Jaipur:
On International Women's Day, an inspiring story from the backwaters of Rajasthan, a state with among the worst records on women's rights but a young woman, a graduate from Lady Shri Ram College Delhi and an MBA, gave up a cushy corporate job to become the sarpanch of her village. It might have been easier to be an MP or an MLA, but as 30-year-old Chavi Rajawat says , if you want to make a difference , you've got to start at the bottom.
Chavi Rajawat is as much at home on horseback as she is under the hot sun, checking out the work at a NREGA site in her village from where she was recently elected sarpanch. Chavi decided to quit the corporate world to go back to her roots.
Chavi's grandfather was a 3 time sarpanch from this very village and clearly she is no greenhorn. The first thing she promises is transparency.
Chavi Rajawat , Sarpanch Soda Village: "Anybody from the village who wants to walk into the panchayat office and see the records can do that ...if my records are transparent those working with me will be cautious and if they know the whole village is watching I think I can pull the harness."
It is a note that's bound to strike a chord with many.
"The government promises us 100 rupees for a days work, but we only end up getting 40 or 40 rupees. The rest of the middlemen eat up what we make but we have elected her in the hopes that she will get us 100 out of 100", says a village labourer.
With an MBA in her bag this LSR graduate could have got a job in any big city in the country but she chose to come back to her village in Rajasthan because she believes she can make a difference however small in the lives of these people .