of school opening and mass adalath. This makes their problems more worse. Certain groups of people have registered complaints against these scribes in Museum police station, accusing them of public nuisance and creating hindrance to the pedestrians.

                   These scribes have no registered unions and they don’t have any sort of benefits or allowance from the government. All political parties simply ignore them as they don’t have any union activities. So, a chance to get any sort of benefits from government is really feeble. And a group of people wants to drive away these scribes from the government office premises putting their lives in danger.